Kathy Barco - Storytime and Beyond

Storytime and Beyond

Having Fun with Early Literacy

Kathy Barco and Melanie Borski-Howard

Copyright 2018 by Kathy Barco and Melanie Borski-Howard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Barco, Kathy, 1946 author. | Borski-Howard, Melanie, author.
Title: Storytime and beyond : having fun with early literacy / Kathy Barco and Melanie Borski-Howard.
Description: Santa Barbara, California : Libraries Unlimited, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018017819 (print) | LCCN 2018026916 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440858994 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440858987 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Storytelling. | Language arts (Early childhood) | Libraries and preschool children.
Classification: LCC LB1140.35.S76 (ebook) | LCC LB1140.35.S76 B 37 2018 (print) | DDC 372.67/7dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018017819

ISBN: 978-1-4408-5898-7 (paperback)
978-1-4408-5899-4 (ebook)

22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5

This book is also a vailable as an eBook.

Libraries Unlimited
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This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

To Kristina Krissie Carter, youth services librarian at the Clovis-Carver Public Library from 2002 to 2017. You were a positive influence in so many lives. RIP
KB
To my incredibly supportive coworker, Alice Eccles, who has been by my side doing musical storytimes since the program began.
MBH

Welcome to Storytime and Beyond: Having Fun with Literacy ! Youre in for a bonanza of fun.

Are you a childrens librarian or teacher/parent/grandparent/family/caregiver of children getting ready to read? Do you work as a literacy coach or counselor with older youngsters and even adults who need literacy motivation? Most of all, are you someone who is interested in opening up the world of books to those who may not yet have discovered it? YOU should explore this book!

Often literacy is considered the job of librarians and teachers. But parents, families, and other caregivers are almost always a childs first teachers. They lay the first foundation of reading by reading to their children. Bedtime stories are crucial, but word games, songs, and lullabies are equally valuable. How many youngsters learn their alphabet by singing along with someone else? For sure, librarians and teachers do literacyyou could even call them literacy gurus but anyone can get into the act, and in on the fun, too. (NOTE: Singing is one of the five Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) practices. Read a full description of ECRR in Melanies Musical Storytimes Build Literacy Skills.)

What can you expect to find inside our enticing orange cover? Theres something useful, interesting, creative, and above all, fun in every chapter. Whether you read straight through or just dip into the various sections, you may frequently find yourself thinking, I could do that!

The main title really sums it up: Storytime and Beyond . Storytimes are a way of life for childrens librarians and for many parents/grandparents/caregivers who faithfully bring their kids to the library. And this book is packed with tips, scripts, bibliographies, statistics, and anecdotes that relate directly to storytimes. But theres a lot of literacy to be picked up after storytime is over. Reinforcing storytime events at home or in another setting contributes to the original experience. There are many other ways to enhance literacy. And theyre painless (and fun )!

Heres a quick look at what you will find in the following six chapters. (Note: the authors went halfsies... Kathy wrote the first three chapters and Melanie did . But this is not a numbers book! Maybe if they do a sequel...)

Speaking of fun and painless... alphabet book s are a terrific way to strengthen literacy. They can be used with almost any age, are fascinating to look at, come in a wide variety of topics, and inspire questions and conversations, thus exercising talking skills. Older youngsters and adults who have struggled with reading might be offended by what they might consider baby or kiddie alphabet books, but they would love spending time with some of the specialized ABC books that seemingly involve the alphabet almost incidentally.

Kathy read over 250 ABC books as background for this chapter. She describes how alphabet books can be invaluable keys to spark interest in readers of all ages. Get ready to amble through the alphabet via 26 ABC Mini-Adventures that start with Q for Quilt (the struggle and reasoning behind bringing Q to the top of the list explains how readers might compile their own ABC Mini-Adventures). Kathy had fun naming each of the Adventures. For example: J is for Juravenator, K is for Strikeout, R is for Read It Again and Again!, and U is for Underpants. Fun, huh? As she says, this is probably the closest shell ever get to write an ABC book of her own!

In case youre wondering, she doesnt include all 250+ ABC books she read for research. But nearly 100 titles are described in various Adventures. They also appear in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. Kathy includes a photo of the first ABC Book she ever had: The Jolly Jump-Ups ABC Book by Geraldine Clyne, published in 1948. Its still in great shape, considering that its a pop-up book.

The chapter details enrichment activities and tips on how ABC books can cater to a readers personal interests. There is also a list of selling points with ideas on where to find used/bargain ABC books, taking advantage of puzzles or mysteries built into the books, class activities where each child has a different alphabet book, using the books with ESL students, and a cure for an ABC book addiction.

First things first: What is a Doodad ? They do exist, right?... Right! Kathy devotes an entire chapter to them. We can infer from the title that letter magnets must be mere components in a well-equipped doodad caboodle. (A caboodle, by the way, is a group, bunch, lot, pack, or collection of things or people.) See her extensive description of what constitutes a doodad at the beginning of the chapter.

As she states, letter magnets are attractive in many ways (the refrigerator... and beyond! ) . See how many of these uses have occurred to you! Starting with the alphabet magnets and throughout this chapter, Kathy includes three types of bulleted material:

• Book Suggestions
• Literacy Activities
• Doodad Factoidsassorted comments

. This chapter also features plenty of photos. These actually cut down on your reading time, though, if you consider that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Balloon letters are star players in Kathys repertoire of doodads. In this circumstance, inflation is a good thing. Balloons are perfect ice-breakers when speaking to an audience of parents or caregivers who may be reluctant to take part in a group activity. Kathys Balloon Etiquette gives hints for conducting a balloon event of your own. Follow her tips and you wont blow it! (Or maybe, you will!)