storytime katie

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Global Babies by Global Fund for Children ($6.95) — Baker & Taylor
• Same, Same But Different by Jenny Kostecki-Shaw ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Barefoot Books “Children of the World” Memory Game ($15.99) — Amazon
• Constructive Playthings Magnetic Global Children ($39.99) — Constructive Playthings
• Constructive Playthings World Buildings ($69.99) — Constructive Playthings
• Mesh Bag (1) & Vinyl Bags (2) ($9.97) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $178.81

Choosing books for this Bundle was a delight. The Global Babies series is one of my favorite all-time board books. While we own all of them at the library, I went with the original offering for this Bundle. I wanted to include a book that used language and Can You Say Peace? did so in a global setting. And Same, Same But Different is a great title that needs more recognition for sure.

The Barefoot Books “Children of the World” memory game focuses on the word hello in many languages, hooray!

Constructive Playthings Magnetic Global Children is a way for children to match different items with the children. The pieces are also swappable, so kids can blend the children to make a multicultural child. And the Constructive Playthings World Buildings are a great way to pack the world into a Bundle. (Though I do wish it was a bit less Europe-centric.)

This Bundle has gone out six times in the two months since its release.

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Music Class Today! by David Weinstone ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Zin, Zin, Zin, a Violin! by Lloyd Moss ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Lakeshore True Tone Xylophone ($21.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Melissa and Doug Band-in-a-Box ($21.99) — Amazon
• Mesh Bag ($3.99) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $100.88

I wanted to show three different kinds of ways to experience music and I have to say, I think I nailed it. Everyday life = I Got the Rhythm; kids can make music and find rhythm anywhere! At the library = Music Class Today!; kids can make music and dance at the library. Classical = Zin, Zin, Zin, a Violin!; kids can listen to music performed by others.

And of course, I wanted to allow the kids the chance to create their own music and that’s really all this kit needed. I choose both the Lakeshore Learning xylophone and the Melissa and Doug band-in-a-box. These provide lots of opportunities to play music and caregivers can return it to the library once their ears need a break!

This Bundle has gone out six times in the two months since its release.

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• My House by Byron Barton ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Noisy Night by Mac Barnett ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
• This is Our House by Hyewon Yum ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Lakeshore Learning Home Sweet Home ($29.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Lakeshore Learning House Building Engineering Center ($49.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Three Little Pigs Puppets ($9.99) — Amazon
• Mesh Bag & Vinyl Bag ($6.98) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $148.86

First and foremost, I wanted to make sure that this Bundle represented both houses & apartments. But there is a sore lack of books about apartments, and an even worse lack of toys. World, get on this!

I chose a very simple book about houses, My House that would be sure to reach the toddlers checking this book out and then I chose a most sophisticated book about houses, This is Our House. In particular, I thought that This is Our House provided a great representation of a familial home, that I know many patrons in our community are living in.

The Lakeshore Learning Home Sweet Home soft book focuses on animal homes and is machine washable — a huge plus when you’re talking about cleaning these kits in-between uses.

I fell in love with the Lakeshore Learning House Building Engineering Center. Rest assured, it includes more kinds of homes, rather than just houses. I also held back some of the pieces to use as replacement pieces for the future. (Which is excellent librarian planning, if I say so myself!)

Finally, what Bundle about houses & homes would be complete without Three Little Pig puppets? (I will admit that these are not the ones I originally planned on buying — I had originally planned on the Manhattan Toy ones, but I’ve been happy with these.)

This Bundle has gone out five times in the two months since its release.

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Five for a Little One by Chris Raschka ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Hooray for Hoppy! by Tim Hopgood ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
• I Hear a Pickle by Rachel Isadora ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Constructive Playthings Teachable Touchable Texture Squares ($29.99) — Constructive Playthings
• Lakeshore Learning Play & Learn Sensory Tubes ($29.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Activity Sheets — ($2.55) created in-house

Total: $121.89

Picking books for this theme was really fun! I immediately knew that I wanted to include I Hear a Pickle since I had used it in a storytime to great success. I love the different ways that each page represents different senses. Such a great way to start discussions with kids.

Hooray for Hoppy! has a rabbit that uses all of its senses to come to one conclusion and I chose this book to illustrate how our senses work together. Five for a Little One does a great job of introducing the senses and then reinforcing them with bunny’s parents. (I didn’t realize until this moment that these are both bunny/rabbit books…)

Constructive Playthings Teachable Touchable Texture Squares have been rebranded on their website since I bought them (they’re now called Bag of Fabric Feelies) and I think they are a fabulous addition to using touch with this Bundle. Kids and caregivers can describe them, match them, and more.

