Noisy Night by Mac Barnett

Noisy Night by Mac Barnett. I used this book in a family storytime last Friday, and it was so great! It really worked for all ages, because it has simple, colorful illustrations, repeating sounds and rhymes, and is also a guessing game! The older kids really loved trying to guess what was making all the noise; there are some difficult answers and some simple answers, so the toddlers could participate too. I'm definitely adding this one into my rotation.

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!

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!

"Z" books

Sandra and I finally finished our alphabet storytime series! I had two books from the Z storytimes that went over really well.

Zero Kisses for Me by Virginie Soumagnac. It's about a little bear who decides he doesn't want any more kisses. It is shorter than most picture books, so I read this one to the toddlers. The parents loved it, of course, and the kids could really relate.

Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin by Lloyd Moss. This one is a "classic" (1995), about counting and musical instruments and concerts. I love it - I'm afraid it doesn't circulate very well because it's in the 784s instead of picture books. The words are so musical and fun to read out loud. I read it to the preschoolers, and they really got into it - they were all trying to tell me about instruments they have a home, concerts they've gone to, music they like, etc. It was a huge hit.

Bibliobop 4/28/17

I had a really successful Bibliobop yesterday. There were about 90 people there! It was a lot of fun. Thank you, Tiffany and Charity, for helping me with planning/advice.

 Here's the outline I used:

Good Morning (Songs for Wiggleworms) 
Introduction: explain what we are doing today

Hands Are for Clapping (Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song)
Walking, Walking (Songs for Wiggleworms)

Shakers: Shake My Sillies Out (Raffi, Giggling & Laughing)
No More Monkeys (Asheba, No More Monkeys)

The Airplane Song (Laurie Berkner, Whaddya Think of That?)

Book:

Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs (Eric Litwin)

This is the greatest storytime book. You can download the songs that go with the story from the Scholastic website. All the kids were singing along and shouting out the words by the end of the book.






Scarves: Spider on the Floor (Raffi, Singable Songs for the Very Young)
Bananas (Jim Gill, Music Play for Folks of All Stripes)
Bubbles: Bubbles (Laurie Berkner, Superhero)
The More We Get Together (Raffi, Singable Songs for the Very Young)

Preschool storytime: The Letter W

Books:

The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino

The kids enjoyed this one. They were able to guess why the crocodile didn't like water before the end.

The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan

This one was okay. I love the pictures, but I don't remember getting much response from the kids.







Songs and Chants:

• Welcome, Welcome, Everyone
• Alphabet song
• Buenos Dias/Frere Jacques
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Dance Your Fingers
• Peanut Butter and Jelly
• If You're Happy and You Know It
• Dinosaur, Dinosaur, Turn Around
• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
• Rocketship Run
• The More We Get Together

Flannel:

 The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

The kids enjoyed this, but I messed it up a few times. There are a lot of pieces to this one! (It is a purchased one, not a homemade flannel.)








Craft:
Watermelons and whales with paper plates

There Are No Scary Wolves! by Hyewon Yum

I read There Are No Scary Wolves by Hyewon Yum at yesterday's Toddler Time. The kids loved it! They actually got quieter as the story went on, and you could hear a pin drop by the time I got to the end. It was amazing; they were all absolutely enthralled by this book.