Making a Monster: A Monster Storytime

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Early Literacy Tip: When you read books like Go Away, Big Green Monster! which feature a repeated word or phrase, make it a paired reading experience, by having your child say the repeated part (Go Away!). Point to the word on the page to help build their print awareness.

Many of the neighborhoods in our community take Halloween decorating VERY seriously, which is fun, but possibly frightening for younger kids. So, this week I thought I would present stories about monsters, as a way of giving the kids a chance to think and talk about them in a safe, fun environment.

I started my storytime by asking who was ready for Halloween, and what their costumes were (Elsa is evidently very popular this year!). We also talked a little about trick-or-treating, and practiced saying, “Trick or Treat!” together. Finally, I asked if anyone had been seeing scary monster decorations around town (they all had!), and said we were going to read books about monsters today.

Here’s the whole outline that I used for Family Storytime, plus a parachute song that I used for Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Links go to Worldcat.org, which lists Goodreads reviews and links to libraries who own the title. I wasn’t able to find a good link for the print English version of Go Away, Big Green Monster for some reason.

Opening Song: Wheels on the Bus

As usual, I put out a variety of animal puppets, and the kids took turns suggesting which animals to put on the bus.

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The cat on the bus goes, “Meow! Meow! Meow!… etc.

The shark on the bus goes, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!…etc.

I always end by repeating the first verse, but we sing and make our “wheels” go really fast!

Book: Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

Book cover for 'Leonardo the Terrible Monster' by Mo Willems featuring a cartoon monster with large eyes and a fluffy body.

One of my all-time favorite read-alouds. Leonardo is a terrible monster, who can’t scare anyone! Until one day, he finds the most scaredy-cat kid in the entire world and scares the tuna salad out of him. But when he finds out the real reason the little boy is crying, he decides to give up being a terrible monster and become a wonderful friend instead. I love trying to read the page with the boy’s long list of problems in one breath. The large format and simple text make it perfect for almost any age group, and the kids always laugh at the friendly chase scene on the last page.

Song: We Are Scary Monsters

I usually sing this one with the play scarves, and have the kids pretend to be ghosts. But this time, we pretended to be monsters instead. We sang it through twice, and then I asked the kids what else they would like to be. They suggested “creepy ghosts” and “giant waves splashing down the street.”

We are scary monsters
Stomping down the street,
Stomping down the street,
Stomping down the street.
We are scary monsters
Stomping down the street.
We’ll scare you!
BOO!

Book: Max the Brave

Cover of the children's book 'Max the Brave' by Ed Vere, featuring a cartoon black cat with yellow eyes wearing a red cape against a blue background.

Very cute story about a brave black cat who is determined to catch a mouse. The problem is that he doesn’t know what a mouse looks like. He asks a rabbit, birds, an elephant, and other animals if they are a mouse, and they all say no. When he finally asks Mouse, he says he is a monster, but that he saw Mouse sleeping. He finally finds what he thinks is Mouse, but gets eaten (and sneezed out!) by Monster.

Song: Hickory Dickory Dock

I sang this to follow Max, the Brave, using a mouse puppet to run up and down the kids’ arms, which they thought was hilarious!

[C] Hickory [G7] Dickory [C] Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse [G7] ran up the [C] clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck one: BONG!
The [F] mouse ran down. (run fingers down arm)
[C] Hickory [G7] Dickory [C] Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)

Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse ran up the clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck two: BONG! BONG!
The mouse went, “BOO!” (cover your face and then uncover it when you yell, “BOO!”)
Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands)

Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse ran up the clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck three: BONG! BONG! BONG!
The mouse went “Whee!” (run fingers down body quickly)
Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands)

Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse ran up the clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck four: BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!
The mouse said, “No more!” (hold hands out palms up and shrug shoulders)
Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands)

Book: Go Away, Big Green Monster

Before I read this, I gave each child a play scarf, and told them that every time we said, “Go Away!” to part of the monster, we would wave the scarf and make a “whsh!” sound. The kids loved it so much that they begged me to read it a second time. I don’t usually do that, but since it was short, I read it again.

Cover of the children's book 'Go Away, Big Green Monster!' by Ed Emberley, featuring a colorful green monster with large eyes and purple hair on a black background.

Scarf Song: Popcorn Kernels

We sing this scarf song every week, usually after singing a song tied to the theme. But since we read Go Away, Big Green Monster twice with the scarves, I decided to just do this one.

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels, (Wave scarves)
In the pot, In the pot. (bundle the scarf into your hand)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em. (shake your hands)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop! (throw the scarf in the air)

Parachute Song: Trick or Treating

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I came up with a really simple song about trick-or-treating to sing with the parachute. I threw a handful of pompoms on the chute each time we sang it and pretended they were pieces of candy. The kids loved watching them bounce up and down as we shook the chute in time to the song.

To the tune of Are You Sleeping?

Trick-or-treating,
Trick-or-treating,
On our street,
On our street.
Please, give me some candy!
Please, give me some candy!
Nice and sweet,
Nice and sweet.

Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Cover of the children's book 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak, featuring a large bear and a sailboat amidst trees.

It’s always fun to throw in an absolute classic picture book every now and then, and hear the caregivers say, “Oh!” in happy recognition. A lot of the kids recognized it too. The story of a mischievous boy named Max, who sails away to where the Wild Things are and becomes king of all Wild Things, before sailing back home to where someone loves him best of all. The kids enjoyed pretending to be Wild Things, and joining in on the terrible roars. I also throw in a funny chant during the Wild Rumpus pages that goes something like, “Dong-a-da-ding-a-duh, Dong-a-da-ding-a-duh, Dong-a-da-ding-a-duh, Dong Dong Dong.” My favorite piece of trivia about this book is that Sendak had to fight his editor over the last line (about Max’s dinner): And it was still hot. The editor thought it sounded too dangerous, and wanted to change it to “warm” instead, but Sendak refused.

Instrument Play-Along: My Imaginary Friend

I actually wrote a song about Where the Wild Things Are many years ago, but I thought this song (which was originally inspired by the book The Adventures of Beekle: the Unimaginary Friend) was a better fit for the monster theme:

[C] I have a little monster
No [F] larger than a [C] tear.
He climbs up on my shoulder
And [G7] whispers in my [C] ear.

CHORUS
He’s my [C] friend, my friend,
My [F] imaginary [C] friend.
Nobody else can see him.
They [G7] say he’s just pre-[C]tend.

Chorus

My monster’s always hungry.
He likes to eat my peas.
He brings me little treasures,
Like shiny coins and keys.

Chorus

My monster sleeps beside me
In a matchbox filled with hay.
He tells me funny stories,
And scares bad dreams away.

Chorus

If you find a monster,
I hope you’ll let him stay,
To chase away your nightmares
And play throughout the day.

He’ll be your friend, your friend,
Your imaginary friend.
And though no one else can see him,
He’ll be with you till the end.

Closing Song: The More We Get Together

As always, we ended the reading portion of storytime by singing The More We Get Together, with ASL signs, as in the video below.

The more we get together,
Together, together.
The more we get together,
The happier we’ll be.

Stay & Play: Dot Monsters or Foam Shape Monsters

A colorful children's drawing featuring a rainbow with multiple arcs in vibrant colors, surrounded by purple and blue dots, a pink smiling cloud, a yellow sun, and a blue squiggly line.

For Family Storytime, I actually had the kids make monsters out of different shapes cut out of adhesive foam sheets, and decorated with markers and googly eyes. But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any pictures of their creations.

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we made “dot monsters” with dot markers and googly eyes on white paper. The kids especially love the sparkly dot markers.

Happy Halloween!

What Are You Afraid Of? A Storytime About Fear

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Early Literacy Tip: Use the stories in picture books as a way to talk to your child about feelings. This not only helps your child connect the book to their own experiences, but also helps them learn to name their emotions, recognize visual clues for how people are feeling, and build empathy.

My new strategy for storytime planning is to build themes around everyday experiences. I know it’s not necessary to use themes at all, and often for toddler or infant storytimes, I focus more on books that work best for that age group. But for my Family Storytimes, I find that having even a basic theme helps me discover new books and organize my ideas.

With Halloween just around the corner, this week, I thought I’d focus on the idea of spooky things and being afraid. Halloween is meant to be fun, but I think the decorations at some houses can be frightening for kids, especially toddlers and preschoolers. I wanted to share the idea that everyone feels scared sometimes, and that reading or talking about scary things can make them seem less scary (and sometimes even fun).

