Children Story Time at the Mark Twain Library

The Mark Twain Library offers story times for children ranging in age from one to eight years. Story times offered from September through May require pre-registration; "drop-in" story times offered in June and July do not. Provided below are details on our 2009-2010 story time schedule, descriptions of the various story time offerings, and rules for registration.

The Library offers four sessions of story times for children throughout the year. Story times held during the fall, winter, and spring require pre-registration. Story times held during the summer do not require pre-registration.

A full schedule of story times is offered in the fall, winter and spring. Each session runs for six weeks, and provides classes for residents who are the following ages.

for children 12-24 months;
30 minutes of rhymes, music and active play;
must be accompanied by an adult;
held Wednesdays at 10:30 am

45 minutes of play, books, crafts, music or short book-based video;
must be accompanied by an adult;
held Wednesdays at 10:30 and 11:30 am, Thursdays at 10:30 am

Three-and-four-year-olds (and pre-kindergarten five-year-olds)

45 minutes of listening to stories, making crafts, singing or viewing book-based videos;
child participates without grownup;
held Tuesdays at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm; Wednesdays at 1:30 pm; and Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Kindergarten through Second Grade

Story time for elementary-school-age children is 45 minutes long;
children listen to longer stories;
concludes with a short book-based film;
held Thursdays at 4 pm

The full schedule of story times
will be offered three times during the 2009-2010 year,
on the following dates:

story times offered September 28 - November 6
registration starts on Tuesday, September 8

story times offered January 4 - February 11
registration starts on Monday, November 30

SPRING (click here for flyer)

story times offered March 22 - May 6
(no story times during week of the Redding schools' April vacation)
registration starts on Monday, February 22

You must sign up in person on the first day of story time registration; phone calls are accepted after the first day.

Children may be signed up for only one six-week set of classes during a given session.

They must be the specified age for the story time at the time classes start.

These story times are intended for Redding residents.

In the event of bad weather - a concern during winter months - classes are cancelled only if Redding public schools close due to bad weather. (Delayed openings do not affect the story time schedule.)

Since the library is open on most holidays, story times are scheduled on those dates. If this causes a conflict because older children are home from school, please feel free to bring older siblings with you to the story time.

A limited number of story times are offered during the summer. They run concurrently with the library's Summer Reading program, for a six-week period.

"Pajama" story times, for children ages 3-5, are held four times during the year, now on Thursday evenings, in the months of September, November, March and June. Specific dates will be posted a few weeks beforehand in the children's department at the library, as well as here on the website; registration is required due to limited space.