Monthly Archives: April 2024

A Whale of a Time: A Storytime About Whales

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Our coastal town is having a Whale Fest this weekend, so I thought it would be fun to do a storytime about whales.

Here are the books and songs that I did (a combination of Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime). I also printed out this brochure of whales and other marine mammals from savethewhales.org.

Books:

Oona in the Arctic by Kelly DiPucchio; illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

This is a stunningly beautiful book, with a sweet story about Oona the mermaid coming to the rescue of a lost baby beluga whale. It was a bit too long for my usual Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd, but a big hit at Family Storytime.

The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan

Cute, funny story about a boy who finds his swimming pool occupied by a very large whale. He tries everything he can think of to get it to move, but then discovers that having your own whale isn’t so bad after all. One family asked to check this one out after storytime.

I Love You, Blue by Barroux

Sweet, simple story about a lighthouse keeper who makes friends with a whale named Blue. When he finds Blue at the bottom of the ocean feeling sick, he asks him to open his mouth, and sees that the whale has swallowed hundreds of bags. Taking the bags away makes Blue feel much better. This was a great book for Whale Fest, which focuses a lot on the importance of keeping trash out of the ocean.

Breathe by Scott Magoon

This is a beautiful book, with very little text, showing a baby beluga whale’s day with his mother. The kids enjoyed taking breaths together on the pages that said “Breathe.”

Songs:

Slippery Fish

We sang this one with a fish, octopus, shark, and whale puppet. Lots of swimming schools around here use this song, and it’s always a big hit.

Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Swimming in the water.
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

She was eaten by an octopus, octopus,
Swimming in the water.
Octopus, Octopus,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

He was eaten by a great white shark,
Great white shark,
Swimming in the water,
Great white shark, Great white shark.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

She was eaten by a humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Swimming in the water,
Humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
BURP!! Pardon me!

The Waves on the Sea

We did this one with the parachute, and put a whale puppet on top to go up and down with the waves. It’s 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!

Baby Beluga by Raffi

We sang this as our instrument play-along at Outdoor Musical Storytime.

[C] Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea
Swim so wild and you [G7] swim so free
Heaven above and the sea below
And a little white whale [C] on the go

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] is the water warm?
Is your mama home [G7] with you so happy?

[C] Way down yonder where the dolphins play
Where you dive and [G7] splash all day
Waves roll in and the waves roll out
[G] See the water squirting [C] out of your spout

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] sing your little song,
Sing for all your friends. [G7] We love to hear you!

[C] When it’s dark you’re home and fed
Curl up snug in your [G7] water bed
Moon is shining and the stars are out
Good night, little whale, [C] goodnight

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] with tomorrow’s sun,
Another day’s begun. [G7] You’ll soon be waking.

[C] Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you [G7] swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale [C] on the go.
[G7] You’re just a little white whale [C] on the go!

Down By the Bay by Raffi

We had so much fun doing this song as an instrument play-along at the end of Family Storytime that I may make it a regular ending song. We sang the first verse the way it’s written below, but I asked the kids for suggestions for the additional verses. They came up with “Did you ever see a shark going to the park?” and “Did you ever see a mouse burning a house?”

[C] Down by the bay, where the watermelons [G7] grow,
Back to my home, I dare not [C] go,
For if I [F] do, my mother will [C] say,
“Did you ever see a whale with a polka dot tail
[G7] Down by the [C] bay?”

Stay & Play: Whale Puppets

I got this idea from OutUpontheWaters.com. It was a bit more involved than my usual crafts, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Before storytime, I pre-folded blue construction paper. Unlike the directions, I didn’t cut the paper. Instead, I folded it half lengthwise (hotdog style), and then crosswise (hamburger style). Then I folded the top layer on one side back, so that the end of the paper lined up with the fold. I flipped it over and folded the other top layer the same way. In the end, the sheet was folded in half lengthwise, with crosswise folds that made the shape of a capital letter M.

I also cut several tear-drop shaped pieces of construction paper for the flippers, and semi-circles out of red paper for the inside of the mouth. Finally, I cut some white paper into rectangles to make the water spouts (I let the kids cut the small lines to make it look like water spray).

For the Stay & Play, I put out the folded papers, the paper flippers, the paper mouths, the white paper rectangles, kids’ scissors, googly eyes, markers, and glue sticks. The kids had fun gluing the parts of their whale together and cutting the white paper rectangles to make the spray coming out of the top of the whale’s head. A few kids put the fish stickers I had given out at the end of storytime in the whale’s mouth, which was hilarious.

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

Go Wild: A Storytime for National Wildlife Week

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Last week was National Wildlife Week, which seemed like a fun theme opportunity, especially for our Outdoor Musical Storytime at the park. For that one, and for Family Storytime, I asked the kids what kinds of animals and insects they have seen outside. They mentioned rabbits, deer, turkeys, and birds. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I also handed out a Scavenger Hunt featuring animals and plants that are commonly found at the park, so that the kids could look for them after storytime.

Here are the books and songs we did for both storytimes.