For Family Storytime this week, I opened by asking the kids if they were afraid of anything. One boy said ghosts, another said zombies, another said the dark. I said we were going to be reading stories about things that some people find scary.

Here’s what I did for that storytime. I’m also including a related book and a parachute song that I did for Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Opening Song: Wheels on the Bus

As usual, I put out a variety of animal puppets, and the kids took turns suggesting which animals to put on the bus.

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The cat on the bus goes, “Meow! Meow! Meow!… etc.

The shark on the bus goes, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!…etc.

I always end by repeating the first verse, but we sing and make our “wheels” go really fast!

A playful illustration featuring a surprised gray mouse with wide eyes and an open mouth, standing in front of a colorful doghouse against a blue background. The title 'THE DOGHOUSE' is prominently displayed at the top, with the author's name 'JAN THOMAS' at the bottom.

Book: The Doghouse by Jan Thomas

Although not scary in the Halloween sense, I’ve run across a lot of kids who are frightened of dogs. This is a funny, simple story about a group of farm animals whose ball rolls into the doghouse. Mouse volunteers them each to go in one at a time to retrieve the ball, but none of them comes back out. When Mouse asks Dog if Duck can come out, Dog says he is having Duck for dinner. The next page shows all of the animals enjoying a dinner together inside the doghouse. This book also gave me a chance to plug our monthly Paws for Tales program, where kids can read to a therapy dog provided by the local Humane Society (a lot of families have found the program helpful, not only for reluctant readers, but also for kids who are scared of dogs).

Song: Spooky Old MacDonald

We followed the book The Doghouse by singing Old MacDonald, but I asked the kids to suggest Halloween creatures that he could have on the farm instead of animals. The kids suggested ghosts, vampires, and zombies.

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
And on that farm he [F] had a [C] ghost,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
With a boo-boo here, and a boo-boo there,
Here a boo, there a boo,
Everywhere a boo-boo.
[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

Repeat with other Halloween creatures…

Illustration of a big red monster with large eyes and a prominent nose, surrounded by colorful stars and swirls, with the text 'TAKE A BREATH, BIG RED MONSTER!' prominently featured above the monster, and the author's name Ed Emberley below.

Book: Take a Breath, Big Red Monster by Ed Emberley

I was excited to see this new Ed Emberley book in the style of Go Away, Big Green Monster. This one features an angry monster, with smoking ears and firecracker hair (the kids liked the hair especially). Instead of disappearing part by part, like the Big Green Monster, this book guides the monster to calm down by taking deep breaths, until finally he becomes a calm monster instead. Although the text is bit clunkier than some of the other Ed Emberley books, the kids enjoyed joining in on the breathing, and were mesmerized by the cut-out illustrations. Go Away, Big Green Monster is probably a better fit for the concept of fear, but I think anger is such a big emotion that it can also be scary for kids, and certainly an angry monster would be scary!

Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It

I love to do this variation of the traditional If You’re Happy and You Know It song, where we include other emotions. The kids especially love when I cry “boo hoo!” and when they get to “peek-a-boo!” on the verse about being shy.

[C] If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [G7] hands (clap, clap)
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands (clap, clap)
If you’re [F] happy and you know it, and you [C] really want to show it,
If you’re [G7] happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands! (clap, clap)

If you’re sad and you know it, cry, “boo hoo!” (boo hoo!)…

If you’re angry and you know it, say, “I’m mad!” (stomp feet and say, “I’m mad!”)…

If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face (cover your eyes with your hands, then pull them away and say, “Peek-a-boo!”)…

If you’re sleepy and you know it, yawn and stretch…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, “Hooray!”…

Cover of the book 'Ghosts in the House!' featuring a girl in a black dress standing next to a cat, with two friendly ghosts peeking from a house window on an orange background.

Book: Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara

This is one of my all-time favorite Halloween books. All of Kazuno Kohara’s books are so charming and original. In this one, a little girl, who happens to be a witch, moves into a haunted house, catches all of the ghosts, and puts them in the washing machine. After they dry, she transforms them into smiling curtains, a tablecloth, and two blankets. I handed out the play scarves before reading this one, and we threw them in the air and caught them on the page where the witch catches the ghosts.

Scarf Song: We Are Spooky Ghosts

I usually end up doing this song every week during the Halloween season, and the kids love it every time. I originally learned it as We Are Scary Skeletons from an Orff music curriculum long ago (and I still sing it that way for a my preschool visits), but it works really well as a play scarf song if you make it about ghosts instead. You can also adapt it to any other Halloween creatures, if you want to tie it to a particular book, and it’s fun to ask the kids to suggest other things to pretend to be.

We are spooky ghosts (put scarf on your head)
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street.
We are spooky ghosts
Floating down the street.
We’ll scare you!
BOO! (pull scarf off quickly)

Scarf Song: Popcorn Kernels

For Family Storytime, I sing this as my second scarf song every week, just before we read the last book. The familiar song helps bring any wandering toddlers back to the group, and the kids all enjoy throwing the scarves in the air at the end.

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels, (Wave scarves)
In the pot, In the pot. (bundle the scarf into your hand)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em. (shake your hands)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop! (throw the scarf in the air)

Parachute Song: For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I always do two songs (including Zoom, Zoom, Zoom) with the parachute, rather than scarves. This week I drew little ghosts faces on three cotton balls, and adapted the song The Ants Go Marching to a Halloween theme, similar to the version in this video. I threw one ghost on the parachute for the first verse, and two for the second. The kids loved shaking the parachute in time to the song and watching the ghosts bounce up and down.

The ghosts go haunting one by one.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ghosts go haunting one by one.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ghosts go haunting one by one.
The little one stops to have some fun.
And they all go marching down to the town
On Halloween night!
Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!

The ghosts go haunting two by two… The little one stops to shout out, “Boo!”

Book cover of 'Skeleton Hiccups' featuring a cartoon skeleton drinking from a glass against a dark background.

Book: Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler; illustrated by S. D. Schindler

This is such a perfect book for storytime. The illustrations are large and hilarious, and the story is about such a simple, relatable problem: having the hiccups. It also fit the theme of being afraid because Ghost tries unsuccessfully to scare Skeleton’s hiccups away by shouting, “Boo!” but in the end is only able to scare him by holding up a mirror. The kids loved joining in on the “hic hic hic” and the scream.

Illustration of a cartoon bat hanging upside down against an orange background, with the text 'Morag Hood I AM BAT' prominently displayed.

Book: I Am Bat by Morag Hood

I read this one for Outdoor Musical Storytime. One of the things I love about reading books aloud is finding different voices for the characters, and this bat is one of my favorites. I also love that, without explicitly stating any facts, the book teaches that, although many people are afraid of bats, a lot of them only eat fruit. The fruit bat in this story talks about his love for cherries, and is very upset when they start disappearing, until they are replaced by a delicious pear.

Instrument Play-Along (with egg shakers): On Halloween

I asked the kids for suggestions of Halloween things they might see in the house for each verse. We had monsters, bats, and witches. I ended with “The kids at the door say, ‘Trick or Treat!’”

To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus:

[C]The ghosts in the house say, “Boo! Boo! Boo!”
[G7] “Boo! Boo! Boo! [C] Boo! Boo! Boo!”
The ghosts in the house say “Boo! Boo! Boo!”
[G7] On Hallo- [C]ween!

Closing Song: The More We Get Together

I always end Family Storytime with this song, featuring basic ASL signs. The kids love doing the signs, which is always adorable to watch.

Stay & Play: Playdough Monsters

We had two tubs (orange and yellow) of Crayola Dough left over from a past program, so for the Stay & Play, I put out paper plates, small balls of each color dough, markers, googly eyes, and small pieces of pipe cleaner. The kids had a wonderful time making monsters with the dough (the creations on the left are a volcano and a pizza slice).

One caveat that I hadn’t thought of: a grandparent asked if there was wheat in the dough because their granddaughter had a gluten allergy. After some research, I discovered that the Crayola Dough is made with wheat (as is Play-doh), so if that’s a concern, it might be better to use something like Model Magic.

What types of books and songs do you enjoy doing for storytimes in October? Do you have a Halloween costume you’re looking forward to wearing (I’m always looking for new ideas)? Please share in the comments below.

Costume Party: A Storytime About Costumes & Pretending

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Early Literacy Tip: Before reading a book together, talk with your child about what they think the story will be about (based on the title and the cover), and ask them about any experiences they’ve had that are related to that topic. For example, for a Halloween book, you could ask them what they are looking forward to doing on Halloween.

