School Library Journal Review
Bromann believes in taking elements from a story and turning them into activities, and she provides readers with ideas and tools to add interactivity to their programs. Tips include incorporating props, questions, movement, etc.; selecting the right books for your style; and adding simple crafts. Most of the book consists of an alphabetical listing (by author) of 500 recommended titles. Each entry includes publication information, a plot summary, and one or more activities. Examples include having children pass around a yellow ball while reading Molly Bang's The Yellow Ball, having them make each animal's noise while reading Deborah Bruss's Book! Book! Book!, or giving each child a picture of a vegetable to put in the "pot" while reading Tony Bonning's Fox Tale Soup. While several of the suggestions are obvious, mundane, or not very creative, and some are more time intensive than others, there are enough ideas here to make this a worthwhile purchase for those looking to energize their programs.-Shauna Yusko, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Here are all the elements needed to produce interactive storytimes for children aged three to five and older. Ten guiding principles are given--ideas that take advantage of the child's curiosity and love of movement--and can be used with almost any book. Planned activities occur within a story's enactment rather than between or after stories. The author provides specific ideas for 500 books, including crafts, playacting, questions, music, and more. Books are indexed by theme and title. Storytime Action! is packed with practical and fun activities for educators, parents, public librarians, and school media specialists. It is an ambitious collection of ideas, recommended for all who lead storytimes. -- RBB Copyright 2003 Booklist
