Sources: The Essential Lapsit Guide: A Multimedia How-To-Do-It Manual and Programming Guide for Stimulating Literacy Development from 12 to 24 Months
The Essential Lapsit Guide: A Multimedia How-To-Do-It Manual and Programming Guide for Stimulating Literacy Development from 12 to 24 Months. By Linda L. Ernst. Chicago: ALA Neal-Schuman, 2015. 276 p. Paper $72 (ISBN: 978-1- 55570-761-3).
Ernst brings her thirty-five years of experience to this update and compilation of two previous books: Lapsit Services for the Very Young and Lapsit Services for the Very Young II. Ernst’s prose is very accessible and engaging, and the book’s structure guides the progression of learning for the librarian who uses it.
The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, “Program Foundations,” Ernst provides a brief and clear discussion on current brain research and its implications for librarians and library services. Next, she discusses the audience for lapsits: not just the child, but the caregiver, librarian, and library staff. Ernst devotes space to the families of special needs children, teen parents, grandparents, and bilingual families. The third chapter, which discusses outreach services, facilities, collections, partnerships, funding, and grants, is full of ideas to spark librarians’ imaginations so they can apply these ideas in their own communities.
The second part of the book, “Program Building Blocks,” will help the librarian build a lapsit program in the library. Chapter 4, “The Play’s the Thing—Books, Rhymes, and Programs,” will become the most well-thumbed portion of the book. This chapter begins with planning the story time and covers many things to think about, such as scheduling, program set-up, and adult education. Following this, the author includes an annotated bibliography covering suggested themes and tips for how to engage the audience for each of 180 books. Next comes an extensive catalog of rhymes, some of which marked with icons indicating that are also included as mpg files on the book’s online companion site. But best of all is a series of programs by theme, complete with every book, rhyme, and song listed: a perfect introduction to help a new librarian to get started quickly, but also a way to provide new ideas for the experienced librarian. The last program suggests basic scripting for the presenter to use. In the final chapter, the author discusses the use of a variety of enhancements including music, puppets, flannel board, and props, as well as ideas for other creative activity programs for this age group. The book’s appendix includes examples of handouts and templates that are helpful as a starting point. Each chapter is followed by bibliographies of books, articles, e-resources, and resource lists. “Multimedia” is part of this book’s title, and it does not disappoint: in fact, “multimedia” might just be the most valuable aspect of the book. ALA Editions has provided a companion website where librarians can access a bibliography of chapter resources in PDF form, all the rhyme and song lyrics in a Microsoft Word document, downloadable PDFs of all the handouts and activities from the “enhancement” section of book, and, best of all, mpg files of the author performing some of the rhymes and songs included in the book. What a gift for the musically challenged librarian! These awesome resources are found at http://alaeditions.org/webextras.
This book should be one of your public library’s most used resources. The Essential Lapsit Guide provides the building blocks for a successful lapsit program in any public library. It provides a starting point for new librarians and a refresher course for the more experienced. Long after librarians use this book to develop their story time program, the information will give them confidence to continue building their own “library” of lapsit programs. A must-have for every public library in the business of early literacy.—Jenny Foster Stenis, Readers Services Manager, Pioneer Library System, Norman, Oklahoma