One of the highlights of my job each month is visiting two Special Day preschool classrooms to offer a twenty to thirty minute storytime. I’ll admit that the first time I went, I was a little nervous, worried that I might not be able to hold the interest of the students, or worse, that students with sensory sensitivities might find my usual songs too loud or overwhelming. But now it’s one of my very favorite places to visit.

For one thing, the classes are so small (no more than seven students) that I really get a chance to know the kids individually. And for the most part, the students LOVE music! I usually start and end each visit by holding out my ukulele to each student, and encouraging them to strum the strings while I play the chords and sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Some of the students strum the whole song in perfect rhythm, while others enjoy squeezing the strings or touching the stickers on the body of my ukulele. Some need a teacher’s help to strum the strings. But it’s always a wonderful chance to interact with each child. (I do this in some of my regular preschool outreach visits too, but the classes are usually much larger).

I always incorporate a lot of songs into the rest of my visit too. If there are kids who are sensitive to sound, I’ll start out singing and playing very quietly, but usually once they have tried the ukulele themselves, they warm up to me and the music. Most of the kids especially love traditional songs like The Wheels on the Bus, If You’re Happy and You Know It, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but also We Bounce and We Bounce and We Stop!

The picture books that have been the most successful for me are the ones based on songs, rhyming books, and books with interesting words or sound effects. Here are some of my favorites, which also all work well for regular preschool classes or storytimes:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; illustrated by Lois Ehlert

I actually brought free copies of this book for all of the students at the special day preschool the other day, as part of our annual Summer Learning Program. I read the book aloud to the whole class first, and we sang the Alphabet song when we got to the pages at the beginning and the end that show the colorful upper and lower case letters. One of the students was so excited every time we got to the alphabet that he didn’t want me to turn the page, and when I gave him his very own copy of the book, he was glued to that page for the whole rest of my visit (luckily it was the last book!). Some of the other kids were familiar enough with the book that they chanted the rhyme along with me.

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

The Froggy books are always fun because they follow the formula of repeatedly saying, “FROGGY!” followed by “What?!”, which kids enjoy joining in on. But this one also has a number of unusual sound effects, like “zwit” and “zup,” to describe putting on different articles of clothing, and the kids in the special day class often enjoying echoing them. It’s a funny story too, where Froggy keeps forgetting to put on different things, until finally his Mom embarrasses him by reminding him that he forgot his underwear.

Hush, Little Trucker by Kim Norman; illustrated by Yoshiki Nakamura

Very cute variation on the Hush, Little Baby traditional lullaby, this time about a little boy who has lost his favorite toy truck in the snow. His Mom describes how she will use different trucks and construction vehicles to try and retrieve it, making it a great book for kids who like big machines.

The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort; illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Funny variation on The Wheels on the Bus, which depicts a bus full of different animals. The kids especially love the ending, where the people on the bus cry “Help! Help! Help!”

Down by the Station by Will Hillenbrand

Adorable extended version of the traditional song, showing different baby animals riding on a train to the children’s zoo. It’s a great combination of music and fun, repeated sounds.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin; illustrated by James Dean

The first of the Pete the Cat books, and my favorite one to read aloud (with Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons as a close second). The kids usually love shouting out the color of Pete’s shoes each time he steps in something new (strawberries, blueberries, etc.).

Old MacDonald Had a Zoo…? by Iza Trapani

A funny variation of Old MacDonald Had a Farm, where Old MacDonald’s farm is infiltrated by a variety of escaped zoo animals. The kids enjoy calling out the names of the animals, and joining in on the sounds they make.

Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer

Adorable book about a grumpy penguin who takes off different articles of clothing and jumps in a bath to try to improve his mood.

Peek-a-Moo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti; illustrated by Stephanie Peterson

Very cute, large lift-the-flap book that allows kids to guess which animal is hiding on each page. I sometimes let the kids take turns lifting the flap, and I usually get lots of giggles by repeatedly lifting the flap up and down and calling out the different animal sounds “Peek-a-MOO!” “Peek-a-QUACK!” etc.

I Ain’t Gonna’ Paint No More by Karen Beaumont; illustrated by David Catrow

I love this funny variation of It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More, about a little boy who has been forbidden to use paint, but just can’t resist painting different parts of his body. The kids usually like calling out the names of the different body parts, and we often follow it up by singing Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Car by Kate Dopirak; illustrated by Mary Peterson

Very cute car-themed version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, which features lots of different vehicles and the sounds they make.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani

One of my favorite nursery rhyme adaptations, which shows a persistent spider struggling to climb up different surfaces. The illustrations are adorable.

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Simple story about Mr. Gilly, the garbage man, which features the very catchy chant, “Dump it in! Smash it down! Drive around the Trashy Town!”

For more tips on Sensory Storytimes for children with autism and other developmental disabilities, check out my friend Ashley Waring’s post on the ALSC blog: https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2012/03/sensory-storytime-a-brief-how-to-guide/

If you have any favorite books or tips for sensory storytimes or special education classes, please share them in the comments below.