How to Add a Picturebook for Storytime

 

 

Step 1:  Preliminaries

 

 

A.  Go to the booklist.

 

The ACLD Storytime Wiki contains a listing of picturebooks that are especially well-suited to presenting to Preschool or Kindergarten audiences on a moment’s notice, without having to rehearse them ahead of time.

 

Its page is called Preschool and Kindergarten Picturebooks.  To reach it, follow this path: ACLDstorytime Information (FrontPage) > Emergency Storytime Introduction > The Template > Preschool or Kindergarten click here > Book.

 

(A shorter way to get there would be ACLDstorytime Introduction (FrontPage) > Emergency Storytime Introduction > Preschool and Kindergarten Picturebooks [found in the sidebar])

 

 

B.  Preparation.

 

Let’s add a picturebook to the list.

 

For the purposes of our demonstration, let’s say the title is The Six Sleepy Bunnies by Jessica Sonambulist and that the call number within ACLD’s collection is E SONAMBULIST,J.

 

Make sure you have a small image (about 150 pixels wide) of your book’s cover on your computer.  (Putting it on your desktop will make it easy to find.) 

 

 

 

Step 2:  Container

 

 

A.  One-celled table as outer container.

 

Books in the list appear in ACLD call number order, so find the point in the list where your book’s call number falls and position your insertion point.  Add a few blank lines for separation.

 

Click on the Table icon in the toolbar.  Specify that your table has only 1 Row and 1 Column.  Uncheck the Has Border box.  Width should be 100 percent.  (Be sure it’s percent, not pixels.)  Cell spacing and padding should be 1.  Alignment should be Left.

 

 

B.  Why?

 

What you’ve just done is create a container that will hold two partitions, each of which will be another one-celled table (one for your book’s image, one for descriptive text).

 

Depending on how wide a viewer’s browser window is, the two inner partitions will either appear side-by-side or stack one above the other.  Either way, related pictures and text remain together.

 

If we didn’t create the outer container table first, our image and text partitions might begin sliding around and stacking weirdly, depending on the width of the viewer’s browser window.

 

The container table helps keep our book entries properly aligned.

 

 

 

Step 3:  First Partition (Cover Image)

 

 

A.  Create the one-celled inner table

 

Now create your first inner partition.  This is where your book’s image will go.

 

Be sure the insertion point is in the upper left of your one-celled container table.  Click on the Table icon in the toolbar.

 

Specify that your first inner table will have only 1 Row and 1 Column.  Uncheck the Has Border box.  Width should be 275 pixels.  (Notice how we’re using pixels now, not percent.)  Cell spacing and padding should be 1.  Alignment should be Center—not Left.

 

 

B.  Insert the cover image.

 

You should now see a new rectangular partition 275 pixels wide located inside the bigger container.  The insertion point should be centered at the top.  If it isn’t, click the Center icon in the Toolbar above.

 

In the sidebar to the right, click on the Images and files tab, then click Upload files.

 

As soon as the image file appears in the sidebar at the top of the list of previously uploaded files, click on it to insert it into the booklist in the main panel where your insertion point is now located.

 

 

 

Step 4:  Second Partition (Text)

 

 

A.  Create another one-celled inner table.

 

Now create your second inner partition.  This is where your explanatory text will go.

 

Move your insertion point out of the partition that holds the cover image and into the empty area of the container just to the right.

 

It should appear inside the big container, but just outside the upper righthand corner of the image partition.

 

Click on the Table icon in the toolbar.

 

Specify that the second inner partition will have only 1 Row and 1 Column.  Uncheck the Has Border box.  Width should be 300 pixels.  Cell spacing and padding should be 1.  Alignment should be Left.

 

A second partition now appears within the container, just to the right of the first.  The insertion point should be inside in the upper lefthand corner of this second partition within the container.

 

 

B.  Include call number.

 

Now for our text.  First, the call number:

 

E SONAMBULIST,J

 

So that it will match our other entries, make sure it appears in all caps and is green.  (Use the Text palette found in the toolbar above.)

 

 

C.  Format title and author.

 

Press the Return (or Enter) key to drop down a line.  Now for the title and author.  Type in:

 

The Six Sleepy Bunnies by Jessica Sonambulist

 

Make the text dark red and the title bolded.

 

 

D.  Insert description.

 

Press the Return (or Enter) key twice to drop down two lines.  Now for the explanatory text.

 

Keep it short.  Just a sentence or two to give an adrenalated programmer with only a few minutes to prep a storytime an idea of what the book is about.

 

If the text rhymes, mention that.  If there’s some sort of major theme to the work (e.g., going to bed), mention that, too.

 

Use dark blue to match existing entries.

 

 

 

Step 5:  Save

 

A.  Save your entry.

 

And that’s it!  Just save your entry by clicking on the Save button in the lower lefthand corner of the main panel.

 

Remember to save.  Don’t forget!

 

Once you have saved, then you’re done.