Littles and How They Grow

Littles and How They Grow by Kelly DiPucchio

I just read this new book in Babytime and I really enjoyed it because it shows diversity among the families.  It was a tad long for Babytime, but I'm sure there is a way to make it shorter. 

Teddy Bear Storytime

Teddy Bear Storytime

I love doing a bear storytime.  I love it even more when I mix Teddy Bears into my storytime.  I have a huge bin of Teddy Bears that I use for songs with the children at the end.  If you ever want to borrow my big bin of bears, please let me know.  I've been collecting teddy bears throughout my career and they are all different and unique and some not-a-bear teddy bears.  I always talk about how it's winter time and the bears are now hibernating (great word to boost their vocabulary) before the reading books.  It's so much fun!  

 Bedtime for Bear by Brett Helquist

This was the favorite for storytime this morning.  Poor bear is so tired, but his friends, two raccoons, really want him to play in the snow with them before he sleeps all winter long. 

 Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand

This was a fun one to read.  It's spring and Mole wants his friend Bear to watch up.  He tries everything and it's not until makes him a big pancake breakfast before Bear wakes up.  Poor Mole is so tired from trying to wake up Bear that he gets back to sleep at the end. 

Where's My Teddy?  by Jez Alborough

I really like this story.  Poor Eddie has left his teddy in the woods, when he goes to find Eddie he finds that his teddy is now HUGE.  

Songs I use doing my teddy bear storytime:

Two Little Brown Bears, Sitting on a Hill, One Name Jack and One Name Jill

Run away Jack....

Two Little Brown Bears, digging in the Snow, One Name Fast and One Name Slow

Run away Fast....

Two Little Brown Bears feeling quite proud, one name Quiet and one name Loud

Run away Quiet...

Teddy Bear Playhouse by Hap Palmer "So Big" CD

Dance With Your Teddy Bear by Greg & Steve "Jumpin & Jammin" CD

Dance with your Teddy Bear!

Thanksgiving Storytime

Thanksgiving Storytime

Thank You Bees by Toni Yuly

I discovered Toni Yuly about a year ago and I love her books.  They are perfect for Babytime and Toddler Time.  I used the same Thanksgiving books every year, so I was excited when this one came out, because it is a new book!  The toddlers can join in with saying "thank you".  This is a win in my book.

I also play Raffi's "Thanks a Lot" during bubble time.  I love that song, it's so simple and nice.  

Happy Thanksgiving!  Gobble!  Gobble!

Halloween Storytime

Halloween Storytime...BOO!

Every year we do an annual Halloween Storytime and it's by far one of my favorite storytimes to do. 

Books:

You can read this anytime of year, but I like to present it at Halloween Storytime, or during my "monster" storytime.  The kids can yell "GO AWAY".

I like that this book has ghosts, but the ghosts are not scary.  I also like the point out that there are only three colors used to make this book, white, black and orange.  

This is Bill's favorite Halloween Book and we cannot have a Halloween Storytime in Windsor without reading this book.  It's not in the"Halloween" collection, but it fits nicely with our storytime.

Fingerplays:(Ask for the Words, if you want)

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Sitting on a Wall (I do this bounce/fingerplay every week starting in October until Thanksgiving)

Two Little Bats

Flannel:

Brown Bat, Brown Bat, What do you See?

Songs:

We are Monsters by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael on the Bouncy Blue CD

Itsy Bitsy Spider by Hap Palmer on the Early Childhood Classics

There's a Spider on the Floor (with Scarves) by Raffi

Happy Halloween!

Apple Storytime

Apple Storytime

I love doing Apple Storytimes this time of year.  I always look forward to reading my favorite apple book, The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall.  I point out the pictures, talk about the changing of seasons, and show how important bees are at the end.  I usually follow it up with Buzz, Buzz, Buzz by Laurie Berkner.  I also always use this poem, that I found a long time ago and still use it.  I have the flannel and I use hand motions.

Apples

Apples, apples, one, two, three,

Apples for you,

Apples for me.

Apples big,

Apples small,

Apple trees tiny,

Apple tress tall.

                                                 Apples sour,

                                                 Apples sweet,

                                                 Apples, apples, are nice to eat.

Happy Fall!

Now by Antoinette Portis

Now by Antoinette Portis

The illustrations are striking in this new picture book and I look forward to voting for it during our Mock Caldecott this year.  I used this book to kick off fall storytimes in Toddler Time.  I wasn't sure how it would be received but I felt the children really enjoyed it.  I plan on bringing it to my Preschool Outreach groups because there is a lot you can discuss in the illustrations.  I love that the cover illustration is over the spine of the book, so you can show the children how you need to open the book completely to see the full illustration.  A beautiful picture book.

Happy Reading!

Where is Bear?

 Where is Bear? by Jonathan Bentley

One of my new favorite Toddler Storytime books.  A little boy is running around at bedtime, looking for bear.  The kids like to point out the huge bear that is "hiding" in the pages.

The best part was I used a bear puppet before the story for a song (on purpose) and put the puppet behind me on the table.  When I opened the book and said "Where is Bear?" a little girl pointed to the puppet and said "there, the bear is right there".  LOVE IT!  That's why I love storytime.
Happy Reading!

