The early literacy team at NYPL hopes you are all staying safe and well. As many families across NYC are home right now, we are announcing a brand new resource families can access from home.

Our At Home Storytime guides allow you to conduct your own storytime from home! We know that families may have limited access to materials, which is why these guides are adaptable, and designed to meet you and your family right where you are. We used common household materials, and linked to virtual prerecorded storytimes and songs. Each of the following storytimes can be done at home by anyone. We encourage you to find a time to be together and participate in this storytime experience as a family. 

Each At Home Storytime guide follows a theme, and consists of songs with video links, video read alouds (or the option to use a book from your home library), plus two to three activities for you to try at home. 

There are a total of fifteen guides in English: 

• Colors
• Numbers
• Animals
• Transportation
• Family
• Feelings
• Friendship
• Reading
• Shapes
• Food

These five guides are inspired by our Summer Reading program: Quest for Adventure:

• Shapes & Scraps
• Building
• Light & Color
• Nursery Rhymes
• Push & Pull

We also have six guides in Spanish: 

• ¡Exploremos con las manos!
• ¡Exploremos el mundo de los animales!
• ¡Exploremos el día y la noche!
• ¡Exploremos los colores!
• ¡Exploremos la granja!
• ¡Exploremos la alimentación!

Pro tip: You might not get through a full story or video, or get to all the activities. That’s perfectly normal, especially with young children. Any time you spend reading and learning with your child is valuable.

We hope you find joy reading, writing, singing, talking, and playing with your little ones at home!