We Are in a Book: Storytime with Elephant and Piggie

Posted in Book reviews, Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes, Ukulele by worldsloudestlibrarian

Paper Bag Gerald and Piggie Puppets by Nina

A few weeks ago, one of my storytime Dads asked if his son could come with his Boy Scout troop for a tour of the library and to read books at storytime (it happened to be the night that one of the Kindergarten girls read a book to the group at the beginning of storytime, and inspired several other kids to want to do the same). We arranged for the troop to come to Family Storytime this week, and I pulled a bunch of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books for them to read.

Elephant and Piggie books are perfect for kids (or adults) to read in pairs, because the text is simple, and usually involves a conversation between the two main characters, Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie (sometimes other characters have a few lines too). The parts are color-coded, making it easy to figure out who is speaking. The stories and illustrations are hilarious, and entertain everyone from toddlers to adults. Plus the kids love looking for the pigeon from Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, who always shows up somewhere on the end pages at the back of the book.

We ended up with six Scouts, who read three books. I made simple pig and elephant noses out of paper and taped them onto the boys’ noses to indicate which part they were reading. In order to keep the rest of the kids engaged, I also made a few cue cards for some of the words or phrases that were repeated a lot in each book, so they could join in on those. The boys did a wonderful job reading, and didn’t seem to have any qualms about having an audience. Some of them even took on different voices for Elephant and Piggie. The hardest part was getting them to remember to hold up each page slowly for the audience to see, but then I’ve seen adults who struggle with that too. Here is what they read:

I Am Going! by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link) Gerald is horrified when Piggie says she is going, and begs her to stay, until he finds out she is only going to lunch. This book has a page where Gerald chants, “Why?” and I wrote that word on a cue card that I held up on that page so the other kids could join in.

I am Invited to a Party! by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Piggie is excited to receive an invitation to her very first party. Gerald wonders what kind of party it is: a fancy party? A fancy pool party? A fancy costume pool party? They must come prepared! The cue card I made for this one was the word, “PARTY!” which both characters chant together throughout the book. The kids really liked that.

I’m a Frog by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Gerald is shocked when Piggie says that she is a frog, until she explains she is only pretending. I wrote the word “Ribbit!” on a cue card because Piggie says that throughout the book. There’s also a page where Gerald and Piggie get into an argument consisting solely of: “No I can’t!” and “Yes you can!” I made cue cards for those two phrases too, and the kids enjoyed chanting them back and forth. The adults liked the part where Gerald asks if even grown-ups pretend to be something they’re not, and Piggie says, “All the time,” with a knowing look.

My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

I got to read this one myself, which I was happy about because it was the first Gerald and Piggie book I ever read, and it will always be one of my favorites. When Piggie sees that Gerald is sad, she tries to cheer him up by disguising herself as a cowboy, a clown, and a robot. But Gerald seems sadder than ever. For this one, I made a cue card for Gerald’s repeated, “Ohhh…’s”

SONGS:

Elephants Have Wrinkles

After each verse of this song, I ask the kids where else elephants have wrinkles and we add in a new body part, while singing the song faster and faster. This time the kids suggested teeth (we clicked our teeth together), feet (we stomped our feet), and faces (we patted our cheeks). Click on the triangle for the tune:

Elephants have (pat legs on each syllable)
Wrinkles, Wrinkles, Wrinkles (clap hands on each syllable)
Elephants have (pat legs on each syllable)
Wrinkles (clap hands on each syllable)
Everywhere! (stomp feet on each syllable)
On their nose! Oh-oh! (touch your nose, and mime a trunk)

Repeat

Elephants have wrinkles…

On their legs! On their nose! Oh-oh!

I Bought Me a Rooster

We have a variety of stuffed animals in the children’s area, so I passed those out, and we sang a verse of the song about each one. I play it on the ukulele in C.

C
I bought me a rooster and the rooster pleased me
C G7
I fed my rooster on the bayberry tree
C F
My little rooster goes, “Cock-a-doodle doo!
C F G7 C
Dee Doodle, Dee Doodle, Dee Doodle, Dee Doo!”

No No No No No! I think this song is also called The Argument. It’s basically the tune to Reverie, but you sing, “No, no, no, no, no” all the way through the first half, while shaking your head, then “yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” for the second half while nodding. If you have an older group, you can divide them up and have them sing both parts at the same time.

INSTRUMENT PLAYALONG WITH A CD: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Rufus Thomas, from Sing Along with Putumayo.

CRAFT: Gerald and Piggie Paper Bag Puppets

Gerald Paper Bag Puppet by Chloe

Piggie Paper Bag Puppet by Chloe

I got this idea and the templates from Three Little Birds: http://threelittlebirdsnorth.blogspot.com/2012/04/elephant-and-piggie-party.html. I copied and pasted the picture of their template into a blank Word file, then printed it out, and made copies. The Gerald one worked out well just on white paper, because it ended up looking gray in the copies. For Piggie, I copied it onto pink paper. I did all the cutting ahead of time, so the kids just had to glue the pieces onto paper bags.

OTHER BOOKS BY MO WILLEMS: Okay, so I have a huge librarian crush on Mo Willems. He’s definitely one of my favorite children’s authors, and although he has an astounding number of books, they are all perfect for storytime. Here are some of my other favorites:

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Before Trixie has learned to talk, she goes with her Dad to the laundromat along with her beloved stuffed animal, Knuffle Bunny. But on the way home, she realizes that Knuffle Bunny is missing. She tries everything she can to tell her Dad, but he just doesn’t understand. Of course, as soon as Trixie’s mom opens the door, she says, “Where’s Knuffle Bunny?” The whole family races back to the laundromat to look. A book that resonates with both kids and parents. I love Trixie’s attempts to communicate, including going boneless (a phenomenon familiar to anyone with a toddler). The illustrations are equally hilarious. Followed by two sequels: Knuffle Bunny Too and Knuffle Bunny Free (this one makes me cry).

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems; illustrated by Jon J. Muth (Amazon.com link)

A departure from Willems’ usual funny, cartoonish style, featuring paintings by Jon J. Muth. When a city dog visits the country, he meets a frog who teaches him to play frog games. The two have a wonderful time throughout City Dog’s visits in Spring and Summer. By Autumn Country Frog has grown tired, and in Winter, when City Dog comes, he can’t find his friend, but ends up making a new one. A lovely and bittersweet story about the seasons and friendship.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs as Retold by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Hilariously dark take on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In this one, three dinosaurs prepare bowls of chocolate pudding at varying temperatures and go…uh…someplace else, where they are definitely not lying in wait for brazen little girls. The kids love to spot the Pigeon hidden in the cookie jar, and the rejected title ideas on the back, including Goldilocks and the Three Major Networks, Goldilocks and the Three-Foot-Long Hoagies and more.

