This storytime was inspired by local mom and teacher, Laura Hoffmann, who shared pictures of her own wonderful Dot Party over the summer.  Since I’ve been doing a series of author-themed storytimes lately, I decided to focus on the books of Peter H. Reynolds.  The kids loved all the books, and the craft was so easy and fun!

The Dot (Amazon.com link)

When Vashti draws a simple dot on a piece of paper to prove to her teacher that she can’t draw, her teacher tells her to sign it.  Later Vashti is surprised to see her dot hanging on the wall in a gold frame, and decides that she can make better dots than that.  Soon she is making dots of all different colors and sizes, until she has an entire dot exhibit.  And when a boy comes up to tell her he can’t draw, she makes him draw a line to prove it, and then tells him to sign it.  The kids were mesmerized by this book, and it quickly disappeared as soon as I set it down.

Sky Color (Amazon.com link)

Marisol is an artist. When her class is assigned to paint a mural, she announces that she will paint the sky.  The problem is that she can’t find any blue paint.  All the way home on the bus, Marisol watches the sky, which is a brilliant yellow.  That evening the sky is red and orange and purple as the sun sets, and she dreams of a sky filled with even more colors.  The next day, a gray-green rainy one, Marisol mixes her own color and paints a beautiful sky.  This is a terrific book for storytime.  The kids loved the illustrations, and enjoyed naming the colors on each page.  It was snatched up right away at the end.

So Few of Me (Amazon.com link)

This one was a departure from the art theme.  Leo is overwhelmed by the list of things he has to do.  He wishes that there were two of him, and, to his surprise, another Leo knocks at the door.  Unfortunately, the other Leo has even more things to get done, so they need the help of even more Leos.  But even ten Leos are not enough.  The original Leo, exhausted, takes a moment to rest and dream.  He decides that he can do less, and do his best, and all the other Leos disappear.  Great book for busy Bay Area families, including my own.  It got swooped up by a boy who seemed anxious to get hold of it before anyone else did.

Ish (Amazon.com link)

Ish, Sky Color, and The Dot all comprise an art-themed series called The Creatrilogy.  In Ish, Ramon loves to draw, until his older brother laughs at his vase picture.  Ramon becomes increasingly dissatisfied with all of his drawings, crumpling them up one by one.  Just as he is about to give up drawing altogether, his little sister Marisol runs off with his crumpled drawing.  Ramon is surprised to see that Marisol has covered the walls of her room with all of his discarded artwork.  When he complains that his vase picture doesn’t look right, Marisol says it is “vase-ish.”  Realizing he can make “ish” art sets Ramon free to draw whatever he wants, even feelings.  He even writes “ish-poems.” This a wonderful book to lead off creative exercises for any age, and like all the other books, it was immediately checked out.

SONG:

Rainbow ‘Round Me

I learned this song from retired children’s librarian Connie Mills.  I think it was composed by a songwriter named Ruth Pelham, although I’m not sure if the version I know is exactly the same as her original.  We sang it after reading Sky Color, even though the words contradict the book’s message that the sky isn’t always blue (but for that matter, the grass outside my window is brown right now because of the drought).  I asked the kids to suggest things they might see outside their window, and they went wild.  We had a green dinosaur, a white polar bear, a gray narwhal, and a black-and-white zebra.

Here are the words as I usually sing them, along with the ukulele chords in parentheses.  Click on the triangle to hear the song:

 

When I look outside my window, (D, A)
There’s a world of color I see. (A, D)
Fiddle-dee-dee, outside my window (D, G, D)
There’s a world of color I see. (A, D)

CHORUS:
Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow ’round me. (G, D, A, D)
Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow ’round me. (G, D, A, D)

And the sky outside my window,
Is as blue as blue can be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, outside my window
It’s as blue as blue can be.

Chorus

And the grass outside my window,
Is as green as green can be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, outside my window
It’s as green and green can be,
And the sky is blue as blue can be.

Chorus

And the flowers outside my window,
Are as yellow as yellow can be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, outside my window
They’re as yellow as yellow can be.
And the grass is green as green can be.
And the sky is blue as blue can be.

Chorus

CRAFT: Dot Art and Drawing

This was probably the easiest craft I’ve ever done, since I just gave the kids Do a Dot Art Markers, paint, crayons, pencils, markers, and white paper and told them to make whatever they wanted.  Most of them made their own dot creations, but one girl decided to draw instead.  They were all completely absorbed, and it was so much fun to see the variety of pictures they created.