Books:

What About Worms by Ryan T. Higgins

One of the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading books, featuring an adorable tiger who is not scared of anything, except worms. His fear of worms leads him to break a flowerpot (which might be full of worms), drop an apple (in case it contained a worm), and run away from a book (that seemed to be about worms). Unfortunately, a group of grateful worms is so happy to find the things he left behind that they all decide to give him a “worm hug.” SO much fun to read aloud, and always gets a lot of laughs.

Can I Keep It? by Lisa Jobe

A little boy catches a variety of animals (a frog, a squirrel, a bird) and asks if he can keep them. Each time, his Mom asks where he thinks those animals would prefer to live, and he reluctantly sets them free. But then he finds a stray cat, who prefers to live with him. Very sweet, simple story, with large illustrations. A family asked to check it out after storytime.

The Lost Little Bird by David McPhail

When a bluebird hits his head, he finds that he can’t remember what kind of bird he is. He asks a nightingale, an owl, and a crow, but none of those seem right. Finally, he meets another bluebird, who not only helps him figure out what kind of bird he is, but helps him find a new home as well. I was happy to read this book because years ago, I had a library patron named Howard Rathlesberger, who built and posted bluebird houses all over San Mateo County. I think of him whenever I see a bluebird.

Kitty by Rebecca Jordan-Glum

Funny story about a grandmother who misplaces her glasses while pet-sitting, and mistakes a raccoon for the family cat. Naturally, the “kitty” makes a huge mess! I read this one for Family Storytime. The kids especially enjoyed the illustrations.

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

When a pigeon flies into a window and breaks its wing, a little boy brings it home and cares for it until it is ready to fly again. Sweet story, and a nice reminder that wildlife can be found in cities as well as more rural areas.

If Only by Mies van Hout

Simple story about a child who wishes he could be a butterfly, not knowing that the butterfly wishes it could be a stick insect, and the stick insect wishes it could be a whirligig beetle. Each insect wishes it could be something else, until the dragonfly wishes it could be a child. The kids enjoyed pretending to be the different insects: fluttering like a butterfly, buzzing like a bee, etc.

Shoo Fly

We sang this song after reading If Only. I had the kids suggest different animals they would like to be for each verse. They came up with a dancing giraffe, a butterfly, a snake, and a cat. There are lots of versions of this traditional song, but the one I do is closest to the one in this YouTube video by Greg and Steve.

Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me! (Wave hands or scarf as if shooing a fly)
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.
I wiggle, I wiggle,
I wiggle like a wiggling worm.
I wiggle, I wiggle,
I wiggle like a wiggling worm.
Oh, Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me.
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.

Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

Another song with lots of versions. This one by Dr. Jean is closest to the one I do. We sang it for Family Storytime, after reading Can I Keep It?, and I asked the kids to suggest different animals to bring home. It’s always a fun challenge to come up with a rhyme for each animal: “I’m bringing home a baby lion. Won’t my Mommy really start a’crying?” etc.

I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C]bumblebee.
[G7] Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?
‘Cause I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C] bumblebee.
[G7 ]Ouch! It stung me!

Two Little Bluebirds

We sang this one with scarves at Family Storytime, and just with hand motions at Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill, (Hold up both thumbs)
One named Jack, and the other named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! (Put one thumb behind your back)
Fly away, Jill! (Put the other thumb behind your back)
Come back, Jack! (Bring the first thumb out in front).
Come back, Jill! (Bring the second thumb out in the front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud,
One was quiet, and the other was loud (I make my voice as loud and obnoxious as possible each time I sing the word “Loud!”)
Fly away, Quiet!
Fly away, Loud!
Come back, Quiet!
Come back, Loud!

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Rockin’ Robin by Jimmie Thomas

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. The original song has LOTS of verses, but I just did the first two.

Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
[G] Tweet, tweet, tweet tweet.

[G7] He rocks in the [G] treetops all day long,
[G7] Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and [G] a-singin’ his song.
[G7] All the little birds on [G] J-Bird Street,
Love to hear the robin go [G7] tweet, tweet, tweet.

Rockin’ [C] robin (tweet, tweet, tweet);
Rockin’ [G] robin (tweet, tweedle-dee);
[D] Blow rockin’ robin, cause we’re [C] really gonna [G] rock tonight. (Tweet, tweedle-dee!)

[G7] Every little swallow, [G] every chickadee,
[G7] Every little bird in the [G] tall oak tree,
The [G7] wise old owl, the [G] big black crow,
[G] Flappin’ their wings [G7] singin’ go bird, go.

Rockin’ [C] robin (tweet, tweet, tweet).
Rockin’ [G] robin (tweet, tweedle-dee);
[D] Blow rockin’ robin, cause we’re [C] really gonna [G] rock tonight. (Tweet, tweedle-dee!)

Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
[G] Tweet, tweet, tweet tweet.

Stay & Play: Bead Earthworms

I adapted this idea from Little Lifetime Learners. For the Stay & Play, I put out plastic beads, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. I showed the kids how to fold the end of the pipe cleaner over to make “head” that would also keep the beads from sliding off. They had a great time threading beads onto the pipe cleaners, and then adding googly eyes (although one kid reminded me that “worms don’t have eyes.”)

What are your favorite books or songs about wildlife? Please share them in the comments below.