It’s February! Black History Month! I planned this storytime with the intent of giving a nod to Black history, but also wanted to look to Black joy and futures. So I did a little of both and called my theme “Black Experiences.” I looked to the book below, Let’s Talk About Race in Storytimes by Jessica Anne Bratt to get inspiration and good verbage for some of my transitions in this storytime. It’s a fantastic book with really practical ways to talk to kids about race in a developmentally appropriate manner. I highly recommend it!
And without further ado, here’s the full storytime script below:
Opening Song: We sang our opening song, and then got started!
Opening Question: Do you know what Black History Month is? That’s right! It’s a special month to celebrate Black people’s achievements and contributions throughout history.
Transition: Today we’re doing a storytime of Black experiences to help us celebrate Black History Month! All of our stories today will feature people who are Black or stories created by Black people. Our first book talks about differences and similarities that we all have!
Book: What’s the Difference by Doyin Richards
I wanted to start out with a book that shows and celebrates differences. Something that explains that we’re all unique and that’s what makes our community so amazing. This book was perfect for that. It’s a simple and joyful look at race.
Transition: Wasn’t that cool to see all the fun ways in which we’re so unique? What I love is that we’re all different from each other, but we can all be friends and be together! Which is perfect for our next song: The More We Get Together! I bet you know this song, but I’m going to teach you a couple ASL signs to go along with it. Then we’ll sing it nice and slow.
The more we get together, together, together The more we get together the happier we’ll be. For my friends are your friends, And your friends are my friends. The more we get together the happier we’ll be!
Transition: Grownups, talking about differences can seem scary at first, but it’s ok to point out and celebrate racial differences! In fact, it’s so important for our children to hear us talk about and celebrate all differences. For example, we can look at the character’s skin or hair and ask questions such as “Is it the same or different from yours?” “Did you know that we’re all born with different shades of skin color or hair texture?” I love this girl’s afro puffs -aren’t they awesome? Let’s see what she does in the book!
Book: I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison
Next, I wanted a book that was pure fun and showed a person of color in their everyday life. This is such a fun book to do in storytime and has so many great engagement moments where the kids can interact.
Transition: That was such a fun book! I love all the sounds we got to make while reading that book together! Let’s keep that rhythm going and sing a song together. This one is a fun song I used to sing when I was a kid just like you! It’s all about love and loving each other!
Song: Skidamarink
Skidamarink a dink a dink – Skidamarink a doo. I love you. Skidamarink a dink a dink – Skidamarink a doo. I love you. I love you in the morning. And in the afternoon. I love you in the evening. And underneath the moon. Oh! Skidamarink a dink a dink – Skidamarink a doo. I love you!
Repeat faster and faster
Transition: Woo, that got harder and harder, didn’t it! But you all did superb! Our next book is about kindness. You might notice that there are not any people on the cover. What do you see instead? That’s right, a bunny and a mouse! The person who wrote this book and drew the pictures for it is black and very good at writing books and drawing. Let’s dive in and see what happens.
Book:If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
With everything happening in the world today, I also wanted a book that talked about kindness or empathy. Kadir Nelson is a super talented Black author and illustrator who has won many awards.
Transition: Do you think the birds and rabbit and mouse all became friends at the end? They did – even though they weren’t at first. Next, we’re going to use a book and our rhythm sticks together! Our next book is about a famous Black tap dancer named Bill Bojangles Robinson. In the book, there’s a line that repeats every page. It says “Rap a tap tap! Think of that!” Can you all say it with me? Good job! Now, everytime we say that while reading the book, I want you to tap your rhythm sticks. Let’s practice!
Bookw/ rhythm sticks:Rap a Tap Tap by Leo & Diane Dillon
I don’t typically do four books in one storytime (attention span is usually a little too short to get to four.) However, this book was perfect for giving that small nod to Black history, but pairing it with the rhythm sticks allowed the kids to interact with it more. Plus my other books were fairly short, so I wanted to try it. It worked out great – the rhythm sticks added enough engagement and movement to keep their attention!
Closing: We closed out with our goodbye song and then went on to craft time!
Librarian Ginny 