Sources: STEP into Storytime: Using StoryTime Effective Practice to Strengthen the Development of Newborns to Five-Year-Olds

STEP into Storytime: Using StoryTime Effective Practice to Strengthen the Development of Newborns to Five-Year-Olds. By Saroj Nadkarni and Kathy Fling Klatt. Chicago: ALA, 2014. 356 p. Paper $59 (ISBN 978-0-8389-1222-5).

Articulating connections between child development and storytime practices, STEP into Storytime is a rich resource for both novice and experienced storytime presenters. StoryTime Effective Practice is an approach aimed at developing storytime programs that are beneficial and effective for mixed-age groups, keeping the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development of children at the forefront. Discussing developmentally appropriate practice and how it is applied as a foundation for STEP, this manual takes readers through a three-part method that shows how easy it is to integrate best child development support practices into all storytimes.

Part I helps readers understand what StoryTime Effective Practice is, offers a framework for planning, and explains intentionality and scaffolding. Part II examines the connections between storytime practices and children’s progress in the four developmental domains. Part III offers techniques and examples to help apply all that the reader has learned. The chapters in this book are detailed and in-depth, yet succinct and easy to read.

STEP into Storytime offers more than thirty ready-to-go storytimes that include songs, extension activities, parenting tips, and other features. Storytime presenters can use the storytimes as they are, use them as a foundation for their own designs, or combine certain elements with their own programs. Examples include traditional and sequential mixed-age storytimes.

A valuable source for children’s librarians, teachers, and caregivers, veteran or amateur, STEP into Storytime is a refreshing, insightful manual. This is an excellent addition for a professional collection, to develop techniques, to reinvigorate current programs, or even for quick reference.—Jill Eisele, Early Literacy Librarian, Glen Ellyn Public Library, Wheaton, Illinois