Parachute Play

Believe it or not, after almost 12-years of librarianship, last Wednesday's Parachute Play was my first toddler parachute program ever! And it was only my second parachute program for any age group ever! (The first was Petite Parachute Play for babies ages birth - 16 months, which I did a little over a year ago.) It seems so simple, especially since I use the parachute in my other programs so so so often, but I have long been afraid of the parachute-exclusive program! I've always worried that it would seem like it was getting boring or that I wouldn't be able to come up with enough material to fill the time. In fact, now that I have done it, I can't say that I am fully over that irrational anxiety. Parachute programs are just plain scary!

Originally, in my research for Petite Parachute Play, I stumbled across this blog post from Laughter and Literacy. The librarian who wrote it didn't fill an entire 30-minutes with specifically parachute stuff. She did other songs and stories too. This realization took the pressure was off a bit at the time, but this time around, it was a little different. This time I had toddlers. I wanted to up my game a little, and also, I didn't want the program to feel too much like my other programs where I use the parachute for just a few minutes. So I planned for 25-minutes of parachute + one big book + goodbye song. Here's how my 30-minutes broke down  (red = ipod, blue = sing, green = book):

1. Let’s All Clap is a hello song that I use often, but not in Musical Kids. I like it because it's easy, doesn't take up too much time, and I don't need the ipod to do it. I use it in most of my one-off programs for babies and toddlers and I learned it from Jbrary (of course):

After we finished  this song, I had all the grown ups lift up the parachute to reveal a bunch of balls underneath. Then I told the kids to run under, grab as many balls as they could, and throw them on top of the parachute. This sort of worked. It worked great for the kids who were about 2 and older, but 4 out of 6 of them were younger and I think this was too complex of an activity for those children.

2. Popcorn Chant by Carole Peterson, for which I had the kids bounce the balls on the parachute.

3. Popcorn by Joanie Leeds, for which I had the kids climb into the middle of the parachute and the adults shook all the balls up around them. After this song I had the kids all help me collect the balls,  then I instructed them to sit in a circle around the parachute.

4. I’m Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor was originally a poem by Shel Silverstein, but works really well as a parachute song! I borrowed this idea from a wonderful program that I attend regularly with my own kids at my home library. The song can be heard below (although I think the version I sang wound up being slightly different) and, when we did it with the parachute, I had everyone pull it up to the kids' body parts as we sang about them (like they're getting swallowed).

5. Colors Over You is my #1 favorite parachute song. To the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, it goes "Red and green and yellow and blue, these are the colors over you. Red like an apple, green like a tree, yellow like the sun, and blue like the sea. Red and green and yellow and blue, these are the colors over you." This one is good for ALL ages!

6. Let’s Go Riding in an Elevator is another regular for me. It can be found in the video below and works just as well (if not better!) with the parachute and the kiddos underneath it:

7. Stop & Go by Greg & Steve was a good under-the-parachute freeze dance song.

After this song was over, I threw my little black sheep (made by Folkmanis) on to the parachute and did...

8. Baa Baa Blacksheep. The kids were still underneath for this, even though the sheep were on top of it and...

9. Mary Had a Little Lamb. Some kids liked dancing under the parachute; some liked helping us grown ups shake. 

10. Ten in the Bed by Fred Penner is fun because it's a short song and it gets faster and faster. If any of the kids are around the parachute, shaking it, the way the tempo increases usually gets everyone giggling and wiggling. The whatevers-are-in-the-middle fall off and everyone scrambles to get them back in. It's fast paced and lots of fun!

11. Wheels on the Bus is my go-to song for having the kids on top of the parachute. When I do this song, I sing three verses. (1) The wheels on the bus go round and round. (2) The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish. (3) The doors on the bus go open and shut. For the first verse, everyone sits (with the sheep in their laps, in this case) while the grown ups pull the kids around in a circle, like a ride. For the second verse, the grown ups "swish" the parachute around the kids back and forth. And, for the third verse, the grown up pull the parachute all the way down around the kids and then snap it up on the word "shut." In my head, it reminds me of a Venus fly trap and, most of the time, all the kids giggle.

