At the Children's Desk: A Day of Questions, Volume II

In the weeks before I left my job, my duties away from the reference desk began to dwindle, and I started really focusing my attention on answering questions. There were several days in September and early October where I was on the desk more often than I was not, and on those days, I took notes, keeping track of every question I was asked, and by whom. Today's post focuses on the questions I handled during the last shift of the day on Thursday, September 19. I mostly let the questions speak for themselves because they're more interesting - and funnier - that way, but I have included some notes in brackets where necessary.

3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

• Senior Citizen Woman: Do you have a post-it note? Do you have Scotch tape? Do you have a pen? Is this book [just sitting on the desk] available?
•  Staff Member: Can you find out how old the person on computer 2 is? 
• Teacher: You were a CYBILS judge, too? Where do you blog? Do you have a graphic novel collection? 
• Same Senior Citizen Woman:  I need to rewrite my note. I guess this is the paper? And this is the tape? Did you hear about that library in Fairfax that threw away all those books? 
• Middle Schooler: I came up with an adjective at school today that seemed really obvious at the time, but now I can't remember what it was. It starts with D, and it means horrible. (And I need it to do my homework.)  [Answer: Dreadful] 
• Same Senior Citizen Woman: What is this library, four or five years old now? 
• Same Middle Schooler: Do you know where Miss [name of coworker] is? Is she going to be on the desk? 
• Child: Can I borrow a pencil? 
• Adult: How do you get to use a computer?

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5:30 p.m. - LIBRARY CLOSES

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To see a full day of questions, check out Day of Questions Volume I.

More Content Coming to Story Time Secrets!

Three years ago, when I first began blogging, I had so much content it was too much for one blog. There were times at the height of my blogging frenzy that I was posting two reviews at Secrets and Sharing Soda and three story time posts here at Story Time Secrets in one day. In the past three years, though, I have gotten married, left my job, and started a family. I no longer perform story times regularly, so I don’t have many of those posts to offer, and though I’m still reading quite a lot, I’m not reviewing nearly as many books as I used to. To make things easier on myself, therefore, I’ve decided to consolidate everything back to just one blog. Because it has more subscribers, and because I prefer its name and layout, I will be moving everything here to Story Time Secrets.


What this will mean for my readers is an increase in content. In addition to story time ideas and posts about library service, you will now also see book reviews for all age levels and my weekly Old School Sunday posts, featuring kids' books published prior to the year 2000.

Thank you so much for your support of my blog over the past three years. I look forward to sharing more great posts with you in the months and years to come!

Flannel Friday: It Fell in the City

Today's Flannel Friday post was inspired by a read-aloud session with my daughter. Since she was born, I've been reading poems to her from Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young. There is a section near the end of the book with a bunch of winter poems, and as I read "It Fell in the City" by Eve Merriam, that old familiar lightbulb went off in my mind, telling me that this would make a great flannel board. 

I discovered that, thanks to Highlights magazine, the text of the poem is available online. Click here to read it, or to listen to the audio version. The basic concept is that snow falls all night, turning each of the familiar objects out on the street from its original color to white. The poem actually never states that what fell in the city was snow, which throws in a nice guessing game component for story time audiences. 

I created a simple Google Drive presentation to demonstrate how I might share this poem as a flannel board. If I were really planning to use it in a story time, I'd probably do my best to make the pieces out of actual felt, as I think it would be much easier - and more logical - to create snow-covered objects using white felt  than it was to recolor everything in Microsoft Paint. I also included a final slide showing just snowflakes. I would ask the kids at the end of the poem to tell me what they think fell in the city, and then after they all hopefully called out, "Snow!" I'd show them the snowflakes to confirm they were correct.

Here is what the presentation looks like:  

This poem would work well for a snow, weather, or winter theme, as well as a city theme, or a poetry theme. It could even be included in an author study of Eve Merriam.

This week's Flannel Friday host is Anna from Future Librarian Superhero. For more on Flannel Friday, visit the official website. Look for more Winter ideas on the Flannel Friday Winter Pinterest board.