After 26 weeks of letter-themed storytimes, I was excited to get back to other themes this week.

Since Halloween is in a couple of weeks, this week I chose books and songs about wearing costumes and pretending.

Usually, I organize my blog posts into separate categories for Books and Songs, but this week, I thought I’d just provide the whole outline for Family Storytime. My Outdoor Musical Storytime group lately has been tending towards babies and toddlers, and I may start deviating from themes sometimes with them. I will try to include any relevant variations that I used for that group though.

Family Storytime

My Family Storytime this week included mostly three and four year-olds, with a couple of older siblings. Here’s what we did (the book links go to the Amazon listing, only because it’s the easiest way to find reviews and additional info):

Opening Song: Wheels on the Bus

For Family Storytime, I always put out lots of different animal puppets. When I first restarted this storytime after the COVID lockdown, one of the kids asked if we could put the animals on the bus, and that’s been the tradition ever since. The kids love holding up an animal puppet for each verse. The only downside is that sometimes I worry we’re going to spend the whole storytime singing that song!

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The cat on the bus goes, “Meow! Meow! Meow!… etc.

The shark on the bus goes, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!…etc.

I always end by repeating the first verse, but we sing and make our “wheels” go really fast!

Introducing the Theme: I asked the kids if they had a Halloween costume, and what they were planning to be. Apparently, Elsa is very popular this year, as well as firefighters (I think because of Paw Patrol), and Spiderman.

A colorful illustration featuring children in various costumes for 'Dress-Up Day.' The background is bright yellow, with a child in a bunny suit carrying a blue backpack, and other kids dressed in different outfits, including casual wear and accessories. The title 'Dress-Up Day' is prominently displayed.

Book: Dress-Up Day by Blanca Gomez

This is a sweet, relatable story about a little girl who is excited to wear her rabbit costume for dress-up day at school. But the day of the party, she is too sick to go. Her Mom suggests that she wear it the next day instead, and she does, but she feels embarrassed and sad to discover no one else at school is wearing a costume. Then a boy named Hugo shows up dressed as a carrot, and they have such a great time playing chase on the playground that all of the other kids want to join in. I love the illustrations, which feature a charming and diverse cast of characters. I read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime too, since it is simple enough for toddlers.

Song: The Sleepy Bunny Song

This song worked well as a follow-up to Dress-Up Day, since the book featured a rabbit costume. Plus, the kids always love it! The version I do is similar to the one in this Little Baby Bum video:

[C] See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch or lie down and pretend to sleep)
[F]‘Till it’s nearly [C] noon.
[F]Come, let us [C] wake them [G7] with a merry tune?
[C]They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies! (jump up)
[C]Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (hop!)
[F] Hop little bunnies,[C] hop, hop, hop!
[F]Hop little bunnies, [C] hop, hop, hop!
[G7] Hop little bunnies, [C] hop and stop!

Illustration of a cartoon pumpkin with a lid open, revealing two eyes inside, with the title 'Pumpkin Trouble' by Jan Thomas displayed prominently.

Book: Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

I love Jan Thomas! Her books are all so simple, but clever and funny, with large, colorful illustrations that are perfect for storytime. In this one, Duck accidentally falls into a pumpkin while carving a jack-o-lantern, and gets stuck walking around with the pumpkin on his head. Mouse and Pig run screaming from the “Pumpkin Monster,” and Duck, not realizing that he is the monster, runs after them. The kids thought this book was hilarious. The many pumpkin pictures on the inside cover provided a great opportunity to ask the kids if anyone had a pumpkin at home, and the jack-o-lantern pictures inside the back cover made a great lead-in to our next rhyme. I read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime too.

Rhyme: Pumpkin Patch

I learned this one from an Orff music training years ago. I asked the kids to crouch down and pretend to be pumpkins, while I walked around them, and when I said, “Just like THAT!” to make a scary face. We did it a second time making a silly face instead.

Pumpkin patch, pumpkin patch, (crouch down like a pumpkin)
Walking all around in a pumpkin patch.
Here is a pumpkin, nice and fat, (stretch out your arms)
Turn into a jack-o-lantern, just like THAT! (make a scary or silly face)

Cover of the children's book 'Something Smells!' featuring a young child peering into a trash can with a displeased expression, set against a textured green background.

Book: Something Smells by Blake Liliane Hellman; illustrated by Steven Henry

This one is a little too subtle for the toddlers in my Outdoor Musical Storytime, but I have really been enjoying sharing it with the preschool and transitional kindergarten classes I visit. Most of them giggle even at the title. A little boy in a skeleton costume narrates the story about his quest to find the source of a terrible smell in his house. It isn’t his father, his dog, his hamster, his cockatoo, his little sister, his baby sister, or his grandmother’s mysterious gerfartzenschanffel, but what could it be? Before he can solve the mystery, his Mom insists that he finally take off his costume and take a bath, and something goes down the drain and disappears, taking the smell with it.

Scarf Song: We Are Spooky Ghosts

One of my very favorite Halloween songs. I originally learned it when I was a music volunteer at my kids’ elementary school, where it had the title, We Are Scary Skeletons, but I adapted it to work with play scarves. We usually sing it a couple of times as ghosts, and then I ask the kids to suggest other spooky things (or things they are planning to be for Halloween) they would like to be, and we pretend to walk like skeletons, or creep like spiders, etc. I made the video below during lockdown, which is why I’m wearing a cloth napkin on my head!

We are spooky ghosts (put scarf on your head)
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street.
We are spooky ghosts
Floating down the street.
We’ll scare you!
BOO! (pull scarf off quickly)

We are scary skeletons walking down the street…

Scarf Song: Popcorn Kernels

At Family Storytime, I always do two songs with the play scarves: one that is loosely related to the theme or a book we just read, and this one, which the kids always love. They especially enjoy grabbing handfuls of scarves to throw up in the air. I sometimes do it with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime, and put cotton balls on the chute. It’s to the tune of Are You Sleeping (see the JBrary video below for a demonstration).

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels, (Wave scarves)
In the pot, In the pot. (bundle the scarf into your hand)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em. (shake your hands)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop! (throw the scarf in the air)

Illustration of a happy cartoon dog peeking out from behind a large, unzipped orange cover, with the title 'A Dog Is a Dog' in bold yellow text and the author's name, Stephen Shaskan, below.

A Dog Is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan

This is a funny, simple, rhyming book full of surprises. A dog is a dog, whether it’s naughty or nice…unless it turns out to be a cat in a dog costume, which turns out to be a squid in a cat costume, which turns out to be a moose in a squid costume, which turns out to be a dog in a moose costume! I think there may be an “a” missing in the line “A cat is cat,” which threw me off for a second, but the book is a lot of fun to read aloud, and the kids enjoyed trying to guess what animal was coming next.

Instrument Play-Along Song: Shoo Fly!

I always end my storytimes by handing out egg shakers and maracas for the kids to play. This is an old traditional song, with lots of different versions, but the one I use is closest to the one in the Greg and Steve video below. I always ask the kids to suggest different things they would like to be for each verse.

CHORUS:
[C] Shoo, Fly, don’t bother [G7] me! (Wave hands as if shooing a fly)
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother [C] me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother [G7] me,
I’ll tell you what I want to [C] be.

[C] I fly, I fly,
I fly like a butter-[G7]fly.
I fly, I fly,
I fly like a butter-[C]fly.

CHORUS

I wiggle, I wiggle, I wiggle like a wiggling worm…

Closing Song: The More We Get Together

I always end Family Storytime with The More We Get Together, using ASL signs (as in the Sing & Sign video below). It’s so cute to see toddlers doing the signs, and I love that it uses basic signs that I try to use whenever they come up in storytime, like more and happy.

Stay & Play: Paper Masks

Before storytime, I printed a variety of animal mask templates, and asked one of our VolunTEEN participants to cut them out. I wanted to print them on card stock, but the printer was being difficult, so I used regular computer paper, and asked the volunteer to glue the mask template to a piece of cardstock before cutting them out. FirstPalette.com has some really cute designs:  https://www.firstpalette.com/craft/printable-animal-masks.html

For the Stay & Play, I put out the printed masks, some jumbo craft sticks, markers, and tape (to tape the craft stick on the back). The kids had a great time decorating their masks and then holding them up to their faces.

Do you have any favorite books or songs about costumes? Please share them in the comments below.

E-Z Does It: A Storytime about the Letter Z

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Early Literacy Tip: When reading books with flaps, ask your child to predict what will be underneath each one before they lift it. Making predictions is a great way to keep kids engaged in the books they read, while also improving their comprehension.

