We are pleased to announce the shortlist titles for the biannual Spanish CLEL Bell Awards. The Spanish CLEL Bell Awards are an biannual recognition of five high-quality children’s books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in children ages 0-5. This shortlist of 25 CLEL Bell titles, five for each early literacy practice – …
By: Kate Davis If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably a picture book buff. An early literacy enthusiast. An alphabet aficionado. An illustration insider. A storytime superfan. And definitely a library loyalist. No matter how much we love picture books, it can be overwhelming to find the right book at the right time for …
By: Justine Ferrara, Union (NJ) Public Library Do you want to incorporate CLEL Bell books into your storytimes? Are you looking for some caregiver tips, rhymes, songs, and activities to freshen up an existing storytime? Read on for some ideas to plan and execute an engaging storytime all about writing! CLEL Bell Award Winners & …
By Lourdes C., 2026 CLEL Bells Committee Member Names are unique to each person. They have meanings, tell stories, and can even be songs. Names are conversation starters. Needless to say, names are important to everyone. What’s Your Name? by Bethanie Deeney Murguia was one of the titles that made it to the TALK category …
By Ali Kubeny (she/her), Children’s Services Librarian – Bellingham Public Library 2026 CLEL Bell Committee Member One of my favorite ways to integrate the SING practice into storytime is to find books that have opportunities to squeeze a song in or can be set to a tune in their entirety. I always get excited to …
By: Holly Van Hoy Are you lucky enough to have caregivers and/or community members offering to volunteer at your library during storytime, but feeling unsure how to include them? Here are a few ways that I have been able to welcome caregivers and community members as creative partners in my storytime sessions. Hand Them a …
By: Mary Ann Lawler In a previous post, we talked about using CLEL Bell Award winners along with their Activity Sheets for teaching early literacy to staff. These activity sheets are written to help caregivers too, and they are an easy-add to boosting your collection. Here are some ideas. Early Literacy Kits At my library, …
By: Mary Ann Lawler How do you teach new staff about early literacy quickly? Get hands-on as soon as possible. Here’s a way to do that using the CLEL Bell winners’ Activity Sheets, found on the CLEL Bells website. I recently co-led a 45-minute workshop at an early childhood educators’ conference focused on teaching the …
