Author Archives: worldsloudestlibrarian

Standing on My Head…Or How to Entertain a Crowd of Kids Under the Age of 3

Posted in Librarianship, Storytime themes by

When I first started as a children’s librarian in Raleigh, North Carolina, I was lucky enough to be apprenticed to a woman who patiently taught me how to do infant and toddler storytimes. I was still terrified.  The hardest thing about doing storytime for this age group was that I was painfully aware that I was mostly performing for the parents, while the babies and toddlers were busy pulling books off the shelves, chewing on their friends’ toys, crying over a lost binky, and basically anything but listening to me.  At first this was so frightening that I would find myself forgetting the words to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”  I started writing my favorite rhymes and songs down on index cards, which would inevitably wander off and get chewed on, but they were still very helpful in those early years. Here are some of my favorites:

CUCKOO CLOCK

Tick Tock, Tick Tock (rocking side to side)
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Now I’m striking one o’clock…
Cuckoo! (lift baby up, or have toddler jump up in the air)

(Repeat for two and three o’clock)

THEY JUMPED IN THE BOAT

(Don’t ask me why the kids love this so much, but they do)

They jumped in the boat, and the boat tipped o-ver! (Lean baby far to the right)
They jumped in the boat, and the boat tipped o-ver! (Lean baby far to the left)
They jumped in the boat, and the boat tipped o-ver! (Lean baby far to the right)
Ten little boys and girls (bounce baby on lap)

GIDDY-UP!

(A bouncing rhyme, to the tune of the Lone Ranger part of “The William Tell Overture”)

Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up-UP-UP! (Bounce baby on lap)
Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up-UP-UP!
Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up-UP-UP!
Whoa! Horsey! (Lean back)

INSIDE THE SPACE SHUTTLE

Inside the space shuttle (hold baby on lap, or have toddler crouch down)
Just enough room (hug baby or show toddler how to hug knees)
Here comes the countdown (holding up five fingers)
5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!  (Raise baby in the air, or have toddler jump up)

ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM!

(Similar to Inside the Space Shuttle, start with baby on lap or toddler crouching)

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! (rub hands together on each “zoom”)
I’m off to the moon!
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast off!!!

TEN CANDLES ON A BIRTHDAY CAKE

Ten candles on a birthday cake (hold up ten fingers)
All lit up for me! (point to yourself)
I’ll make a wish, and blow them out
Watch and you will see! (blow on fingers and quickly make hands into fists)

MY BALLOON

This is the way I blow my balloon (hold hands in front of your face in the shape of a balloon)
Blow! (blow air, and bring hands apart)
Blow! (blow air, and spread hands wider)
Blow! (blow air, and spread hands very wide)
This is the way I break my balloon
Oh, oh NO! (clap hands together)

SLOWLY, SLOWLY

Slowly, slowly, very slowly goes the garden snail (walk fingers slowly up baby’s arm, or have toddler walk very slowly in place)
Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the garden rail
Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly
Goes the Little Mouse (run fingers up to baby’s chin, or have toddler run in place)
Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly
All around the house!

HERE IS THE BEEHIVE

Here is the beehive (make a fist)
Where are the bees?
Hiding away where nobody sees.
Watch, and they’ll all come out of their hive
1-2-3-4-5 (open up fingers one at a time)
They’re alive! (tickle baby or toddler)

DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY

(hold baby or toddler on lap and bounce them from leg to leg)

Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With a hip, hop, a hippity hop
Jump off the lily pad (lift baby up)
And kerplop! (lower baby back down)

THE ELEVATOR

(To the tune of “Bouncing Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon”)

Riding up and down in an elevator (lift baby up and down, or have toddler stand and crouch)
Riding up and down in an elevator
Riding up and down in an elevator
First floor
Second floor (lift baby up, or have toddler stand)
Third floor (lift baby higher, or have toddler stretch up high)
DOWN! (lower baby, or have toddler crouch back down)

MERRY-GO-ROUND 

(To the tune of “This Old Man”)

Merry Go Round (lift baby up and down, or put her on your knees and bend and straighten them)
Merry Go Round
We all ride on the merry-go-round
Now we’re UP
And now we’re DOWN!
We all ride on the merry-go-round.