We finally made it to the end of the alphabet! It’s been a fun challenge to revisit, especially since this time I was trying to be more intentional about modeling fun ways to engage kids around early literacy skills like recognizing letters and learning their sounds.

As always, we started by drawing an upper- and lower-case letter Z together in the air, and talking about any Z words we knew. The families suggested zebra, zoo, and zigzag. I pulled a few things out of a paper bag: a zipper, a toy zebra, and a zucchini (for Family Storytime, I also included a picture of a zebu, which is so much fun to say).

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Illustration of a red truck with a large white cargo area featuring the text 'TRUCKS ZOOMING BY.' Inside the truck, a smiling driver and two passengers enjoy the ride, while other trucks are seen on the road in the background.

Trucks Zooming By by Pamela Jane; illustrated by Barry Gott

There’s always one or two kids in every storytime audience who LOVE trucks, and immediately start pointing excitedly whenever they see one in a picture book. This rhyming story about a little boy traveling with his long-haul trucker parents was a big hit with those kids. Every page features different types of trucks that the family sees on their journey. There’s even one illustration of a trailer full of horses that drew exclamations from the horse-lovers in the crowd.

Book cover of 'Not Yet, Zebra' featuring a playful illustration of a girl with red hair in a blue striped shirt and a zebra, set against an orange background.

Not Yet, Zebra by Lou Kentzler and Julia Wolf

This is my favorite type of alphabet book–one that builds a story around trying to create an alphabetic list (another favorite title along the same lines is Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky). In this story, a little girl is painting animals in alphabetical order, but the zebra keeps trying to sneak into an earlier spot by dressing up as different animals. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of each animal.

A playful zebra character named Zee, wearing yellow pants, running joyfully with a small treat in its hand. The title 'Zee' is prominently displayed in blue, with the author's name 'Michel Gay' in a smaller font below.

Zee by Michel Gay

I’m pretty sure this book is out of print, but it’s a cute story that my Family Storytime families enjoyed (a couple of the grown-ups said, “That’s so sweet!”). A little zebra tries to wake his parents by bringing them coffee and breakfast in bed, but when he trips and spills the tray, he only has enough coffee left to fill a doll’s tea set, and it only wakes his parents enough to give him doll-sized kisses.

Cover of the book 'Dear Zoo' by Rod Campbell, featuring a red zoo cage with a sign that says 'FROM THE ZOO' and a cartoon depiction of a lion peeking out.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

I had to include this one, even though it’s a board book. It’s such a classic, and it was a big favorite of my own kids. The narrator explains that they wrote to the zoo to send them a pet. Each page features a different animal that the zoo sent, hidden under a flap, and explains why they weren’t a good pet: the elephant was too big, the giraffe was too tall, etc. For my Family Storytime, which has a smaller group, I let the kids take turns opening the flaps. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I asked them to guess which animal was under each flap.

Songs:

Wheels on the Bus

We sang this after reading Trucks Zooming By. It’s such a versatile song, and I love modifying it in silly ways: having the wheels go really fast, having the horn make silly noises, putting animals or favorite characters (Spiderman is a particular favorite) on the bus, and having the grown-ups cry “Waah! Waah! Waah!” It’s also one of the easiest songs to play on the ukulele.

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The horn on the bus goes “Beep! Beep! Beep!”…

The doors on the bus go open and shut…

The Sleepy Bunny Song

We sang this after reading Not Yet, Zebra, which ends with the zebra sound asleep in bed. This song is always a favorite, especially at the preschools I visit. For some reason, kids love to pretend to be asleep and then jump up suddenly.

[C] See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch or lie down and pretend to sleep)
[F]‘Till it’s nearly [C] noon.
[F]Come, let us [C] wake them [G7] with a merry tune?
[C]They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies! (jump up)
[C]Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (hop!)
[F] Hop little bunnies,[C] hop, hop, hop!
[F]Hop little bunnies, [C] hop, hop, hop!
[G7] Hop little bunnies, [C] hop and stop!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We sang this with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, lifting it up high when we got to “blast off!” The kids loved running underneath each time. For Family Storytime, I gave out play scarves to throw up in the air at the end.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!

Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I substituted Grandma for Mommy in the last verse, since we had a lot of grandparents at Outdoor Musical Storytime. It’s such a fun and happy song.

[C] Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow.
[G7] Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow.
[C] Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow,
And [G7] we can stay all [C] day.

CHORUS:
[F] We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
[C] How about you, you, you?
[G7] You can come too, too, too! (G7)
We’re [C] going to the zoo, [G7] zoo, [C] zoo!

See the elephants with the long trunk swinging,
Great big ears and a long trunk swinging.
Snuffing up peanuts with the long trunk swinging,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

See all the monkeys, they’re scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Jumping all around and scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Hanging by the long tails scritch, scritch, scratchin’,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

Well, we stayed all day, and I’m getting sleepy,
Sitting in the car getting sleep, sleep, sleepy.
Home already and I’m sleep, sleep, sleepy,
‘Cause we have stayed all day!

We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
So have you, you, you!
You came too, too, too!
We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

But Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow.
Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

Stay & Play: Zig-Zag Collage

Colorful pieces of paper scraps in various shapes and sizes laid out on a white sheet.

This was a really simple process art activity, but the kids loved it because they got to use decorative edge scissors, which make different patterns. Honestly, they love any excuse to use scissors!

For the Stay & Play, I put out different colored sheets of origami paper, the decorative edge scissors, white paper, and glue sticks. I had also precut some pieces of origami paper, for any littles that couldn’t use scissors yet. They had a blast cutting different shapes and gluing them on the white paper.

Whew! Can’t believe it’s the end of the alphabet! What themes should I try next? Do you have any favorites? Or any you’ve wanted to try? Please let me know in the comments.

Y, Oh, Y? A Storytime About the Letter Y

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Early Literacy Tip: When reading a story like Yummy, Yucky, which features a particular pattern, make a game out of coming up with your own examples, like Tacos are yummy! Legos are yucky!

We’re almost at the end of our alphabetic journey through storytime! This week, we focused on the letter Y.

As usual, we started by singing the Alphabet Song up to the letter Y (I do finish the song after we cheer for the Letter of the Day). Then we drew upper and lower-case letter Y’s in the air together.

I asked the kids if they knew any words that started with Y. They suggested yogurt, yummy, yucky, and yellow. I also pulled out yard stick (at Family Storytime, I held it up so the kids could see if they were taller or shorter than a yard), some yellow yarn, and a yo-yo.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Cover of the children's book 'Yummy Yucky' by Leslie Patricelli, featuring a smiling cartoon baby holding a spoon with a bowl of soup.

Yummy, Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

I don’t usually use board books for storytime, because the format is often small and hard to share in a large group. But I couldn’t resist reading this one, which was a favorite of my own kids when they were little. The illustrations are hilarious, but even if kids were sitting too far away to make them out well, they enjoyed calling out “yummy” and “yucky” on each set of pages: Spaghetti is yummy! Worms are yucky!, etc. Even the older kids were into it.

Cover of the book 'I YAM A DONKEY!' featuring a humorous blue donkey character with exaggerated features and a yam character looking discontent. The background is orange, and the title is in bold, playful letters.

I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell

I read this one for Family Storytime, which had a number of older kids, including a fourth grader who found it absolutely hilarious. It features an argument about grammar between a donkey and a yam. Eventually several other vegetables show up, and the donkey says, “Oh, you is lunch!” and eats them all.

Cover of the children's book 'I Dare You Not to Yawn' by Hélène Boudreau, illustrated by Serge Bloch, featuring a young boy with orange hair and a blue sweater, making a playful expression.

I Dare You Not to Yawn by Hélène Boudreau; illustrated by Serge Bloch

I’m pretty sure this book is out of print, but we still have several copies in the library system. It was a fun one to do for Family Storytime, since it’s in the evening, and a lot of the kids come in pajamas. A little boy shares his advice for not yawning, since yawning always leads to bedtime. The text and illustrations are designed to make you yawn.

Cover of the children's book 'You Are a LION! And Other Fun Yoga Poses' featuring an illustrated lion roaring and a child in casual clothes sitting in front of it.

You Are a Lion: And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

I read this one for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and demonstrated the poses as I read (with the exception of the lying down ones). It’s a cute book, providing basic instructions on how to do several animal-based yoga poses, like Lion, Frog, and Downward-facing Dog. The kids enjoyed trying to guess which animal went with each one.

