It’s been a busy month at work, especially because I lost a couple of days to laryngitis. But since spooky Halloween decorations have been popping up all over town, I thought it might be fun to do a storytime about fear, featuring some of my favorite not-so-scary picture books.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds

I love all of the Creepy Tales books, but this one always gets the biggest laughs. When Jasper Rabbit discovers that the glowing green underwear he bought at the store is a little too creepy, he tries lots of different ways to get rid of it, only to find that it somehow always returns. When he finally buries it in a deep hole, he discovers that he misses its comforting greenish glow. The kids loved all of the creepy underwear illustrations.

The Scariest Thing of All by Debi Gliori

Cute story about a rabbit who is scared of lots of things. When he is chased into the deep words by a terrifying RAAR sound, he realizes that the sound is coming from his own stomach, making him the scariest thing of all. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “RAAR’s.”

Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas

Jan Thomas has so many wonderful read-aloud books, and this is one of my favorites. A cowboy tries to lull his cows to sleep with a soothing lullaby, but he keeps getting interrupted by things that scare him: a stick that looks like a snake, a flower that looks like a spider. When he comes face to face with a large hairy wolf though, he learns that wolves love lullabies as much as the cows do. The kids had a great time joining in on the “EEK!’s.”

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Kids (and even grown-ups) always seem fascinated by this classic picture book, which shows all the different parts of a monster’s face, and then makes them disappear one by one. I had given out play scarves before I read this one, and I had the kids wave them like magic wands each time we said “Go Away” to a different part of the monster.

Songs:

See the Little Bunnies Sleeping

We sang this after reading Creepy Pair of Underwear. Even the elementary school kids at my family storytime enjoyed pretending to be asleep on the floor and then popping up and hopping up and down.

See the little bunnies sleeping
‘Till it’s nearly noon.
Come, let us wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!

If You’re Happy And You Know It

I love to sing this song and add in verses for different emotions.

[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!”…

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

If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face… (cover your eyes, and then uncover them 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!”…

We Are Scary Ghosts

One of my favorite songs to do this time of year, especially with play scarves. The kids love suggesting other scary things to be: bats, witches, vampires, etc.

We are scary ghosts floating down the street,
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street.
We are scary ghosts floating down the street,
We’ll scare you…BOO!

Aiken Drum

We sang this as our instrument play-along after reading Go Away Big Green Monster. The kids suggested different types of foods for each part of Aiken Drum’s face.

[C] There was a man lived [F] in the moon,
[C] In the moon, [G] in the moon.
There [C] was a man lived [F] in the moon,
And his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

Chorus:

[C] And he played upon a [F] ladle, [C] a ladle, a [G] ladle,
He [C] played upon a [F] ladle, and his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

[C] And his eyes were made of [F] lemons,
[C] Lemons, [G] Lemons.
His [C] eyes were made of [F] lemons,
And his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

And his nose was a banana…etc.

Stay & Play: Monster Process Art

For this simple Stay & Play, I put out markers, googly eyes, paper, foam shapes, cotton balls, and glue sticks, and the kids used the supplies however they liked to create their own monster designs.

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