5 Interactive Storytime Ideas for Celebrating Book Lovers Day With Preschoolers 

Happy Book Lovers Day! August 9th is the perfect excuse to slow down, snuggle up, and celebrate just how magical books can be for your preschooler. Even if your child isn’t reading on their own yet, they can still fall in love with stories, characters, and the cozy feeling of sharing a book together. Reading out loud builds big imaginations, boosts early learning, and gives you that sweet one-on-one time your child will remember forever. 

So grab your favorite stories, clear a little space for play, and try one or more of these fun and easy activities that turn storytime into something your child will talk about long after the books are closed. 

Make Storytime Interactive and Full of Giggles 

If your preschooler is wiggly during storytime, good news. You don’t need to sit still to enjoy a book. Interactive reading gets your child moving, talking, and thinking as they follow along with the story. It can also actually boost your child’s language development and reading comprehension 

Look for books that ask questions, have repeating phrases, or invite your child to jump in. Try Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas, From Head to Toe by Eric Carle, or Don’t Push the Button! by Bill Cotter. Ask your child to roar like a dinosaur, hop like a frog, or guess what happens next. They’ll be giggling, moving, and building language skills all at once. 

You can also let your child act out parts of the book with puppets or stuffed animals. Or switch roles and let them “read” to you by looking at the pictures and telling their own version. You don’t have to follow every word on the page. Just have fun with it and enjoy the story together. 

Dress Up Like a Favorite Book Character 

Preschoolers love pretend play, and this activity is always a hit. Pick a book your child already adores, then create a simple costume to match their favorite character. No sewing or shopping needed. Just grab what you have at home. 

Going as Pete the Cat? All you need is a blue shirt, some sunglasses, and maybe a couple of big “buttons” made out of paper. Fancy Nancy fans can layer on costume jewelry, sparkly clothes, and a feather boa. Want something super easy? Be the Very Hungry Caterpillar with a green tee and a red paper headband with antennae. After everyone is dressed up, hold a mini fashion show or book character parade. Let your child show off their costume, then read the story that goes with it. You can even act out a scene or make up a brand-new adventure for their character. 

Make Up Your Own Stories Together 

Preschoolers are full of ideas. Let them take the lead by creating a brand-new story with you. Start by picking a character. Maybe a pirate, a puppy, or a banana with sunglasses. Then ask your child, “What happens next?” You’ll be amazed at how their imagination takes off. 

You can tell stories out loud as a team. You say one sentence, then they say the next. Or use crayons and paper to draw it out together. Add silly twists like flying tacos or talking trees. It doesn’t have to make perfect sense. It just has to be fun. 

Books like Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, and Journey by Aaron Becker are perfect for sparking your child’s imagination. After reading, invite your child to dream up their own ending or create a whole new adventure with the same characters. They can draw pictures, tell the story out loud, or even act it out with toys. Write their words down and turn it into your own homemade book to read again at bedtime. It’s a fun and easy way to build confidence and celebrate their creativity! 

Turn Books Into Easy Learning Games 

Books are the perfect way to sneak in learning while having fun together. After reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, try a letter hunt. Hide foam or paper letters around the house and tape a big paper tree trunk and leafy top to the wall. As your child finds each letter, they can help the letters “climb” the tree by sticking them on. Say the letter names out loud and cheer them on as they go. 

If you’ve just read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, turn it into a scavenger hunt. Draw or print pictures of items from the story like a cookie, milk, a straw, and a crayon. Hide them around the room, and ask your child to find each one in the order they appeared in the book. Retell the story together as they collect each item. Want to keep the fun going? Make a storytime bingo card. Before you start reading, draw a simple grid and fill each square with a character, animal, or color you expect to see in the story. Every time your child spots something on the card, they get to mark it off. When they get five in a row, let them pick the next book to read. 

You can also make a matching game using characters from Brown Bear, Brown Bear or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Draw or print two copies of each character and turn them into cards. Mix them up, place them face down, and play together to find the matches. Talk about the animals, colors, or foods as you play to keep building those early vocabulary skills. 

Read Together and Share the Book Love 

Reading with others makes books even more special. Grab a few favorite stories and set up a cozy reading nook with pillows, a blanket, and soft lighting. Then invite someone to join. It could be a sibling, a grandparent, or even a favorite stuffed animal. Take turns reading pages or making up the words based on the pictures. Let your preschooler “read” to their buddy. Buddy reading helps build confidence and shows your child how fun it is to share books with others. 

Want to make it a group event? Host a simple book show and tell. Each child brings a favorite book and tells what they like about it. You might hear, “This book is silly,” or “I like the part with the dinosaur,” and that’s perfect. It’s all about helping kids talk about books in their own way. 

At Creative World, Storytime Is Our Happy Place 

At Creative World School, we don’t just read books to preschoolers. We bring them to life. Every day, our classrooms are filled with silly voices, storytelling games, and magical moments that help children fall in love with reading. We know how important it is to build a strong foundation in early literacy, and we do it through joy, movement, and imagination. 

Come see how our classrooms celebrate books, creativity, and learning every single day. Schedule a tour at your nearest Creative World School and discover the place where your child’s love of reading can grow.