Blogs I read

   Because I love children’s books and storytime and have chosen to be a Youth Services Librarian in a small rural town, I depend on the Internet to keep me alerted to new trends and ideas in my field. Physically located pretty far from a Big City, I only get to see other children’s librarians a few times a year. But with the Internet, and with the plethora of good blogs these days, I can find excellent ideas for Storytime, read about what is new in my profession, and keep up on the latest and greatest books for kids and teens.  I wish I had enough time to read these blogs every day; as it is, I only get to some of them some of the time, and others serve as a first-choice resource for when I go looking for something.  I think that many of these would be of interest to parents and teachers as well, so here we go:

The ALSC blog:  This is the blog of the professional organization I belong to, the Association for Library Service to Children.  While it often has library-specific information, it also has great program ideas that could be useful to homeschool parents and to teachers. I also write a monthly post for this blog. 

Beyond the Book Storytimes:  Anyone who has ever wished they could use puppets should check this one out. Steven Engelfried shares his creative ideas on turning books into puppet stories, and he even has videos to help you. This one is a real gem!

Jbrary :  These two librarians from British Columbia are rocking it on this blog. They have so many resources here it is hard to list them all. They have themed storytimes,  Pinterest boards, and the best video song library ever! If you are looking for some rhymes or songs to share with your child or to spice up your storytimes,  this is the first place to go. 

Little Elit:   This is a one-stop shop for all things digital. This blog has articles, ideas, and resources for those who want to know more about using apps and devices with children. They also have great Pinterest boards with recommended apps. And Cen Campbell, the founder of the site, used to be a Bookmobile librarian right here at AVRL. 

Fingerplay Fun Friday:   The WCCLS blog has a regular Friday feature—fingerplays! Rick Samuelson does a fine job of making the fingerplays FUN – learn some new rhymes to share here. 

Storytime Underground ; This one is pretty librarian-centric, but teachers and homeschool parents could find great ideas here. There’s also a list of “Blogs that kick butt” for further reading. Dig in and find out what is going on in the Storytime world! 

Teen Librarian Toolbox;  For all things teen, this a great blog. Book reviews, issues, program ideas. 

For book reviews and interesting conversations about books, I like to read the Horn Book blogs. Plenty to keep the kid-lit bilbiophile busy here.

On the local front, I've started reading the Valley Family Fun blog which has great ideas for activities to do with kids.  Laura Churchill Duke shares fun ways to play and learn at home and out in the community. 

---Angela J. Reynolds, Head of Youth Services