More info
West Chester Library
www.middletownlibrary.org
Click on “Programs and Events”
Registration begins at 9 a.m. March 5 for Spring Storytime Session beginning March 21
Lane Public Libraries
http://lanepl.org/childprog.htm
Mason Public Library
www.masonpl.lib.oh.us
Click on “Children”
Lebanon Public Library
hwww.lebanonlibrary.org/children.asp
Barnes and Noble
hwww.barnesandnoble.com/
Click on “Stores and Events”
BUTLER COUNTY — March is National Reading Month — the perfect time for parents to think about how to foster a love of reading in their children. Local librarians say one of the best ways to help your child enjoy books is to attend storytime.
“I think that children, when exposed to storytime, it advances their language development. It enhances socialization,” said Sharon Kolatalo, the team leader for the children’s department at the West Chester Library. “The earlier you read, starting with your baby, the more prepared they are for formal education.”
The West Chester Library offers free weekly storytime for children ages 6 months to 4 years, all of which require registration. The program has been extremely popular, with all nine of the weekly winter storytime sessions full. The West Chester Library also offers drop-in and family storytimes open to everyone that do not require registration.
Kolatalo said storytime is great for exposing children to new books, authors and ideas.
“They latch onto something and it captures their imagination,” she said. “Giving them a variety gives them something else to expand into.”
And it’s not just the children who benefit, said Marcy Martin, children’s librarian at the Fairfield branch of the Lane Public Library.
“They have a great time with books. They learn some songs. They socialize. And the parents have a chance to also socialize with other parents,” she said. “It’s a win-win situation.”
The Lane Libraries provide free weekly storytime for children from birth to 6 years old. The storytime sessions at Lane focus on one early literacy skill each week. At the end of the session, the librarians explain the skill to parents, give pointers on how to use the skills at home and offer suggestions for books to check out that highlight that skill, Martin said.
But beyond education, the goal is to “make coming to the library fun and enjoyable,” Martin said. She said what gives her joy is seeing children who don’t like to read at home learn to enjoy reading after attending storytime at the library.
West Chester resident Lori Zieg said storytimes at the West Chester Library and Book Bums helped her daughter, Allison, to come out of her shell.
“For her, it was really useful to be around other kids her age,” she said. “Allison was so shy that it was great for her to see the same people week to week.”
Storytime served the same purpose for Zieg, who said she was fairly new to town when she started attending storytime with Allison and hoped to meet new people.
“I got just as much out of it as she did,” she said, “I made friends that I still keep in touch with.”
And Zieg said she gained knowledge that helped her make reading more fun when storytime was over.
“I ended up learning more than I ever thought I would that I could implement at home,” she said.
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