Sharing books: At-home videos & activities for early learners

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian

Welcome back to a new year of learning! I finished library school more than ten years ago, but I still consider September a fresh start for the year. I’m excited to get started.

What better way to start a new season of learning than by sharing books? This is the cornerstone of the Very Ready Reading program we use with kids ages 0-5.

Try these programs

Storytimes have begun

We meet in parks around Oak Park every Wednesday at 10 am through October 27. We also continue our weekly Saturday Zoom storytimes at 10 am.

Check out Dial-A-Story

Can’t make it to storytime? Need a break from reading 1000 books aloud? Call 708.816.2800 any time day or night and choose from a fun list of books read by your favorite librarians. We update every month to keep it fresh and exciting. See what we’re reading this month »

Watch these videos

And of course, we have got plenty of videos to share about books, too!

You can use books to start talking about emotions with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers! Starting with labeling emotions with babies will give you practice for when they are older and learning how to understand and regulate their emotions. Miss Jenny and I have used the books here with great success.

Miss Jenny and Ruthie love Dan Santat’s book about Humpty Dumpty called After the Fall. Humpty is afraid to get back on the wall after he falls off, but Ruthie learned that sometimes when you’re most scared is when you can be most brave. Plus, there’s a surprise ending. Have you read it yet?

I hope to see many of you in storytimes soon!

Shelley Harris

About Shelley

Shelley is a children’s librarian with a passion for early literacy, serving and celebrating the disability community, and exploring technology. She can often be found practicing storytime songs with her black lab, Bingo.