Meet First Chapters: Our Newest Collection
Published on August 19, 2025
By Leah T.
We all begin our reading journey by being read to.
As a little girl, I remember attending library storytimes, completely in awe of the librarian. How could she read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt with such ease? Her animated voices and big gestures pulled me into the story, making it come alive.
Afterward, I’d head upstairs to check out my own stack of books, determined to host storytimes for my stuffed animals at home. But when I tried, I quickly realized I didn’t know how to read like my librarian did.
Not long after, my own reading journey officially began at school. At home, I practiced with books from the Easy Readers collection—sounding out words and reading short, simple sentences. These reads didn’t exactly captivate my stuffed animal audience, but they served an important purpose: building my confidence while I learned to decode text.
Is this your reader? Check out this post to learn more about decodable books at Siouxland Libraries.
After mastering Easy Readers, I faced the vast shelves of Children’s Fiction. The stories were longer, the words smaller, and the transition felt intimidating.
That’s where First Chapters—our newest collection at Siouxland Libraries—comes in.
Designed as a bridge between Easy Readers and Children’s Fiction, First Chapters offers shorter chapter books with larger text and supportive illustrations. These stories give young readers the chance to build reading stamina and confidence, while still feeling like “big kid” readers.
I sat down with Kiesha, one of the masterminds behind the collection, to learn more about how the collection came to be.
What made you recognize the need for this new collection?
Kiesha: I had heard from several staff members that they were struggling to find those “just right” books for in-between readers. The dreaded question kept coming up: “Where are the books for second graders?” These books are small and often get lost on the shelves. It became clear we needed a way to make them easier for families (and staff) to find.
Can you walk us through the process of creating the collection?
Kiesha: This was a multi-year process. After recognizing the need for the collection, the first step was to bring the idea to our Collection Development Librarian, with a sample list of titles to show what the collection could look like. Once I got the green light, the real work began.
That meant building a master list of over 3,000 titles that would move from Children’s Fiction to this new collection. While curating the list, we also decided on the collection’s name, planned how each book would be properly relabeled, and determined how much shelf space each branch would need to house the new collection.
When it was time to launch, it became a team effort. System Support staff, volunteers, and I all pitched in to relabel books, while staff at the branches rearranged shelves and displays to make room for First Chapters.
Which titles have been the most popular in the First Chapters collection so far?
Pug's New Puppy by Kyla May
Baxter is Missing by Rebecca Elliott
Is there a “hidden gem” in the collection—a title you wish more people would discover?
Ratnip: Lost and Found in the City by Cam Higgins
Bibsy Cross and the Bad Apple by Liz Carton Scanlon
Reading is a journey, and the First Chapters collection is here to help your budding independent reader continue to blossom. Browse the collection online or stop by the library to see it for yourself!