Category Archives: Storytime themes

Dancing with Dinosaurs: An Outdoor Musical Storytime

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We had a very special guest at our Outdoor Musical Storytime today–a wild turkey! It was fitting for a storytime at the beginning of November, and also because our theme was an ancient ancestor of the turkey: dinosaurs!

We almost cancelled today, because it had been raining overnight and the ground was still a bit damp. But since the skies were clearning, we decided to give it a try. I posted a picture of the picnic area on a couple of Facebook groups for local families, explaining that we were still holding storytime, but to be sure to bring a towel or blanket to sit on. I also mentioned our Dinosaur theme, so one little boy showed up with his prized dinosaur collection!

BOOKS:

Here are the books and songs that we did:

Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

Crunch, the Dinosaur, is very shy, and likely to hide if you say “Hello” too loudly. This is a fun, interactive book that asks the kids to sing “Happy Birthday,” shout their names, and say “Goodnight,” as Crunch slowly warms up to them. This was a great way to get my shy group talking.

Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Groovy Joe is a lot like Pete the Cat, especially since the books are written by the author of the first few Pete books. In this one, Groovy Joe is preparing to enjoy his favorite ice cream, and singing his song “Love My Doggy Ice Cream!,” but he keeps getting interrupted by hungry dinosaurs. But that’s okay because, as Joe says, “It’s awesome to share!” The kids loved chiming in on the ROARs, and the families were singing along with the song every time.

Dinosaur Stomp by Paul Stickland

I love to throw in pop-up books whenever I can, because the kids are always mesmerized by them. In this colorful, rhyming picture book the dinosaurs pop off the page in surprising ways. It was fun to ask the kids to name some of the more recognizable dinosaurs.

SONGS:

If You’re Happy and You Know It

This one fit well with Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur, because we sang about lots of different emotions: If you’re sad and you know it, cry “Boo hoo!”; If you’re angry and you know it, say “I’m mad!”; If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face…peek-a-boo!

The chords are:

If you’re happy [C] and you know it, clap your [G7].

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [C].

If you’re [F] happy and you know it,

And you [C] really want to show it,

If you’re [G7] happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands.

If All the Raindrops

The perfect song for our recent weather, and as a follow-up to Ice Cream and Dinosaurs. I asked for suggestions of favorite foods, so we made the rain into gummy bears and pasta, and pizza and grapes. Here’s an old video I made for the tune:

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.

[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,

[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be!

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

The little boy who brought his dinosaurs already knew this song, and it worked perfectly for our instrument play-along. I used the chords from this site: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the-laurie-berkner-band/we-are-the-dinosaurs-chords-702750

STAY AND PLAY: Dinosaur Footprints

A Dinosaur Print Display made by Claire

For our Stay and Play activity, we gave the kids paper plates and small handfuls of Crayola Air Dry Clay, and showed them how to flatten their clay into a small disc on the plate. Then we gave them toy dinosaurs, so they could press the footprints into the clay, or lay them on their sides to make a full body print. We also encouraged them to decorate their clay with leaves from around the park. This turned out to be a lot of fun! Thank you to Big Happy House for this idea. You can also do this craft with Salt Dough, which is cheap and easy to make.

What are your favorite dinosaur books or songs? Please let me know in the comments.

High Spirits: Halloween Storytime at the Park

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Two days ago, the whole Bay Area was drenched by an atmospheric river, so I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to hold storytime today. Luckily, the ground at the park was fairly dry, and surprisingly, we had a pretty big turnout. Not only that, the kids seem to finally be getting comfortable moving around and interacting with us, which is a big relief.

It had been such a long time since we had done in-person storytimes, that many of the kids had never attended a storytime before, or at least not since they were too young to remember. Plus, sitting apart on blankets, instead of in the cozy crowd at the library, seemed to make them feel a bit shy and uncertain. But today we had kids dancing and calling out suggestions, and it was almost like old times. Here’s what we did:

BOOKS:

Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara

One of my favorite Halloween books for younger kids, this not-so-scary story is about a girl who lives in a haunted house. Luckily, the girl is a witch, who knows how to catch ghosts and put them to work being curtains and blankets and other useful things. We aren’t handing out play scarves right now, but when we were, I used to love having the kids pretend to catch their own “ghosts” in the air. Today, we took the time to count the ghosts together. Always a hit!

Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks

This isn’t technically a Halloween book, but I included it because it’s about a spider. The spider (who is adorable) really wants to be a family pet, but all of her attempts to get the family’s attention end with them screaming, “Aaaarrgghh, Spider!” and putting her outside. The kids loved joining in on the screams. They also loved the page of sparkly webs.

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

The perfect monster book for younger kids, and a brilliant book design that makes the different parts of the monster’s face seem to magically appear and disappear. One challenge with doing storytime in the park is making sure the kids can see the illustrations, so my coworker, Claire, usually walks around with a second copy of the book. For this one, we happened to have an adorable puppet version, with Velcro eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and hair you can easily stick to the face. I think the next time I do this, I’ll ask for volunteers to put the different parts of the monster’s face on the puppet and take them off again.

SONGS:

ON HALLOWEEN:

This is a versatile, easy song, and provides a great opportunity for kids to suggest their own verses. Today we had bats saying “Eeee!”, zombies saying “Brains!”, and skeletons saying “Boo!” I always end with “The kids at the door say ‘Trick or Treat!'”

To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. The ukulele/guitar chords are in bold:

The [C] ghosts in the house say “Oooooooo!”