12. Seals on the Bus (as a big book) was the one little non-parachute activity I worked in. I thought, since we'd just done Wheels on the Bus, it'd be cute to follow it up with Seals on the Bus. The book is about a bunch of animals that barrage a bus and make noise, basically. The seals go "erp erp erp," the snakes go "hiss hiss hiss," etc., until, on the last page, the people on the bus go "help, help, help!"

13. Blow a Kiss by Laurie Berkner is the song I always end with when I do a structured program. It's the best and everyone basically knows it means the end. Throw in some bubbles, and we've got ourselves a finale.

What worked least: Maybe, thinking back, the age group should have started at 18-months. In theory, I wanted those babies there, but in practice, I probably didn't have enough things to really accommodate their particular level.

What worked best: I think the kids enjoyed the part toward the beginning when they were crawling around on the parachute with the balls (to the song Popcorn by Joanie Leeds) the best. This was also probably the most baby-friendly activity that I did.

All in all, I still think parachute programs are intimidating. I'd do one again, absolutely, but I can't say I wouldn't be a little nervous that morning!

Instrument Exploration

Since having kids of my own, I have really grown to love a good self-directed program. They're relaxed, fun, and a good chance for parents to get out and chat, without feeling like they're disrupting something. I like to take my kids to these types of programs too because it gives us a chance to hang out and play together with different, stimulating, age-appropriate things that we don't have at home. So we have more fun!

Last summer, while on maternity leave, I went to a weekly program at a nearby library called "Baby Shake, Rattle, and Roll." It was for ages birth through 2 and it was basically just a bunch of music-ish type sensory stuff out around the room for the kids to play with. It was drop-in style for two hours and people came and went throughout the duration of the program. Totally unstructured and totally fun! 

Shortly after I got back to work, I put in to do my own version of this program and yesterday, I did it! Here's what I had out:

From left to right: Orange "baby bells", 5 sensory tubes, rhythm sticks, tambourines, drums and drum sticks, manipulative fidget disks, colorful egg shakers, green wrist bells, yellow shakers, and triangles and beaters. Many of the things my library already owned for Musical Kids, though some of it I almost never use (e.g. the triangles), and a few of the things I got from our county library system's lending library.

At "Baby Shake, Rattle, and Roll" there was sometimes music playing and sometimes not. I think it just depended on who set it up that morning. I preferred when it was there, though we totally had fun either way. I always like to play music in my programs, but I didn't want the music to detract from the kids instrument playing. So, I wound up making a very specific playlist of songs that were somewhat rhythmic, varied in tempo, and sort of backgroundy, if that makes any sense at all. A few prime examples of things on this playlist were songs from the second half of the Moana soundtrack (disc 2, mostly instrumental) and songs from the We Bought a Zoo soundtrack (100% made up of Sigor Ros/Jónsi songs, which I guess, I'd sort of describe melodic ambient rock?). 

In the end though, my playlist didn't matter at all. The room was so loud-- buzzing with percussion and chatter-- you could hardly hear the music anyway. I think having it was definitely good; everyone could kind of feel the underlying beat, but my specific song obsessing? Not at all necessary. I could have just put the whole ipod and shuffle and called it a day.

Here are a few pictures from the program:

What worked least: The age range. I made this for kids 0-5 because I figured that the self-directedness could leave it open to be adapted for nearly anyone, but I think I probably should have capped it at 3. The room was packed and most of the stuff was probably better for the kids on the younger side of this range. There was a 4-year-old who made a quick appearance and left shortly after and I'm pretty sure it was because she felt too old. (Then there were also a few 4-year-olds who loved it though, so, eh, who even knows?)

Another thing to mention: The room was really really really loud. If I ever do this again, I'd try to hold it in a larger room. It was a lotta volume in a little space.

What worked best: There weren't a lot elements to this program to "work" and "not work," but I definitely left feeling like it was success. I think the manipulative fidget disks got the most attention. The younger ones mushed and squished them (aka used them for their intended purpose), and the older ones enjoyed stacking them on their heads! This was one of the items that I borrowed from our county lending library and I'm so glad that I did! I'm planning to get them again for a program this summer.

Overall, this was a simple and fun program with a great turnout-- 37 patrons!

