Storytimes Return!

Gather round at your local branch, because in-person storytimes are back at the Des Moines Public Library! After nearly two years of virtual storytimes, take-home activities, and passive events, our librarians are back telling tales and singing songs to kids and families in our own locations. Hundreds of kids and families have already taken advantage of the return throughout the month of March.

“I’m just so happy to get storytimes going again!” said Janeé Jackson-Doering, the South Side Library’s Youth Librarian. “I’m so happy to see both new faces and the families that were returning after two years away.”

Storytimes are a great way to help build early literacy skills in kids, exposing them to new words and fun games that provide them with the building blocks that support them on their reading journey. Miss Janeé (as she’s affectionately known at South) says storytimes show that reading is both fun and impactful. Many times, she’ll choose a theme for a storytime, with books that help convey information and meaning about topics ranging from airplanes to zoo animals and more.

For new parents, storytimes offer an opportunity to get their kids out of the house and around other children. At a recent storytime, a few parents commented that since their child was born during the pandemic, they didn't have the normal opportunities to socialize with other kids. Bringing their child to storytime is a welcome way for kids to meet other kids - and parents to meet other parents.

Janeé says storytimes offer parents and caregivers something fun to plan their day around, and they often forge their own connections. “They’ll meet at the library, attend the storytime and check out books, and then make plans to have lunch with another family at the park, or go to the zoo,” says Janeé. “For these families, storytimes are a part of their routine that they’ve missed, and that their kids look forward too.”

There are weekly storytimes at all of our branches. Learn more at dmpl.org/storytimes.