Cover of the book 'Blue vs. Yellow' by Tom Sullivan, featuring a blue circle character and a yellow circle character facing each other with playful expressions.

Blue vs. Yellow by Tom Sullivan

Blue and Yellow argue about which is the best color, based on the different items represented by each one. When they take the form of blue and yellow vehicles that crash into each other, they discover that they both enjoy being green. The book ends on a little bit of a cliff-hanger, with Red entering the argument.

Songs:

If All the Raindrops

I know I do this song a lot, but it’s only because the kids seem to enjoy it so much. They especially love suggesting foods that they would like to fall from the sky for each verse. This time we had blueberries and strawberries, and pizza and chocolate eclairs.

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.
[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,
[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”
[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be.

If all the raindrops were cookies and ice cream…

Love Somebody, Yes I Do!

We sang this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I put tiny pompoms on the chute so they would bounce up and down as we sang. It’s part of a much longer song, but I only used the first verse.

Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody and it’s you, you, you!
You, you, you! You, you, you!

You Sing a Song, and I’ll Sing a Song by Ella Jenkins

We sang this with the play scarves at Family Storytime. I asked the kids for different motions to do with the scarves for each verse.

[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
And [C] we’ll sing a [Dm] song toge-[G]ther.
[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
In [G] warm or [C] wintry [G] wea-[C]ther.

You’ll wave a scarf, and I’ll wave a scarf, and we’ll wave our scarves together…

You’ll peek-a-boo, and I’ll peek-a-boo… (put the scarf over your face, then pull it away)

Can You See the Color Yellow?

We sang this after reading Blue vs. Yellow at Family Storytime. The kids had fun pointing out different things around the room to match each color, and suggesting which colors to sing about next.

Can you [C] see the color yellow,
The [F] color yellow, the [G7] color yellow?
Can you [C] see the color yellow,
[F] Right here [G7] where you [C] are?

Can you see the color blue… etc.

Yellow Submarine

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I did the first two verses, and then repeated the chorus several times, in different ways (quiet, loud, etc.).

In the [D] town where I was [G] born,
Lived a [Am] man who sailed to [D] sea.
And he [D] told us of his [G] life
In the [Am] land of [D] submarines
So we [D] sailed up to the [G] sun,
Till we [Am] found the sea of [D] green.
And we [D] lived beneath the [G] waves,
In our [Am] yellow [D] submarine.

Chorus:
[G] We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow [G] submarine.
We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, [G] yellow submarine.

And our [D] friends are all a-[G]board.
Many [Am] more of them live next [D] door.
And the [D] band begins to [G] play
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo,
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.

Chorus:
[G] We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow [G] submarine.
We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, [G] yellow submarine.

As we [D] live a life of [G] ease.
Every-[Am] one of us has all we [D] need.
Sky of [D] blue and sea of [G] green,
In our [Am] yellow [D] submarine.

Chorus:
[G] We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow [G] submarine.
We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, [G] yellow submarine.

Stay & Play: Yarn Painting

A hand holding an opened card featuring blue and purple painted flowers, surrounded by other blank cards.

The caregivers were blown away by the results of this process art project, and so was I. Before storytime, I folded letter-sized pieces of white cardstock in half, like a greeting card, and cut pieces of different types of yarn, about two feet long.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the cardstock, yarn pieces, and several different colors of tempera paint. When I did this project for Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put a drop of each color of paint inside each folded paper, and showed the kids how to lay the yarn in the paint so one end was hanging off of the paper. Then they folded the paper, and squished it down, while pulling the yarn out (the caregivers helped with this part).

One woman was so into the process that she and her toddler made five or six yarn paintings. I noticed that she was reusing the paint-covered yarn instead of putting the drops of paint inside the folded paper. That worked better and was less messy. So, for Family Storytime, I put out a paper plate with big blobs of each paint color, along with a spoon. I showed the kids how to use the spoon to dip their piece of yarn in the paint. Then they put their paint-covered yarn in the middle of their unfolded paper before squishing it closed and pulling the yarn out. The finished yarn paintings were kind of astounding.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter Y? Or any other storytime themes you’re interested in exploring? Please share them in the comments below.

X-traordinary Books! A Storytime About the Letter X

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Early Literacy Tip: Play the alphabet game, either while you’re out in the world, or reading books together. Challenge your child to find a particular letter, or look for each letter of the alphabet in order.

This week we reached the letter I have been dreading ever since I started my storytime journey through the alphabet: X! There are so few words that start with the letter X, and even fewer picture books that feature those words. So instead, we focused on words with X in them.

As usual, we started by drawing an upper and lower-case letter X in the air together, and then talking about words that started with that letter. The caregivers mostly supplied the few we came up with (X-ray and xylophone, although one little boy suggested expert). I pulled a few items out of a paper bag: a xylophone, a candle (made of wax), and a box.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Book cover for 'Tyrannosaurus Rex vs Edna: The Very First Chicken' featuring a cartoon chicken with big eyes standing between the legs of a T-Rex.

Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken by Douglas Rees; illustrated by Jed Henry

This book had one little boy in my Family Storytime literally cackling, and he quickly snatched it up to check it out after storytime. Very cute story about a T.Rex who bullies all of the other dinosaurs, until he meets a chicken who stands up to him. Warning: the chicken does get eaten, but only very briefly!

Illustration of a tea party featuring a friendly T-Rex in a whimsical setting, with two children enjoying snacks and tea at a table.

Tea Rex by Molly Idle

A cute, funny picture book depicting a little girl’s attempts to host a giant T. Rex at her fancy tea party. I read this one for Outdoor Musical Storytime, since it’s a less violent T. Rex title than Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken, and that crowd tends to skew younger.

Cover of 'The Mixed-Up Truck' by Stephen Savage, featuring a smiling blue cement truck with a red and white striped drum in front of a red brick building with a neon sign.

The Mixed Up Truck by Stephen Savage

This book was a big hit at both storytimes (I can still hear one of the preschoolers at Family Storytime whispering “There’s an excavator!” reverently to his Mom, while pointing at one of the trucks in the illustrations). It’s a funny, simple story about a cement mixer who keeps mixing the wrong white powder with water, and ends up making a giant cake with frosting instead of cement for a building. In the end, he mixes up a bunch of soap for a giant bubble bath.

Cover of the board book 'Mix It Up!' by Hervé Tullet, featuring colorful paint splashes in red, yellow, green, and blue with the title prominently displayed in black.

Mix It Up by Hervé Tullet

My Family Storytime is in the evening, and tends to draw a smaller crowd. The kids there loved playing along with this interactive picture book, which asks you to “mix” different colors together by rubbing one colored spot and then another, to see what color it makes on the next page.

A colorful children's book cover titled 'Grace and Box' featuring a young girl with curly hair, a friendly dog, and a cartoonish cardboard box with a smiling face against a vibrant rainbow background.

Grace and Box by Kim Howard; illustrated by Megan Lötter

Very cute story about a little girl named Grace, and a refrigerator box, who transforms into all kinds of things: a rocket ship, a city, a house, etc. When Box starts to sag, Grace doesn’t know what to do, until she figures out how to work with Box’s changes, and keep the imaginative play going.

Songs:

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

We sang this after reading Tea Rex in Outdoor Musical Storytime and after reading Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken in Family Storytime. Always a hit!

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food on the [Dm] ground.
[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food, and [Dm] then we march [A] around.

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest at the end of the [Dm] day.
[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest, and [Dm] then you’ll hear us [A] say…

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[A] And then we RO-AR-OAR!
[A] Because [Dm] we [C] are the [Dm]dino-[D]saurs!

Can You See the Color Red?

We sang this after reading Mix It Up. The kids always love pointing out different colored objects all around the room.

 To the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Can you [C] see the color yellow,
The [F] color yellow, the [G7] color yellow?
Can you [C] see the color yellow,
[F] Right here [G7] in this [C] room?

Can you see the color blue… etc.

We’re Making Veggie Stew

Similar to a song I came up with for letter V a few weeks ago. This time I wanted to incorporate the word “mix,” so I adjusted it a little. We threw plush veggies on the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and shook the chute in time with the song.

To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell:

We’re making veggie stew!
We’re making veggie stew!
Throw veggies in and mix them in,
We’re making veggie stew!

A carrot’s in the stew!
A carrot’s in the stew!
We’ll throw it in, and mix it in,
A carrot’s in the stew!

Some peas are in the stew…etc.