Down to town, down to town
We go riding down to town
Better be careful you don’t fall DOWN (lean baby far to the right)
We go riding down to town.

RAISIN BREAD

(Have baby or toddler lie on her back on the floor)

How do you make raisin bread?
You roll it (roll baby gently to one side)
And roll it (roll baby to the other side)
And roll it
And roll it
And then you put the raisins in (gently poke baby’s stomach in several places)

SEE MY PONY 

(a bouncing rhyme; thanks to Laura Siegel)

See my pony, jet black pony
I ride him each day
When I give him oats to eat
Clippity clappaty go his little feet!
See my pony, jet black pony
I ride him each  (long pause holding tension)
day (simultaneously open knees and child drops down- while holding on of course)

I HAVE A CAT

I have a cat (stroke imaginary cat on lap)
My cat lies flat! (clap one hand on top of the other)
I have a cat (stroke cat)
He wears a hat (pat the top of your head)
I have a cat
He caught a rat (clap your hands together quickly in the air)
I have a cat (stroke cat)
Purrrrrrr….Purrrr…..
ME-OWWWW!

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS

(pat hands on lap in time to the rhyme)

The hip-, the hip-, the hippopotamus
Got on, got on, got on the city bus
And all, and all, and all the people said
You’re squishing us! (put your hands on the sides of your face and squish your cheeks forward)

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There’s a scene in “It’s a Wonderful Life” when Jimmy Stewart demands to know what has happened to his wife Mary, in the version of events where he never existed. The angel, Clarence, refuses at first to tell him. “I’m not supposed to…” he says. “You won’t like it.” But Jimmy turns violent and sweaty, so Clarence reluctantly reveals the horrible truth: She’s a librarian…

It is this revelation that finally convinces poor Jimmy that his life is important, if only to save his wife from that dreadful fate.

A friend of my parents had a similar reaction when he first learned that I was planning to be a librarian. “Not Ashley!” And several of my college classmates, when I told them I was going to grad school to become a librarian said simply, “Oh…” in a surprised but carefully neutral way, as if I had just announced that I…

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13 Words by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Maria Kalman

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13words

13 Words by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Maria Kalman

How can I not love a book that begins:

Word Number 1:

Bird

The bird sits on the table

Word Number 2:

Despondent

The bird is despondent.

It goes on from there, spinning a story that somehow weaves together words like “Cake,” “Dog” and “Goat” with words like “Panache” and “Haberdashery.”  It ends with a song, sung by a Mezzo-Soprano (Word 13), that ties everything together.  As my 8 year-old son said, “This book just gets more and more random with every page.”  And it does.  Admittedly the humor is definitely more for adults, but I think my 3 year-old still enjoyed the story of the dog and the goat trying to cheer up their sad friend with a new hat (“with panache, of course.”)  And my son loves new words (as a Kindergartner, he amused his teacher by complaining that his feet were “weary.”)  Plus, the illustrations by Maria Kalman are vibrant and offbeat, with wonderful expressions, especially on the poor despondent bird.

My favorite two pages come at the end, with a picture of everyone seated at a table covered with a colorful variety of cakes, the bird and dog wearing their new hats, the goat playing a clarinet, the mezzo-soprano poised to eat a cupcake.  And it reads, “It is a beautiful song.  It has been a good day.  Everyone, everyone, everyone, everyone has cake.”  As a librarian, I live to read a line like that out loud to a group of small children, who probably all long to sit at a table covered in cakes.  (So do I).   And then, of course, in typical Lemony Snicket style, we learn that the bird “to tell you the truth, is still a little despondent.”

