Monthly Archives: April 2026

D-Lightful: A Storytime About the Letter D

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Early Literacy Tip: Take advantage of any opportunities to write your child’s name–on drawings or crafts they make or on nametags (I’ve started providing blank labels for nametags at storytime each week). Say each letter aloud as you write their name, and point out other words you come across together that start with the same letter.

I have been continuing my storytime journey through the alphabet in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime (Note: This is my second time doing this series of themes. You can find my previous letter-themed storytime posts at the bottom of my Storytime Themes page).

As usual, I started both storytimes by writing a capital and lowercase letter D on my whiteboard and asking the kids what sound the letter makes. Thankfully, D is an easy letter that really only makes one sound. Then I asked the kids if they could think of any words that started with the letter D. They suggested: dog, Dad, and daisy. I also pulled some items out of paper bag: a dinosaur, a rubber duck, and a dime (in my Family Storytime, which has a smaller group, I let the kids take turns pulling the items out of the bag).

Here’s the rest of what we did (this is a combination of the books and songs I used for both Family Storytime and Outdoor Musical Storytime):

Books:

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion; pictures by Margaret Bloy Graham

One of my favorite books from childhood, and clearly a favorite of many of my storytime caregivers. When Harry buries the scrubbing brush for his bath and goes off on a messy adventure, he turns from a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots. He looks so different that his family no longer recognizes him, until he begs for them to give him a bath. A slightly longer story than I usually read, but it was perfect for my Family Storytime crowd.

Dozens of Doughnuts by Brianne Farley

I love the illustrations in this book, especially the delicious looking doughnuts on the inside cover. LouAnn the bear is preparing to hibernate by making herself some doughnuts. But her friends keep showing up at the door asking to try some. In the end, there are no doughnuts left for LouAnn, who is extremely hungry and upset, until her friends come back to make more. The kids loved joining in on the repeated “Ding Dong’s” and growling like LouAnn when she loses her temper. This book is reminiscent of The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins (which would also fit the theme), but with doughnuts instead of cookies.

The Digger and the Dark by Joseph Kuefler

A cute story in The Digger series, which features the big trucks settling down to sleep, but being interrupted a group of playful, hungry raccoons. The raccoons keep the trucks awake every night until they finally discover the playground the machines have been building, and decide to play on that instead. The kids laughed every time I read the “Squeak Squeak” line that the raccoons say.

Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein

This is a delightfully silly, and somewhat violent story that always gets giggles. A baby dinosaur named Dinah hatches out of her egg and sees two small creatures kissing. She decides to try kissing too, but only succeeds in stomping, chomping, whomping, and even eating other creatures. Then she finds another baby dinosaur, and the two have fun stomping, chomping, and whomping with each other. The kids love the different sounds.

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

I read this one for Family Storytime. It’s the classic story of a girl who is frustrated with her art abilities, until her teacher makes her sign a picture of a dot she drew and hangs it in the classroom. This leads her to make lots of different type of dots, which in turn inspires others. A beautiful book for older kids.

Songs:

B-I-N-G-O

I sang this to go along with Harry the Dirty Dog. This is an old standby, but here’s a video from Super Simple Songs, just in case you’re not familiar with it. Traditionally, you leave out a letter each time you sing it, and clap instead. Sometimes I have the kids bark the missing letters instead of clapping.

[C] There was a farmer [F] had a [C] dog,
And Bingo [G] was his [C] name-o.
[C] B-I- [F] N-G-O
[G] B-I- [C] N-G-O
[Am] B-I- [F] N-G-O
And [G] Bingo was his [C] name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
(Clap!)-I-N-G-O!… etc.

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

We sang this song to go along with Dinosaur Kisses. It’s always a big hit with all ages, and a good movement song to help get the kids refocused.

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food on the [Dm] ground.
[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food, and [Dm] then we march [A] around.

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest at the end of the [Dm] day.
[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest, and [Dm] then you’ll hear us [A] say…

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[A] And then we RO-AR-OAR!
[A] Because [Dm] we [C] are the [Dm]dino-[D]saurs!

Six Little Ducks

We have two different Monkee Mitt sets for the Five Little Ducks, so for Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put six of the ducks on the parachute and we waved the chute up and down in time to the song.