Cat the Cat, Who is That? by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Very simple easy reader that introduces Cat the Cat and her friends Fish the Fish, Duck the Duck, Mouse the Mouse. But then she meets someone entirely new: a strange creature who says, “Blargie! Blargie!” This is a fun read-aloud for toddlers, and a great book for beginning readers. Followed by several sequels.

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

I like the Pigeon, but I love the clever, manipulative Duckling even more. Pigeon is excited to find a hot dog, until a wistful Duckling who claims to have never tried a hot dog asks him to share. There are lots of great Pigeon books, and a fun iPhone/iPad app as well, which allows kids to create their own Pigeon story and learn how to draw the Pigeon (both my kids love it).

What are your favorite Mo Willems books?

10May2014

All About My Mother: Books for Mother’s Day

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Big, fun crowd this week, with a wide range of ages. In honor of Mother’s Day, we read books about Moms.

Baby Brains and Robomom by Simon James (Amazon.com link)

Mr. and Mrs. Brains hoped to have a smart baby, but they never expected one as smart as Baby Brains, who not only talks, but builds amazing inventions. One day, hoping to save his parents from their daily chores, he invents a robot who can iron, cook, and wash the car. The problem is that the new Robomom also wants to do the things Baby Brains prefers his parents to do: changing his diaper, putting him to bed. The other problem is that Robomom is working so hard that she eventually explodes. The kids loved the explosion part. Delightfully far-fetched and silly, this book demonstrates that there are some things technology still can’t do.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (Amazon.com link)

This was one of my mother-in-law’s favorite books as a child, and I think of her whenever I read it. It made for a nice old-fashioned contrast to Baby Brains and Robomom. Sal and her mother are picking blueberries on the same hill as a mother bear and her cub. When the two young ones swap places, both their moms are in for a big surprise. This one was a bit long for the younger kids, but the older ones enjoyed it, and it was snatched up at the end. A gentle and timeless story.

Llama Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney (Amazon.com link)

Given how popular this book and its sequels are, I was surprised that a number of the kids had never read it. A rhyming story about a llama lying alone in bed and calling for his mother, then panicking when she doesn’t come right away. The illustrations are big and adorable, and the story is something both kids and parents can relate to. I love the mother’s frustrated, but soothing reminder at the end, “Mama Llama’s always near, even when she’s not right here.” There was a bit of llama drama at storytime over who was going to get to check out this book, and I’m ashamed to say that my daughter was the instigator (my husband couldn’t get off work in time tonight to watch our kids, so she tagged along with me). Anyway, the book is clearly a hit.

Love You When You Whine by Emily Jenkins; illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier (Amazon.com link)

This book got lots of laughs, especially from the moms. It’s a list of things a little kitten does that upsets his mom, and how his mom still loves him always: “Love you when you whine. Love you when you interrupt…Love you when you scream ‘Lollipop Lollipop Lollipop’ for forty-five minutes on line at the bank.” I usually add a disclaimer not to try these things at home, especially hiding mom’s keys and painting the dog. It was a hit though, and another mild dispute arose over who was going to get to take it home (thankfully not involving my daughter this time).

SONGS:

Five Days Old

Great Laurie Berkner song that the kids enjoyed. I played it on the ukulele, which is tricky with the jumping up and down. Click here for Laurie Berkner’s video.

Peanut, Peanut Butter

A song I learned at Girl Scout camp a thousand years ago. The version I sing goes like this (click on the triangle to hear the first verse):

First you take the peanuts and you pick ’em, you pick ’em,
You pick ’em, pick ’em, pick ’em! (Mime picking peanuts)
Then you smash ’em, you smash ’em, you smash ’em, smash ’em, smash ’em! (clap hands together each time you “smash”)
Then you spread ’em, you spread ’em, you spread ’em, spread ’em, spread ’em! (mime spreading peanut butter)
Singing “Peanut, peanut butter…jelly!
Peanut, peanut butter…jelly!”

Then you take the berries and you pick ’em… (repeat the first verse)

Then you take the sandwich and you bite it, you bite it, you bite it,
Bite it, bite it!
Then you chew it, you chew it, you chew it, chew it, chew it!
Then you swallow it, you swallow it, you swallow it, swallow it, swallow it.
Singing, “Peanut, peanut butter…jelly!
Peanut, peanut butter…jelly!” (I usually sing this part in a slightly garbled voice, as if I have peanut butter on the roof of my mouth. Then we all mime drinking a glass of milk).

No More Monkeys

I gave out instruments for this one, and played it on the ukulele. It’s the wonderfully catchy Asheba version of Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed from Putumayo’s Animal Playground album.

CRAFT: All About My Mother

My Mommy by Olivia, Sarah, and Lily

I stole this idea from my daughter’s preschool last year, and adapted it for Father’s Day as well. I love it because the kids’ answers are so adorable. (Last year my daughter told her teacher that I was 4-years old. This year, of course, she said I was 5). Here’s the .doc I created: My Mommy is Most of the kids needed help filling out the form, so I interviewed each of them and wrote in their answers, but they enjoyed drawing pictures of their moms.

OTHER BOOKS:

My Mom by Anthony Browne (Amazon.com link)

Lovely tribute to a Mom who is a fantastic cook, a brilliant juggler (of daily tasks), a magic gardener, and much more. The illustrations are fun and full of humor. It would also be a good example to use in a lesson on similes, which are used throughout the text (she “sings like an angel,” and “roars like a lion,” etc.)

Mom Pie by Lynne Jonell; illustrated by Petra Mathers (Amazon.com link)

When two brothers are frustrated that their mom is too busy preparing for company to pay attention to them, they decide to make a “Mom Pie,” made of all the things that remind them of her. Sweet story with childlike stick-figure drawings. This book, along with Mommy, Go Away by the same author and illustrator, do a nice job of capturing the wistfulness and frustration that kids often feel, in the context of a warm and playful story.

Please Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee; illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Amazon.com link)

One of the few celebrity picture books I actually like. A simple, repetitive rhyme that follows an adorable toddler throughout her day with her mom: “Go back to bed, baby, please, baby please / Not on your head, baby, baby, baby, please!” The illustrations by Kadir Nelson are full of life and mischief, and it has a sweet ending, with the little girl begging for a kiss from her tired Mama. This also makes a good book for beginning readers. because of the rhymes and repeated words and phrases.

What! Cried Granny: an Almost Bedtime Story by Kate Lum; illustrated by Adrian Reynolds (Amazon.com link)

Because Mother’s Day is for grandmothers too. This is one of my storytime standbys. A little boy named Patrick is ready to go to bed at his Grandma’s house. “But Granny!” he says, “I don’t have a bed here!” “What?!” cried Granny. She rushes out to chop down some trees, and quickly builds him a bed. But he still needs a blanket, a pillow, and a teddy bear. This is a terrific read-aloud. The kids love joining in whenever the Granny says, “WHAAAATTT?!” and guessing what Patrick is missing this time.

