Little Lincoln’s Fireside Tales invites children up to 5 years old (Pre-K) and their caregivers to share in an exciting story time with our Education staff and special visitors. Each month focuses 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!
Little Lincoln's Fireside Tales is offered on the fourth* Tuesday (in-person) and Thursday (virtually) each month at 10:00 AM CST. To learn more about this month's program or to register to attend, please see our Upcoming Events page.
NOTE: In the instance of a holiday conflict, Little Lincoln's will be offered the week before.
If you work with children ages 0 to 5 and wish to bring your class or daycare to story time, 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.
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.
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 story time, enjoy our archive of past printable activities as well.
2024
January 23 - Counting
February 27 - Leap
March 26 - Questions
April 23 - Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Monsters...Oh My!
May 28 - Food
June 25 - Colors
July 16 - Nature
August 27 - School
September 24 - Zoo
October 22 - Dia De Los Muertos
November 19 - Classics
December 17 - Winter Wonderland
2023
January - Art
Books
- What If... by Samantha Berger
- Music is for Everyone by Jill Barber
- Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry
Activities
February - Birthdays
Books
- Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld
- Birthday Monsters! by Sandra Boynton
- Mr. Lincoln's Birthday by Corinne Claycomb
Activities
March - Delightfully Different
Books
- Except When They Don't by Laura Gehl
- Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor
- Most Perfect You by Jazmyn Simon
Activities
April - Libraries
Books
- Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
- The Library Book by Tom Chapin and Michael Mark
- Library Babies by Puck
Activities
May - Home
Books
- Brick by Brick by Heidi Woodward Sheffield
- Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
- Where Are You From? by Jamie Kim
Activities
June - Under the Sea
Books
- Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- The Old Boat by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey
- We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
Activities
July - Imagination
Books
- Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
- Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña
- What If... by Samantha Berger
Activities
August - Vegetables
Books
- That's My Carrot! by Il Sung Na
- The Foodie Flamingo by Vanessa Howl
- Amara's Farm by JaNay Brown-Wood
Activities
September - Outer Space (50th Story Time)
Books
- The Night the Moon Went Missing by Brendan Kearney
- Hello, Star by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic
- Pluto! Not A Planet? Not A Problem! by Stacy McAnulty
Activities
October - Halloween
Books
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
- Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia A. Drago
- Does Frankenstein Get Hungry? by John Solimine
Activities
November - Thank You
Books
- We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
- Thank You, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
- Llama Llama Gives Thanks by Anna Dewdney
Activities
December - Food
Books
- We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
- Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
- Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard
Activities
2022
January - Whoops
Books
- After the Fall by Dan Santat
- Beautiful OOPS! by Barney Saltzberg
- Whoops! by Suzi Moore
Activities
February - Belonging
Books
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- All Because You Matter by Tami Charles
- You Matter by Christian Robinson
Activities
March - Be Brave
Books
- Come With Me by Holly M. McGhee
- The Dark by Lemony Snicket
- Tomorrow I'll Be Brave by Jessica Hische
Activities
April - Classics
Books
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Activities
May - Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Monsters...Oh My!
Books
- Does Frankenstein Get Hungry? by John Solimine
- Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
- Sleepy Dinosaur and the Bad Case of the Bedtime Roars! by Lee LoBue
Activities
June - Birds
Books
- Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
- Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- Ten On A Twig by Lo Cole
Activities
July - Books
Books
- How To Read A Story by Kate Messner
- I Do Not Like Books Anymore by Daisy Hirst
- The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
Activities
August - Dreams
Books
- Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña
- Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
- Dream Animals: A Bedtime Journey by Emily Winfield Martin
Activities
September - Counting
Books
- One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller by Kate Read
- Quack and Count by Keith Baker
- Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales
Activities
October - Halloween
Books
- Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
- Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Activities
November - Colors
Books
- How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney
- Blue by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
- Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
Activities
December - Night
Books
- Noisy Night by Mac Barnett
- Bedtime Bonnet by Nancy Redd
- The Night the Moon Went Missing by Brendan Kearney
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
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
Partner Story Times
If the child in your life just can’t get enough story time, 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 story times 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.