Dance of the Violin by Stinson

This new book just came in and I love it! I am planning to pair it with the recording of the song the boy in the book plays in his competition.  It is super easy to read and does a great job of turning music into a visual experience. I might have the kids listen to music and draw what it shows them. I think I will ask them what color the music feels like and what shape or form it might look like in a picture.  What other music books would go well with this for a storytime?

Best outreach ever!

This morning, I did a storytime for school-age kids at the YMCA summer camp. It was so much fun, and the older kids were actually really enthusiastic. (Sometimes those tweens can be a tough nut to crack!) We sang 2 songs and read 3 books, then talked about the Summer Reading Program.

Instead of a welcome song, I asked them to do their camp cheer for me, which was very long and very loud! We also sang The Pizza Hut Song (which I sang at camp as a kid) and Bananas (the Jim Gill version, which I love and play at almost every single storytime).

The books were a big hit. The camp director gave me the theme of "Time Warp," so these are the two I chose:

Otto Grows Down by Michael Sussman. It's about a 6-year-old, but really the older kids liked it and understood it a little better than the younger ones. Otto wishes on his birthday that his baby sister had never been born, so time starts going backwards. The best part is when the author starts describing how weird it would be to have normal, everyday things go backwards, especially going to the bathroom! The kids loved that part - so gross.

The Case of the Train Without Wheels and Other True History Mysteries for You to Solve by Patrice Sherman. THIS WAS FANTASTIC. It's one-page mysteries (like, "How did King Tut die?" with a few clues), and the next page gives what historians think is the true answer. They wanted me to read the whole thing, but I didn't have time. The kids were telling each other all about history and were so excited when they guessed the correct answer. I need to find more books like this!

Babytime

This morning I read two books that I forgot about at Babytime (0 to 18 months).  Both of them were great and I will read them again.

I really like the Brownie & Pearl books.  They are short, sweet with big illustrations.  I also really like that they use idioms too, I think idioms can be strange for children, so I like that I can introduce them with books.  I have read most of these books at one point during Babytime.  However, this one is perfect because the first line of the book is "It is a hot day."

 I always read "Jingle-Jingle" during Christmas time, so I forget about this book.  I'm glad that I found an old favorite.

Outreach Storytimes

I'm going to several different outreach events this summer.  This week I read these books to different groups and they were a big success!

The Secret Tree Fort by Brianne Farley
We talked about what we would put in our Secret Tree Fort.  I love the illustrations!

Morris Mole by Dan Yaccarino
This was suggested by Charity and I really enjoy this story.

If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
This was a huge hit at all my outreach events.  We talked about what type of room they would like in their dream house.  I encouraged children to draw their dream house and bring it to the library to show me.  

Picture Book Review

Bear and Squirrel are Friends by Deb Pilutti

The first time I read this book I was really confused at the moral or purpose of the story, so I read it again.  The story left me feeling uncomfortable and still confused.  I gave it to another staff to read, and they returned it with a similar reflection about the moral of the story.

Thinking of amphomorphic characters, there is the standpoint that people of different races have to struggle to be friends and no one will support them.

From another even more disturbing vision of the world, friends eat friends. And you can make blueberry pancakes to save yourself from being eaten by your bestfriend. Cannibalism is expected and accepted.
CLOV has the only copy of this book.  Are we reading too much into it? Wanna read it? I'd love your perspective.

Colors of Nature by Kate Riggs

Colors of Nature by Kate Riggs just came in and it will be perfect for Babytime.  It has wonderful illustrations, colors and simple text.  It goes through the seasons with colors. Starts with Spring and ends with Winter.

Potato Joe by Keith Baker

Storytime started back up and I chose one of my favorites to share today Potato Joe by Keith Baker.

There is counting forwards and backwards and there is a special guest appearance by a guy named Watermelon Moe. This is a fun and unique picture book that makes kids laugh!

Splash! by Flora McDonnell

When the jungle animals are hot, a baby elephant has a good solution involving the squirting and splashing of water at the water hole. Very simple with big bright pictures!

Farm!

My story time theme was "Farm" today! We read:

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee
A classic favorite of mine that works well for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

Old MacDonald Had a Truck by Steve Goetz
A fun twist on the traditional song. Instead of cows and sheep, Old MacDonald has an excavator and a steam roller!


Farm Songs:

Down on Grandpa's Farm (I used puppets)


Farm Rhyme:

Five Little Eggs

Five little eggs and
Five little eggs
That you see makes ten
Sitting on top is the Mother Hen
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
What do you see?
Ten fluffy chickens!
Yellow as can be



A few weeks ago, we were bombarded by teens needing volunteer work. In desperation to keep them busy I said, "Come up with a cute farm craft that preschoolers could do." They came up with this cow hat, which turned out great.

Favorite Class Visit book

I missed the J meeting this week where everyone shared their favorite class visit books, so I thought I would throw in my two cents...

Parts by Tedd Arnold

 

"A five-year-old boy thinks his body is falling apart untill he learns new teeth grow and hair and skin replace themselves." A classic! Gross enough to satisfy any first-grader.

Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton

"Chronicles the life and achievements of the NASA engineer and inventor, from his childhood to his accidental invention of the Super-Soaker water gun." Great STEAM bio. The teachers especially like this one!

1st Grade Class VIsits

I had several 1st grade class visits this month.  In the past I have used the same books over and over and over again, so this year I wanted to read something different.  In the end I only read the same two books to each class, but I have many books that I think would work well with the elementary age crowd.

Here were my winners:

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt

I have two volunteers play Rock Paper Scissors in front of the class. The "loser" would sit down and the "winner" would pick another child to play.  I did a few rounds of Rock Paper Scissors until we read the book.  A hit!

Chicken Butt! by Erica S. Perl

You Know What?  What?

Chicken Butt!

You Know Why?  Why?
Chicken Thigh!

You Know How?  How?

Chicken Eyebrow!

This was a hit with everyone.  Very short and a good book to finish off with.

My new favorite funny book.  I read this to one class and I think they enjoyed it.  I will be reading it again soon.

I am NOT a Chair! by Ross Burach

I really like There's a Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins.  I think you need older children for this title, but it's so great, the illustrations, the rhyming, I just love it.

The next one I found on Storytime Underground.  I never got a chance to read it but I will read it to my Outreach groups this summer.  

Poor Doreen:  A Fishy Tale by Sally Lloyd-Jones & Alexandra Boiger