[C] Six little ducks that I once [G7] knew,
Big ones, little ones, [C] fair ones too.But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus:
[G7] “Quack! Quack! Quack! [C] Quack! Quack! Quack!”
[G7] He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

[C] Down to the river they would [G7] go,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, [C] to and fro.
But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

[C] Home from the river they would [G7] come,
[C] Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, ho hum hum.
But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

Do As I’m Doing

I learned this song years ago when I was volunteering to lead music classes at my kids’ school (the school had a curriculum written by an Orff music instructor, who recommended this as an opening song). We did it as an instrument play-along at the end, and I demonstrated different ways to play the egg shakers (tapping them on the ground, waving them back and forth, holding them up high, etc.) each time we sang it. You can also do it with different motions (clapping, jumping, stomping, or even walking, skipping, or galloping in a line through the room).

[C] Do as I’m doing, follow, follow [G7] me.
[C] Do as I’m doing, follow, [G7] follow [C] me.
[C] Follow, [G7] follow, [F] follow [C] me.
[F] Follow, [C] follow, [G7] follow [C] me.
Follow, [G7] follow, [F] follow [C] me,
[F] Follow, [C] follow, [G7] follow [C] me.

Stay & Play: Dot Markers & Snap Dinos

For the Stay & Play, I just put out white paper and dot markers, which the kids always love. They are great because you can draw with them like a big marker or makes wtih dot them (which the kids enjoy doing with great enthusiasm–and noise!).

I also put out our set of Snap Dinos for the kids to play with. These are mix-and-match wooden pieces of different dinosaur parts (heads, bodies, tails, legs, etc.) that can be snapped together to create new and colorful dinosaurs (you can see part of one of the pieces in the photo above).

Do you have any favorite picture books, songs, or activities featuring the letter D? Please share them in the comments below.

Oh, Say Can You C? A Storytime About the Letter C

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Early Literacy Tip: Talk about the different sounds that letters make. Understanding that each letter makes a particular sound (or a few different sounds) is key to building the decoding skills kids will need to learn to read later on.

This week, we continued our storytime journey through the alphabet, this time focusing on the letter C.

I started by writing the letter C on a whiteboard, and then asking the kids to trace a letter C in the air with me. Then I asked them to suggest words starting with the letter C. They came up with: cat, candy, cake, and cookie. I also pulled some items out of a paper bag: a cup, a toy car, and a circle. We talked a little bit about how the first “C” in circle makes an “S” sound, while the second “C” makes the more common “K” sound.

Here’s the rest of what we did (this is a combination of what we did in Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime).

Books:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond

I read this for Family Storytime. It’s always fun to read a really popular, classic book from time to time, because the kids are usually excited to see a book they know (and often have at home). This cautionary, circular tale describes the long series of demands that a mouse will have if you give him a cookie.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Kevin Cornell

Funny, interactive story that invites the reader to count the monkeys. Only the monkeys keep being scared away by a succession of different animals and people: 1 King Cobra; 2 Mongooses (or Mongeese?); 3 Crocodiles, etc. Each time, the reader is asked to help in a different way: moving their hand in a zig-zag; yelling “Scram!”, etc. The large, colorful illustrations make it perfect for storytime.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

This book is longer than the books I typically share at Outdoor Musical Storytime (which has a larger, younger crowd than Family Storytime), but it worked well because it’s so interactive. Plus, the few older kids who were there were mostly familiar with the book already, and excited to hear it again. The story is about a peddler whose caps are stolen by bunch of monkeys in a tree. He scolds the monkeys by shaking first one fist and then two, and then stamping his feet. But the monkeys only mimic him and say, “Tsz! Tsz! Tsz!” The kids loved pretending to be the monkeys!

Circle by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Jon Klassen

Part of the Shapes Trilogy, this book features the shapes playing hide-and-seek. When Triangle violates Circle’s rule about not hiding behind the waterfall, Circle goes into the dark cave behind the waterfall to look for her. This book is a little too “spooky” for my Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd, but it was a big hit at Family Storytime.

