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Storytime Favorites

Crowd-sourced from our youth services librarians, these are some of our favorite new titles to use in storytimes.

Cover of We All Play
Julie
Flett

Join celebrated artist Julie Flett on a joyful romp with animals. From chasing, chirping birds, to swimming, squirting whales, this book for young readers reminds them how animals play just like them. This picture book, with gorgeous images and sweet simple text, is a marvelous celebration of the interconnectedness of all creatures, and includes some Cree phrases. It is based on the Cree teaching of wahkohtowin, interconnectedness and play, and includes as well the English and Cree names of the animals in the book, all of whom are from 'Turtle Island' (North America).

Cover of Catch That Chicken
Atinuke
Angela Brooksbank

The team behind Baby Goes to Market and B Is for Baby visit a Nigerian village for a humorous ode to childhood ingenuity. Lami is the best chicken catcher in the whole village. Her sister may be speedy at spelling, her friend fast at braiding hair, and her brother brave with bulls, but when it comes to chickens, nobody is faster or braver than Lami. That is, until the day when Lami chases a little too fast, up the baobab tree, and reaches a little too far . . . ow! How can she catch chickens with an ankle that's puffed up like an angry lizard? Could it be, as Nana Nadia says, that quick thinking is more important than quick running? Award-winning author Atinuke celebrates Nigerian village life in a story vibrantly illustrated by Angela Brooksbank with a universal message at its heart.

Cover of Star Fishing
Sang-Keun
Kim

A sleepless night turns into a marvelous adventure through the stars in this dreamy bedtime story. It's the kind of night when you just can't fall asleep. You feel as though everyone in the world is asleep but you. "Oh, I see a light! Is somebody awake?" Brimming with wonder and enchantment, award-winning author-illustrator Sang-Keun Kim's Star Fishing imagines who else might be awake on a sleepless night--taking young readers and listeners on an adventure through the stars and into sweet dreams.

Cover of Paletero Man
Lucky
Diaz
Micah Player

Follow along with our narrator as he passes through his busy neighborhood in search of the Paletero Man. But when he finally catches up with him, our narrator's pockets are empty. Oh no! What happened to his dinero? It will take the help of the entire community to get the tasty treat now

Cover of Oona
Kelly
DiPucchio
Raissa Figueroa

Oona and her best friend Otto love to search for treasure...and often find trouble instead. Messy trouble. Tricky trouble. Even shark-related trouble. That's never stopped them before, though! After all, no proper treasure hunt is without some adventure. But when the grandest treasure yet is stuck in a deep, dark rift, Oona's not sure if she can dive right in. What might be waiting for her in those unknown waters?

Cover of Howard the Average Gecko
Wendy
Meddour
Carmen Saldaña

Howard is sure that he is a very exceptional gecko. After all, he's the only camouflaged creature in the rain forest--or so he assumes. But Howard doesn't always notice other animals, especially those who can also hide in plain sight. When he learns that there are other camouflaged creatures, he doesn't feel so special anymore. Is Howard... average? And if so, who will love a completely unexceptional gecko like Howard?

Cover of I Like This, You Like That
Linda
Ashman
Eve Coy

Told in two voices, this sweet rhyming friendship story follows two children as they try to discover what they have in common.

Cover of Mushroom Rain
Laura K
Zimmerman
Jamie Green

What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous and yet still eaten by humans, and even help create rain? The answer is mushrooms! From their hidden networks underground to the fruiting body above, mushrooms can do incredible things. But don't call them plants--mushrooms are fungi. They're more closely related to animals like you! Through lyrical text and colorful, detailed artwork, the wonderful, mysterious, and sometimes bizarre world of mushrooms is explored. Back matter includes a glossary, additional mushroom facts, and a science activity.

Cover of Shhh! The Baby's Asleep
JaNay
Brown-Wood
Elissambura

Baby is finally asleep, and Mama is trying to shush the rest of the family; but when they are all finally quiet baby wakes up--and it is up to big brother Dante to find the right book to read so everyone can get some rest.

Cover of Strollercoaster
Matt
Ringer
Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay

A quick-thinking father thwarts his daughter's impending temper tantrum when he transforms an everyday walk outside into an exciting strollercoaster ride through the neighborhood.

Cover of Leo, Rise and Shine!
Anna
McQuinn
Ruth Hearson

Leo wakes up in the morning and follows his usual routine of breakfast and getting dressed until he is ready for a new day.

Cover of This Story is Not About a
Randall
De Sève
Carson Ellis

Contrary to what you may believe, this story is not about a kitten, hungry and dirty, scared and alone, needing a home. It is also not about the dog who heard the kitten meowing sadly. Even less so about the woman and child walking the dog, who stopped when their dog heard the kitten. Nor is it about the friends who brought a box for the kitten, or the man who offered it some milk. No, this story is not about a kitten at all--well, maybe a little--but more importantly this is a story about community, compassion, and generosity.