Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in San Francisco, CA

Listening to stories read aloud is such a ubiquitous part of childhood that it's easy to forget it's happening. Sure, we read to our 2-year old daughter Fern at naptime and bedtime, and probably at least once or twice a day besides, but it's like brushing her teeth: it fades into the background of our parenting tasks.

Which is why it's nice to get out into the world and attend a public reading of stories for children. Here are some opportunities for you to do just that:

• The S.F. Public Library branches almost all have children's story times every week. It can be a little daunting to figure out when and where, though. The best way to start is by going to the Library's Web site and selecting the link for your closest branch. From the branch page, click on "Library Events" and you'll get a list of everything going on at your branch, including all the children's story hours. My local branch, for example, has bilingual story hours in Russian and Spanish; a "lap sit" hour for babies, and even a Shakespeare night for older kids.
• The Botanical Garden has a story hour and walk every other Saturday morning at 10:30; check out their calendar for details.
• The Asian Art Museum features a storyteller every Sunday at 1 p.m. who ties in stories of Asian and Asian-American art and artists. Click for the museum's Web site.
• If your young un' is a little more intrepid (or just obsessed with "big kids" like mine), then you should also check out the storytelling at 826 Valencia, with stories written and read by elementary children. The schedule varies, but a calendar can be found here. Call ahead; apparently, of the storytelling hours have to be closed to outsider because of a few schools' policies. (As a bonus, you also get to pick up some pirate supplies whily you're there.)

I'm sure I've missed some of the City's public storytelling venues for kids -- please feel free to correct my ignorance in the comments!