Catch That Chicken! by Atinuke; illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

I like this book because of its unusual setting (a Nigerian village) and repeated “Catch That Chicken!” line. It also provided a good opportunity to talk about how the letter “C” can make different sounds when combined with other letters, like “Ch.” The story is about a little girl named Lami, who is the best chicken catcher in the village. When she falls and hurts her ankle, she worries she won’t be able to catch chickens anymore, until she realizes there’s an easier way to catch them.

Songs & Rhymes

Can You See the Color Yellow?

We sang this after reading Caps for Sale (which talks about the different colored caps) in Outdoor Musical Storytime. This song always gets the kids excited, as they look around and point to things around them that match each color. It’s to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Can you [C] see the color yellow,
The [F] color yellow, the [G7] color yellow?
Can you [C] see the color yellow,
[F] Right here [G7] where you [C] are?

Can you see the color blue… etc.

These Are the Colors Over You

I got this song from La La Librarian (see the video below). Usually at Outdoor Musical Storytime, I try to do a theme-related song with the parachute, and then follow it with Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, where the kids usually run underneath once we raise the parachute in the air. For this week, I started with Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, and had the kids stay under the parachute at the end, so we could wave it over them while we sang this song.

Red and green, and yellow and blue,
These are the colors over you.
Red like an apple, green like a tree,
Yellow like the sun, and blue like the sea.
Red and green, and yellow and blue,
These are the colors over you.

I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock

This is one of favorite songs for baby and toddler storytimes. This week, I decided to try it with play scarves at Family Storytime.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock (rock side to side, or wave scarf back and forth)
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Now I’m striking one o’clock…
Cuckoo! (Jump up, or throw scarf in the air in the air)

(Repeat for two and three o’clock)

I’m Gonna Catch You by Laurie Berkner

We did this as our instrument play-along at the end. It’s such a “catchy” song!

[C] I’m gonna [F] catch you
[C] You’d better [F] run
[C] I’m gonna [F] catch you
[C] Here I come!

So I jumped into [F] Mon-[C]day,
And I had an ice cream [F] sun-[C]dae

But then I [B♭] turned around,
And I heard a [G] sound.


It said, I’m gonna catch you
You’d better run
I’m gonna catch you
Here I come!

So I jumped into Tuesday,
Had myself a snooze-day…

But then I turned around, and I
Heard a sound, 
It said,
I’m gonna catch you
You’d better run
I’m gonna catch you

Here I come!

So I jumped into Wednesday,
Had a make-new-friends-day…

But then I turned around, and I
Heard a sound, 
It said,
I’m gonna catch you
You’d better run
I’m gonna catch you
Here I come!

So I jumped into Thursday,
Had myself a nurse-day…

But then I turned around, and I
Heard a sound,

It said, I’m gonna catch you
You’d better run
I’m gonna catch you
Here I come!

So I jumped into Friday,
Had myself a shy-day…

But then I turned around, and I
Heard a sound,
It said, I’m gonna catch you
You’d better run
I’m gonna catch you
Here I come!

So I jumped into Saturday,
Had a baseball-batter-day…

But then I turned around, and I
Heard a sound,
It said, I’m gonna catch you
You’d better run
I’m gonna catch you
Here I come!

So I jumped into Sunday
Had a super-fun-day…

And then I turned around, and I heard a sound, and it said:
I’m gonna catch you, you’d better run
I’m gonna catch you, here I come!

I’m gonna catch you, you’d better run
I’m gonna catch you, here I come!

I’m gonna catch you, you’d better run
I’m gonna catch you, here I come!

I’m gonna catch you, you’d better run
I’m gonna catch you, here I come!

I caught you!

Stay & Play: Crayon Resist Watercolor Painting

This is one of my favorite process art activities, although, like most paint-related projects, it requires a bit of set-up (and clean-up). For the Stay & Play, I put out white cardstock, watercolor paint sets, small cups of water, paint brushes, and a few white crayons. I explained to the families that if they wrote or drew in white crayon on the white paper, it would look invisible until they painted over it with the watercolor paints.

What I love about this project is that often the caregivers write a “secret message” or draw something special (like the child’s handprint traced above), and the children get to reveal what they wrote or drew when they paint over it. In any case, it’s always a big hit.

Do you have any favorite books, songs, or activities featuring the letter “C”? Please share them in the comments below.