Kit Ballenger 📚

🎉BIG NEWS! 🎉 I built a library collection for The 81st St. Studio at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we open to the public this Saturday! I hope you’ll come explore this exceptional, STEM-themed, *free* drop-in discovery and play space for kids ages 3-11 and their caregivers. This project was an absolute joy and I can’t wait to share more about it! 🎉 #MetMoment #81stStStudio #libraryconsultant #kitonlit

I love the Library! • Scenes from the 2024 National Book Festival, including my conversation with author-illustrator Peter Brown today chatting about THE WILD ROBOT series! Thank you, @librarycongress ! • #natbookfest #ilovemylibrary #librariansofinstagram

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Thanks to @mcps_md for inviting me back to book talk your elementary school library and media specialists’ ears off! That hour flew past with show-and-tell of dozens of books I recommended at the county-wide training. Spoiler: This crew wasn’t fooled by Mr. Fox’s “Game of NO!” 🩵 #librariansofinstagram #readersadvisory #collectiondevelopment #schoollibraries #schoollibrarian #montgomerycountymd #booktalks #havebookswilltravel 📸 : @sutterll

what an amazing way to kick off book it around dc 📖 grateful to everyone who joined @kitonlit and myself. a special thank you to @wonderlandbookstagram and @librofm for the audiobook giveaways and bookish goodies✨ we cannot wait to see you next month!! #bookitarounddc #bookworm #washingtondc

We went INTO THE WOODS today with @absolutelymindy on @siriusxm @kidsplacelive to meet some undead forest friends and nibble on pickled bats. Featured books: BEARSUIT TURTLE MAKES A FRIEND, by Bob Shea • THE CAFE AT THE EDGE OF THE WOODS, by Mikey Please • MISTACO! A TALE OF TRAGEDY Y TORTILLA, by Eliza Kinkz • THE UNDEAD FOX OF DEADWOOD FOREST, by Aubrey Hartman • UNDER THE SAME STARS, by Libba Bray • + a bonus book, When a Tree Falls! 🌲 🌲 🌲 @bobsheabooks @elizakinkz @mikeyplease @aubrey_hartman @libbabray @abramskids @harperkids @lbschool @fsgyoungreaders @fiercereads @kokilabooks @penguinclassroom

Book It Around D.C. got off to a great start with avid audiobook fans braving some blustery weather while exploring Bethesda, MD’s scenic trails and new indie home base @wonderlandbookstagram ! New friends, snacks, generous door prizes from @librofm + Wonderland — and the audiobook recs were flying. Stay tuned for details on April’s gathering, and drop a note below with your current listen ⬇️ Thanks to @prettylittlebookshelf for being the best planning buddy • • #audiobooks #bethesdamd #indiebookstore #buildingcommunity #walkingclub #librariansofinstagram

Book access matters. A local study on children’s reading habits found that kids surrounded by books spend more time reading (particularly kids in underserved school districts). 92% of kids have access to more books because there is a @littlefreelibrary in their community. If you’re looking for a small action with outsized impact, go refill a LFL near a school or community space. I help stock this one @buildingbridgesdc with help from Scott @dcbridgepark — building readers, building bridges. 💜

Last, a few currents, and a next read. Keeping a book in the car lets me knock out a few chapters each carpool wait (and probably leaves me calmer in traffic than would doomscrolling?). A friend just told me she keeps a hair-drying book. What’s your sneak-in-a-few pages spot? 🚘 #librariansofinstagram #readingonthego #middlegradefiction #middlegradebooks #readerlife #sneakyreading

Winifred would rather not be the governess for the insufferable Pounds children, with the leering Mr. Pounds ogling her and the insipid Mrs. punishing Winifred every given chance. But one does as they must when the long game is violent retribution after a lifetime of deliriously dark and disturbing behavior. If you prefer a heavier dose of Lector to your Clarice, say Bring it on! to the Patrick Batemans, and would adore a Gothic Villanelle in her languid and graphic glory, this pick’s for you. Sumptuously macabre. And positively decadent on audio. 🔪 VICTORIAN PSYCHO, by Virginia Feito, narrated by Anna Burnett 🔪 Thanks to @librofm for the exceptional audiobook! @recordedbooks @annaburnett SLAYS @wwnortonlibrary #audiobookstagram #victorianpsycho #horrorbooks #librariansofinstagram

The adage “write what you know” lends brutal insight to this lightly fictionalized emigration story by a Russian author-illustrator whose family, by happenstance, was abroad when Ukraine was invaded and made the difficult decision to expatriate for their continued safety. Leaving the big city so unexpectedly has a child unmoored. The food, the language, the view from their apartment window — their mom and even the child are now different. Adjustment comes, though, aided by a touch of home, and that which was different becomes the familiar. An empathetic look at displacement and the rippling casualties of wartime. 🌟 A STAR SHINES THROUGH, by Anna Desnitskaya 🌟 @eerdmansyoungreaders @anyadesnitskaya #emigration #picturebookstagram #librariansofinstagram

if you’re based in the dmv, love audiobooks and want to get your steps in, come book it around dc with us! @kitonlit and @prettylittlebookshelf have teamed up with @wonderlandbookstagram to launch a monthly audiobook walking club where book lovers can connect, chat, and move together. For our first meet up on March 16th at 9am, we’ll start at Wonderland Books for a quick hello, then head out for a refreshing stroll along Crescent Trail. Feel free to bring headphones, your current audiobook, or just enjoy the conversation and scenery! Each month, we’ll pick a scenic trail across DC, Maryland, or Virginia and spend time walking, listening, and discussing books in good company. stay tuned for details on our next walk!! #bookitarounddc #audiobooks #washingtondc