X Marks the Spot

I was having trouble finding a good letter X song, so I wrote this one. I actually ended up just singing the first verse and repeating the chorus several times. Each time, I asked the kids what “treasures” they would like to find in the chest, and we replaced the “chocolate coins” with their suggestions. They came up with apples and diamonds.

[C] We found an ancient [Am] treasure map
[F] Inside a hollow [G] tree.
[C] Showing landmarks [Am] far away
[F] In a land across the [G] sea.
[F] We climbed aboard our trusty [C] ship
[F] Our sails high and [C] unfurled,
[C] Sailing towards that [Am] letter X
[F] On the [G] far side of the [C] world.

CHORUS:
X marks the [G] spot
Where we’ll [F] find what we have [C] sought.
Don’t [G] know what riches there may be
But I [F] hope that it’s a [G] lot!
[F] Perhaps we’ll find some [C] chocolate coins (replace with treasures of your choice!)
And [F] gold and [G] emeralds too,
But the [C] greatest treasure [G] I have found
[F] Is the [G] time I’ve spent with [C] you.

We’ll [C] sail through wild and [Am] stormy seas
Where [F] dragons prowl the [G] deep,
Where [C] waves roll high
And [Am] mermaid songs will [F] lull us all to [C] sleep.
At [F] last we’ll find the [C] desert isle
And [F] dig until we’ve [C] found
That [C] shiny golden [Am] pirate chest
Of [G] treasure under- [C]ground.

CHORUS:

Abstract watercolor painting featuring vibrant swirls of blue, green, purple, and pink on a white background.

Crayon resist is one of my favorite process art activities. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put out white construction paper, watercolor palettes, cups of water, paintbrushes, and white crayons.

For Family Storytime, I actually decided to put out waterbrush brush pens (leftover from a Chinese calligraphy program years ago) instead of regular brushes. They are brushes with a built-in compartment that you can fill with water, so it comes out when you squeeze it. The kids LOVED the brush pens, and they ended up being a lot less messy than cups of water that often end up spilling.

I initially suggested that the kids or their caregivers could write a letter X or a word or drawing on the paper with the white crayon, and then paint over it with the watercolor paints to see it magically appear. A lot of the caregivers ended up writing their child’s name. It always takes kids a few minutes to learn how to wet the paint first when working with watercolor, but once they start painting, they are always very engaged.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter X? Please share them in the comments below.

Senior Moments: Library Outreach to Older Adults

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A group of seniors gathered in a courtyard, sitting in a circle and playing drums. The facilitator, Jane Gerughty from Music Mends Minds, leads the group.
Jane Gerughty (gray shirt) leading a drum circle at Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center in Mountain View, CA in 2024

Today, I got to participate in a sound bath at a skilled nursing facility, led by Jane Gerughty, a facilitator from Music Mends Minds.

If you’re not familiar with Music Mends Minds, it’s a nonprofit organization that provides musical support groups to adults with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other neurological disorders. Their programs are based on numerous studies showing the many benefits of musical experiences, especially for those with neurodegenerative conditions. These include improvements in memory, mood, mobility, attention, and executive function.

The executive director of Music Mends Minds, John Kander, is passionate about the power of music. When we originally hired Jane to lead of series of drum circles at our library, he reached out to let me know that he is always happy to seek out funding from local Rotary Clubs and even insurance providers to bring similar programs to senior facilities of all types. Our Friends of the Library had already agreed to pay for Jane to lead a program at the skilled nursing facility every other month, but it was nice to know that there were alternative funding options.

One of my coworkers usually accompanies Jane, but she wasn’t able to go today, so I got to cover for her. I was already familiar with the facility, because I lead a ukulele sing-along there once a month with the help of a retired former coworker. The sound bath was held in the dining room, and I was happy to recognize a lot of the residents.

Jane started by handing out a variety of percussion instruments, including maracas, bells, and chimes. She asked one of the staff members to dim the lights, and then she played instrumental music on a small speaker. She herself played several different singing bowls and a vibra-tone, sometimes carrying them around for people to feel the vibrations.

At first, the residents seemed a little hesitant and curious, especially the ones who were new to the facility, but within the first couple of minutes, they almost all started to play along on whatever instrument they had in front of them. The music started out slow and quiet, and gradually became faster and more rhythmic.

I was astounded to look at the clock and realize that 45 minutes had already passed, and everyone was still happily shaking their maraca, tapping their güiro, or playing their chimes. It didn’t matter what or how they played. It all somehow magically fit. At one point, Jane led everyone in a sort of percussive conversation: she tapped a wooden instrument three times, and we all tapped or shook our instruments back three times, over and over for the length of a song.

The whole hour-long experience was incredibly relaxing, and everyone seemed engaged. This was wonderful to see, especially because the community at the facility is extremely diverse, with people from all different backgrounds. When we do the monthly sing-alongs there, we try to accommodate requests (my favorite was the woman who asked us to play Purple Rain on the ukulele!), and I am often moved to tears to hear people singing along to the old songs they love. But we can’t perform a favorite song for everybody. There’s a friendly man from Tonga with limited knowledge of English who always says “Happy! Happy!” when we play. I would love to include a song for him, but I don’t even know how to ask him for a title. But the music we made together in the sound bath was for everyone.

Afterwards, Jane told me that this was the third or fourth time she had led the residents there in a sound bath. She typically brings djembes and other drums for them to beat out patterns together in a drum circle, but she said, this group especially likes the maracas and other small instruments.

Our library outreach to the skilled nursing facility isn’t limited to musical events. One of my coworkers also leads a monthly “storytime” there. She usually brings a slideshow of photos and videos related to a particular topic, and invites the residents to share whatever memories the slideshow invokes with her and with each other.

We also provide a satellite library, a small collection of books and other materials checked out an account tied to the facility. One of my coworkers refreshes the collection once a month, often bringing items that the residents request, and we don’t require the facility to keep track of them.

Several of my coworkers also provide outreach to other locations that serve older adults, including our local Senior Center, and two other senior-living facilities. One of our library aides plays classical pieces on the violin, while her grandfather accompanies her on the cello. Other staff bring books, DVDs, laptops and hotspots for people to check out, and teach small groups how to access e-books and audiobooks with their library cards through Libby and Hoopla.

Public transportation is a huge issue in our coastside town, so bringing programs and resources to the places where seniors are feels especially important. I also just finished reading the book Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, about how aging and dying are managed in our culture. I was deeply inspired by all of the people he profiled who found ways to support older adults in meaningful ways.

I’ve often thought there is so much more we could offer, especially for residents of skilled nursing facilities. I would love to help them video chat with loved ones, or set-up a program where volunteers could read to them individually. Partnerships with other local organizations, like local performing arts groups, crafting groups, Humane Society volunteers with therapy animals, or even something like an adopt-a-plant program sponsored by the community garden would also be amazing.

I would love to hear about what libraries and organizations are doing to support older adults in other communities, so please share any programs or services you’ve been offering in the comments below.

What a Wonderful World: A Storytime About the Letter W

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Early Literacy Tip: Find ways to incorporate your child’s name or the names of family members into favorite songs and rhymes, the sillier the better (For example: Justin on the bus goes Up and Down, or Suzy Had a Little Lamb). Songs are one of the most effective and fun ways to teach phonemic awareness (the different sounds that make up words). Encouraging kids to play with song lyrics makes them even more powerful and memorable as teaching tools.

We’re getting close to the end of our alphabetic storytime journey (I’m already dreading X!). This week, we focused on the letter W.

Lately, I’ve been introducing the week’s theme by singing The Alphabet Song and stopping just before we sing the letter of the day, so the kids can fill it in. Then we finish the song together (I like to end by changing the last word –me– to something silly, like “Next time won’t you sing with Spiderman?”).

After The Alphabet Song, we drew upper- and lower-case letter W’s together in the air, and brainstormed W words. The kids suggested wheel, witch, and watermelon. I pulled some other items out of a paper bag: a toy wagon, a bright orange costume wig, and a small atomizer full of water, which I sprayed at any kids who asked me to.

Here’s the rest of what we did (Note: my Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd has been skewing younger lately, now that the four and five-year olds have mostly started transitional Kindergarten. So, I’m reading much shorter, simpler books for that crowd than for Family Storytime):

Books:

Cover of the children's book 'Where Is the Green Sheep?' featuring three colorful sheep on a grassy hill.

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox & Judy Horacek

I read a big book version of this for Outdoor Musical Storytime (I have a really hard time turning pages in the big books, but they work so well for large crowds). This is a classic, simple, rhyming story featuring lots of different types of sheep, with the repeated phrase, “But where is the green sheep?”

