Baker Free Library hosts three storytimes each week for our youngest patrons and their caregivers, along with a monthly lapsit program for babies and infants. Storytimes are offered in 6-8 week sessions every season, with a short break in between. The next session begins Tuesday, September 12, 2023. *Due to high demand, families may only register for one storytime per week at this time.
Preschool Storytime
Tuesday Mornings | 10:30AM
Encourage school readiness with a storytime for active bodies and minds! Explore interactive stories, songs, and activities that help to promote early literacy learning while addressing attention, coordination and motor development. Each storytime includes stories, songs, sign language and movement movement activities, and ends with open play time, allowing children and their families to socialize. Recommended for 3 - 5 Years; siblings welcome.
Family Storytime
Wednesday & Thursday Mornings | 10:30AM
Explore a new topic each week with stories, songs and rhymes designed to spark your child’s imagination and create the foundations for early literacy. Each storytime ends with open play time, allowing families to meet and socialize. Select sessions will include craft and/or sensory activities. This program is offered twice per week; please register for one session only. Recommended for 18 Months - 3 Years; siblings welcome.
Baby Stay & Play
Friday, September 29 & October 27 | 11AM
A monthly lapsit storytime for our youngest patrons. Babies, in the company of a parent or caregiver, will enjoy stories, songs, bounces and bubbles, followed by plenty of open play time using the library's collection of toys and manipulatives. Parents and caregivers are invited to connect at this informal program. Recommended for 3 - 18 Months.
Vox Books are popular picture books and chapter books that come with a built-in audio player! Take them on the road, in the car, or listen from home to help children build essential literacy skills. Each player includes both a speaker and a headphone jack, for private or group listening. These titles are located next to the children's audiobooks, and loan for 2 weeks at a time. Limit two per patron.
With a library card, families can now borrow Tinker Kits from the Baker Free Library. These kits include two books each on a scientific topic, as well as games, toys and manipulatives that help children explore and engage with the world around them. Currently, the library circulates 7 Tinker Kits:
Magnetism Kit
Recommended for Ages 3-6
Nature Kit
Recommended for Ages 4+
Coding Kit
Recommended for Ages 7+
Piano Kit (*NEW!)
Recommended for Ages 5+
Ukulele Kit (*NEW!)
Recommended for Ages 5+
Ocean Kit (2)
Recommended for Ages 4+
Simply search for "Tinker Kit" in the library catalog to learn more. The library also circulates a telescope for budding stargazers! The Orion StarBlast 4.5 Reflector Telescope, provided by the New Hampshire Astronomical Society, is available to borrow with a valid library card (borrower must be 18 or older).
Baker Free Library takes part in the nationwide initiative 1000 Books Before Kindergarten to promote reading to newborns, infants and toddlers. Studies have shown that reading to children from an early age helps them gain the confidence and early literacy skills they need to become strong readers.
Stop by the library anytime to sign up for the program. Upon sign-up, your child will recieve a canvas library tote bag and their first 100-book chart, to track their progress in the program. Every time your child completes a 100-book chart, they may return it to the library for a small prize. When they complete the entire program by reading 1000 books, they will receive a certificate of completion, a free book of their choice, and recognition of their accomplishment on our website and social media pages!
For additional resources, visit the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten website or contact our Youth Services Librarian, Juliana, for more information.
The library strives to support the cirriculum of all educators in Bow. With outreach, children can enjoy storytimes, literacy activites, and child-friendly orientations to the library and its collections, while older students can participate in book talks, library orientations and one-on-one introductions of the Library's digital resources. Educators in the Bow School District are also eligible for FREE library cards from the Baker Free Library, whether or not they live in Bow. Please contact us at (603) 224-7113 for more information.
What We Can Provide for Students
Our Youth Services Librarian, Juliana, is available to conduct school visits by appointment.
.png)
