Professional Development & Training
For libraries, schools, and districts
Hello!
I'm Alyssa Jewell, an early literacy consultant with 18 years in schools and public libraries, and I help your staff lead storytimes that truly engage today's kids. From a year-round program to hands-on workshops and keynotes, give your team the training, tools, and ongoing support to make early literacy storytimes the kind they dreamed about when they first chose to work with children.
LET'S TALK!
Trusted by libraries and schools in 27 states and Canada.
Does storytime feel more challenging than it did 10 years ago? You and your staff are not imagining it.
The trickiest thing about storytime today is group engagement. Kids have shorter attention spans and more screen time than ever, against the backdrop of a national literacy crisis. Caregivers are stretched thin. And librarians and teachers are pulled in a dozen directions, with less and less time to keep up with new books, fresh techniques, and shifting research.
Your staff are dedicated and capable, but many of them are under-supported, dealing with a generation of kids who are tougher to engage, and when the training and tools vary from one branch, school, or classroom to the next, so does what kids actually experience. Which is sometimes...just YouTube videos.
That's the gap I help you close. I focus on the how: a clear method your whole team can use (no matter what experience level) and the ongoing support to give it real staying power. My Three Ps Framework for play-based group storytime is simple, replicable, adaptable, and research-based.
We can do storytime better than ever.
People who lead storytime are in a unique position to shape children's lives, because this work isn't only about getting kids ready to read. It's about getting them to fall in love with books.
So let's bring back old-school storytime. But this time, let's make it more engaging than ever.
Wherever you serve children, storytime meets a different need:
Public libraries:
prevention.
You reach families first, often from birth. Great storytime builds early literacy and a love of books before a child ever starts school, getting ahead of the problem instead of chasing it.
Preschools:
foundation.
This is where the scaffolding goes up: the listening, the language, the group skills that make kindergarten possible. Storytime done well lays it.
Elementary schools: intervention.
The struggle is already in the room. Structured, engaging storytime and read-alouds are a proven way to rebuild attention, listening, and a real connection to books.
I can help in all three areas.
The Method:
Plan, Pick, Present
Every great storytime comes down to three steps any team member can follow, at any experience level.
1. Plan
A flexible, developmentally appropriate structure for pacing and routines so your staff aren't winging it or chained to a script.
2. Pick
Books, songs, and rhymes that actually work with a group, not just the ones that look appealing.
3. Present
The in-the-room techniques that keep kids actively participating, not just watching.
Three ways to bring this to your team:
Storytime Central
The year-round program. The most efficient and cost-effective way to give your whole staff ongoing access to the Plan, Pick, Present framework, a searchable book and song database, ready-to-use plans, printables, and ongoing training with experts.
Starting at $119/year per person.
Contact us to enroll your team.
Workshops & Training
Hands-on professional development for your team, in person or virtual, with practical techniques they can use the very next day. Popular topics include Leveraging the Power of Play in Storytime and Tunes for the Tuneless: How Anyone Can Use Music in Storytime, or I build it around your team's needs.
Starting at $750.
Keynotes & Speaking
Energize your conference, in-service, or staff day with a session that sends people home inspired and equipped, not just entertained, although I'm happy to bring my ukulele. Popular topics include Get Ready to Rock, Get Ready to Read and Storytime Is Not a Performance: How to Lead a Room of Kids Who Are Harder to Reach Than Ever.
I'm not just a presenter.
I've spent 18 years doing 1,800+ storytimes and concerts in schools, libraries, and various educational settings. I hold an MLIS, a degree in theatre education, a K-12 teaching certification, and I am a musician. That's the rare mix behind my whole method: I know the books and the research like a librarian, and I know how to bring stories and concepts to life in the room like a theatre educator. I'm also the author of Move, Play, Learn: Interactive Storytimes with Music, Movement, and More (ALA Editions).
In good company:
Working together is simple.
Purchase orders & checks welcome. Need an invoice or a PO for your school, library, or district? Just ask.
Try before you commit. A request-only pilot lets a small team explore Storytime Central first, and the pilot fee credits toward your subscription. We got you.
Tight budget? Let's talk. Scholarships are available for the libraries and schools that need them. Apply here.
Want an overview of Storytime Central to pitch to your team?
Download the overview here.
Let's champion storytime together.
Whether you're getting ahead of the problem, laying the foundation, or meeting the challenge already in the room, I'd love to help your team lead storytimes that truly engage today's kids. Tell me a little about your library, school, or district, and I'll point you to the right fit.
LET'S TALK!