American Girl Doll Welcomes Somali Children to Library

Super excited that VOYA Magazine shared the project I've been working on at my current library. This project is so important to me and to the kids I work with.

American Girl Doll Welcomes Somali Children to Library


American Girl Doll Welcomes Somali Children to Library
Samira Ali is the newest member of the Lewiston Public Library’s American Girl Doll family, created especially for the children of Lewiston. Through an extremely generous donation by an anonymous donor, Library Technician Danielle Fortin was able to pick a custom doll. Fortin chose a doll off the My America line of American Girl Dolls and customized it to look like a Lewiston Somali-American.



Over the last fifteen years, Lewiston has seen an influx of more than 6,000 residents with roots in Somalia and east Africa and many of these New Mainer families use the library. Fortin’s plan called for a doll that looked like the youth that came to the library, one with which they could identify. Her overall goal with this project was to give the Somali children of Lewiston a doll and story that matches their own.

Over the winter, children were invited to suggest and then vote on a name for the doll. Samira Ali was the top voted name out of the many names suggested. Samira has a custom wardrobe including two traditional dresses, several dresses and skirts, and two custom hijabs that Fortin made. Fortin and a teen volunteer will write a history story for Samira as well. Her story will mirror the stories of many of our Somali children and the difficulties they face moving to America, and Lewiston in particular, while learning to speak English in a new environment.

Danielle Fortin

Library Technician

Lewiston Public Library

Toddler Time - Clap and Stomp

I felt the need to do lots of singing and moving around for today's story time, so we had a Clapping and Stomping program today.

Stories We Shared

Today we read a favorite of mine: Stop Snoring Bernard! by Zachariah O'Hara. I LOVE this book so much. Love, love, love. Bernard is adorable and snoring is so much fun. If you have an active group getting them to yell "STOP SNORING BERNARD!" with you is so much fun.

Flannels We Shared

Our flannel today was "Who Said Moo?" from the Clueless Librarian. They loved my cow and horse the most. (Note: chicken feet are hard!)

Rhymes We Shared

Today we sang a lot. A LOT. We started out with If You're Happy and You Know It (just clapping, stomping, and yelling hooray), which we sung twice, of course. Then we moved onto Old MacDonald Had a Farm (cow, pig, and sheep). And of course, our favorite (I do love this too) Shaker Song (with all the verses!) and a new shaker song: Shake It to the East (by guess who!), followed by Twinkle Twinkle.

     Shake It to the East

     Shake it to the east
     Shake it to the west
     Shake it all around
     and then you take a rest
     Shake your shakers up
     Shake your shakers down
     Shake it, shake it, shake it,
     and then you settle down.

Early Literacy Tips We Shared

• Activities like clapping and stomping help a child to build motor skills and boost coordination!
• Introducing your child to songs, rhymes, and books is a great way to help your child expand his or her vocabulary since books and rhymes often contain a larger variety of words than what we typically use in conversation.

Toddler Time - Mud and Dirt

Today's story time was all about dirt and mud. Seemed fitting after the ridiculous amount of rain we've been getting!

Stories We Shared

Our first story of the day was UnderGround by Denise Fleming. I have so much love for this story it isn't funny.

Our second story is more appropriate for early spring, but I love it so we read it anyway. Mud by Ray.

Flannels We Shared

What goes with mud better than pigs? Nothing! Today's flannel was from Sunflower Storytime.

     Five little pigs rolled in the mud
     Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
     The farmer took one piggy out.
     ‘Oink, Oink, oink,’ the pig did shout!

           4,3,2,1

     No little pigs rolled in the mud.
     They all looked so clean and good.
     The farmer turned his back and then,
     Those pigs rolled in the mud again.

 Note: because my kids are so young we only used 3 piggies.

Rhymes We Shared

Today we sang our Shaker Song, but added the rest of the verses to it. Our verses aren't in the same order as Jbrary's, mostly because I had shortened the song to begin with, but we were SUPER excited over this song. We sang it 6 times. Six times. Yes, six. Then we played with our shakers, taking turns deciding where/how we would shake them. Always a huge hit.

     Shake Your Shaker
     Shake your shaker in the air
     Shake it here, shake it there
     Shake your shaker in the air
     Shake your shaker

     Shake it up and shake it down
     Shake your shaker on the ground
     Shake it up and shake it down
     Shake your shaker

     Shake it fast and shake it slow
     Shake it stop, shake it go
     Shake it fast and shake it slow
     Shake your shaker

     Shake it high and shake it low
     Shake it yes, shake it no
     Shake it high and shake it low
     Shake your shakers

We closed with Eensy Weensy and Twinkle Twinkle as is becoming our habit lately.

Early Literacy Tips We Shared

Don't forget, talking with your child helps them learn about the world around them. As children listen to spoken language they learn new words and what they mean while gaining important knowledge about the world around them.