It’s 9:28 a.m. and the Mission Bay library won’t open for another half hour, but the line outside already wraps around the block — past the Philz Coffee and stretching down Berry St. “We are normally the first in line at 9 a.m.,” said Argentina, a nanny who is here with her toddler charge. “It looks like we’re lining up for a concert, but it really is that important.”
Mission Bay library’s storytime — which is held most Tuesdays (toddlers at 10:15 a.m., preschoolers at 11 a.m.) and Thursdays (babies at 10:15 a.m.) — is one of the hottest tickets in the neighborhood. You can buy your way into a Valkyries game, but the only way to make it into storytime is to get there early and wait — or get someone else to wait for you. Some couples, the rumor goes, divide the labor — one waits in line, while the other gets coffee, and then they switch roles right before the doors open.
But on a recent Tuesday the line appeared to be mostly nannies and grandparents. The first person, who showed up at 9 a.m., declined to be interviewed, and so did the second. The third said that she was here with her grandson, and that they come every Tuesday and Thursday. Behind her was a man who also declined to be interviewed, and switched places with a woman five minutes before the doors opened. Another nanny in line, Avy, said that she and the toddler that she cares for take the train here from the Financial District — which means getting up early to take the N Judah from the Salesforce tower. There are not, she said, many resources or programs for children in the Financial District.
Today, Avy continued, she felt lucky to have snagged a good enough spot to get guaranteed entry. “Every week people just seem to come earlier and earlier,” she said.
Most of the nannies, grandparents, parents, and caregivers in line said they go to every storytime they can. “We have been going to storytime since the beginning of this year every Tuesday and Thursday,” Argentina said. She found out about storytime from other nannies she met in the Mission Bay area. “You just have to come here and stay in line — that’s it,” Argentina said. “It is the only thing you have to do, and it’s worth it.”
“It’s amazing to see the improvement of your baby,” Argentina continued. “In the beginning it’s just for fun — but day by day, month by month, you realize your baby is learning.”
Storytime is one of the few free events for young children in the Mission Bay area. Blue Bear School of Music, located on 660 Mission Bay Blvd North, offers two free music classes for babies and toddlers on Fridays at the Golden State Warriors Thrive City, and other free sessions for low-income families. Other than that, public parks are the only other free option in the neighborhood.
At 10 a.m., a librarian unlocks the doors. A herd of strollers rolls in as a librarian hands out tickets: Each child and each caregiver must have one to gain access, no exceptions. After 54 tickets, 10:15 storytime is closed. The other 20 people who did not make the cut file into the kids’ area of the library or grab a drink at Philz, before lining up again at the front desk at 10:30 a.m. One parent who arrived at the line at 9:20 a.m. was unable to get a ticket. “It is what it is,” she said, walking towards the designated kids’ area. (She did get a ticket for the next session). Librarians estimate about 5-10 additional patrons get turned away after the second ticket drop,
Those with tickets for the coveted 10 a.m. storytime make their way to the secluded outside area of the library, to get a good seat on the rug.
The show starts
As everyone settles, the star of the show prepares in the back office of the library. Jessica Choy is one of the two librarians hosting storytime at Mission Bay — her speciality is the toddler and baby sessions. Choy has been a children’s librarian since 2021, and has been leading storytime at Mission Bay since November 2025.
To this crowd, Choy is a legend. “Miss Jessica really has the touch to handle every kid,” Argentina said, as we waited in line earlier. “She is amazing, patient, and has the ability to deal with all kids at every level, no matter their needs.”
Seeing Choy walk into storytime is comparable to seeing a pop star take the stage. Like a star, she wears a headset microphone, and the faces of children and caregivers light up as she opens the session with two singalong welcome songs. Despite some initial rowdiness and early morning jitters from the audience, Choy is able to regroup the kids in an instant with deep breathing exercises and waterfall sounds.
Storytime is serious business. Based on an educational research program called “Every Child Ready to Read,” created by the American Library Association, the program is aimed at early childhood educators, families, and caregivers, with a textbook and sample curriculum to support early literacy development. It includes singalongs to common nursery rhymes, interactive play activities with instruments, and extensive caregiver participation.
On this particular Tuesday, Choy read “Safari Animals” by Simms Taback, asking the toddlers to call out what animal they think is on the next page, Next was “Kitten’s First Full Moon” by Kevin Henkes, and a singalong to crowd favorite “Roly Poly” with accompanying hand gestures. Next, Choy passed out egg shakers to the children as she sang the “Egg Shakers Up” a song selected from a “magical jukebox” made from a cardboard box. The program ended with a chaotic but energetic performance of “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” which Choy sings to conclude each toddler session.
As soon as the first session was over, youth librarian Maggie Frankel brought in her materials for the preschool crowd: “Bike On, Bear!” by Cynthea Liu, and “Machines at Work” by Byron Barton. Children repeated the names of the machines out loud, while Frankel broke out chicken puppets, songs, and plenty of dancing.
“I have a framework that I fill in every week with different activities,” Frankel said. “It’s an array of rotating songs and activities.” Frankel said. “Some repeat every week for pedagogical reasons, and others I regularly swap.”
For Frankel and Choy, storytime is a highlight of their job.
“We as librarians trick ourselves into thinking we’re doing this for the kids,” Choy said. “But then you’re five minutes in — singing songs and having a great time, kind of tapping into your inner child. I come away feeling more energized and excited for the rest of my week.”
Meeting demand
Storytime seekers who are turned away from Mission Bay are directed to storytimes at Chinatown and Bayview library branches, which have larger capacities. “It’s always sad to see people get turned away,” Frankel said. “It often happens when somebody is new to our storytelling and doesn’t know the system. I try to make sure everyone knows that our nearby branches both have large facilities, awesome librarians, and really good storytimes there too.”
Frankel added that the branch library also hosts a free storytime at the Mission Creek Park South once a month, with unlimited capacity. The next one is slated for Wednesday, August 19.
According to the San Francisco Public Library statistics from the 2025-2026 fiscal year, Mission Bay has an average attendance rate for storytime at 40 attendees per session — higher than storytime at the two nearby branches, the Main and Potrero branches. Librarians at Mission Bay estimate that upwards of a hundred people show up every day there’s storytime to try to get a ticket.
A logical response to this would seem to be adding a lot more storytime. But despite the high demand, said Choy, the Mission Bay branch is limited in how much storytime it can provide, given staffing and available space.
“There is more of a demand than what just one public library can meet,” said Choy.
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