Rhyme Time and Storytime at Balham and Wandsworth Libraries: A Guide for Under-5s

If you have a toddler or young child at home and you're looking for something free and genuinely good for their development, rhyme time at Balham library is worth knowing about. We often mention it to families at Little Starlings, and quite a few of our children visit the library with their families outside of nursery hours. It's one of those simple things that really does make a difference.

What happens at library rhyme time and storytime?

Wandsworth libraries run two regular sessions aimed at young children.

Baby Rhyme Time is aimed at babies from a few months old up to age two. Sessions include songs, rhymes and percussion instruments, and they're a lovely way to introduce very young children to rhythm and language in a relaxed setting. A parent or carer needs to attend with the child.

Storytime is for children under five. Library staff read books from a range of authors, and children get to sit, listen and engage with stories in a way that's different from home. Again, a parent or carer attends with the child.

Both sessions are free and need no booking. You simply turn up. Some special sessions and events do require booking and may charge a fee, so it's worth checking the details before you go.

Wandsworth libraries also run sensory rhyme time sessions and alternative-language rhyme time sessions, which is something I know many families across our local area, including those in Tooting, Clapham South and Streatham, find really valuable.

Balham Library is at 16 Ramsden Road, Balham, London SW12 8QY, which puts it within easy reach of most families in SW12 and the surrounding area. For current session days and times, I'd recommend checking the Wandsworth library events page directly, as these can change and I wouldn't want to give you out-of-date information.

Why songs and rhymes matter in the early years

This is something we talk about a lot at nursery. Songs and rhymes aren't just enjoyable, they're doing real work.

When children hear and repeat rhymes, they're building phonological awareness: the ability to notice and play with the sounds in language. This is one of the foundations of learning to read, and it develops long before a child picks up a book. We see it every day at Little Starlings. Children who have had lots of exposure to songs and rhymes tend to find it easier to tune into the sounds within words, which makes early literacy feel much more natural when it arrives.

Beyond phonics, songs and stories build vocabulary. Each new rhyme introduces words and phrases a child might not encounter in everyday conversation. Repetition helps those words stick. And the rhythm of a rhyme makes language easier to remember and reproduce.

Storytime adds something slightly different. Sitting with a book, following a narrative, looking at illustrations and making predictions about what happens next: all of this builds comprehension, attention and imagination. We find that children who have regular story experiences are often more comfortable sitting with a book independently, and more willing to engage with stories at nursery.

For children who are bilingual or growing up with more than one language at home, the alternative-language rhyme time sessions can be a particularly lovely way to celebrate that. We wrote more about supporting bilingual children in the early years in our guide on raising bilingual children in early years if that's relevant to your family.

How we connect books and language at Little Starlings

At nursery, we walk to the local library as part of our regular outings, and books are woven into daily life in the setting. Stories happen at quieter points in the day, and we choose books that reflect the children's interests and experiences. We've found that children engage most when the stories feel connected to something they know or are curious about.

Songs and rhymes come up throughout the day too, not just at a designated circle time. A tidying-up song, a rhyme at snack time, a counting song outside: these moments all count. If your child comes home singing something new, that's usually a good sign that language is fizzing away in the background.

If you're looking for more ideas for getting out and about locally with a young child, our guide to things to do with toddlers near Balham has some other suggestions worth bookmarking.

A note before you go

A few practical things to keep in mind:

• Both Baby Rhyme Time and Storytime are free and require no booking for standard sessions
• A parent or carer must attend with the child
• Some special events at Wandsworth libraries do need booking and may have a cost
• Check current session times directly with Balham Library or via the library's online listings before you set off

Libraries are one of those genuinely brilliant local resources, and it's always worth making them part of your regular routine while children are small.

If you'd like to find out more about Little Starlings and how we support early language and learning, we'd love to show you around. Book a show-around at a time that suits you, and you can meet the team, see the space and get a feel for how we work with children from 16 months to five years.