The Grandma Cure by Pamela Mayer; illustrated by John Nez (Amazon.com link)

I love this story about two grandmas who come to take care of a little girl named Sophie when she stays home sick from school. But each grandma has a different idea of how to do things: one thinks Sophie needs hot tea, the other wants to give her orange juice. Sophie has to step in and explain how to sort out their differences the way her Kindergarten teacher has taught her. Funny story that kids and grown-ups both enjoy.

Happy Mother’s Day! If you have any favorite books about moms or grandmas, please share them in the comments.

3May2014

¡Viva! Books in English and Spanish

Posted in Uncategorized by worldsloudestlibrarian

Tissue Paper Flowers

I had a whole family storytime planned for Cinco de Mayo, with tissue paper flowers as the craft. But Wednesday night was unexpectedly and unusually hot. Most of my usual group was at a special event, and everyone else was probably at the beach or hiding out indoors. It ended up being just me and Olivia, one of the kindergarten girls who’s been coming for several years. So instead of the storytime I had planned, we read Elephant and Piggie books together for half and hour. She would read Gerald and I would read Piggie, and then we would switch. Her dad read all of the additional characters. She read amazingly well, with lots of expression and even different voices! Afterwards, we made tissue paper flowers. It was a fun and peaceful evening, the perfect antidote to a long, hot day where everyone (including my own kids) seemed cranky and unhappy.

So here is the storytime I planned to do (to be honest, I was a little relieved because, although I took Spanish in college, and have studied it on my own a bit, I’m still nervous about my pronunciation, especially those tricky rr‘s). There are some wonderful bilingual books though. Here are a few:

Oh No, Gotta Go! by Susan Middleton Elya; illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Amazon.com link)

My daughter loves this book, and I read it to her preschool class the other day. Rhymed verse tells the story of a little girl who is out for a drive with her family when she realizes she desperately needs “un bano!” Unfortunately, it is Sunday, and all the shops are closed. A construction worker gives her parents directions to a restaurant. The family rushes in, only to find an enormous line leading out of the women’s bathroom. This book seamlessly blends Spanish words into the text in a way that makes it easy for kids to decipher the meaning. The story is funny and definitely something kids (and parents!) can relate to. There is also a sequel called Oh No, Gotta Go #2, which is about exactly what you might think.

Perros! Perros! Dogs! Dogs! by Ginger Foglesong Guy; illustrated by Sharon Glick (Amazon.com link)

This is a fun, simple book in English and Spanish, with lots of repetition. I read it to my daughter’s class as well, and had the kids yell out “Espera!” (“Wait!”), whenever we got to those parts. They liked the illustrations of dogs getting muddy, having a bath, and going down the slide. Lots of rr‘s for me to butcher in this one, but I love it anyway.

Rubia and the Three Osos by Susan Middleton Elya; illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Amazon.com link)

Another book by the author of Oh No, Gotta Go! This is a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, again in rhymed verse with Spanish words scattered throughout the text. My daughter (who has always had a kind of disturbing fondness for the Goldilocks story) loves this one as well. In this version, Goldilocks runs away, but feeling badly for all of her naughtiness, comes back to the bears’ house with some homemade sopa (soup) and tries to set things right. Another book I like by this author is Bebé Goes to the Beach (illustrated by Steven Salerno). I’ve been impressed by her ability to blend Spanish words and phrases into the text of funny stories that kids enjoy.

Faster! Faster! Más Rápido! Más Rápido! by Leslie Patricelli (Amazon.com link)

I read this one for Toddler Time this week. It’s a bilingual version of a board book about a girl playing “horsey” with her father. As she begs him to go “Faster! Faster!” she imagines him transforming into a dog, a rabbit, a horse, a dolphin, and finally…a turtle. The text consists almost entirely of the phrase “Faster! Faster!” so it’s easy to get the kids and families to learn and repeat it in Spanish: “Más Rápido!” Patricelli has a similar book that I also love for baby and toddler storytimes called Higher! Higher! (there’s a bilingual version of that one too).

SONGS:

Uno, Dos, Tres Deditos (One Little, Two Little, Three Little Fingers)

I did this song both with my daughter’s class, and at Toddler Time. I sing it first in English and then in Spanish:

One little, two little, three little fingers,
Four little, five little, six little fingers,
Seven little, eight little, nine little fingers,
Ten little fingers on your hands.

Uno, dos, tres deditos,
Quatro, cinco, seis deditos,
Siete, ocho, nueve deditos,
Diez deditos son.

El Chocolate

I did this one for my daughter’s class and for Toddler Time too. It’s about making hot chocolate. It’s fun to repeat it, going faster and faster each time. At the end, I have the kids mime blowing on their hot chocolate and sipping it loudly. Click here to see a short Youtube video with the tune.

Uno, dos, tres, CHO (hold up three fingers, one at a time)
Uno, dos, tres, CO
Uno, dos, tres, LA
Uno, dos, tres, TE
Chocolate, Chocolate,
Bate, Bate, el chocolate! (Mime stirring with your hands).

What are your favorite books and songs in English and Spanish?

27Apr2014

Earthly Delights: Books to Celebrate Earth Day

Posted in Books for Second Graders, Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Model Magic Earthworms by Colette and Ben

This week, in honor of Earth Day on Tuesday (April 22), I did books about nature, gardening, and recycling. An exciting thing happened though: one of my regular participants, who is now in Kindergarten, asked if she could read Biscuit Goes to School by Alyssa Capucilli aloud to the group. There were a few minutes before storytime started, so I said yes. She did an amazing job, even holding up each page so the other kids could see the pictures. Afterwards, one of my other regulars asked if she could read I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems, so I told her she could read at the end of storytime, just before the craft. She did a wonderful job too! I was so proud of them both, for their developing reading skills, and especially for their bravery. I told them I know a lot of adults who would be too scared to read to a group like that, and it’s true.

Go to Sleep, Gecko: A Balinese Folktale by Margaret Read MacDonald; illustrated by Geraldo Valério (Amazon.com link)

One of my favorite folktales to read-aloud and perfect for Earth Day. Gecko complains to Elephant that he can’t sleep because the fireflies keep shining their lights on and off all night long. When Elephant confronts the fireflies they say they have to shine their light because Buffalo leaves poop in the road that someone might step in. But Buffalo says he is filling the holes that Rain washes out, and Rain says she is making puddles so there will be mosquitoes for Gecko to eat. The part about poop in the road always gets appreciative giggles, and the kids like joining in on the Gecko’s repeated cry of, “Geck-o! Geck-o! Geck-o!” Great story about the interconnectedness of things in nature. I love the last line, “Some things you just have to put up with.”

Bob and Otto by Robert O. Bruel; illustrated by Nick Bruel (Amazon.com link)

Another favorite of mine, and one my daughter has asked to hear over and over. Bob, a caterpillar, and Otto, a worm, are best friends who like to play together at the base of big tree. But one day Bob decides to climb high up into the tree. Otto doesn’t want to follow. Instead he digs deep down under the tree and crawls all around the roots. When the two friends meet again, Bob has transformed into a butterfly. Otto wishes he had followed Bob, so he might have grown wings too instead of just being a “big fat worm.” But Bob tells him that all his digging is what made the tree grow leaves, so he could eat and grow wings. Sweet story about friendship, as well as the importance of earthworms. This one got snatched up at the end.