Sadie's Top 5, 2-2½ years

Guess who's 2½!? It's my Sadie! (And baby Callie is rapidly approaching 1-year! I seriously can't believe it!) A lot has changed for Sadie between her second birthday and now. She's ditched her naps, stopped using diapers (wooh!), and--the most exhausting thing of all--stopped going to bed in her own bed. Actually, she's stopped going to bed at bedtime too! This whole sleep mess has really put a major slowdown on our book reading routine. We used to get in pjs, cuddle in her chair, dim the lights, and read 4-6 books a night. It was a special time together. Now we're down to a couple of books a week and they're often rushed, sandwiched between playing blocks, eating lunch, watching stupid YouTube videos, and a lot of play dough. We're reading just to read... reading because the guilt of not reading is too much for me to handle. This change in routine has influenced Sadie's top 5 list, of course. A lot of the books listed below are sort of older favorites, from closer to her 2nd birthday, before bedtime got all weird. Most of the books she gravitates toward lately are books based on TV and movie characters-- Paw Patrol, Disney princesses, Moana, etc-- but those aren't as much fun to write about (and definitely aren't as good!). So, for now, and hopefully not for the last time, I am omitting those from her list. That said, here are what I consider Sadie's favorite QUALITY books, from 2-years-old to 2½-years-old:

Monster Boogie by Laurie Berkner is the illustrated version of Laurie Berkner's song, Monster Boogie. This is the perfect book for Sadie because she loves loves loves LOVES all things Laurie Berkner. The book is literally just the song lyrics accompanied by adorable illustrations. My favorite thing about the book is that there is a little boy in it who starts out afraid of the monster and, by the end of the book, he's having a great time boogie-ing along with him (and with his brave sister). Sadie's favorite thing about the book is that there is a half-page, full color photo of Laurie Berkner on the back cover. This book, best read in song, has withstood the test of bedtime routine destruction, even if it is mostly because of the Laurie picture (see above).

Pancakes! An Interactive Recipe Book by Lotta Nieminen, and also the similar Pizza by Lotta Nieminen, are interactive recipe books that Sadie loves! They are literally cook books for toddlers. Simple, straightforward text brings readers through each step. The first page lists all of the ingredients needed for the recipe, then the second page lists all the "other stuff" needed for the recipe--table spoon, ladle, whisk, frying pan, etc.--all with simple and colorful pictures. Then it brings readers through the rest of the steps, just like a "real" recipe book would, but with interactive elements: pull-tabs, flaps, spinning wheels, etc. At the end, there is even a little pancake piece that pops out and can be moved from the frying pan on one page to the plate on the next page. One side of it is yellow (uncooked batter) and the other side of it is brown (a finished pancake). Sadie loves putting the yellow side on the plate and saying, "Noooo!" and then flipping it to the brown side and saying, "Yes!" There is also a dollop of whipped cream pictured on the last page that Sadie likes because it looks like a poop. Idk. Toddlers. Anyway, I eventually had to return this book to the library because I got so tired of reading it night after night, but now that we've had a little time apart, and now that Sadie and I don't read quite as often, I kind of miss it. It was a great book that absolutely taught Sadie a bunch of new words. Highly recommend this one for all kids in this age group!

Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney is one of a handful of actual, real story books that Sadie likes. (She also likes several Maisy books, especially Maisy Goes To Preschool.) This is the story of cute little Llama Llama on his first day of school. Everything is new and different and, while all the kids are friendly, he doesn't want to participate in anything. He just misses his mama too much and he's afraid she won't come back. But, just when he finally starts to open up a little, there's this page where Llama Llama is coloring, having fun, and mama appears behind him! Then, on the following page, he notices her and, in big letters, the text reads "Mama! You came back!" And they're running to each other with arms outstretched. It is so sweet and tender. And I think it's Sadie's favorite page too! She starts to get excited when she sees mama appear and says "You came back!" along with me. I should note that this was the first Llama Llama book that we read together. While she was into the others I brought home for her after it too, this one still remained her favorite. And I think it's my favorite one too!

Spooky Boo! A Halloween Adventure by Lily Karr was the book Sadie asked for every night before our bedtime routine got totally mutilated. Seriously every night. Every. Single. Night. While, admittedly, I got a little sick of it after a bit, I can see why Sadie liked it. It's an interactive haunted house in a book. One page has a "skinny" mirror, one has a "mummy" mirror, and one has sticky "goo" to touch (over and over and over until it pretty much loses all its stickiness). However, Sadie's favorite page is the first one, which just has simple door to open (a flap), revealing all of the ghoulish friends inside. She likes to knock knock knock on it and then open it and say, "Spooky Boo!" This is a cute book for Halloween and any time of year... in moderation.

