Book Review: Benji, the Bad day and Me

Benji, the Bad day and Me is a story of two brothers.  The story opens with the older, Samuel, struggling with a really bad day.  A rotten day at school, getting wet and cold on the walk home, and coming home to a little brother, Benji, who also had a difficult day.  The younger brother has autism, and the reader learns through the interactions between mom and Samuel that Benji is hypersensitive to sensory input. I'm not going to give summarize any more.  Read the story. This JE is owned by three branches and listed as a "Supplementary Title" on Children's Core Collection (H.W. Wilson).  
However, having worked with youth with autism for many years I think this is better than supplementary...I highly recommend it.  And yes every child is different, so not all children will react as Benji does in the story, but it is a jumping off point to open the conversation about behaviors, feelings, kids that go to different schools, and much more i.e. who and why kids ride the little yellow bus (there is a stigma). Oh, I've put it in the cart because ROHN doesn't own it.

Ocean Storytime

Craft:
Paper plate fish with dot stickers and pens. A couple parents said this was their favorite craft.  I should have asked why, as it is so simple, and I don't think it is very creative.
Supplies:
scissors
white cheap paper plate- large
circle stickers in various sizes
markers
masking tape for tail




I read a variation of the same books at my Toddler Time and Preschool Storytime.

Rub-a-Dub-Sub by Ashaman 

Is a story about a boy in the tub playing with toys, but the reader does not know that until the very end.  There are rhyming sentences on every page that include the sea creatures in the verse. Bright fun colorful pages.  Great read-a- aloud book!

Poor Little Guy by Allen

This is a book with a cute fish that looks harmless, but isn't.  I had to do some explaining and deeper discussion with the toddlers.  It was over their heads, but the parents loved it.  The older preschool kids however did get it and thought the book was funny.

Hooray for Fish by Cousins

This a a staple fish book, I think, for toddler story. The covers colors, shapes, and more.  I think it is too low for preschool.

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Sherry

I love this book!  I wish it came in BIG BOOK size.  It is about a egomaniacal giant squid 

Transportation Storytime & Spring Displays

beep beep!

On Tuesday we did transportation story time with the babies.
I was inspired by the new picture book
by Kate Dopirak & Mary Peterson,
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Car" :

 

  

After surfing the web & finding a cute flannel song, I made the following truck to go along with the lyrics:

There were 5 in the truck and the little hen clucked 

"MOVE OVER! MOVE OVER!"

So they all moved over and one fell out...4...3...2...1...

There were none in the truck and the little hen clucked.... 

"I'VE GOT THE WHOLE TRUCK TO MYSELF, 

I'VE GOT THE WHOLE TRUCK TO MYSELF!"

This spring I am focusing my passive displays on local wildlife & conservation to promote my upcoming programs: Design Your Own Bird Nest, Make a Bee Hotel, and Where Do Birds Nest? - a talk with guests from the Native Songbird Care and Conservation nonprofit in Sebastopol.

           

To peak patron interest and stimulate introverts, I put together the following displays to promote these upcoming sustainability STEM programs for K-3rd & 3rd-5th:

                  

The Stick Together display for Read Across America was such a hit, that we've decided to keep some kind of passive activity in that area for middle grade kids & families. This season we are encouraging kids to trace their Laguna de Santa Rosa neighbors. I printed out and laminated illustrations/photos of local wildlife from Pixabay, referencing the "Field Guide to the Laguna de Santa Rosa." The purpose of this activity is to instill a deeper connection between resident and local wildlife. 

 

  

To compliment this activity I made a "Meet Your Laguna de Santa Rosa Neighbors" display, giving names and friendly gestures to various native plants, mammals, birds, and insects. My goal for this display is to make patrons aware and more conscientious of the diverse wildlife in their area.

       

This season's Early Literacy Scavenger Hunt bookmark was easy to make because of these displays:

All images used are fair use / public domain or given express permission to me to use for such purposes. I collected them from Wiki Commons and credited them as required, and Pixabay. We are maintaining a google spreadsheet to keep track of the images we use.

Happy Thursday,

Courtney Klein, Sebastopol

Foodie Baby Storytime

Hello!

I had a wonderful baby storytime with a culinary focus at Sebastopol, inspired by Atinuke's new beautiful picture book:

I used these foodie songs/rhymes within my outline:

• Bread & Butter
• Toast in the Toaster
• 5 Little Tofu Dogs
• Tops & Bottoms Hand Washing Song
• Bananas Unite! (with flannel board)
• The Milkshake Song
• We Ask for Milk Like This (with sign language)
• Mix a Pancake (with scarves)
• Popcorn Kernels (with scarves)

These flannel characters were fun to make. I paired them with the Bananas / Oranges / Avocado / Yellow Corn UNITE! song. It was a crowd pleaser  :}

Merry Storytime! -Courtney

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.

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!