Cover of the children's book 'Worm Makes a Sandwich' by Brianne Farley, featuring a cartoon worm in compost surrounded by plants and flowers.

Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley

This is one of my favorite picture books from the past two years (it was published in 2025). An adorable worm offers to make you a sandwich “all by myself.” But first, the worm needs one thing: garbage! The worm eats the garbage and then poops to make dirt to help a tomato grow for your sandwich. The kids always laugh at the page where the worm gets frustrated waiting for the tomato to go: “Why did you ask a worm to make you a sandwich in the first place?” This is so much fun to read aloud (I love using my “worm voice”) and is a wonderful example of embedding an informational topic into an entertaining story.

Cover of 'Today I Will Fly!' by Mo Willems featuring a happy pink pig and a gray elephant, with colorful text.

Today I Will Fly! by Mo Willems

I love reading Elephant and Piggie books for storytime, especially if I have a coworker to read one of the parts. But I enjoy the challenge of doing the different voice myself too. This is one of the original books, where Piggie announces “Today I will fly!” and Gerald insists that she will never fly. To Gerald’s surprise, Piggie does fly with the help of a friendly pelican. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I had given out the play scarves before reading this one, and I had the kids flap them up and down like wings and join in on the parts where Piggie says, “Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!”

Cover of the children's book 'Who Has Wiggle-Waggle Toes?' featuring a group of diverse children happily playing together, with the title prominently displayed at the top.

Who Has Wiggle-Waggle Toes? by Vicky Shiefman; illustrated by Francesca Chessa

I read this one for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and had the kids stand up to act out the different motions. It’s a cute, action book that asks questions about different body parts (Who has wiggle-waggle toes? Who has a big bold bottom?) and then gives a different motion to do with each one (Can you shimmy your big bold bottom?).

Cover illustration of the children's book 'Wednesday Is for Wiggling!' featuring a mother and daughter embracing, surrounded by colorful blankets and toys, with a cartoon lion in the background.

Wednesday Is for Wiggling by Eva Wong Nava; illustrated by Holly Sterling

I read this one at Family Storytime, which was great because it’s on Wednesday nights. The book features a little girl describing how she spends each day of the week doing different activities with different people (tiptoeing on Tuesdays in dance class with her babysitter, visiting the community garden with Grandpa on Saturdays). It’s implied that her parents are separated, since she describes different days with each of them, which is a nice, subtle way of representing different family arrangements. My only regret was not reading this at the beginning of storytime instead of the end, since it is a bit longer than most of the books I share, and the kids were already a little restless because it was an unusually hot evening.

Songs & Rhymes:

Little Bo-Peep

We did this rhyme with play scarves at Outdoor Musical Storytime after reading Where is the Green Sheep? I like the JBrary demonstration below, although I usually have the kids stand up, and we wave the scarves behind us like tails on the line “wagging their tails behind them.”

Little Bo Peep
Has lost her sheep, (hide scarf)
And doesn’t know where to find them.
Leave them alone,
And they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them. (wave scarf in front of you, or behind you like a tail)

The Wishy Washy Washerwoman

This is one of my favorite play scarf songs (see the video below for the tune and the motions). We sang it as part of our usual play scarf set in the middle of Family Storytime.

Way down in the valley where nobody goes,
There’s a wishy washy washer woman washing her clothes.
She goes “Oooh! Ahhh! Oooh! Ahhh! Oooh! Ahhh!”
And that’s the way she washes her clothes.

Repeat with drying her clothes (we blow on the scarves), folding her clothes, and wearing her clothes.

The Waves on the Ocean

We sang this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime, raising the chute up and down with the song. I put a small fish puppet on the parachute, so it would move with the waves.

To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus:

The waves on the ocean go up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down,
The waves on the ocean go up and down,
All day long.

Bumpin’ Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon by Raffi

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. Like Raffi, I called out the names of a couple of the kids to fix the wagon for the third verse. We sang it through a couple of times.

[C] Bumpin’ up and down in my little red wagon,
[G7] Bumpin’ up and down in my little red wagon,
[C] Bumpin’ up and down in my little red wagon,
[G7] Won’t you be my dar-[C]lin’?

One wheel’s off and the axle’s broken (lean right)
One wheel’s off and the axle’s broken (lean left)
One wheel’s off and the axle’s broken (lean right)
Won’t you be my darling?

Henry’s going to fix it with a hammer…

Bumpin’ up and down in my little red wagon…

Stay & Play: Washi Tape Hearts

Two decorated heart-shaped papers on a textured surface, one featuring yellow tape and a school bus sticker, and the other adorned with patterned tape and colorful designs.

I love Washi Tape! You can buy it in so many patterns and colors, and for kids, it’s a lot like decorating with stickers. I got this idea from SimpleFunForKids.com.

Before storytime, I precut hearts out of white cardstock. For the Stay & Play, I put out the paper hearts and a wide selection of Washi Tape. The tape is really easy to tear into pieces, but sometimes younger kids struggle to tear it without it crumpling, so for Family Storytime, I put out some kid-friendly scissors. But several of the kids ended up cutting their hearts into pieces, because they loved using the scissors so much!

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I didn’t bother putting out scissors, and the caregivers helped any kids who had trouble ripping the tape. It ended up being a wonderful shared experience.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter W? Please share them in the comments below. Also, please let me know if you have any storytime theme ideas you are interested in exploring. I’m getting close to the end of the alphabet, and am looking forward to some new themes.

A Be-V of Books: A Storytime About the Letter V

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Early Literacy Tip: Point out any sound effects or animal sounds written in the books you read together (the book Animals Go Vroom! has a lot), and have fun saying them with your child. Onomatopoeia (words meant to represent sounds) are wonderful for helping kids learn the sounds that letters make.

This week we celebrated the letter V in storytime. It’s not the easiest letter to work with, but we still had a lot of fun.

As usual, we started by writing an upper- and lower case letter V in the air together, and then talking about words that started with V. The kids suggested violin and vase. I also pulled some items out of a paper bag: a toy vehicle, a toy van (actually a Mystery Machine!), and a bottle of vanilla, which I carried around for the kids to smell.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

A playful illustration of a broccoli wearing red underwear, standing with one leg lifted, alongside a happy green vegetable character holding a leaf.

Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman

This book was too small for Outdoor Musical Storytime, but the kids at Family Storytime thought it was hilarious! It features a variety of vegetables wearing different types of underwear, with rhyming text. The kids enjoyed naming the veggies.

Cover of the children's book 'Animals GO VROOM!' by Abi Cushman, featuring two cartoon dinosaurs inside a yellow car with a turquoise background.

Animals Go Vroom! by Abi Cushman

This was a fun, simple picture book featuring different animals driving a variety of vehicles. Small cut-outs reveal the animal on the next page, and a sound that relates to them, but really refers to something happening to the vehicle on the next page. For example, the HISS on the page with the cutout showing the snake turns out to be a flat tire on the next page. The kids enjoyed calling out the different animal names.

Illustration of a caterpillar from 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle, featuring vibrant green segments and a red head with large eyes.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

This one caused a stir at Outdoor Musical Storytime, because so many of the kids recognized it. It’s the classic story of a caterpillar who eats through different foods every day, until he finally transforms into a butterfly. I like to pause every time I say, “But he was still…” and let the kids say the word “HUNGRY!”

Illustration of a penguin on a beach, holding a colorful beach ball and a suitcase, wearing a floral necklace, with a crab nearby and the ocean in the background, titled 'Penguin on Vacation' by Salina Yoon.

Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon

I love this sweet story about a penguin who gets tired of the snow and decides to go on vacation on a tropical island. At first, he doesn’t know what to do on the sand, but then he meets a friendly crab who shows him how to have fun at the beach. When he returns to his icy home, the crab tags along, and the two friends enjoy playing in the snow together until the crab has to return home. The illustrations are adorable.

A colorful illustration of a whimsical van with flowers and peace symbols, driven by an elderly man and featuring a woman waving from the passenger side, accompanied by a dog and a stuffed purple animal.

This Old Van by Kim Norman; illustrated by Carolyn Conahan

I handed out the egg shakers before I read this one, and the kids played along as I read/sang. It’s a cute, colorful adaptation of This Old Man, about a charming old van that encounters lots of different types of vehicles on the way to a derby.

Songs & Activities:

If All the Raindrops

I sang this song after reading Vegetables in Underwear, because it’s my go-to food song. I always ask the kids to suggest different foods they would like to fall from the sky, and we make up our own verses for those.

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.
[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,
[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”
[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be.