Dino Chomp by Beatrice Costamagna is one of those books I have caught Sadie "reading" on her own, but that she also enjoys having me read to her. She liked this close to her second birthday and still likes it a lot now, at 2½. Even baby Callie seems to kind of like this one. It's a simple story about a big, bully dinosaur, Rex, who threatens to eat all the other dinos. One by one, littler dinosaurs stand up to him until, finally, they trick him into singing a song so they can make a break for it. On the last page, Rex finds himself alone with "only a rock to eat." Victory for the good guy (although I would have preferred they all made friends at the end instead, but maybe that's a lot to ask). The real appeal of this book, though, is the teeth. They move up and down when you pull the tab at the top of the book to make a big "chomp." Sadie enjoys sticking her hand in the giant mouth and having the dinosaur bite her. Toddlers, man. This is a fun little, interactive story for dinosaur lovers and also, part of a whole "crunchy board book" series. Worth checking out!

And that wraps it up for today! Hopefully I will have enough non-TV/movie character books for another post around Sadie's third birthday! Until then, happy reading!

Toddler Tales 3/13/19

Toddler Tales! I've been on a super traditional toddler story time kick lately and this one, for ages 2-4 at our branch library, was tons of fun! It was a 3-week-session with a different theme each week. The first week we did animals, the second week we did food, and the third week we did bugs. Today I'm blogging about week 2 and my all-time favorite storytime theme-- Food!

First we started with the book Little Green Peas by Keith Baker, which is great for this age group because it gets them to name colors and it's also super silly! Peas flying kites? Peas sailing boats? Peas living in royal castles? So silly! 

Then we moved on to the (loosely food related) Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean and Eric Litwin. I use this book, basically, as often as I can get away with. It was also on Sadie's Top 5, Ages 18-24 Months list. This one is a favorite for SO MANY kids. If you're not yet familiar, this is the story of cool cat Pete who loves his white shoes so much that he sings about them. The book has singing, color recognition, and lots of silliness! Plus, there's a super-cool, positive message at the end. It makes for a big hit with a pretty large age group. Pluuuuuuus it ties really nicely into this great, simple food song called Picked A Strawberry, thanks to Jbrary!:

When I sing Picked A Strawberry with Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, I usually have us pick strawberries first and blueberries second. This follows along with the order of the berries in the book. Then I have the kids name other things we can pick. For this particular storytime, we wound up picking apples, peaches, oranges, carrots, and bananas. One kid also suggested chocolate! If only!!

Last, we read Hi, Pizza Man by Virginia Walter. This is a great one because a lot of kids don't know it and a lot of parents/caregivers don't either. It's about waiting for pizza and speculating who will bring it. Will it be a pizza man? A pizza woman? A pizza dog? A pizza cat? A pizza snake? Once again, this book has great repetition and lots of silliness. And, instead of having the kids name colors, this time they get to name animal sounds. A little variety!

Then we sang one last song, P-I-Z-Z-A, another perfect tie in, and also taken from Jbrary:



I had all the letters, P I Z Z A, hung up so I could pull them down for a little visual as we sang. See the photo above.

Then it became craft time! We all marched down the hall to the small, sunny craft room to make paper plate personal pizzas (that's a lot of P-words!).

This was a fun craft that required a lot of prep on my part! Each pizza has crayon sauce (I only put out red and orange crayons), collaged paper toppings (This was the majority of my prep work. I cut piles of yellow cheese, red pepperoni, and green peppers.), and tissue paper crust (I cut brown tissue paper squares, thinking the kids would ball them up before they glued, up but some just glued them on as is-- that's ok too!). Here are a few delicious looking finished products:

What worked least: While the pizza craft worked, I had some anxiety about it going in. I worried that it would be too fast. Like, I was afraid that it would only take the kids 5 minutes to make. But actually, it was totally fine! In fact, a craft that took any longer probably wouldn't have held the interest of the kids in this age range anyway. So, aside from the prep work and somewhat obnoxious clean up, all was well!