Flora’s Surprise by Debi Gliori (Amazon.com link)

When Flora’s family plants a garden, Flora plants a brick in a pot and says she is growing a house. As the seasons pass, everyone else’s plants grow and blossom, but Flora’s house never grows. But at the end of winter, they are all surprised to find that someone (a bird) has discovered Flora’s brick, and that it has become a perfect house after all. Large, colorful illustrations and simple text make this a great book for gardening themes for toddlers on up. It was quickly snatched up too.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (Amazon.com link)

I hadn’t thought of this as an Earth Day book until I saw it in a list somewhere, but it fits well with the “ReUse” part of the “Reduce, ReUse, Recycle” motto. When Joseph’s coat gets old and worn, he turns it into a jacket, and then a vest, a scarf, a necktie, a handkerchief, a button, and finally…a story. The charm of this book is in the cutouts that give hints to each new thing Joseph makes. The kids loved trying to guess what was coming next. This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2000.

SONGS:

Elephants Have Wrinkles

I did this one to go along with Go to Sleep, Gecko. I ask the kids where else elephants have wrinkles and we add in a new body part each time, while singing the song faster and faster. Click on the triangle for the tune:

Elephants have (pat legs on each syllable)
Wrinkles, Wrinkles, Wrinkles (clap hands on each syllable)
Elephants have (pat legs on each syllable)
Wrinkles (clap hands on each syllable)
Everywhere! (stomp feet on each syllable)

On their nose! Oh-oh! (touch your nose, and mime a trunk)

Repeat Elephants have wrinkles…

On their legs!
On their nose!
Oh-oh!

Two Little Blackbirds

I did this one after Flora’s Surprise:
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (hold up two thumbs)
One named Jack and the other named Jill.
Fly away Jack (put one thumb behind back), fly away Jill (put other thumb behind back).
Come back, Jack (bring thumb out in front), come back, Jill (bring other thumb out in front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud, One was quiet (whisper), and the other was loud (yell)…

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow, One was fast and the other w…a…s…s…l…o…w…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate, One was early, and the other was… (pause)…late…. (I drag out the pause until the kids are all yelling “late!”)

INSTRUMENT PLAYALONG WITH A CD: I meant to play You Are My Sunshine by Elizabeth Mitchell from Sing Along with Putumayo, but that track wouldn’t play (I know from many past experiences that you should always check to make sure the song plays ahead of time, but I didn’t get a chance). Instead we did a totally random song from the same disc, although it’s a goofy one that I love: Bellybutton Song by Music for Aardvarks & Other Mammals.

CRAFT: Model Magic Earthworms

Model Magic Earthworm by Colette

To fit with Bob and Otto, we made earthworms out of Model Magic, a nontoxic Crayola air dry clay. I mixed white and red Model Magic ahead of time to make a rosy-pink color. I gave each child a hunk of the clay and a plastic knife to add the little ridges in the earthworm’s body. I also put out other colors so they could add eyes. They ended up adding all kinds of things, and each worm was completely unique.

OTHER BOOKS:

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin; illustrated by Harry Bliss (Amazon.com link)

Another great worm book, and one I shared with two second grade classes this week. A funny look at the joys and perils of being a worm. The kids especially loved the part where the worm gets so hungry, he eats his homework, then has to write, “I will not eat my homework” ten times, and then eats that too. The other Diary of books are great fun too.

Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker (Amazon.com link)

I read this one to second grade too. It’s a heavy and fairly lengthy story, and I wasn’t sure how they would take it: they were uncharacteristically quiet at the end. But several kids, mostly girls, said it was their favorite. It’s based on the Sparrow War, a true event that took place in China in the 1950’s, when Mao Zedong decreed that all the sparrows should be killed to prevent them from eating the grain. The death of the sparrows and other birds left the insects free to ravage the crops, and a terrible famine ensued. Sara Pennypacker makes this the backdrop of a story about a little girl who bravely saves seven of the sparrows, and hides them away until the farmers in her village realize the terrible mistake they have made. The second graders seem fascinating by true stories, although I was sad to have to tell them that in this case it was the more hopeful part of the story that was fiction. It is a vivid portrayal of the importance of understanding the complex interactions between every living thing, and how even small environmental changes can be devastating. (This is the same message conveyed by Go to Sleep, Gecko in a much lighter, sillier way).

The EARTH Book by Todd Parr (Amazon.com link)

Simple book about easy environmental things kids can do, and how they help the Earth: “I use both sides of the paper and bring my own bags to market because…I love the trees and I want the owls to have a place to live.” Some of the connections may not be immediately clear to kids, for example, turning off the lights and shutting the refrigerator door to help the polar bears. But it’s nice to have a concrete list of ways kids can have an impact, and the colorful, multicultural, artwork is eye-catching and fun.

What are your favorite books for Earth Day?

19Apr2014

Shell-ebrate! Books about Eggs

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Pom-Pom Chick by Olivia

In honor of Easter, Spring, and my daughter’s newfound obsession with eggs, I did an egg theme this week. And boy, are there a lot of fun books about eggs. It’s Spring Break this week, so I was expecting a small turn-out, but after the first few minutes a big crowd arrived, and it ended up being a wonderful large group with a wide variety of ages. Here’s what we read:

Owen’s Marshmallow Chick by Kevin Henkes (Amazon.com link)

I hadn’t originally planned to read this, but at the beginning of storytime I only had two families, both with very young kids. This board book worked perfectly for them. Owen eagerly gobbles down all of the candy in his Easter basket, until he gets to the yellow marshmallow chick, which is the same color as his fuzzy yellow blanket. Will he eat it too?

Except If by Jim Averbeck (Amazon.com link)

A fun book to read aloud, especially because the kids get to join in on the repeated line “Except If,” which is usually set apart on its own page. The older kids caught on quickly, and eagerly shouted it out each time they spotted it. “An egg is not a baby bird, but it will become one, except if…it becomes a baby snake.” Each page shows a different possible outcome: the egg might actually hold a lizard, or a dinosaur. Except if…it actually becomes a baby bird.

There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Another great Gerald and Piggie book. In this one, Gerald is disturbed to discover that he has a bird on his head, and even more disturbed when another bird arrives, followed by a nest, and three eggs. This book got lots of laughs, even from kids who had clearly heard it before.

Flap Your Wings by P. D. Eastman (Amazon.com link)

The first time I checked this book out, my daughter demanded to hear it three times in a row. And when I had it in my stack at storytime, one of the Kindergartners pulled it out and said, “Oh! Read this one!” It is a fun story, with hilarious illustrations. When a boy finds an egg lying in the middle of a path near a pond, he puts it in an empty nest in a nearby tree. Mr. and Mrs. Bird are surprised to find it there, but kindly decide to care for it, even though the baby that eventually hatches from it is like no bird they’ve ever seen (he’s an alligator). Thankfully he doesn’t eat his adoptive parents, who keep him well fed until it’s time for him to fly from the nest… This one was quickly snatched up at the end.