The Lakeshore Learning Play & Learn Sensory Tubes are a fun exploration of sight and sound, perfect for this Bundle!

This Bundle has gone out four times in the two months since its release.

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Inside-Outside Dinosaurs by Roxie Munro ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Touch and Feel Dinos by Scholastic ($6.99) — Baker & Taylor
• We are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Discovery Kids Rumble With the Dinosaurs ($12.99) — Amazon
• Melissa and Doug Dinosaur Dawn Puzzle ($10.99) — Amazon
• Pretex Dinosaur Figures ($29.99) — Amazon
• Mesh Bags (2) ($7.98) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $114.86

It occurred to me shortly after launching the Animals Book Bundle that I had only included still-living animals. I had missed dinosaurs! Lucky for me, there’s more than enough material to create an entire dinosaur themed Bundle.

I wanted to have a non-fiction book, a picture book, and a board book in this Bundle and made my decision easily once I went to the shelf to see which books were in the worst condition and needed replacements. (That means they’re the most loved!)

When it came time to decide what toys, I knew that I wanted to include a noisy, frustrating toy that caregivers might only want to have in their homes for a short while. And that was the Discovery Kids Rumble With the Dinosaurs. I can just imagine kids pressing all the buttons simultaneously to hear ALL the dinosaur sounds at once.

Patrons often request more circulating puzzles and I was happy to include the Melissa and Doug puzzle in this Bundle. It’s larger than any of the puzzles that we have here in the library and definitely more challenging for older preschool kids/early school-age kids.

I also wanted to encourage imaginative play and I thought that the dinosaur figures from Pretex were perfect. I hope that they are being constantly used at home, with lots and lots of roaring along.

This Bundle has gone out five times in the two months since it was released.

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
• The Game of Patterns by Herve Tullet ($8.95) — Baker & Taylor
• Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What Are Patterns? by Jane Brocket ($26.65) — Baker & Taylor
• Too Purpley! by Jean Reidy ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Lakeshore Learning Bead Sequencing Kit ($39.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Lakeshore Learning Texture Rubbing Plates ($14.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Vinyl Bags (2) ($4.98) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $113.49

I’ll be honest: finding books on patterns was hard! But I’m pretty pleased with all three of the choices offered in this Book Bundle. The Game of Patterns is a really fun interactive book that encourages one-on-one reading and play with a caregiver or older sibling. Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What Are Patterns? clearly defines patterns for young children. And Too Purpley! is a board book that many children can relate to.

The Bead Sequencing Kit from Lakeshore Learning might be one of my most favorite things that I’ve ever purchased for the Bundles. I love that the kit comes with patterns for kids to replicate and build, but I also love that it allows for creativity as kids can create and match their own patterns.

And Texture Rubbing Plates! We have another Bundle that has rubbing plates in it (Animals) and that item has been a big hit with our patrons. I thought that having a second Bundle available with rubbing plates would be a good idea and the Patterns Bundle made perfect sense once I found the Texture set!

This Bundle has gone out eleven times since it was originally released five months ago!

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
• Animal Opposites by Petr Horacek ($15.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Eric Carle’s Opposites by Eric Carle ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Elmo’s World Opposites ($9.99) — Amazon
• The Learning Journey Opposites Puzzles ($11.99) — Amazon
• Melissa and Doug Soft Activity Book ($12.99) — Amazon
• Vinyl Bag ($1.99) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $70.88

Ahhh, Animal Opposites is such a wonderful book that I can *never* have in the regular collection because of the flaps and pop-ups. We have it in our storytime collection and the kids really enjoy it whenever we take it out. So, it made sense to put it in a Book Bundle! Eric Carle’s Opposites is one of the better board books I found when I was looking for one on opposites.

I tried not to have too many Bundles with DVDs in them, but I couldn’t resist for this one. (Finding manipulatives on opposites is hard!) “Elmo’s World Opposites” is part of the Elmo’s World collection and a big patron favorite at my library.

The Learning Journey’s Opposites Puzzles were perfect for this kit. I did not include every pair of opposites though, as I thought some of them weren’t illustrated in a way that made sense and I wanted to have some back-up pairs for when some of these go inevitably missing.

