Join us at your local branch library for storytime. Most are offered every week – check our events calendar for specific days and times. All locations have preschool storytime for children ages 3-5, and many of our libraries have special storytimes for babies and/or toddlers, too!
Libraries have a long, proud tradition of providing free storytimes for children. But I can guarantee that storytime has evolved since you may have attended as a child. We still read stories and sing songs and have a great time. But we are learning more about the ways in which early childhood experiences develop the building blocks of literacy. So we incorporate early literacy tips for parents and caregivers. Librarians offer suggestions and positive reinforcement regarding the playing, singing, reading, writing, and talking that grownups do with their young children – even from birth.
Our storytimes are in alignment with the beliefs of the Every Child Ready to Read project:
– Reading is an essential life skill.
– Learning to read begins at birth.
– Parents and caregivers are a child’s first and best teachers.
– Lifelong learning is a primary role of the public library; public libraries need to support parents and caregivers as they develop early literacy skills in children from birth to age five.
– Every Child Ready to Read is a parent education initiative that provides skills and strategies parents and caregivers can use to help children get ready to read.