~ Collated by Auntie Anne, Tāmaki Makaurau Aotearoa.
A note from Ms. Kate (The Lavender Librarian)
Hi Colleagues!
Congratulations to all my colleagues in the Northern Hemisphere! We did it! We made summer reading magic happen.
For many of us this was the first normal summer since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. At my library this year things felt truly back to normal. Few face masks, many smiles. And big, big numbers.
I know that, for many, this year felt like a stretch after the more subdued events of the previous few years. And it has been a joy to see smiling faces and welcome every little friend to storytime and all kinds of other wonderful activities.
We’ve emerged from summer reading tired but happy. And it’s now time to support our teacher colleagues as they begin to welcome students back to the classroom. I wish everyone an amazing year and look forward to finding more ways we can support each other in making every child feel welcome.
In Solidarity,
Ms. Kate (she/they), The Lavender Librarian
Creator and Director, Storytime Solidarity
Aspirational classrooms:
- ALL ARE WELCOME by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman.
- OUR FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR by A. E. Ali & Rahele Jomepour Bell.
First day worries and worriers:
- WE DON’T EAT OUR CLASSMATES by Ryan T. Higgins.
- THE NOISY CLASSROOM by Angela Shanté & Alison Hawkins.
- EL CUCUY IS SCARED, TOO! by Donna Barba Higuera & Juliana Perdomo.
- THE DAY YOU BEGIN by Jaqueline Woodson & Rafael López.
- BUTTERFLIES ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Annie Silvestro & Dream Chen.
- I AM TOO ABSOLUTELY SMALL FOR SCHOOL by Lauren Child.
- SCHOOL’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Adam Rex & Christian Robinson.
- WEMBERLEY WORRIED by Kevin Henkes.
Public performance anxiety / shyness:
- VIOLET’S TEMPEST by Ian Eagleton & Clara Anganuzzi.
- BRILLIANT BEA by Shaina Rudolph, Mary Vukainovich, & Fiona Lee.
- ELEPHANT’S BIG SOLO by Sarah Kurpiel.
Waiting & growing:
- YOU’RE FINALLY HERE! by Mélanie Watt.
- THE MAGICAL YET by Angela DiTerlizzi & Lorena Álvarez.
Finding ways to communicate:
- A DAY WITH NO WORDS by Tiffany Hammond & Kate Cosgrove.
- MARGOT AND THE MOON LANDING by A. C. Fitzpatrick & Erika Medina.
- THE SPACES IN BETWEEN by Jaspreet Kaur & Manjit Thapp.
Marching to your own drum:
- MADDIE’S FIRST DAY by Penny Matthews & Liz Anelli.
- CHRYSANTHEMUM by Kevin Henkes.
- ALLY-SAURUS & THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Richard Torrey.
- BIRD BOY by Matthew Burgess & Shahrzad Maydani.
A note from Auntie Anne.
Congratulations to the northern-hemisphere Storytime Solidary whānau for making it through summer!
Wishing you all the best for your upcoming school year.
It’s helpful, seeing all your summer reading activities and events – as I’m in the beginning stages of helping plan my library system’s summer reading programme for 2023-2024. I watched with envy, as you talked about the temperature and sunshine. Warmth and sun have been sadly lacking in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
We are mid-way through the third term of our school year, so there’s a few more months of school ahead (and a set of school holidays to negotiate).
Yours in solidarity
Auntie Anne.
