Hello librarians, parents, and kids! I’m Stephanie Katz, a librarian for the public library on the gorgeous Anna Maria Island in sunny Florida. Every Tuesday, I host story time for kids 0–5. I post my story time notes here for other children’s services librarians and parents who are working hard…

Bethlehem Area Public Library (BAPL) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania got started in creative publishing by producing two poetry collections, and they expanded their catalog with their first children’s title, TUG! In the picture book, an anthropomorphic tractor tow named Tug loves to help workers in a steel mill, but when the…

March 14th (3/14) is Pi Day, so for story time, we’re learning all about circles as well as everyone’s favorite circular dessert: pie. See below for my story time outline, as well as notes for the games and songs. Welcome Song It’s Island Story Time Book #1 Circle Dogs, by Kevin Henkes and Dan…

My story time kids LOVE playing games. One of my go-to games is a basic matching game using my whiteboard, since most kids in my group are mobile and can participate. My story times average 8–12 kids, so I usually plan the game for 16 and reduce the number as…

It’s getting colder outside (well, 65 is cold for Florida), so I did a story time on bears, since some types of bears are hibernating now. Here in the south, we have Florida black bears, and I was lucky enough to see one strolling alongside the tree line as I…

I wrote my Welcome and Goodbye songs to incorporate the concept of a special story time on the island, because my library is on Anna Maria Island. I couldn’t resist adding a manatee into the song, since we are in Manatee County, FL, and it’s very common to see wild…

Children visiting the Boca Raton Public Library in Southeast Florida will have a special story time to look forward to that will feature three unique stories written by local kids. The young writers will be the winners of Luna’s Annual Story Writing Contest, a writing contest hosted by the library…

Osceola Library — a bustling library system nestled in county just south of Walt Disney World in Central Florida — has undertaken many publishing endeavors, from a youth literary magazine to patron self-published books. Currently, Osceola Library is taking submissions for their community recipe collection, “Osceola County Cuisine.” Residents of…

Managing submissions can be a Herculean task for an editor at a literary magazine or press. Many editors have turned to the popular submissions manager Submittable to help corral incoming stories, essays, and poetry, and novels, but as Submittable’s popularity has increased, so has it’s price. As of May 1…