This summer, I took a break from Pokémon Club at my library to host a creative writing class for middle-grade children. While they had a blast with the writing class, one question kept popping up over the course of the summer: “When does Pokémon Club come back?” They were excited to hear that I was bringing it back this September! In this post, I will share some new additions to my library’s Pokémon Club. Organization of Pokémon Club In my previous posts about the program, I shared how I had different activity stations. Each session had at least three game stations, one craft station, and a watch party station. The program participants enjoyed having a variety of activities to choose from. However, in the sessions that had a smaller attendance, there would be an uneven amount of children at the stations. This time around, I will try working with just…
Category: Blogger Ariel Barreras
My Favorite Children’s Chapter Books: Then and Now
One of my favorite parts of summer reading is seeing all the children check out their books, excited to start logging their minutes reading! Seeing what children are checking out also helps me to get to know them. Did they check out The Wild Robot? They like an adventure! Diary of a Wimpy Kid? This kid has a funny bone! Seeing all the books checked out this summer has made me reminiscent of the books that I loved as a child. In this post, I will share some of my favorite children’s chapter books from my childhood and from my time as a librarian.
Working with Teen Volunteers in the Children’s Department
Working with teen volunteers is a valuable part of what we do in youth services librarianship. It can be rewarding to have teens, who were children in your programs, become a part of the magic in their own way. However, it can be challenging to provide the right work or even find the right teens that meet your needs, as well as meet their needs. In this post, I will provide some tips I’ve learned along the way while working with teen volunteers in the children’s department.
Passive Dinosaur Programs for Summer Reading 2026!
We are inching closer to Summer Reading and there is so much to do to prepare for all the kids that are ready to Unearth a Story! One of the final touches that I am currently working on is our passive programs for the summer. Passive programs are a great way to engage kids any time your department is open. Here are some passive dinosaur programs that I will be implementing for this year’s summer reading program!
My Favorite Picture Books for Class Visits!
As the school year starts to wrap up, my library has had back-to-back classes visit us. When I have younger classes visit (grades Pre-K to Second Grade), we provide a storytime, craft, and a tour of the children’s department. The children find the storytime to be engaging and it gets them excited to check out their own books. In this post, I will highlight some of my favorite picture books for class visits!
Art Activities for Pokémon Club!
Get ready for Round #2 of Pokémon Club! In December, I wrote about preparing for my Winter session of Pokémon Club and my January post was about lessons learned from my first sessions. I am currently preparing for our Spring program season, which includes more Pokémon Club. In this post, I will share some art activities that I will be incorporating into my upcoming Pokémon Club sessions.
Ramadan Iftar Party for Families!
My library’s community has a small, but richly diverse population of people from all over the world, and this is something I like to reflect in my children’s department through collection development and programming. We have a large Muslim community here and we wanted to take part in their Ramadan celebrations. Earlier this month, we held a Ramadan Iftar Party for families, which included a storytime, crafts, and dinner after sundown. In this post, I will provide a recap of all the components of this successful program!
Tips and Tricks for New Children’s Librarians!
If you are reading this, I want to start off by saying CONGRATULATIONS on becoming a Children’s Librarian! This is an incredibly rewarding field and I am happy that you have joined this community. I have been working in libraries for 7 years, almost exclusively in Children’s Services. I worked my way up from a Library Assistant to the Head of Children’s Services. Through my experience, I have learned so much and continue to learn every day. If you’re a new Children’s Librarian, here are some tips and tricks to get you started!