By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian
How young is too young to introduce kids to history? There’s no such thing as too young!
There are so many delightful and age-appropriate ways to share information on fascinating people from all time periods. Below are some suggestions for videos, books, and activities to share with your early learners!
Watch these videos
For young kids, history doesn’t have to be a decade or a century in the past. The start of the pandemic in March 2020 is history. So is last summer! This video about making a memory book can help kids think about past vs. present. What was different two years ago? What was the same? Things are always changing.
We have a robust historical fiction area in the picture book section at the Main Library. This video that includes a picture book adaptation of All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor is one example.
Read these books & check out American Girl dolls
March is Women’s History Month, so why not dive into history and historical fiction?
- In the Historical Fiction bin in the Main Library Children’s Services area, you can find books about the Benin Kingdom, about refugees from the Spanish Civil War, about the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, and so much more.
- For our youngest kids, look at board books like A Is for Awesome: 23 Women Who Changed the World and Dream Big, Little One, which is a board book version of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History. Prime all children to see women as leaders!
- Don’t forget to explore our kit section, including American Girl dolls. The historical dolls cover 300 years of history in what is now the United States, with books and short stories available to read aloud.
Go on a scavenger hunt
All through the month of March, visit the Main Library Children’s Services area to go on a scavenger hunt to look for photos of 25 women from history—including Eleanor of Aquitaine, Patsy Mink, Maria Tallchief, plus all the women pictured in the graphic at the top of this page, and more.
Miss Margaret has written biographies of all 25 to help kids and caregivers learn more about these fascinating women, and families will earn a pin or sticker for finding them around the room.
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.
