
An SLJ reader’s daughter peruses our Early Learning-focused July issue, which featured the iconic Sesame Street character, Big Bird, on the cover.
September 17, 2013
The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens

An SLJ reader’s daughter peruses our Early Learning-focused July issue, which featured the iconic Sesame Street character, Big Bird, on the cover.

Rachel G. Payne, coordinator of early childhood services at Brooklyn Public Library, offers advice for parents.

Storytime is the premium service for children in public libraries across the country. For many youth librarians, it’s the most treasured part of their job. A storytime veteran shares her best practices.

A design revolution is reinventing the children’s room in public libraries and changing the way young children learn. This new breed of literacy-packed play spaces in libraries is inspired by children’s museums and the developmental theories that drive them.

Libraries are in prime positions to take advantage of President Obama’s recent call for an increase of funding and attention to for early childhood education. Early learning has been an integral part of public libraries’ services to children for decades, and the recent increase of grant-funded programs can further extend children’s librarians’ reach into their communities. Wondering where to start? SLJ has compiled a list of grants for libraries seeking new ways to finance early learning initiatives, big and small.

The most exciting time for a kindergarten teacher is when a kid looks up and says, ‘Hey, I can read!’” Fostering early literacy is the focus of our very first theme issue. We’re also debuting a new look, with some significant improvements to the all-important reviews section.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hosted the first Let’s Read! Let’s Move! event of 2013 on Wednesday, July 10, at the U.S. Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. Along with Rep. John Kline of Minnesota; Sam Kass, executive director of Let’s Move!; and Michelle Kwan, member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and Olympic figure skater, the celebrity guests read to a group of students. Kwan then led the children in a session of fun, physical activities.

Research has long supported the importance of play in early literacy, yet many parents remain mystified about how to engage with young children in fun activities, particularly at the pre-verbal stage. Enter the library.

Do you know STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)? From hosting “parties” with traditional building blocks to using science kits with young children, ideas for STEAM programming in libraries were shared at a recent panel at the ALA (American Library Association) annual conference.

A peek behind the scenes of Sesame Workshop, which is negotiating the digital shift with care. The venerable brand has conducted more than 76 tests over two and a half years to understand how children, ages three to five, adopt and adapt to touch devices in their learning.

Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy (CLEL), an advisory group to the Colorado State Library, is launching the Bell Picture Book Awards, with the first honorees set to be announced on February 5, 2014. The program is designed to celebrate books that foster adult-child engagement around the early literacy practices of read, write, sing, talk, and play.

Only one in three parents of children ages eight and under reads stories to their kids each night, according to a new survey by the literacy organization Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and Macy’s.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading today unveiled a new report on the role of museums and libraries in early learning, and issued a call to action for policymakers, schools, funders, and parents to include these institutions in comprehensive early learning strategies.

SLJ caught up with author-illustrator Tad Hills about Rocket Writes a Story (Random, 2012), which follows a loveable dog as he tries to write his own book, and is the sequel to the bestselling picture book How Rocket Learned to Read (Random, 2010).

The Goleta Library in Goleta, CA, part of the Santa Barbara Public Library System, celebrated a Family Place Workshop on June 1. Hunter Tattle explores his artisitic talent at a fingerpainting activity.
These days the news is full of polarizing stories about undocumented immigrants. Rarely do we hear about the 4.5 million children born each year in the United States to undocumented immigrant parents.
Children’s services librarian Cindy Wall documents what she learned in presenting an iPad program for her youngest users —one and two year olds.
While enhanced ebooks engage young children with their interactive elements, print or basic ebooks may be more effective for encouraging literacy.
It’s toddler storytime: let the rumpus begin! Toddlers bound quickly into the room. One hurdles mom’s legs while waiting for the opening song. Some hop, others roam, and a few practically climb our unflappable colleague Janie. Even after getting most of their wiggles out, many toddlers continue to float around the room—until Janie begins to read one of her favorite books, Owl Babies (Candlewick, 1996) by Martin Waddell.







By Travis Jonker on September 16, 2013
By J. Caleb Mozzocco on September 16, 2013
By Elizabeth Bird on September 16, 2013
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