SONGS:

Three Baby Birds

I had a puppet with three baby birds in a nest that I held out for the kids to “feed.” I made this song up using the tune to Shortnin’ Bread (click on the triangle to hear the first verse):

Three baby birds were sitting in a tree,
Crying to the Mama Bird, “Feed me! Feed me!”
One little bird got a wormy from his mum.
Gulp it up! Slurp it down!
Yum! Yum! Yum! (Repeat with two little birds, and then one).

Two Little Blackbirds

Two Little Blackbirds (The kids love this song, especially the quiet/loud and early/late verses. Click on the triangle to hear the tune.)

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (hold up two thumbs)
One named Jack and the other named Jill.
Fly away Jack (put one thumb behind back), fly away Jill (put other thumb behind back).
Come back, Jack (bring thumb out in front), come back, Jill (bring other thumb out in front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud, One was quiet (whisper), and the other was loud (yell)…

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow, One was fast and the other w…a…s…s…l…o…w…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate, One was early, and the other was… (pause)…late…. (I really exaggerate the pause, until all the kids are shouting out “LATE!”)

INSTRUMENT PLAY-ALONG WITH A CD: Red Red Robin by Rosie Flores from Sing Along With Putumayo (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Pom-Pom Chicks

Pom-Pom Chick by Jonas

My son did this craft in preschool many years ago, and it’s always been one of my favorites. I cut diamond shaped beaks out of orange paper, and little feet (these were triangles with the point cut off, and tiny triangles cut in the wide end to make a W shape). Then I gave them to the kids along with pom-poms, wiggly eyes, glue and glue sticks, feathers, and plastic Easter eggs. (The feathers make it harder to fit the finished chick inside the egg, but they are very cute). One girl asked for stickers to decorate her egg, so I brought some of those out as well. The glue sticks worked pretty well for holding things on, but you have to rub them hard against the pom-pom.

Pom-Pom Chick by Liat

OTHER EGG BOOKS:

An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston; illustrated by Sylvia Long (Amazon.com link)

I meant to read this nonfiction book, because it is beautiful. Every page shows different types of eggs, all in brilliant colors, while describing various characteristics of eggs: eggs are quiet, eggs are colorful, eggs are shapely. It also includes a brief description of the parts of an egg, and how the protect and feed the embryo inside. The last page shows all of the different creatures who hatched out of the eggs. The illustrations in this book are so striking that when I read it to my daughter, she wouldn’t let me turn the page until we had talked about every single egg.

The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard (Amazon.com link)

A fun, simple story by Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon), that is perfect for Easter because it includes an egg and a bunny. When a bunny finds an egg, he tries everything he can think of to make it hatch: kicking it, jumping on it, and rolling it down the hill. He is so worn out from his efforts that he falls asleep…and the egg hatches.

Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller (Amazon.com link)

Another great nonfiction title that is simple enough for preschoolers. This book describes, in rhymed verse, all of the different creatures that hatch from eggs.

Daniel’s Mystery Egg by Alma Flor Ada; illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Amazon.com link)

A cute easy reader that also works well for storytime. When Daniel finds an egg, all of his friends take turns guessing what kind of animal will come out of it: a duck? an ostrich? an alligator? But they are all in for a surprise.

An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni (Amazon.com link)

My daughter loved this story about a frog named Jessica who finds an extraordinary pebble. Her friend insists that it is a chicken egg, so when it hatches, Jessica and her friends assume the new baby is a chicken. They become close friends with the new baby, until the chicken finds her mother. The frogs all find it very funny that the chicken’s mother calls her “my little alligator.”

What are your favorite books about eggs?

12Apr2014

Things Could Always Be Verse: Picture Books for National Poetry Month

Posted in Books for Second Graders by worldsloudestlibrarian

Although we had a performer in place of Family Storytime this week, I did get to share poetry books with two second grade classes, in honor of National Poetry Month. These were the ones we read:

Guess Again! by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Adam Rex (Amazon.com link)

This was one of the most gratifying read-alouds I’ve ever shared with a group. It’s a series of riddles, with clues, rhymes, and silhouettes that all seem to be leading to an obvious answer, only the solution is always something completely unexpected. For example: He steals carrots from the neighbor’s yard./His hair is soft, his teeth are hard./His floppy ears are long and funny./Can you guess who? That’s right! My…Grandpa Ned! This worked incredibly well for second grade because they were so certain they knew the answer, and they exclaimed so loudly each time the real answer was revealed. The first class made me read it twice, so they could all shout out the real solutions.

What a Day it was at School! by Jack Prelutsky; illustrated by Doug Cushman (Amazon.com link)

Jack Prelutsky is a genius at children’s poetry, with a gift for humorous twists along the lines of Shel Silverstein. In this collection, a cat describes his school day to his mother, with different poems describing how his science homework dog, how he accidentally started a food fight at lunch, and even how he farted in class. In the last poem, he has to write a poem for class that has to have meter and rhyme, which gave me an opportunity to talk about meter in poetry.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer; illustrated by Josee Masse (Amazon.com link)

This is an amazing and beautiful book. Each page features a different fairy tale: Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin, Sleeping Beauty, etc. And each is actually two poems: the first poem reads normally, from top to bottom; the second takes the exact same poem but flips it, as if you were reading it from bottom to top, where it takes on an entirely different meaning. For example, for Red Riding Hood, the first poem is from the girl’s perspective: In my hood, / skipping through the wood, / carrying a basket, / picking berries to eat — / juicy and sweet / what a treat! / But a girl / mustn’t dawdle. / After all, Grandma’s waiting! The second poem uses the same lines in reverse to show the wolf’s point of view: After all, Grandma’s waiting, / mustn’t dawdle… / But a girl! / What a treat — / juicy and sweet, picking berries to eat, / carrying a basket, / skipping through the wood / in my ‘hood. The kids especially loved the illustrations, which mirror the way one thing transforms into another: the wolves legs becoming the trees in the forest, the seven dwarves’ mine becoming the evil queen’s face. A brilliantly executed poetry collection that could make for a fun, and challenging poetry assignment. The second graders were mesmerized.

OTHER POETRY BOOKS:

There were lots of other books I could have shared, including almost any rhyming picture books. Some of my favorites:

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich: and other stories you’re sure to like, because they’re all about monsters, and some of them are also about food… by Adam Rex (Amazon.com link)

I read this to some second grade classes last year, and it was a huge hit! Each poem features the woes of a different monster: the Phantom of the Opera can’t get It’s a Small World out of his head; Count Dracula has spinach in his teeth; Big Foot is tired of being mistaken for the Yeti. Very funny and off-the-wall.

Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop by Chris Raschka (Amazon.com link)

A great book to illustrate how writers can use words to mimic sounds or experiences, in this case Charlie Parker’s jazz rendition of A Night in Tunisia. I’ve read this book so many times to both of my kids that I can almost recite it from memory, and it’s a blast to read aloud: Be bop. Fisk Fisk. Lollipop. Boomba Boomba The language captures the play and joyful unexpectedness of jazz music.

17 Kings and 42 Elephants by Margaret Mahy; illustrated by Patricia MacCarthy (Amazon.com link)

A rhythmic poem describing 17 kings and 42 elephants walking through the jungle. It’s fun to have the kids clap or stomp along with the beat, which is infectious.

What are your favorite poetry books for kids?

5Apr2014

April Fool! Books about Jokes and Tricksters

Posted in Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Poisson d’Avril by Sarah

In honor of April Fool’s Day, for this week’s Family Storytime, we read books about jokes and tricks. This was a fun theme, and all the books were snatched up and checked out at the end. Here’s what we read:

Knock, Knock, Who’s There? by Tad Hills (Amazon.com link)

A great introduction to knock knock jokes for toddlers and preschoolers, with comical animal illustrations. I love to read this book at storytimes because it’s so interactive. Even the parents enjoy saying “Who’s There?”

Watch Out! Big Bro’s Coming by Jez Alborough (Amazon.com link)

I first heard this book read by a children’s librarian named Mary Ann Schlitz when I was just starting out doing storytimes, and I was struck by how well she did the voices for each character. It’s been one of my favorite read-alouds ever since. When a little mouse warns a frog that “Big Bro is Coming!” it starts a panic that spreads throughout the jungle. Each animal makes Big Bro out to be rougher and bigger, until they are all cowering in terror. When Big Bro finally appears, he turns out to be…a mouse! The big, colorful illustrations and dramatic story make this book perfect for just about any age. I usually have the kids stretch their arms out every time a character says “THIS BIG!”

I Will Surprise My Friend by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Yet another terrific Gerald and Piggie book, and one that worked perfectly for this theme. When Gerald and Piggie see two squirrels playing a game where they try to scare each other, they decide to try it on each other. This book always gets big laughs, especially on the page where Gerald and Piggie jump out at the same time and scream in terror.

Buddy and the Bunnies in: Don’t Play With Your Food by Bob Shea (Amazon.com link)

Bob Shea is another favorite picture book author of mine. I learned about this new title of his from my friend Kerri’s blog, MLReads.com. Buddy the monster really wants to eat the adorable little white bunnies, but somehow the bunnies always manage to divert him onto something else: making cupcakes, going swimming, or going to the fair. Hilarious read-aloud that always gets groans and laughs at the punchline.

SONGS:

There were a number of wandering toddlers at storytime this week, so I ended up doing songs after each book to keep them engaged:

Shake My Sillies Out: My standard opening song. I always pretend to fall asleep in the “Yawn my sleepies out” verse, and the kids yell, “Wake up!” Here’s a video of the original version by Raffi.

Aiken Drum: I had the kids suggest different foods to make the parts of Aiken Drum’s face. Here are the lyrics with the uke chords in parentheses (If this key is too high, you can also play it in C with C, F, and G7). Click on the triangle below to hear the tune:

(D) There was a man lived (G) in the moon
(D) In the moon, (A) in the moon.
There (D) was a man lived (G) in the moon,
And his (D) name was (A) Aiken (D) Drum.

Chorus:

And he played upon a ladle, a ladle, a ladle,
He played upon a ladle, and his name was Aiken Drum.

His eyes were made of meatballs, meatballs, meatballs,
His eyes were made of meatballs, and his name was Aiken Drum

His nose was made of cheese….
His hair was made of spaghetti… etc.

There’s a Spider on the Floor: I have a big spider puppet that I brought out for this one, and I carried it around to put lightly on each kid’s leg, neck, head, etc. I’ve changed the verses a little from the Raffi version. Instead of “There’s a spider on your stomach,” I do “There’s a spider on your tummy, on your tummy…Oh, you look so very funny, with that spider on your tummy.” And instead of “I wish that I were dead, I’ve got a spider on my head,” I sing, “Oh, it fills my heart with dread to see that spider on your head…” But otherwise I keep it the same.

Little Bunny FooFoo: Great song for getting the kids on their feet and jumping around. Here’s an animated video by Hannah Heller with the lyrics.

INSTRUMENT PLAY-ALONG WITH A CD: Just Kidding by Jon Galimor from Folk Playground (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Poisson d’Avril

Poisson d’Avril by Shelby

An incredibly simple craft based on the French tradition of sticking paper fish on people’s backs on April First as a joke (Poisson d’Avril). You can read more about the history on FranceTravelGuide.com. For the fish, I printed out a basic template from AllKidsNetwork.com, and gave the kids markers and crayons to decorate it, and tape to make it sticky. They had the best time trying to stick the fish on each other and on all the grown-ups.

OTHER BOOKS:

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric Kimmel; illustrated by Janet Stevens (Amazon.com link)

One of the best examples of a trickster tale, featuring Anansi the Spider, the mischievous West African god. When Anansi discovers that a certain rock in the jungle knocks people unconscious when they say, “Isn’t this a strange moss-covered rock?”, he uses it to trick all the other animals and steal their food. But all the time, Little Bush Deer is hiding and watching, and planning a trick of her own. This is a terrific read-aloud. Kids love joining in on the “KPOM!’s” whenever an animal falls for the trick. Plus Janet Stevens has cleverly hidden Little Bush Deer on almost every page for kids to find.

Guess Again! by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Adam Rex (Amazon.com link)

A clever and hilarious parody of traditional riddle books. Each page uses rhymes, clues, and silhouettes to lead readers to an obvious answer, only to surprise them with something completely random. For example: Who’s furry, scurries, and has fleas?/Who climbs our counters and eats our cheese?/We’ve set up traps throughout the house/But still can’t catch that pesky…Viking!”

Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard; illustrated by James Marshall (Amazon.com link)

The classic classroom story about sweet Miss Nelson, who is mysteriously replaced by the evil Miss Viola Swamp. The best thing about this book is the way it leaves it up to the reader to solve the mystery. I also love that James Marshall based his depiction of Miss Viola Swamp on his own horrible second grade teacher who laughed at his drawings (you can read about it in this Horn Book interview). I have also read that Marshall gave up drawing for years afterwards. Thank goodness he regained his confidence as an adult! He certainly had the last laugh.

What are your favorite picture books about jokes and tricks?

30Mar2014

Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Books About Baseball

Posted in Books for Second Graders, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Model Magic Bat and Baseball by Ria

March 31 is Opening Day for Major League Baseball, and most of the kids in Pacifica are already deep into softball and Little League practice. So this week, I did a storytime about baseball. Here’s what we read:

Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen (Amazon.com link)

This book is nominated for the 2014-2015 California Young Reader Medal, and I had already shared it with some second grade classes last month. It’s a rhyming story about a boy who is terrible at baseball, but a genius at invention. When he looks through his telescope and sees a giant fireball rocketing towards Earth, Randy Riley quickly invents a robot who hits the greatest home run ever, and saves the town. This one was a really big hit with the kids in my storytime group, and quickly got snatched up at the end.

