What Makes a Great Storytime?

Whether you’re a parent reading to your child at bedtime or a writer performing a reading at a library or a bookshop, the skills are the same.

It starts with love. A genuine love of young minds, hearts, and imaginations. Children know when they are being read to with affection and attention, just as surely as they know when a voice is distracted or rushed. Storytime is never really about the book alone — it’s about the space you create between reader and listener.

As a parent, I’ve learned that my daughters don’t need me to put on a polished show at bedtime. What they need is my presence. They need the rhythm of my voice, the pauses where I glance at them, the warmth of the moment. That’s what makes even the simplest story feel unforgettable.

As a performer, I’ve seen how the same principles apply in a library or bookshop. You don’t need to be theatrical, though a little drama can help. What matters most is connection. Do you see the children in front of you? Do you let them see your delight in the story? Do you leave room for them to laugh, to gasp, to wonder?

Source: This Morning, I Feel Like a Cat by Michael Lamanna

A great storytime is not a lecture or a performance to be admired. It’s an invitation. The child is not an audience member so much as a co-traveler. If you’re reading Goodnight Moon, they are the ones noticing the quiet details you might otherwise skip. If you’re reading Where the Wild Things Are, they are the ones roaring the loudest.

So what makes a great storytime? Presence. Connection. A little bit of courage to be playful, and a lot of willingness to soften into the moment. The truth is, most children don’t care whether you read with perfect pacing or give every character a unique voice. They care that you are there, that you love them, and that for those few minutes, the world has narrowed down to words and pictures and the sound of you.

That’s a gift that no stage, no bookstore, no library can improve upon — though it’s a gift that those places, too, can make possible.

Michael Lamanna is a children’s author living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with his wife and two daughters. Trained as a poet and a professional actor, he brings a love of rhythm, performance, and tenderness to every page. His stories often explore belonging, courage, and the quiet magic of everyday family life.