Shelby County Libraries maintains Children’s materials, services, and programs to meet the needs and interests of children, birth through grade 6, and their adults. View our online calendar to find events and programs available at our six locations. Download this month’s Children’s Calendar to make sure you don’t miss out on the fun.
Explore Materials Available for Children from Birth to Grade 6
- Board Books (jBB)
- Picture Books (jE)
- Easy Reader Books (Level pink, blue, green, purple for early readers) (CER)
- Graphic Novels (illustrated comics) (CG)
- Juvenile Fiction (jF)
- Magazines
- Parenting Collection (Childrens Parent Col)
- Juvenile Non-fiction and Biography (j000-999) (jB)
- Audiobooks & Playaways (Children’s Audio Bk, Children’s Playaway)
- Vox Books (jVOX)
- Paperbacks (jPB-1, jPB-2)
- Holiday books and other popular themes are marked on a book’s spine label. These include Christmas, Halloween, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Dinosaurs, ABC, Books with CDs, Counting, Cars, Caldecott Winner/Honor books, and Transitional readers
- Book kit sets (multiple copies of a book for book club or classroom use) (CPBB)
Children’s music CDs and DVDs are also available in the audiovisual collection
Book and Toy Kits
Each library has a number of kits that can be checked out on an adult card for two weeks. Kits include both books and learning toys for children to explore, encourage dramatic play, and develop literacy skills.
Sensory Break Bags
Each bag contains various toys that provide sensory development in children of all ages, especially those with extra energy, ADHD, OCD, Autism, or high stress/anxiety levels. These toys help promote a sense of calm, reduce stress/anxiety, and can increase focus.
Book Bundles
If you’re in a hurry but want to check out some picture books, grab one our Book Bundles by a popular author or on a trendy theme. (Available at Sidney location)
Perfect Pairs
A combination of one fiction book and one nonfiction book on the same fun topic available for check out. (Available at Sidney location)
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
Did you know that reading to your child is one of the most powerful ways to boost his or her brain power? The simple and enjoyable act of sharing books helps your child learn pre-reading skills such as understanding the sounds letters make, developing a bigger vocabulary, and building background knowledge; all important skills that help prepare your child for learning to read and entering kindergarten. Shelby County Libraries’1000 Books Before Kindergarten program is a fun, exciting and free way to start your child on a path to success! Any child, ages birth-5 years, can participate.
- Register: Sign up at the library. You will receive some information on the program and tips for reading together as well as a reading log to track your progress
- Track Your Reading: Read whatever books you choose! Fill in your reading log for each book you read with your child.
- Every Book Counts: Even if your child wants to hear the same book again and again, you can count it each time.
- 200-Book Milestones: Each time you read 200 books, bring your reading log to the library to receive a small prize.
- 1,000 Books: You did it! Come celebrate at the Library! Your child will receive a free bag filled with goodies and a free book too!
- Keep on Reading: Don’t stop at 1,000! Keep on reading together; there’s more learning ahead!
Storytime
Possibly the most fun thing to do at the library! At our various Storytime programs at each library location children will learn and interact through stories, songs and rhymes. Parents and caregivers will discover what early literacy skills are and how they can foster those skills at home or school. Every Child Ready to Read is a library initiative to prepare young children with the early literacy skills they need to become life-long readers and thrive in school. Read, Write, Talk, Sing, and Play are the five practices that parents can engage in at home to build the six pre-literacy skills: narrative skills, print awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and print motivation. Check each community location page for Storytime program dates and times. Storytimes are offered for a variety of ages from babies to preschool.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted well over 160 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland.
The Imagination Library mails more than 1.8 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
For more information and to register, please visit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
To find out more about this program, or if you have questions, contact Cindy Timmerman
Outreach Programs
How books will travel! We have staff that are willing to come visit your classroom or set up a booth at your public event. Currently, we visit nearly all of the preschool classes in Sidney as well as others in the county. We can do in person (or virtual) Storytimes, pass out early literacy information or provide a game completely free of charge.
Please contact our Youth Services Outreach Program Coordinator, April Orsborne at aprilo@sclmail.org to request a visit.
Teacher Collections
Let the library help you with your classroom library. Save time and take advantage of the library’s resources with our Teacher Collection service. Youth Services staff will select age and grade-level appropriate materials on a theme or topic of your choice to support your classroom instruction. Early literacy concepts, preschool themes, free reading selections, research materials and more. Teachers may fill out a request form online at least seven days in advance of when materials are needed.