Reflections on Library Service to Preschoolers

Traditionally, the age group most likely to be served by a library is the preschool set - roughly ages 3 to 5. When I was a kid, there was always preschool story time, even if there were no programs for toddlers or babies, and some smaller libraries still only offer preschool story time today. Preschool classes also make regular visits to libraries, which means librarians interact with them in large numbers on a monthly - or sometimes even weekly - basis. Here are some basic tips for serving preschoolers' needs at the library.

• Ask preschoolers open-ended questions.
  The main difference I notice between preschoolers and toddlers is that preschoolers are much more interested in expressing their feelings and opinions. Whereas a toddler might want to tell me that her dress is blue, a preschooler will want to tell me where she bought the dress, and when she wore it, and which of her friends has the same one in pink. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when 25 preschoolers want to tell you something all at once, but I've also found that talking to preschoolers about the things that interest them is one of the most rewarding parts of children's librarianship. To get kids talking - and working on their narrative skills - ask open-ended questions, both about their lives, and about the books you share with them. When doing an art project with preschoolers, ask them to tell you the story behind their pictures, and if you can, write down what they tell you so they can share it with their parents and caregivers. Give preschoolers room to speak up for themselves and enjoy the great anecdotes you will hear as a result!

• Explain to preschoolers how the library works.
  Preschoolers are curious about everything, and they love knowing how the library works. When I have a slow moment at the children's desk, I will sometimes let a child test out a stamp or scan a book and I will explain to him what I use these tools for. When I take a child to the shelf to find a book he has requested, I try to explain to him which section we're looking in and why, and sometimes even how I might find the book on that particular shelf. Not every child absorbs everything the first time they hear it, but taking a few extra moments to engage the child in the process of using the library is a helpful practice that encourages their curiosity to grow as they age.

• Ask preschoolers for their input.
  One of the nicest things about preschool story time is that it can easily become an interactive experience. With babies and toddlers, I plan out the movements and verses for action songs ahead of time, knowing they will need me to guide them. With preschoolers, though, I can let them make decisions about which animal they want to act like, or which part of their body they want to move next. I never make anyone participate who doesn't want to, but I do offer a turn to everyone and most of the time, every child in the room wants to share an idea before we move onto the next activity. Sometimes I might also let the kids vote on which book they'd like to hear next, thereby giving them even more of a reason to buy into story time.

• Don't force music onto preschoolers.
  I don't know if the preschoolers I know are just unusual, but I've noticed that many of  them hate it when we sing at story time. Unless the song is funny, or allows them to play musical instruments, they often groan and beg to read another book instead of singing a song. I have never gone an entire preschool story time with no singing, because we always do a hello song, but with groups that I know are particularly against singing, I will throw in just one action rhyme in the middle of the story time and otherwise stick to reading. Obviously some preschoolers like to sing, but if they truly hate it, and tell you so, there's no harm in sticking to books and rhymes.

• Never ask a group of preschoolers if they have a dog.
  This last piece of advice is somewhat facetious, but if you've never worked with preschoolers before, you might be surprised at how quickly a 30 minute story time gets away from you when the discussion of pets comes up. All it takes is one child to tell you he has a bulldog, and the next 22 kids have to tell you about bulldogs they have known, seen, or imagined. I have fallen into this trap a few times, particularly when we read a picture book about a cat or a dog, but there are ways out. Simply tell the kids you don't have time to hear about everyone's pet, so you'd like to get onto the story before you run out of time. You can also head the kids off by asking them to raise quiet hands if they do or do not have a dog. This way, everyone can quickly share, but you don't lose your entire story time to a discussion of  the time Grandma's dog ran away. When all else fails, distract them with an action song - preferably one with a lot of complicated moves. 

Preschoolers are just beginning to form their opinions about the world. By providing them with lots of opportunities for discussion and age-appropriate information about topics that interest them you not only help them learn to better express their thoughts, but you also help them form a positive opinion of libraries which will keep them coming back throughout childhood - and into adulthood, too!