Homer by Diane de Groat and Shelley Rotner (Amazon.com link)

The story about a dog baseball game featuring a big golden retriever named Homer, this is an adorable, funny book told in photographs. The kids got into a mini-scuffle over who would get to check it out.

Who’s On First? by Abbott and Costello; illustrated by John Martz (Amazon.com link)

An illustrated version of the classic Abbott and Costello routine. This would be a fun one to read with a partner, or use for Reader’s Theater. The illustrator makes each player (Who, What, I Don’t Know, etc.) a different animal, making them easy to identify as the joke continues. I’m not sure that all the kids got the joke, but they laughed as the dialogue got more heated and complicated, and several of them asked to check it out at the end.

Froggy Plays T-Ball by Jonathan London; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz (Amazon.com link)

The Froggy books are always a hit, especially because the kids love joining in on yelling, “FROGGGYYY!” (It’s a great opportunity to point out the word on the page too, which is important for pre-readers). In this book, Froggy makes several mistakes at his T-ball game: throwing himself out, catching actual flies instead of fly balls, and finally running towards his real home, instead of home plate.

SONGS:

B-I-N-G-O! I sang this to go along with Homer, and used a dog puppet, who barked the missing letters, and licked the kids’ faces in between verses.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game We did this as a sing-along, and I played it on the ukelele. (I found the chords on Ultimate-Guitar.com).

INSTRUMENT PLAY-ALONG WITH A CD: I’m Gonna’ Catch You by Laurie Berkner, from Under a Shady Tree: a catchy song with a brief baseball reference.

CRAFT: Model Magic Baseballs

Model Magic Baseballs, Soccer Balls, and a Bat by Olivia

This ended up being a lot of fun. Originally, I had planned to just use white Model Magic for the ball, and have the kids draw in the lines for the seams with a red marker. But I had a tiny bit of red Model Magic left in my bin, along with a package of black, so the kids ended up rolling thin strips of the red for the baseball seams instead. They also used the black to make soccer balls, and some of them even made baseball bats.

If you aren’t familiar with Model Magic, it’s a soft, light, air-dry modeling clay made by Crayola, and available in most craft stores and on Amazon.com. It worked beautifully for the balls, because it actually bounces. It’s also light enough that, even if the kids threw the balls at one another, they wouldn’t hurt. My son has used Model Magic for years to make little models of whatever he was interested in at the time: Pokemon, Mario, etc. It’s far less messy than Play-Doh, and really easy to manipulate.

OTHER BASEBALL BOOKS

I also read baseball books to two classes of second graders this week, which was fun because I could share some of the longer ones. Here’s what I read:

Becoming Babe Ruth by Matt Tavares (Amazon.com link)

The second graders enjoyed this true story about George Herman Ruth, who was such a troublemaker as a child that his parents sent him away to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. St. Mary’s was strict (the boys could even be whipped if they so much as talked at mealtime), but the one thing that George loved there was baseball. After he became a professional ball player, he heard that St. Mary’s had been destroyed in a fire, so he invited the school’s band to join him for the rest of the baseball season, and raised money to help them rebuild. Very readable, with large, colorful illustrations.

Casey Back at Bat by Dan Gutman; illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher (Amazon.com link)

A funny follow-up to the old poem, Casey at the Bat. In this story, Casey hits the ball, which rockets off over the fence, knocks the Tower of Pisa, breaks the nose off the Sphinx, scares the dinosaurs into hiding, and plummets back onto the field, where Casey is flied out. The kids enjoyed the outrageous silliness of it, and it gave me a chance to put in a plug for Gutman’s chapter book series, The Baseball Card Adventures. These are sports adventure stories for slightly older kids (grades 4-8) about a boy who uses baseball cards to travel back in time to meet famous ball players.

Casey at the Bat by Ernest L. Thayer; illustrated by C. F. Payne (Amazon.com link)

One of the second grade teachers had this book in her classroom, and pulled it out so the kids could hear the original poem. Some of the vocabulary is a bit advanced, but the illustrations by C. F. Payne do a great job of conveying the story. The kids all seemed to enjoy it.

There Goes Ted Williams by Matt Tavares (Amazon.com link)

This was the favorite of a lot of the boys. Another picture book biography by Matt Tavares (author of Becoming Babe Ruth). This one tells the story of Ted Williams’ rise to fame as the greatest hitter who ever lived. It includes an exciting anecdote about how his plane was damaged by enemy fire in the Korean War, forcing him to choose between ejecting and possibly breaking his legs, or taking his chances with a crash. The kids also were appreciatively grossed out by the description of Williams hitting until blood streamed down his hands. My only complaint about this book is that the kids were curious about when Williams lived and died, which wasn’t included in the text or the notes at the end. But the kids in both classes loved it.

What are your favorite picture books about baseball?

23Mar2014

Hopping into Spring

Posted in Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

It’s officially Spring, although, unlike the rest of the country, the San Francisco Bay Area hasn’t had much of a Winter. Still, you can see some blossoms appearing on some of the fruit trees, and hear frog songs in the creeks and bushes. I hadn’t ever really thought about frogs as a harbinger, until I noticed that several picture books made that connection. So I made them the focus of my Spring storytime as well. Here’s what we read:

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson (Amazon.com link)

I’m in love with this book. It reminds me a lot of Press Here by Herve Tullet, because each page asks the reader to interact with the book in a different way. The first page asks you to tap a bare tree, making a green leaf appear on the next page. Tap the tree again, and more leaves appear. Then buds appear, and turn to flowers, which transform into apples. The leaves change color and fall off, and the whole thing begins again. I read this book to three different groups this week: one preschool, one toddler, and one mix of ages. They all loved following the directions on each page and seeing what came next. A great book for units on trees or the seasons.

The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner and Jonathan Lambert (Amazon.com link)

I read this in honor of my coworker, Gwen Miller, who is retiring this month. This is one of her favorite read-alouds. It’s a pop-up version of the old joke about the wide-mouthed frog, who goes around asking other animals what they like to eat, until he meets an alligator who eats wide-mouthed frogs! Sadly, our copy doesn’t circulate, so no one could check it out, but the kids all asked to have a chance to look through it before they went home.

999 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura and Yasunari Murakami (Amazon.com link)

I prefaced this book by asking the kids if they knew what frogs started out as. Surprisingly, only one of them knew about tadpoles, so I think if I do a frog theme in the future, I will be sure to share a book that describes that process in more detail. This book was a hit anyway. When 999 tadpoles become 999 frogs, their parents have to seek out a larger place to live. On the way, their father is taken by a hungry hawk, and they all join together to save him. The illustrations of the 999 frogs dangling in a huge chain from the hawk’s claws made all the kids laugh, and there was a mini-squabble over who would get to check it out at the end.