What worked best: It's a tie between Pete The Cat and Hi, Pizza Man! While Pete The Cat is kind of a guaranteed success, Hi, Pizza Man! is also a fun title that most people don't know, and that gets the kids involved and participating. Overall, basically, this was a storytime worth blogging about.

Old MacDonald Storytime

I may have only had three toddlers in attendance, but my Old MacDonald Storytime (for ages 18-35 months) a few weeks ago was still a super fun program! And one that I plan on doing again, perhaps in a more popular time slot. It was a simple toddler storytime. First, I read two stories, then we had a big singalong with puppets, and last, there was a mommy & me type craft. This is going to be a very short blog post because it was such a simple program, but I really had a lot of fun so I'd like to share! Here's what went on:

First, books:

Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox -- This was perfect for the older end of the 18-35 month age range but kind of worked even with the 18-month-old of the group!

Spot Goes to the Farm by Eric Hill --  This one SUPER worked for me because I had such a small group and the kids were able to participate in the lifting the flaps! This book wouldn't have worked with a group of more than, say, 5 kids. But with 3? It was absolutely perfect!

Next, Sing-a-long: 

No surprise here, we sang Old MacDonald! I had 9 puppets, all hiding under a blanket, who I took out one-by-one as we sang. It worked really well! Our farm was really big. It had a cow, pig, chicken, duck, cat, dog, lamb, frog, and turkey. After we sang the verse for each animal, I left that puppet out so the kids could see it or pet it. I'm not sure if this would have been pure chaos or not with a bigger group, but with my little trio, it was totally fun. The kids really loved to be up and down, playing with the puppets as they appeared from under the blanket. Again, thanks to the group size, this singalong was really manageable. I probably would have handled it differently with a bigger group.

Last, Craft:

I had the kids make farm scenes. I put out white construction paper, pre-cut barns in two pieces (made with the Cricut), glue sticks, markers, and animal foam stickers (these from Discount School Supply)

What worked least: The time. This program was a ton of fun and, if I do say so myself, perfectly age-appropriate, but I just didn't have the crowd I'd planned for or wanted.

What worked best: I think the sing-a-long was a huge hit. Leaving all the farm animals out for the kids to play with was perfect, although, again, I'm not sure if it would have worked or not if I'd had a bigger group.

Final thought: I will be doing this program again over the summer in a different time slot!

Baby Shark Storytime!

New blog post doo doo doo doo doo doo, new blog post doo doo doo doo doo doo, new blog post doo doo doo doo doo doo, new blog post! Here it is doo doo doo doo doo doo, here it is doo doo doo doo doo doo, here it is doo doo doo doo doo doo, here it is! Baby shark storytime! I did this program two weeks ago already but life and work got hectic suddenly so I'm only getting to blog about it now. But actually, despite the delay, I've been so excited to share this post! I'm kind of proud of myself for this one. It was the only Baby Shark Storytime (that I know of) in our county!

The newsletter description said, "If you love Baby Shark, join us for some shark stories, a shark craft, and, of course, a sing-along." I decided to make the program for kids ages 2 and up because, really, don't all kids love Baby Shark? However, the biggest challenge for me in planning quickly became finding stories and a craft that would be appealing to kids of all ages. In the end, for books, I settled on Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo by John John Bajet and the not-really-totally-about-sharks book, I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs. Even though neither of these are really stories per say, they worked well for the young, active group I had. For a craft, I had the kids make shark fins, which I figured would be done more simply (and with more parental help) for the younger kids and with more detail for the older kids. More on this below. Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo was a fun book choice because it was familiar, yet the movements and words were slightly different than those in the Pinkfong version that made Baby Shark suddenly super popular. (For example, the book had "Great White Shark" where you bring your arm and your leg together.) And, as far as I Spy Under the Sea goes, I find that "Who am I?" type books (which is what it is) tend to be a hit with a wide variety of ages too. The older end of the age group loved totally acing the guesses before I even finished reading out the clues.

After the books, it was craft time. Shark fins! To make this, I took this template here, enlarged it a little, added two little x's on the bottom tab for hold punch guides, and printed 2 copies on light blue cardstock for every kid registered. To make the wearable shark fin, have each kid/parent cut out two of these fins, glue them together and fold the two bottom tabs (under the dotted line) in opposite directions. Like this:

Then punch two holds in each tab (which, again, I marked with x's so there was no thinking required!) and string (pre-cut) elastic through the holes. Then, have the kids decorate the fins however they want! I put out markers, gems, foam stickers, buttons, and pom poms (and glue). Even the younger kids were able to enjoy themselves with help from their parents.