If all the raindrops were cookies and ice cream…

Dinosaurs in Cars by Nancy Stewart

We sang this after reading Animals Go Vroom. I learned it from a librarian in San Francisco who covered storytimes for me long ago. It’s such a cute, catchy song!

[C] There were five dinosaurs, [F] driving in cars,
[C] Having a really good [G7] time.
They said, [C] “We’ll step on the gas, and [F] go really fast!”
And they [C] did…until one [G7] had a flat [C] tire.
Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk!
She said, “Go on without me!”

Then there were four dinosaurs…

Repeat, until the last dinosaur has a flat tire, then say,

“She said, ‘I know! I’ll fix the tire! and then I’ll pick up all my friends!”

Then there were five dinosaurs,
Riding in a car, having a really good time.
They said, “Step on the gas, and go really fast!”
And they did, and down the road they went flying.

ROAR!

Playscarf Snowball Fight

After reading Penguin on Vacation at Family Storytime, we had a “snowball” fight with the play scarves. I let the kids each take several scarves, and then we all bundled them up into balls and threw them at each other for a few seconds. The kids mostly threw them at me, and occasionally at their caregivers.

Veggies in the Pot

I came up with this one to sing with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. We have a few random plush vegetables (carrots, corn, and peas) that I threw onto the parachute each time. You could also print out pictures of different vegetables or cut them out of felt.

(To the tune of The Noble Duke of York)

Veggies in the pot!
Veggies in the pot!
They’re in the pot
And nice and hot.
Veggies in the pot!

Carrots in the pot!
Carrots in the pot!
They’re in the pot
And nice and hot.
Carrots in the pot!

Corn in the pot…etc.

Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. The lines in parenthesis are meant to be echoed by the audience, but with my younger kiddos, I just sang the song without them. It’s a really fun song.

[C] Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
[G7] Ate a burrito with Tabasco.
[C] They put it on their rice, they put it on their beans,
[G7] On their rutabagas and on their collard [C]greens.

CHORUS:
[C] Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] Hey, Freddie! (Hey, Freddie!)
Let’s eat some (Let’s eat some)
[C] Spaghetti! (Spaghetti!)
Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] I’m ready (I’m ready)
To eat some spaghetti with [C] Freddie!

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
Moved from El Cerrito all the way to Alaska.
Oh, they ate their rice, they ate their beans,
They ate their rutabagas and they ate their collard greens.

CHORUS

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
They like to eat slow, they never eat fast.
Oh, they ate their rice, they ate their beans,
They ate their rutabagas and they ate their collard greens.

CHORUS

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
They like to eat fast, they never eat slow.
Oh, they ate their rice, they ate their beans.
They ate their rutabagas and they ate their collard greens.

CHORUS

[C] Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] Hey, Freddie! (Hey, Freddie!)
Let’s eat some (Let’s eat some)
[C] Spaghetti! (Spaghetti!)
Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] I’m ready (I’m ready)
To eat some spaghetti with [C] you!

Stay & Play: Rubber Band Guitar

A hand holding a paper cup secured with several rubber bands, set against a blue patterned background.

Before we did this craft, I talked about vibrations and showed the kids how the strings of my ukulele vibrate when I strum them to make the sound.

For the Stay & Play, I put out paper cups, markers, a variety of rubber bands, and a wide selection of washi tape. The kids decorated the cups with the markers. Their caregivers helped them stretch the rubber bands around the cup, and together they put different colored pieces of washi tape around the bottom to hold the rubber bands in place. They enjoyed plucking the rubber bands to make different sounds.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter V?

Books for U! A Storytime About the Letter U

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Early Literacy Tip: Before you read a book together, ask your child what they think will happen in the story. For example, for the book You Don’t Want a Unicorn? you could ask if they would like a unicorn, and why it might not be a good idea to have one. Making predictions about a text is an important skill for building reading comprehension, and also a great way to engage kids in the story, to see if their predictions come true.

This week we had fun celebrating underpants and unicorns in our Letter U Storytime.

As usual, we started by writing an upper and lower-case U in the air together, and then talking about the different sounds that the letter U makes. When I asked the kids if they could think of any letter U words, they suggested us, up, and usually. I also pulled a few things out of a paper bag: a toy unicorn, a utensil (spoon), and a paper drink umbrella.

Secret Words: At the end of storytime, I had the kids pick a slip of paper with a “secret word.” They included: up, underwear, unicorn, and umbrella.

Books:

Polar Bear’s Underwear by tupera tupera

This is a cute, funny book featuring a polar bear and his friend mouse who are trying to find polar bear’s missing underwear. They find many different types of underwear, but they all belong to different animals. Finally, polar bear realizes that he’s already wearing his underwear. He just can’t see them because they are white. The kids at Family Storytime enjoyed trying to guess the animal who owned each pair of underwear.

Those Are Not My Underpants by Melissa Martin; illustrated by Troy Cummings

I read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime in place of Polar Bear’s Underwear (mostly because the outdoor group is so large and spread out, and this book relies slightly less on the illustrations). In this story, a baby bear is trying to find the owner of a pair of underpants that was hanging on a tree. He asks lots of different animals, who each explain why it couldn’t be their underpants (it’s not smelly enough for Skunk; Snake only wears long underwear, etc.). In the end, his mother points out that they are HIS underpants. The kids laughed at several of the animals in underwear.

Upside Down Animals by Danielle McLean and Matt Hunt

I don’t usually read board books, but this one worked well for Family Storytime. Each page features an animal that appears to be doing one thing until you flip the book upside down. The sleeping cat turns into a leaping one; the swimming duck appears to be diving, etc. The kids enjoyed naming the animals on each page.

You Don’t Want a Unicorn by Ame Dyckman; illustrated by Liz Climo

I love Ame Dyckman! In this story, the narrator warns a boy dropping a coin into a wishing well that he shouldn’t wish for a unicorn. When he wishes for one anyway, he finds out for himself that they shed, scratch the furniture, and poop cupcakes everywhere. Worst of all, they get lonely and invite all of their friends to a unicorn party. The kids at both storytimes really enjoyed this one.

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates & Juniper Bates

I read this book years ago for a Welcoming Week Storytime. It’s a lovely allegory about an umbrella that welcomes literally everyone, and always has room for more. The illustrations are quirky and sweet.

Songs:

A Hunting We Will Go

We sang this at Family Storytime after reading Polar Bear’s Underwear. I asked the kids to suggest different animals we could catch (I always put out animal puppets at that storytime, so they mostly named those), and we brainstormed rhymes for each one: we’ll catch a mouse and put it in a house; we’ll catch a cat and put it in a hat, etc.

Oh, [C] a-hunting we will go!
A-[F]hunting we will go!
We’ll [G7] catch a fox and put it in a box,
And then we’ll let it [C] go!

Repeat with other animals…

Merry-Go-Round

This is one I used to use a lot when I was leading baby storytimes, because it’s a fun lapsit song. For Family Storytime, I had the kids each choose one of our storytime puppets to lift up and down.

(To the tune of This Old Man)

Merry Go Round (lift stuffed animal up and down, or stand up and squat down)
Merry Go Round
We all ride on the merry-go-round
Now we’re UP
And now we’re DOWN!
We all ride on the merry-go-round.

Down to town, down to town
We go riding down to town
Better be careful you don’t fall DOWN (lower stuffed animal to the floor or pretend to fall down)
We go riding down to town.

Rain is Falling

I made up this song to use with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime. It’s to the tune of Are You Sleeping, Brother John?

Rain is falling, (shake the parachute in time to the song)
Rain is falling,
From the sky,
From the sky.
Get under the umbrella, (lift up the parachute and have the kids run under)
Get under the umbrella,
Where it’s dry!
Where it’s dry!

Under a Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end of both storytimes.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the breeze blow by?
Can you [C] feel it on your face?
This is our [F] special [G7] place.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the soft cool grass?
Can you [C] feel it with your toes?
We can [F] sit here while it [G7] grows.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

If you want to [G7] close your eyes,
And [C] sleep beneath the tree,
You can [F] rest your head on [G7] me.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Stay & Play: Paper Umbrellas

There are a lot of variations of this craft online. Before storytime, I had one of our interns cut out a pie-wedge shape out of white paper, and cut a selection of pipe cleaners in half.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white construction paper, the cut-paper shapes, the cut pipe cleaners, glue sticks, tape (to tape the pipe cleaner down), and markers. The kids had fun decorating their paper umbrellas and drawing the rain and other details around them.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter U? Please share them in the comments below.