Recently, I decided to do a series of storytimes about each letter of the alphabet, something I haven’t done for a long time. So this week, I started with the letter A for both my Outdoor Musical and Family Storytimes.

I started by holding up three objects that start with the letter A: an Anglerfish puppet, an Alligator stuffed animal, and an Apple. As I asked the kids to call out the names of each one, I wrote them on a small dry erase board, and asked what they had in common. Several kids called out, “They start with A.” We talked about the sounds the letter A makes, and I joked that if you were a little fish who saw an Anglerfish, or if you yourself saw an Alligator, you might yell out, “AAAAHHHH”

Here are the books, songs, and rhymes that I used:

Books:

Ah Ha by Jeff Mack

I’m so sad this book is out of print, because it worked perfectly for reinforcing the “Ahh!” sound of the letter A. It’s also just a very funny, simple book about a frog who escapes being caught in a jar, only to almost get eaten by a turtle, a flamingo, and an alligator. The book alternates between the “AAHH!” of fear, the “AH HA!” of discovering a safe place to go, and the “AAHH!” of relief. The kids loved joining in.

There’s An Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer

This was a long-time favorite of my own kids, and one of my favorites to read aloud to them. It’s about a young boy who has an alligator under his bed that disappears whenever his parents come to look, so he takes matters into his own hands and lures it into the garage with a trail of food. Although it’s an empowering story about how to deal with your own under-the-bed-type monsters, I’m always a little worried about implanting new fears, so I took a couple of minutes before I read the story to ask the kids if they thought it was possible to have an alligator under your bed. They all agreed that it wasn’t.

Avocado Baby by John Burningham

This is another long-time favorite, about a family with a baby that appears very weak, until they start feeding it avocado (which the book calls an “avocado pear.”) Suddenly it can lift pianos and push the car, and it saves the family from both a burglar and couple of mean bullies. It got lots of laughs from my Family Storytime group.

Peanut Butter & Aliens by Joe McGee; illustrated by Charles Santoso

This is the sequel to Peanut Butter & Brains, so I had to briefly explain that the town in the book was inhabited by both people and zombies. In this story, the town of Quirkville is invaded by space aliens, who demand something called, “Sploink!” In their anger, they squirt cosmic grape jelly all over town, until Reginald the Zombie figures out that they are looking for peanut butter. I had done a couple of scarf songs before I read it, so I had the kids throw a play scarf whenever the aliens made the “Brazzap-Splat” sound as they fired off their blasters full of grape jelly. They also enjoyed joining in on all the “Sploinks!”

Songs & Rhymes:

Mmmm-Ahhh, Went the Little Green Frog

I did this as a follow-up to Ah Ha! There are LOTS of different versions, and additional verses. The one I do is fairly close to the one in the JBrary video below:

MMM-AHH! Went the little green frog one day. (blink your eyes and then stick out your tongue)

MMM-AHH! Went the little green frog.

MMM-AHH! Went the little green frog one day.

And they all went MMM-AHH- AHH!

But we all know frogs go “Flow-do-di-o-di-oh! (wiggle your fingers)

“Flow-do-di-o-di-oh!

“Flow-do-di-o-di-oh!

We all know frogs go “Flow-do-di-o-di-oh!

They don’t go MMM-AHH-AHH!

Alligator Pie

This is a fun, easy clapping rhyme that I learned from an Orff Music lesson years ago. We chanted Alligator Pie twice, and then I asked for other types of pie to substitute for Alligator. The kids suggested pumpkin, blueberry, apple, and everything.

Alligator Pie, Alligator Pie,

If I don’t get some, I think I’m going to cry.

Take away my basketball and take away the sky,

But don’t take away my Alligator Pie!

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

I did this one with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime (we lifted the parachute up high and threw two apple-shaped maracas on it, then shook it and lowered it down), and with scarves at Family Storytime (I had the kids hold two bundled play-scarves in their hands and throw them in the air at the end). It’s also fun to do it just with the motions. I always ask the kids to suggest other types of fruit or food (it’s fun to do silly things like a cookie tree).

Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arms up)

Two little apples smiled at me (made circles with the thumb and fingers of each hand).

I shook that tree as hard as I could! (shake imaginary tree)

Down came the apples (lower arms quickly)

Mmmm! They were good! (rub stomach)

I’ll See You Later, Alligator

We had a debate in my Family Storytime the other day about the differences between alligators and crocodiles, so I wrote this song to help me remember. My daughter helped me make this YouTube video with DaVinci Resolve, using public domain photos (credits in the description). Enjoy!

[C] If you see something in the water
With [F] scales and lots of teeth,
[G7] Looking like a floating log
With [C] four legs underneath.
[C] You can tell that it must be a type
Of [F] dangerous reptile.
But is it an alli[C]-gator
Or a [G7] hungry croco[C]-dile?

I’ll see you [F] later, Alligator,
With your [G7] mouth shaped like a [C] U,
But [F] Crocodile, with the V-shaped [G7] smile,
It’ll be a while
‘Till I see [C] you.

[C] Alligators like to live in swamps,
While [F] crocs prefer a river.
No [G7] matter where you find them,
They’re sure to make you [C] shiver.
On crocs you see their bottom teeth,
On [F] gators just the top.
If you’re able to see [C] either,
You’re [G7] way too close, so [C] STOP!

I’ll see you [F] later, Alligator,
With your [G7] mouth shaped like a [C] U,
But [F] Crocodile, with the V-shaped [G7] smile,
It’ll be a while
‘Till I see [C] you.

A [C] crocodile has lighter skin,
While [F] gator’s skin is dark,
To [G7] help them hide out in the mud
Waiting to [C] catch their mark.
Learning of their differences
Can [F] be a lot of fun,
But one thing they have in [C] common,
If you [G7] see one you should [C] run!

I’ll see you [F] later, Alligator,
With your [G7] mouth shaped like a [C] U,
But [F] Crocodile, with the V-shaped [G7] smile,
It’ll be a while
‘Till I see [C] you.

Stay & Play: Collage Aliens & Letter A Alligators

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we made Letter A Alligators.

I had cut strips of green paper and small white paper triangles ahead of time. For the Stay & Play, I put out the green strips to make the letter A, along with white paper, the white triangles (for teeth), glue-sticks, and googly eyes. In retrospect, I think it might have been better to use a different colored paper for the background, so the teeth would stand out more, but the kids seemed to enjoy the project anyway.

For Family Storytime, I challenged the kids to make aliens out of different paper shapes, googly eyes, pieces of yarn, and markers. It was great to see all of the different designs.

If you have any favorite Letter A books, please share them in the comments below.