Troubleshooting tip: Some kids cut off the tabs on the bottom. Some kids glued the tabs together. These things are probably my fault because I am a really bad craft explainer.

When there were only a few minutes left I gathered the group up for one more singalong (I mean, this was Baby Shark Storytime after all). This time we sang along to the Pinkfong version of the song that made Baby Shark the hit that we all know and love. (Love? Hm. Not sure.) I just played the Youtube video on a blutooth speaker and had everyone gather 'round. It was SO MUCH FUN. I mean the song is only, like, 2-minutes long but what a super fun 2-minutes we had together!

What worked least: Like I said, I did a bad job explaining how to do the craft. I do crafts so infrequently that I think, honestly, I may have just been a little out of practice. Good thing I had extra fins ready to go!

What worked best: The singalong at the end was so much fun! Everyone was singing loud and proud and smiling and just, genuinely, enjoying!

That's the end doo doo doo doo doo doo, that's the end doo doo doo doo doo doo, that's the end doo doo doo doo doo doo, that's the end!

Diverse Families Shortlist (A Readers Advisory Post)

A few months ago a friend asked me for book recommendations for her daughter, who's a couple of months older than Sadie. She was in search of books showing a variety of diverse families because she'd realized that most of her daughters books feature people who look like her.  This immediately made me realize that most of Sadie's books also show families like ours: two-parent, heterosexual, and white. So off I went on a search! Both for Niamh and for Sadie! I wanted to find some books that were great and that also had different types of kids and families. I asked other librarians for recommendations, read about 20/25 picture books, and vetted from there. So for anyone else searching for something similar who may stumble across this post, I am sharing my work. This is my official Diverse Families Shortlist (aka, a bib.):

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers is a book I stumbled across when looking for books about stars and space. It is, in fact, about stars and space, but it's also such a subtle book about diversity! It's AWESOME. It's written as kind of a guidebook for babies about how to live here on Earth. The illustrations are, in true Oliver Jeffers fashion, freakin' amazing-- soooo detailed and cute, the kinds of spreads you just want to stare at for 15-minutes before turning the page. It's subtle in its diversity message and isn't really, like, "about that," but absolutely just continues to feature lots and lots of different kinds of people. Particularly, there is one page that says, "People come in many shapes, sizes and colors. We may all look different, act different and sound different, but don't be fooled, we are all people." And then there are, like, 70 different drawings of people all over that spread. They're all different colors (including blue and green) and doing really different things-- one man is playing bagpipes, a kid is holding a soccer ball, there's a bee catcher in a mask, two women getting married, a man in a hijab, an astronaut, a man with a long beard and no shoes holding a "please help" sign, a ballerina, a rabbi, etc. So many different people! It's a great page in a great, albeit somewhat unrelated to the topic otherwise, book. Recommended age range: 2-5 years, depending on attention spans.

Mommy, Mama, and Me by Lesléa Newman is sweet and simple. At first I thought this book might be a little "too in your face about diversity" for me. Like, I didn't want books about diversity as much as books that just happen to show different people, but then I read it to Sadie and I saw how completely unquestioning she was about it and I realized, no, this book isn't about diversity at all. It's just a nice, simple story that happens to show same-sex parents and it's me who's just a jerk for judging it before I read it. In little rhyming text, this book is about a kid and his mommy and mama and all the nice things they do together and how they love each other. Sadie likes it a lot! Recommended age range: birth through 3-years.

Monday is One Day by Arthur A. Levine is a book about working parents and how hard it is for us to be apart from our babies. It has sweet, rhyming text and shows a different working family on each page. The families are fairly diverse, though there's not a TON of them-- a black mom and dad with two kids, a white boy with his older (perhaps grandparent?) family, a blonde single mom, two white dads with a son and a dog, and a few others. I'm partial to a book about working parents and I appreciate the subtle, but not pushy, diversity that is shown throughout. Recommended age range: 2-5 years, thought I haven't tried reading it to Sadie (yet).

