All posts by Children's Staff
Books for 4-6 year olds on Thursday, February 5
Another big snowstorm had us thinking snow…again! Our first story was about fun in the snow:
If you’re tired of the snow, you might want to snuggle up someplace cozy for a long time. Ask your child what happened in Bear’s den while he was sleeping!
Older Baby Storytime, Friday, January 30, 2015 12 months and older
A snowy Friday morning but still a good group of children and parents showed up to return to Storytime! We tried some new songs and moved around a lot. We read two books today about … SNOW!
We read:
Baby Storytime, Friday, January 30, 2015 0-12 months
We had a small group today and just a few came out in the snow but it was nice to return to storytime. We did lots of talking today about the importance of literacy for babies and had fun singing and reading together. Today we read a favorite of everyone. We read
Books for 4-6 year olds on Thursday, January 29
A blizzard this week had us thinking snow! We read a new, wordless picture book about two good friends, and everyone did a great job helping me tell the story:
And if you think it’s been cold in Chelmsford, then check out this story that we read about a school in Alaska:
Books for preschoolers on Monday, January 26
I started storytime with the book A Book with No Pictures. The cover of the book has no pictures, of course, only words on a white background. The kids in storytime loved it, and I think it works even better with one adult reading to one child. It stresses how readers tell stories by reading every word on the page, no matter how silly they sound. And this book makes the reader say very silly things!
The first day of storytime, after our long break, was the day before the big blizzard. All the adults were talking about snow, so we read many children’s books about snow as well.
Last week’s storytime was cancelled due to another snow storm. By now the adults don’t want to talk about snow anymore.
~Maureen
#2 Notice Words
E N A B L E your child to read.
E stands for Enjoy books
N stands for Notice Words
Notice words while driving or riding in a bus.
Teach your child how a STOP sign looks, and look for it around town.
Your child will begin to understand that the letters on a page or a sign stand for words.
When you read a book frequently, and your child knows many of the words by heart, put your finger under the words as you read.
~Maureen
#1 Enjoy books
My previous post spoke of 6 skills to ENABLE your child to read.
The first skill is to Enjoy books. 
I hope you love to read to children.
I hope you use lots of expressions in your voice.
I hope you take time with the pictures.
Your excitement is contagious.
Take your child many places. It’s easier to listen to a book about animals if you have been around animals.
Come to storytime at the Chelmsford Library.
If you live in Chelmsford, we have a storytime program on Chelmsford Telemedia every evening at 7pm. It is on Comcast 22 or Verizon 36.
See you soon. ~Maureen
6 Skills that will ENABLE your child to read
I love acronyms. I like making them up just for fun.
E
N
A
B
L
E
ENABLE is an acronym to help remember there are 6 skills that will help your child learn to read.
Enjoy books.
Notice that letters on the pages stand for words.
Apply sounds to letters
Blend sounds together to make words.
Learn more and more words.
Encourage questions.
We have index cards at the library to remind you of these 6 skills. It’s a library, so we want everyone to Enjoy Books, of course. Books are free to borrow for 3 weeks at a time. Come on in and browse, or ask us about borrowing ebooks.
~Maureen
Caldecott predictions- what will be the best picture book?
Holidays, vacations and no storytimes – all of those add up to no posts for a few weeks. We’re sorry about that. Perhaps things were hectic in your life as well, and you didn’t have time to check in with this blog. In that case, welcome back.
The 2015 Caldecott awards will be announced soon for the best picture books of 2014. Here are some of the front runners for the award this year:
This author and illustrator form a magical team. They have won before, and may win again this year.
I must admit that Marla Frazee is one of my favorite illustrators. She won a Caldecott Honor for the illustrations in All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon. This year’s book is a wordless one, so Marla is using her art to tell all of the story.
Another wordless book – this time based on Raul Colon’s childhood.
3 books frequently mentioned are biographies. This is unusual.
A biography of Matisse from an author known for chapter books.
How ironic would it be for Lois Ehlert to finally win an award with a book that is about her picture books?
A short and simple, but profound, biography of Gandhi told by his grandson. It’s message of “Live our lives as light” challenges my own beliefs and actions.
I bought this book to help children who had recently moved, but it is delightful. It is so well done, I want to recommend it to all young children.
A book about an imaginary friend off in search of a child with a great imagination – terrific concept that is really well done.
I’d like to hear from you. What were some of your favorite picture books of the year?
~Maureen