Happy New Year to all! I hope your holidays were amazing and that you said goodbye to 2016 in the best way possible. I had a stomach bug go through the entire household in a matter of days, so I rang in the new year taking baby sips of Gatorade, but it gave me some time to think, reflect, and plan for the new year.
This new year is heading into scary territory for many folks. As children’s librarians, we have a chance to help make those times a little less scary for parents and kids alike. We can point parents to resources they need to make sure they stay informed, aware, and can find help and information where they need it. We can help kids by introducing them to books, songs, and fingerplays that cheer them up, sure but also teach them about other kids that may experience similar circumstances, so they don’t feel alone, and we can engender empathy by exploring other families’ dilemmas through story. Storytime Underground has issued a challenge this year, and it’s one I’m excited to accept.
I attended a great Storytime Manifesto program while I was at PLA last year. We talked about how storytime does make a difference in helping children become ready for kindergarten, we talked statistics about family literacy, phonological awareness, print motivation, oral communication and socialization between children, and development of fine motor skills by introducing and crafts during your storytime. I’ve kept a lot of that in mind as I’ve developed my storytimes, and now I’m taking things one step further by accepting this blog challenge. I’ll be continuing to read diverse titles by diverse authors, and I’ll be looking to my other librarians and bloggers for ideas to expand my mind and skills, so I can help families expand theirs. I’d love for you to join me as I start this journey. If you’re interested in your own Social Justice Storytime – anyone, teacher, educator, parent, aunt, uncle, next door neighbor who babysits their friends’ kids every now and then – Storytime Underground has a great starter kit with ideas that you can download for free. There are also fantastic lists you can discover through Pinterest to build on, including Picture Books About Immigration, Picture Books about Social Justice, Children’s Books about Refugees, and Books About Being Kind.
I’m off to start planning and working on my new flannels. Reviews to come, too! Let’s be kind to one another this year, we’re all a bit bruised from 2016.
Mom Read It 