Littles And How They Grow by Kelly DiPucchio shows babies more than it shows whole families but a few families did sneak in there. The book features rhyming text, lots of cute babies, and multicultural illustrations. The few family members that do make appearances are interracial and same sex, but super subtle, just totally not a big deal, which is awesome. Sadie really likes looking at the babies in this book, especially the newborn on the first page. Important emotional spoiler note for parents: The last page of this book is about how fast the littles grow up and it shows a girl getting on a school bus and it separately made both my husband and me cry. You have been warned! Recommended age range: birth through 3-years. (This is the book Sadie is reading in the photo above.)

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox is a Sadie favorite! It shows a variety of babies with varying skin tones and outfits and in varying kinds of places who all have one thing in common: ten little fingers and ten little toes. This doesn't show families, per say, just reminds us that, no matter where you're from, or what you wear, we're all the same underneath. A simple yet powerful message in a super short book good for even the smallest babies! If you've got a baby crazed toddler like I do, this book might be a hit for you and a great way to effortlessly introduce diversity. Recommended age range: birth through 3-years.

Sterling, Best Dog Ever by Aidan Cassie is a good book if you're in the market for a cute story that just happens to feature interracial parents. It also has a great "be yourself" message that's good for everybody! It's about a dog searching for his forever home, but who gets super mixed up trying to be all these other things he thinks he is supposed to be-- a fork, a whisk, a stick. Such a sweet little story with just the right touch of subtle diversity. Recommended age range: 4-7 years.

Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima, like Sterling, Best Dog Ever, is also a cute story that happens to feature interracial parents, except this book one-ups the interracial parents with interracial same-sex parents! Plus the story is ADORABLE! Like, it's just so innocent and sweet! Recommended age range: 3+ years. (I really see no upper age limit for this one.)

Puppy, Puppy, Puppy by Julie Sternberg is yet another cute story that happens to feature interracial parents, this time about a baby and his puppy. Diversity for dog lovers! Super cute! Recommended age range: 3-6 years.

Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly is more "about diversity" than the books preceding it. It's packed with real photos of tons of different families. It makes no attempt to be subtle, but rather, it's a straightforward telling of all the different types of families that can exist. "Some  families have children born to them. Some adopt." "Some children have one parent. Some have two-- a mom and a dad, or two moms or two dads." And at the end it says, "There are many different kinds of families. What about yours?" It's just a nice, straightforward way of explaining differences to kids. Recommended age range: birth through 5-years, depending on attention spans.

Families, Families, Families by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang is really similar to Families, but shorter and with cute animal families, instead of real photos. While I think the real photos are probably a better tool for showing actual family diversity, I think the animals (and just less busy pages in general) might appeal more to younger kids. Or just different kids. So while the text is similar to the book above, the totally different type of pictures might be just what some kids need. Recommended age range: birth through 3-years.

The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman is similar to the two books above, but this time with longer text and illustrations of kids, as opposed to photos or illustrations of animals. This book, like the others above, shows big families, small families, single parent families, same-sex parent families, interracial families, etc., but this book also mentions a ton of other, less-discussed types of families (and just, like, life situations in general): homeschooling, being unemployed, being homeless, families who can't afford a vacation, families who shop at thrift stores, parents who have new partners, and so many more! The last two pages say, "So families can be big, small, happy, sad, rich, poor, loud, quiet, mad, good-tempered, worried, or happy-go-lucky. Most families are all of these things some of the time. What's yours like today?" This is a seriously great book for showing kids how diverse real life real families can be, and for exposing them to different situations, helping to (hopefully) raise kind, open-minded children. The last line--"What's yours like today?"--brings kids into the book, kind of showing them that any of these situations could be relate-able or potentially relate-able to them.  Recommended age range: 3-5 years.

Todd Par books in general should also be mentioned here. While his illustrations don't seem to resonate with Sadie at the moment, his books all have really wonderful messages and bright, happy pictures that I feel like most kids would enjoy. Highlights are The Family Book, We Belong Together (about adoption), The I Love You Book, Be Who You Are, and Love the World.

Readers advisory is a scary world for me so I hope this post was at least somewhat helpful to at least some people. As Niamh's mom, Rachel, says "It is so important for children to not only read books that mirror their lives but also ones that act as windows to others." Let's raise our kids to be open-minded and loving to all! Happy reading!