Interview with Sally Wiener Grotta: Preparing Newborns and Toddlers to Love Books and Reading

Publications

Supercharged Storytimes: An Early Literacy Planning and Assessment Guide

co-authored by Saroj

Based on the groundbreaking research of VIEWS2—the first systematic study of storytimes done to date—this book recommends simple interactive ways to emphasize early literacy techniques and encourage children to use and practice their pre-reading skills while preserving the delight inherent in storytime. And unlike many other storytime resources, the authors use the findings of VIEWS2 to offer guidance in performing assessment, as well as giving tips for planning and conducting storytimes. Put simply this book assists storytime presenters, children’s librarians, and others involved with early literacy by

• presenting ready-to-use planning tools based on early learning benchmarks with a clear focus on developmental stages;

• demonstrating how to foster early literacy development by inserting the VIEWS2 early literacy domains into the five practices from the second edition of Every Child Ready to Read® @ your Library®;

• interweaving testimonials from storytime practitioners throughout the text to provide real-world insight;

• showing how storytime presenters can connect with parents and caregivers to promote family engagement;

• providing guidelines, worksheets, and recommendations for storytime assessment, with particular attention to self-reflection and peer-to-peer community learning;

• highlighting professional development resources that encourage sharing and problem-solving within the larger community of children’s and youth librarians; and

• providing administrators with research-based evidence that supports current and future advocacy for early literacy in public library programming for children.

Using this book’s systematic approach, readers will be able to plan their storytimes with a clear idea of what to look for in the children they serve, and then continually improve how they meet the needs of their communities.

Every Child Ready to Read -- Toolkit for Serving Early Childhood Educators

co-authored by Saroj

Time For a Story: Sharing Books with Infants and Toddlers

co-authored by Saroj

If you’ve ever tried reading with an infant or toddler, it may look something like this: you sit down on the floor and start reading, and the child pats the pages, chews on the book, or toddles away! With all the signs pointing to disinterest, is it even worth it to read to children from infancy to age two? The answer is yes! Children’s books are tools that prepare young children for later reading success—the way you use books with children makes a difference in their early literacy development. Planning story times with infants and toddlers can be challenging, but with thought and preparation, you can maximize the reading experiences of these little learners! In Time for a Story, explore fun and engaging ways to talk, sing, read, write, and play with young children throughout the day to help them begin developing important pre-literacy skills, including phonological awareness, print awareness, letter knowledge, and background knowledge. These practical techniques will help you put the children in your care on the path to school readiness! 

STEP into Storytime

Using StoryTime Effective Practice to Strengthen the Development of Newborns to Five-Year-Olds
Includes sample storytimes and ideas for mixed-age storytimes (newborn to age 5)
For more information and to order book.

. . . This book is a valuable resource and one that should be a part of every professional development collection for youth services staff. It is a refreshing take on library program guides that offers an accessible method of reinvigorating storytimes while providing deeper insight into early literacy development. Full text review included here. -School Library Journal

Early literacy experts Ghoting and Klatt present STEP into Storytime: Using StoryTime Effective Practice to Strengthen the Development of Newborns to Five-Year-Olds is an in-depth handbook to using storytime to promote cognitive development in very young children. Chapters feature over 30 ready-to-use storytime activities, along with extension activities; discussions of how storytime materials and activities promote language and literacy development; tips, tricks, and techniques for preparation and performance; lists of additional resources; and much more. A "must-have" for children's librarians and nursery school teachers and caregivers, STEP into Storytime is a professional-quality resource distilling decades of education and experimentation into a throughly accessible "best practices" compendium. Highly recommended! -James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review

Storytimes for Everyone!

co-authored by Saroj 

Recognizing that informed, caring adults are critical to supporting early literacy development, Storytimes for Everyone!builds on the concepts introduced in the second edition of the Every Child Ready to Read® initiative to offer practical suggestions for incorporating early literacy information and strategies into the storytime setting. Early literacy experts Ghoting and Martin-Díaz, coauthors of the best-selling Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library® demonstrate how parents and caregivers, children with their eyes and minds wide open, and the storytime presenter can come together to create a storytime that is informative and, most of all, fun. Presenting a variety of songs, projects, and activities, their book

• Explains how young children develop knowledge critical for reading comprehension

• Discusses five vital storytime practices (singing, talking, reading, writing, and playing), which adults can be taught to use at home

• Presents dozens of storytimes for babies/toddlers, twos, and preschoolers, that engage adults while keeping their children in focus

• Addresses how young bilingual children acquire language, the use of science and math in storytimes, and other current research

This book can be used at the library, at home, or anywhere else storytimes take place.

The Early Literacy Kit: A Handbook and Tip Cards

co-authored by Saroj 

OUT OF PRINT
This innovative and practical kit, put together by two well-known specialists in the field of early literacy, contains everything storytime presenters for children from birth to age five and their parents or caregivers need to spread the word about school readiness skills to adult caregivers. Tips to parents/caregivers cover seven school readiness domains: physical development, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language and literacy, cognition and general knowledge, mathematical and scientific thinking, and the arts. 

The Kit includes:

• An accessible handbook with a resource section

• 104 reusable tip cards with coordinated activities

• A concise summary of important early literacy research

Ideal for program planners, this convenient resource will help you teach caregivers the developing standards by which school readiness can be achieved.

Early Literacy Storytimes @ your Library: Partnering with Caregivers for Success

co-authored by Saroj 

What readers are saying about Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library:

Your book is THE resource for librarians that are working toward incorporating early literacy information into children's programs. It is the one tool that does it all--explains early literacy rational, provides research-based information, and suggests hundreds of ways to communicate palatable bits of information to caregivers/parents. I love the book. 

We developed a peer coaching method for staff to support one another as storytime presenters. We used the book for our study group sessions with lead coaches. It has been instrumental in helping both experienced and new storytime presenters understand the concept and the importance of incorporating early literacy skills into storytimes. --Dorothy