And the Melissa and Doug Soft Activity Book gave a sensory component to the Bundle. I can also imagine that it is the favorite item for the younger side of patrons using the kits. And it’s machine washable!

The Opposites Bundle has circulated thirteen times since debuting five months ago!

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
• Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne and Max Lang ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
• The Family Book by Todd Parr ($8.00) — Baker & Taylor
• Learning Resources All About Me Family Counters ($22.99) — Amazon
• My Family Builders ($84.95) — My Family Builders
• Mesh Bag ($3.99) — The Container Store
• Vinyl Bag ($1.99) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $156.84

It was really easy for me to choose quality books about being a family. You’ll notice that all three books: Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly, Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne and Max Lang, and The Family Book by Todd Parr include a lot of different kinds of families. It was important to me that all kids could see their family reflected in this Bundle and I didn’t want any specific family to stand out. So, while there are many great family books, most of them focus on one family at a time which isn’t what I was going for.

[If I was making this Bundle right now, I would include We Are Family by Patricia Hegarty, published in 2017. It’s an English illustrator, which means I can talk about it as it’s ineligible for Caldecott.]

Honestly, I knew immediately that I wanted to use the My Family Builders set as the interactive tool for this Bundle. It is simply fantastic and I would recommend it to any family or library. Great quality, really fun and interactive. I brought the Bundles to our Farmer’s Market over the summer as a “sneak peek” and the kids would not stop playing with the My Family Builders.

I also liked having the All About Me Family Counters which really provided opportunities for kids to build their extended family (and to include babies and pets!).

This is the most popular kit of the recent editions, circulating fifteen times in five months!

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
• The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer ($15.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker ($18.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Crystal Climbers (48 pieces) ($24.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Hardwood Construction Vehicles (6 pieces) ($29.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Wooden Tool Belt Set (6 pieces) ($17.99) — Amazon
• Vinyl Bags (3) ($8.97) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $126.86

For this Bundle, I took advantage of the fact that a favorite book was being re-released in a new format — Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site is now glow-in-the-dark! So I added that to the Bundle rather than re-buy it for the collection. And I got to write some pretty fun activities to go with the glow-in-the-dark aspect of the book. I also wanted to include a book that has not only racial diversity, but gender diversity as well. And that book was The Construction Crew.

The Crystal Climbers were a lighter option to building blocks and I like the opportunities that it provides to build something a bit more unusual that kids may not have seen before.

Hardwood Construction Vehicles were a great choice since I knew that I wanted to have actual vehicles in this Bundle. I love the weight of these vehicles — much better quality than plastic vehicles.

And the Wooden Tool Belt Set was something that I just couldn’t resist to buy for this kit. I’m always interested in providing dress-up clothes at the library, but I’m often concerned with germs. This wooden set allows for disinfection without needing any clothes to be washed.

This Bundle has circulated twelve times in the past five months!

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

• Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
• Let’s Get Dressed by Caroline Jayne Church ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Maggie and Michael Get Dressed by Denise Fleming ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
• Alex Toys One Two Tie My Shoe! (2 shoes/laces & instructions) ($14.99) — Amazon
• Lakeshore Learning: The Jacket I Wear in the Snow & Book ($36.98) — Lakeshore Learning & Baker & Taylor
• Lakeshore Learning Lapboard ($9.99) — Lakeshore Learning
• Melissa and Doug Teddy Wear Plush ($19.99) — Amazon
• Vinyl Bags (2) ($4.98) — The Container Store
• Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $122.85

For the books in this Bundle, I knew that I wanted to include a board book for the younger kids and a picture book for the older ones. I found the perfect picture book in Maggie and Michael Get Dressed. I read this in preschool storytime and the kids just laughed at Michael dressed Maggie. And Let’s Get Dressed! is simple and has the pages tabbed out for little hands.

The Alex Toys One Two Tie My Shoe! is a great way to learn how to tie your shoes and it’s a toy that we have in our Family Center as well. I only included two shoes in the Bundle so I’ll have replacement laces or shoes if needed.

I made a whole kit of The Jacket I Wear in the Snow that includes the book, a lapboard, and the Lakeshore Learning puffy cloth pieces to re-tell the story.

And the Melissa and Doug Teddy Wear Plush is perfect because it has some different kinds of closures (snaps, Velcro, ties, zippers, and a buckle) and is non-gender specific!

The clothes Bundle has been very popular and has circulated eleven times since releasing five months ago! It was the fastest one out of the gates, circulating four times in the first month.