If you haven’t read Lemony Snicket (who is really Daniel Handler, a San Francisco novelist), you should know that all of his books, especially his “Series of Unfortunate Events,” are filled with unlucky twists of fate and unusual vocabulary, which he usually defines in a wry way within the text.  My favorite of his is The Latke Who Wouldn’t Stop Screaming, which achieves something nearly impossible in the holiday genre: a book that explains the holiday without being dry, makes adults laugh, tells an entertaining story, and allows kids to scream very loudly over and over again.   It is a real treasure for a children’s librarian, especially around the holidays, when I’m often faced with a shelf full of Hanukkah books that are far too long and detailed to hold the interest of the 3 and 4 year-olds at my storytime.  I don’t know that I’d put 13 Words in the same category, but it did make me laugh, and I will probably try it out at a storytime soon.

The Second Grade Caldecott Committee

Posted in Book reviews, Books for Second Graders by

Today I read four recently published picture books to two separate classes of second graders, and asked them to choose which one they would award the Caldecott Medal if they were on the selection committee.

The four books were:

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Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds; illustrated by Peter Brown
Jasper Rabbit loves to munch the carrots of Crackenhopper Field, until they start to follow him. The large glossy black and white (and orange) illustrated panels in this book were just creepy enough to keep the kids uncertain about whether they should be frightened or amused. Still, they were riveted all the way through to the surprise ending.

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This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
A tiny fish boldly steals the hat of a sleeping fish many times his size. He is sure he will get away with it… The fun of this book is in the contrast between the little fish’s boasts, and the illustrations of the big fish hunting him. Younger children may not get the joke, but may not pick up on the implied ending either (let’s just say the little fish gets what’s coming to him). The second graders all knew what was coming though. One boy kept shouting, “No, don’t keep saying things like that. The big fish is going to eat you!” This one got quite a few votes from both classes.

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The Day Louis Got Eaten by John Fardell
The overwhelming favorite book for both classes. When her little brother Louis is eaten by a Gulper, Sarah knows just what to do. Unfortunately the Gulper is eaten by a Grabular, who is eaten by an Undersnatch…well, you get the picture. The kids LOVED this book, especially the colorful, cartoon-like illustrations of Sarah, whose bicycle magically transforms to carry her across water, underwater, and anywhere else she needs to go.

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I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black; illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
The second-most popular book for both classes. A little girl complains about being bored, until she meets a potato who thinks kids are boring (and would much rather play with a flamingo). Trying to convince the potato that kids are far from boring leads the girl to demonstrate just how many amazing things kids can do. Another great read-aloud, with large, clear, funny illustrations on lots of white space. The kids liked chiming in whenever the potato said “Boring!”

The kids were excited about all of the books, and begged to have a chance to see them up close afterwards. I had chosen these out of several lists of the best picture published in 2012. It was interesting that there didn’t seem to be much consistency between the lists, and there didn’t seem to be any one clear favorite among professional reviewers. I’m just as anxious as the kids were to know which book actually will win the Caldecott this year!

Greetings from the World’s Loudest Librarian

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I’m starting this blog as a way to compile all the web resources, books, craft ideas, songs and fingerplays that I have relied over many years as a children’s librarian.  I hope you find something useful to help you plan storytimes, answer reference questions or find great books to read.  Please reply with your favorites too.

Just a little background: I do a weekly family storytime for all ages at a library in Northern California.  I usually read four or five books, with songs or fingerplays in between, then have the kids play simple instruments (maracas and plastic tamborines) along to a song on the CD player, and end with a simple craft.  For years I resisted crafts (I was actually a little terrified of them, along with puppets and flannelboards), but then I had to fill in for a colleague who used crafts every week.  Since then I’ve been converted: the kids love the chance to use their creativity and their parents love the chance to talk to each other and to help their kids with an easy project.

Most of the project ideas are ones I’ve stolen from the many wonderful preschool web sites out there.  I owe the creators of those sites some serious chocolate, and I’ll try to recognize them here.