Little Lincoln's Fireside Tales


Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales invites children up to 5 years old (Pre-K) and their caregivers to share in an exciting storytime with our Education staff and special visitors. Each month we will focus on a specific theme and may highlight arts and crafts, creative song and dance, or hands-on activities to supplement the stories being read.

We hope you and your children can join us in-person or virtually as we celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s love of books and highlight the importance of literacy!

While dressing up is not required, children (and their caregivers) are invited to participate.

Cost: Free, but reservations are required.
Date & Time: Every Fourth Tuesday; 10 am - 11 am
Location: Library Classroom or Virtual

Upcoming Dates and Themes

To register for an upcoming Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales, please see our Upcoming Events page.

  • January 25, 2022: Whoops!
  • February 22, 2022: Belonging
  • March 22, 2022: Be Brave
  • April 26, 2022: Classics
  • May 25, 2022: Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Monsters…Oh My!
  • June 28, 2022: Birds
  • July 26, 2022: Books
  • August 23, 2022: Dreams
  • September 27, 2022: Counting
  • October 25, 2022: Halloween
  • November 22, 2022: Colors
  • December 20, 2022: Night

NOTE: If you work with children ages 0 to 5 and wish to bring your class or daycare to storytime, please register for all of your students and email us at ALPLM.Education@illinois.gov a few days before the event so we can send you the activity files.

Previous Themes and Books

We carefully curate our book selections each month to create engaging themes, adhere to best practices for children’s literature, ensure developmentally appropriate content, and introduce children to both classic and modern tales. If you’re looking for a great book to share with the children in your life, check out our list of previous themes and books. If you couldn’t make it to storytime, enjoy our archive of past printable activities as well.

2020

January – Snow

Books

  • The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats
  • Little Penguins, Cynthia Rylant
  • Snowmen at Night, Caralyn Buehner

February - Birthday

Books

  • Birthday Monsters, Sandra Boynton
  • A Birthday for Bear, Bonny Becker
  • Mr. Lincoln’s Birthday, Corinne Claycomb

May - Weather

Books

  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett
  • The Weather Girls by Aki

Activities

June - Bugs

Books

  • Bee: A Peek Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrupp
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi and Brenden Wenzel

Activities

July - Nature

Books

  • Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
  • Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal
  • Moon: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Patricia Hegarty and Britta Teckentrupp

Activities

August - Summer

Books

  • And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner and Jaime Kim
  • Wherever You Go by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler
  • Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon

Activities

September - Superheroes

Books

  • Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker
  • Super Manny Stands Up by Kelly DiPuccho
  • My Mom Has X-Ray Vision by Angela McAllister

Activities

October - Halloween

Books

  • Where’s My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi
  • Room On The Broom by Julia Donaldson
  • Go Away, Big Green Monster!: Make Your Fears Disappear by Ed Emberley

Activities

November - Food

Books

  • Rah, Rah, Radishes! by April Pulley Sayre
  • Bee-bim bop! by Linda Sue Park
  • What's Cooking? by Joshua David Stein

Activities

December - Winter

Books

  • If It’s Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws by Kim Norman and Liza Woodruff
  • The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
  • Snow Globe Wishes by Erin Dealey and Claire Shorrock

Activities

2021

January – Feelings

Books

  • I’m Happy-Sad Today by Lory Britain
  • Kevin the Unicorn: It’s Not All Rainbows by Jessika von Innerrebner
  • The Boy with Big Big Feelings by Brittany Winn Lee and Jacob Souva

Activities

February – Love

Books

  • I Am Enough by Grace Byers
  • One Love by Cedella Marley
  • You Matter by Christian Robinson

Activities

March – Science

Books

  • Georgia’s Terrific, Colorific Experiment by Zoe Persico
  • Pete the Cat and the Super Cool Science Fair by Kimberly and James Dean
  • Dream Big Little Scientist by Michelle Shaub

Activities

April – Music

Books

  • Let’s Dance by David Bowie and Hannah Marks
  • Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe
  • Squeak, Rumble, Whomp, Whomp, Whomp by Wynton Marsalis and Paul Rogers

Activities

April – Bonus Edition – Presidential Pets

For this fun Bonus Edition of Little Lincoln’s, we were excited to partner with the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site and Springfield’s Animal Protective League.

Books

  • Old Whiskers Escapes: A True White House Tale by Donna Griffin and Gary Varvel
  • Champ and Major: First Dogs by Joy McCullough and Sheyda Abvabi Best

Activities

May – Home

Books

  • Welcome Home, Bear by Il Sung Na
  • Home is a Window by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard and Chris Sasaski
  • Home by Carson Ellis

Activities

Coming Soon! Join in the Fun!

While we're positive your children will leave ALPLM excited about the engaging stories and creative, hands-on activities they encounter at Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales, we know sometimes you (and they) want to know what to expect. To see a few highlights from previous storytimes, check out the slideshow below.

Junior Historians

Junior Historians images.

Partner Storytimes

If the child in your life just can’t get enough storytime, be sure to check out the fun reading events offered at other community libraries and museums.

Have an Idea? Send Your Feedback!

If you have an idea for a theme for Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales or want to share a book your child loves to read with our team, we’re always looking for new ideas and content. If you’ve attended one of our storytimes and want to provide feedback, please mail us at ALPLM.Education@illinois.gov - we’d love to hear how we’re doing and what we can do to make the program even better. If you’ve attended Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales in the past and would like to share feedback on your experience, please complete our Feedback Survey. The survey takes only a few minutes to complete and helps us shape future Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales programs to meet your child’s needs and continue to engage them in fun, hands-on reading activities.

Social Links