Why not stick with alphabetical order? Most people that use picture books either browse the books at random or look up a topic that they want to read about, such as “Trucks” or “Monsters.” We thought “why not make this easier for everyone?” while also introducing books on the topic you already like that you never would have stumbled upon before! And for the those that want a specific book, most people need to use the card catalog anyway, so there are no extra steps! How did you choose the categories? We are not the first library to put picture books into categories, so we researched and used their ideas as a starting point. From there, we decided that “subcategories” would be helpful to keep a library of our size organized. We chose these by separating any of the topics under the category that had more than seven books. You can see how that grew! How exactly did you sort the books? Each book in the Picture Book Section had to be read by one of the librarians in order to determine what the book is about. Sometimes, the cover has a bear on it, but the story is about sharing, so we would put it into the sharing section. What happened when there were two categories the book could go into? Well, we asked ourselves “Where is this more likely to be searched for?” and put it with those books. Believe us, sometimes that was very difficult to decide. Sometimes we even disagreed! What about books with multiple copies? Those we got lucky with and were able to put in two locations. Dinosaurs playing sports? One in “Dinosaurs,” one in “Sports”. But, I just want a Dr. Seuss book. There are a select few authors and illustrators that we kept all together in our “Beloved” section, including Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, and Mo Willems. Has it worked? We have seen the number of picture books checked out go up as well as books that have never gotten much attention get checked out more. We think that is great news! African (Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Lions, Rhinos, Zebras) Aliens Asian (Tigers, Pandas) Beloved (Authors) Australian (Emus, Kangaroos, Koalas, Komodo Dragons, Platypus) Eric Carle Lois Ehlert Bears Leo Lionni Birds (Not Chickens {Farm}, Ducks, Penguins) Beatrix Potter Bugs (Insects, Spiders, Worms) Seuss Cats Rosemary Wells Mo Willems Dinosaurs Jane Yolen Dogs Clothes (Getting Dressed, Ducks Matching, Underwear) Farm (Chicken, Cow, Goat, Pig, Rooster, Sheep; Not Horses) Creatures (Ghosts, Goblins, Forest (Foxes, Mice, Moose, Opossums, Raccoons, Skunks, Squirrels) Monsters, Mummies, Skeletons, Frogs (and Toads) Unicorns, Vampires, Witches, Wizards, Yetis, Zombies) Horses Dragons Jungle Fairies (Dwarves, , Fairies, Gnomes, Leprechauns, Pixies; Monkeys (and Apes) NOT: Fairy Tales {Tales} or Tooth Fairy {Me}) More (Multiple Animals, Other Animals) Food Ocean (Dolphins, Eels, Fish, Jelly Fish, Octopus, Sharks) History Penguins Interactive (Including Look-and-Find, Wordless) Pets (Choosing, Responsibilities) Pretend (Dreams; Imaginary Friends; Using your Imagination) Rabbits (Not as Pets) Robots Reptiles (Alligators, Chameleons, Crocodiles, Gecko, Iguana, Lizard, Snakes, Silly Turtles) Songs & Rhymes (Including Mother Goose, Poetry) Tales (Fairy, Folk, Myth; Not Disney Versions {Favorite Characters})

1, 2, 3 (Numbers, Counting) A, B, C (Alphabet) Colors Concepts (Grammar, Language, Opposites, Rhyming, Size, Swearing, Vocabulary, Various Other Concepts) Math (More Than Counting, Patterns) Shapes Time (Calendar, Clocks) Beach Angelina Ballerina Elmer City (Living) Arthur Fancy Nancy Farm As Seen (More Character From Franklin Fun (Destinations: Amusement Parks, Camping, Circus, Fair, Museums, Parks, Movies and TV) Froggy Restaurants, Zoos) Barbie Kipper Home Berenstain Bears Ladybug Girl Library Busytown (and Friends) School (Including First Day, New School, Teachers) Calliou Little Critter Store Clifford Llama Llama USA (Cities, States) Coduroy Lego World (Different Countries, Cultures) Comic Books Nick Jr. (Backyardigans, Blue’s (Antman, Clues, Bob the Builder, Bubble Aquaman, Guppies, Lalaloopsy, Maisy, Olivia, , Batman, Peppa Pig, Team Umizoomi, , , Wallykazam, Wonder Pets, Wow Doctor Strange, Fantastic 4, Flash, Wow Wubbzy, Yo Gabba Gabba) Guardians of the Galaxy, Green Peanuts Lantern, , , Pinkalicious (and Friends) Spiderman, Superman, , Transformers, Wonder Woman, X- Scooby Doo Men) Skippyjon Jones Curious George Sponge Bob Art (and Artists) Disney (101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Star Wars Alice in Wonderland, Aristocats, Books (Reading, Writing, Self-Aware) Winnie the Pooh Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, Dance (and Dancers) Brave, Cars, Cinderella, Dumbo, Music (and Musicians) Finding Nemo, Frozen, Good Playtime Dinosaur, , Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jungle Book, Sports (and Athletes) Lady and the Tramp, Little Toys Mermaid, Lion King, Mickey Mouse, Moana, Monsters Inc., Mulan, Oliver & Co., Palace Pets, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Sophia the First, Tangled, Tinker Bell, Toy Story, Zootopia) Dora & Diego Boats Environment Build (Construction Equipment) Fall Cars Flowers Farm (Combines and Tractors) Gardens More (Bicycles, Buses, Motorcycles, Subways; Multiple Things that Go) Go Green (Recycling, Conservation) Planes Life Cycle Trains (Including Thomas the Engine) More (All 4 Seasons, Ecology {Food Chain}) Trucks Precipitation (Rain, Snow) Sky (Moon, Planets, Space, Stars, Sun) Spring Summer Trees Water (Lakes, Oceans, Ponds, Rivers) Weather Winter Bath Bedtime Behavior (Attitude, Etiquette, Grumpiness, Manners, Sharing) Body Celebrations (Birthdays, Weddings) Baby (New Baby, Pregnancy) Chores (Being Helpful Around the House, Responsibilities) Babysit Esteem (Bullies, Confidence, Identity, Self-esteem) Cowboys (and Girls) Feelings (Anger, Fear, Grief, Jealousy, Joy, Other Feelings) Community (Neighborhoods) Growing (First Hair Cut, Growth Milestones, Tooth Fairy) Dad Health (Exercise, Illness, Healthy Habits, Nutrition) Family (Including Adoption, Blended Families, Divorce, Step-Parents, and Love Other “Non-Traditional Families”) Moving Friends My Day (Daily Childhood Routines) Grandparents Potty (Toilet Training) Helpers (Dentists, Doctors, Firemen, Nurses, Paramedics, Police, Volunteers) Religion (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Muslim, etc) Mom Safety (Emergencies, Personal Boundaries, Strangers, Traffic) Pirates Senses (5 Senses) Royals (Emperors, Kings, Princes, Princesses, Queens) Special (Allergies, Autism, Glasses, Learning Disabilities, Wheel Chairs, Etc.) Siblings Vacation Superheroes (And Villains)