Pre-Kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff (Illustrator).

Pre-schoolers are excited and anxious about starting kindergarten. This book gives a "behind the scenes" look of the teacher preparing to welcome her new students. This book is a great introduction to kindergarten, the alphabet, animal identification, and rhyming. It will provide you with many great ideas for activities.

Pre-First Grade

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes.

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher Mr. Slinger. When Lilly comes to school flaunting her new purse and jingly coins Mr. Slinger askes her to put it away. This clash of wills teaches Lilly important lessons about humility, patience, and compassion.

Pre-Second Grade

Verdi, by Janell Cannon.

Young Verdi doesn't want to grow up to be big and green. He likes bright yellow skin and sporty stripes. Besides, all the green snakes he meets are lazy, boring, and rude. Despite his efforts, Verdi turns as green as the leaves on the trees, but to his delight, he discovers that being green doesn't mean he has to stop being himself. As students are entering the second grade they are expected to be more "grown up." Verdi will help them understand that maturity and responsibility do not have to mean giving up the fun of life.

Pre-Third Grade

The Library Dragon, by Carmen Agra Deedy, Michael P. White (Illustrator).

One of my favorite books. This is a picture book perfect for older children. They will understand the word play and catch the nuances of the illustrations. Miss Lotta Scales is a REAL dragon who sets out to protect the library books from "sticky fingers." Thankfully she meets her match in a young student. Both storytime and the library are saved from ruin!

Enjoy and breathe some fire into your storytime!