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

 Chugga Chugga Choo Choo By Emma Garcia

I just read this book to at Babytime and it was great!  It is so much fun to say "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo...Clickety Clack on the track..."  It has trains, animals and counting, what more do you want in a babytime book?!?  Check it out.

Ten Little Fingers, Two Small Hands

Ten Little Fingers, Two Small Hands by Kristy Dempsey

 At first I was a little nervous about sharing this book during Babytime because of the length of the book.  It turned out perfect for Babytime, the babies and parents enjoyed it.  I recommend counting your fingers before and after the book.

Enjoy!

Commotion in the Ocean

Commotion in the Ocean Storytime

I've been doing Preschool Storytime at the local Preschool Summer Camp through the Town of Windsor.  Every week they have a new theme and I try to pick my books around the theme.  This week's theme was Commotion in the Ocean.

 

The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

One afternoon Cailin from Petaluma told the librarians that her favorite book to share at storytime is "The Pout-Pout Fish" by Diesen.  I immediately checked it out and it was a huge hit with my kids. So, I decided to give it a try for storytime.  The kids LOVED it.  It was by far their favorite.

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Another hit and it fit into the them.

We also read Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins.  We talked about all the different types of fish and our favorite one.  

If you do an ocean storytime you must do "The Goldfish Song" by Laurie Berkner.  If you don't know "The Goldfish Song" you need to check it out now!

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.  

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

The Little Red House Flannel

I received this flannel when I first became a children's librarian based on the book "The Little Red House" by Norma Jean Sawicki.  I've used it for my toddler time and outreach storytime this past week and it's a big hit.  The houses change colors and get smaller and smaller.  In the last house there is a teddy bear.

Kindergarten Class Visits

Kindergarten Class Visit

 After all my class visits last year I decided I need to find new class visit books, I'm really getting sick of my old ones.  Today marks the beginning of a month of class visits and decided to try out two new books.

Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray & Jim Field
"But I don't want to sit on a log," said the frog.  "Logs are all hard and uncomfortable.  And they can give you splinters.  Ouch!"
"I don't care," said the cat.
"You're a frog, so you must sit on a long."
This is the start of an explanation of what all animals sit on because the words rhyme.  Storks sit on Forks, Fleas sit on Peas, etc.  The ending is funny and surprising and all the kids and parents loved it.

I Am Not a Chair! by Ross Burach

On the first day in the jungle Giraffe is mistaken for a chair...which leads to some funny illustrations and happenings....I really like the end of this book too.  I got this book yesterday and thought it was great, decided to see if it would pass the "Olivia" test, it did, so I tried it.  I would say the kids enjoyed the Frog book better, but I still really like this book.  I will use it again.

Dogs!

It's a Doggy Dog World

I've been in a dog mood lately, doing all my storytimes with a dog theme.  Here are some of the books I read this week to support my dog theme.

In Toddler Time the first book I read was "Maggie's Ball" by Lindsay Barrett George.  I really love the illustrations of her books.  The children really responded to this story and I plan on reading it again.

This was the second book I read during Toddler Time.  I really like this book, but it may have been a tad long for my group.       I really enjoy reading "Bark, George" to older Preschool crowds, and this was a winner this week.  The kids all got the humor and enjoyed the ending.

The next book I read in Preschool Storytime was "Dog's Colorful Day" to Emma Dodd.  I own the flannel to this book, which I often do side by side, but this time I just read the book.  After each new spot on Dog I asked the children, "Now, how many spots does Dog have?".  When they say the answer I say "That's right, because 1 + 1 = 2" on each new spot.  On the page with all the spots I have the children say the color of the spot and what it was (grass stains, bee pollen, etc.), which helps with recall and retelling of the story.  This is also an easy book to prepare a craft for.

 This is my craft sample for Preschool Storytime.  I enlarged Dog on the cover of the book on the photocopier.  I asked a teen volunteer to cut out dog for me.  (If you have an older crowd they can cut it out themselves).  I would have liked my volunteer to have cut all the way around Dog, but I wasn't there when he finished.  I used the Dot-to-Dot markers for the children to give Dog all his spots.

I also read "Digger Dog" by William Bee, which is always a hit, no matter who I read it to.

For music I played "My Dog Rags" by McGrath, Bob.  You can find this song on his CD "Bob's Favorite Sing Along Songs".  If you ever need me to show you the movements I use just ask.  I always do this song twice, for two reasons, it's a short song and to give the children a chance to do it correctly one whole time through.

I also used the flannel "Bingo".

Digger Dog

Digger Dog by William Bee

The moment I read "Digger Dog" I knew this one would be a hit and I bring it to almost all my outreach groups at least once a year.  It's important to have a reference copy of this book though, the pages will be torn after multiple circulations.  I like to point out how the word "dig" is repeated over and over in the text.  A hit!

Hi, Pizza Man

  Hi, Pizza Man by Virginia Walter

I do a lot outreach storytimes for the Windsor community.  Today I went to a preschool group for the first time.  I decided to reach into the "oldie but goodie" pile and read "Hi, Pizza Man!" by Virginia Walter.  I forgot how much kids love and respond to this book.  After the sentence "What if it's a pizza snake?  Then what will you say?" we guessed how a snake can hold a pizza box.  You can also discuss/point out the different attire the animals are wearing.  A hit among the kids today!