I Spy With My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs (Amazon.com link)

I had originally planned to read City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems for my last book, but I had this one in my stack and the kids begged to hear it. It’s an I Spy game using very simple clues to help kids to guess different animals: a blue whale, a gray elephant, a green frog. What sets it apart are the large, colorful illustrations, and the hole in each page showing the color of the next animal. The kids easily guessed all the animals, even the orangutan. A great book for color or animal themes.

SONGS:

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

I sang this with a crazy frog puppet I found in our animal bin, which makes burping noises or buzzing sounds when you put your hand in his mouth. The kids all clambered around me for a turn.

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD:

Red Red Robin by Rosie Flores from Sing Along with Putumayo (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Paper Frog

Paper Frog by Lily

There are lots of different versions of this craft online, mostly involving paper plates (here’s an example from Drexel Paper Cuts). For mine, I cut out circles, and front and back feet from green construction paper. I folded each circle in half, and cut a narrow piece out of the middle. I had some foam craft sticks in different colors for the tongue, and wiggly eyes (if I had had more time, it would have been fun to make eyes that stuck out on the top).

All of the frogs turned out differently. Several kids put the eyes inside the folded piece of paper, so they looked like the one below. They all loved the foam craft sticks, and some kids even made their own crafts (stick people and airplanes) by taping several of them together.

Paper frog by Sara

OTHER BOOKS:

Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand (Amazon.com link)

An adorable book about a mole who tries to wake up his friend Bear in time for Spring. Large, colorful illustrations and simple, repetitive text would make it perfect for toddlers. My daughter loved it.

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems; illustrated by Jon J. Muth (Amazon.com link)

This is a sweet, somewhat sad, story, far different from most of Mo Willems’ other picture books. It even has a different illustrator, and features large, expressive paintings of the animals in the countryside. A city dog visits the country throughout the year, playing games with his friend Frog, until the Winter comes and Frog is nowhere to be found. The following spring, the dog returns and makes a new friend. A lovely, subtle book about the cycle of the seasons and the cycle of life.

Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum (Amazon.com link)

A lovely book of large photographs featuring different things you might see in the Spring: baby birds, frogs, fawns, flowers, etc. I didn’t get this one in time to share at storytime, but it would have worked well because of the photographs of tadpoles turning into frogs.

What are your favorite picture books about frogs or Springtime?

15Mar2014

The Luck of the Irish: Books for St. Patrick’s Day

Posted in Books for Second Graders, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

St. Patrick’s Day is a terrible holiday for storytime. Sure, there are several picture books about leprechauns and lots of adapted Irish folk tales, but they are almost all far too long to read to a preschool or toddler group. Often I end up making it a “green” theme for that age group. That was what I had originally planned for this week too, but instead of Family Storytime, we had a guest from the Spindrift School of Performing Arts lead a Movement and Music class, so I was off the hook.

This week though, I read to two classes of second graders, so I finally got to share the longer books. It was actually a lot of fun. The kids seemed to enjoy all of them (they’ve gotten in the habit of voting for their favorites at the end, and each of the books got a fair number of votes). Plus I got to try out my Irish accent (admittedly I was a bit nervous to learn that one of the teachers was a first generation Irish-American, whose parents immigrated here before she was born). Luckily she didn’t seem offended. (By the way, if you enjoy playing around with accents, my friend Mai recently sent me this link from the BBC, where a dialect coach named Andrew Jack gives a quick overview of different accents across the UK).

These are the books I read:

The Last Snake in Ireland by Sheila MacGill-Callahan; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand (Amazon.com link)

An original story about St. Patrick’s attempts to rid Ireland of its last snake. After trying to trick, and then capture, the snake in a wooden box, St. Patrick saves it from a eagle, and finally drops it into Loch Ness in Scotland, where it grows into the Loch Ness Monster. It’s hard to find a book about St. Patrick that doesn’t delve too much into theology (always a bit risky in a public school or library setting), so this was a fun way to represent him. Many of the kids, especially the boys, said this book was their favorite.

Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola (Amazon.com link)

Based on an Irish folk tale that DePaola heard from his grandfather, this is the story of Jamie O’Rourke, a man so lazy he would never lift a finger to help feed himself and his wife. Then one day, he captures a leprechaun, who tricks him into accepting a potato seed instead of his pot of gold. Jamie plants the seed, and grows the biggest potato in the world. The whole town ends up eating it all winter long, until everyone is so sick of potatoes that they offer to keep Jamie and his wife supplied with food all year, as long as Jamie O’Rourke doesn’t plant another potato seed. It would be fun to do a planting activity along with this book, and let the kids plant potato eyes to grow their own potatoes.

Lucky O’Leprechaun in School by Jana Dillon (Amazon.com link)

Someone is eating bites out of the cupcakes and cookies in Mr. Eliot’s classroom. The kids suspect the new kid, Kevin O’Malley, until they discover there’s a leprechaun hiding in the ceiling. Kevin helps them catch the naughty thief, and makes him promise to grant them one wish: a field trip to the moon. The kids really enjoyed this one, and spent several minutes afterwards talking about what they would wish for: mostly they wanted money or infinite wishes. This one actually is short enough to share with preschoolers, and I have read it at library storytimes in the past. It is also one of a series of books about Lucky O’Leprechaun.

King Puck by Michael Garland (Amazon.com link)

A lonely man lives in the mountains with only his books, the fairies, and his goat Finny for company. Until one day the fairies enchant his goat to make him talk. The two head off to the fair in Killorglin, where Finny is crowned King Puck for a day, and granted one wish: more books to read. This book was a huge hit, mostly because of the illustrations. The kids kept commenting on how they “almost look real” (they are computer-generated), and they loved pointing out the fairies hiding on each page. The note at the back of the book explains about the history of the King Puck contest, which really is held every year in Killorglin. The girls especially liked this one, and I think it would probably work for a preschool storytime.

The Hungry Leprechaun by Mary Calhoun and Roger Duvoisin (Amazon.com link)

An original story about a hungry man who finds an even hungrier leprechaun. The man, Patrick O’Callahan, badgers the leprechaun into trying to conjure up some gold, but the leprechaun has forgotten how to do magic. His attempts to make gold out of dandelion soup and the sunbeams on the floor yield them nothing but a puddle full of frogs, but when he tries to enchant the rocks, they turn into something white and tasty that feeds them both and everyone else. The kids liked the part where the leprechaun says something like, “We boiled them in a POT and ATE them. We should call them POT-ATE-o’s.” Several kids commented on how only every other page is in color, and the color is limited, which gave me a chance to discuss how printing in color used to be expensive, and was usually used sparingly (this book was published in 1962, and unfortunately appears to be out of print).

What are your favorite books for Saint Patrick’s Day?

The Loudest Librarian!

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