[G7] “Oooooooo! [C] Oooooooo!”

The ghosts in the house say “Oooooooo!”

[G7] On Hallo-[C]ween.

WE ARE SCARY SKELETONS

This is a fun, spooky song that also allows kids to suggest spooky (or not-so-spooky) things to be. Today we were werewolves, witches, and cats.

Here’s a video of a version I did for virtual storytime (although I used ghosts instead of skeletons), so you can hear the tune. I usually sing this one without the ukulele, so that I can use my whole body for the motions.

We are scary skeletons floating down the street,

Walking down the street,

Walking down the street.

We are scary ghosts walking down the street,

We’ll scare you…BOO! 

SPIDER ON THE FLOOR

To the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It. This is an old Raffi song, although I usually change the lyrics a little. Claire and I both acted it out with toy spiders, and I encouraged the kids to make spiders with their hands.

There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

Who could ask for any more than a spider on the floor?

There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

Now the spider’s on my leg, on my leg.

Now the spider’s on my leg, on my leg.

Oh, he’s really, really big, this old spider on my leg.

There’s a spider on my leg, on my leg.

Now the spider’s on my tummy, on my tummy…

Oh, I feel so very funny with this spider on my tummy!…

Now the spider’s on my neck, on my neck…

Oh, I’m gonna’ be a wreck, I’ve got a spider on my neck!…

Now the spider’s on my face, on my face…

Oh, I’m such a big disgrace. I’ve got a spider on my face!…

Now the spider’s on my head, on my head…

Oh, it fills my heart with dread to have this spider on my head!…

Spoken: But it jumps off!

Now the spider’s on the floor, on the floor…

Who could ask for any more than a spider on the floor?…

HALLOWEEN SHARKS

I was ridiculously excited to sing this spooky version of Baby Shark by PinkFong. I gave out shakers for the kids to play along, and played it on the ukulele (chords and lyrics below):

Baby [Am] Shark, Doot [Em] doo, doo [Dm] doo doo doo.

[Em] Baby [Am] Shark, Doot [Em]doo, doo [Dm] doo doo doo.

[Em] Baby [Am] Shark, Doot [Em]doo, doo [Dm] doo doo doo.

[Em] Baby [Am] Shark!

BOO!

Repeat with Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandma Shark, Grandpa Shark, and Halloween.

STAY AND PLAY:

I’ve been trying to find simple activities for the stay-and-play that allow kids to explore things around the park, so I was really excited to find this Magic Nature Wand activity from Mini Mad Things. I put out pipe cleaners, multicolored yarn, and scissors for the kids, and encouraged them to look around for sticks (not too big or too pointy) to make into wands, and leaves to attach to them. They turned out beautifully! Here is one example:

I have Toddler Storytime on Thursday (if the weather holds), and for that one, I’m hoping to have the kids make Leaf Monsters with leaves, glue sticks, Googly eyes, and markers. I got the idea from this great list of Halloween Nature Crafts from Mother Natured. Here is my example:

What are your favorite Halloween books, songs, or crafts? Please share them in the comments.

Some-Body Loves Me: Storytime About Parts of the Body

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Well, my Toddler Storytime this week got rained out, but we luckily the weather held for our Musical Storytime. Our libraries are participating in a program called San Mateo County Reads, sponsored by the County Office of Education, so our featured book was Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashti Harrison. We had copies of the book to give out, along with copies of Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes for older kids.

On a side note our library system recently purchased portable PA systems for each branch, and these have made a HUGE difference for outdoor storytime. I can put the speaker on one of the picnic tables closer to the audience, and use a headset mic when I read and sing. At the first outdoor storytime, I had to use a microphone on a stand, which was really awkward for reading aloud. But now I can move around freely.

Here are the books and songs that we used:

BOOKS:

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry; illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Our featured picture book, and this year’s picture book selection for San Mateo County Reads, this is a beautiful story about an African American father and daughter, and their struggles to recreate a special hairstyle for a very special day. The book is actually based on an Oscar Award-winning short film, which was originally funded by a Kickstarter pitched by the author. (Warning: the film will make you cry!). The book was a bit longer than the ones I usually read for my musical storytime audience, but since we had given out copies to each family, they could follow along as we read, giving the kids a really clear view of the illustrations. It was sweet to see all of the caregivers and kids sitting on their blankets and looking at the book together.

Who Has Wiggle-Waggle Toes? by Vicki Shiefman and Francesca Chessa

This is a really cute book, reminiscent of Eric Carle’s From Head to Toe, but featuring children instead of animals. It begins by asking who has different body parts (wiggle-waggle toes, hokey-pokey heads, and big, bold bottoms), and then asks the kids to move each part in different ways. I’ve noticed that the kids in the outdoor storytime tend to stay seated on their blankets, and this was a great way to encourage them to move around a bit more. Since the families were spread out, my coworker, Claire, walked a second copy of the book around to help the kids see the illustrations (she says it’s fun to hear the caregivers talking to their kids about things they see in the pictures. This has turned out to be an unexpected bonus of outdoor storytime, and a new way of promoting interactions between parents and kids.

There Is a Bird on My Head? by Mo Willems

This is one of my favorite Elephant and Piggie books, where Gerald the Elephant is unhappy to discover that a couple of birds have decided to build a nest on top of his head. Claire drew a pig nose on a face mask and read the part of Piggie, and I put on a set of elephant ears to be Gerald. We had a bird puppet, and even a nest of baby bird puppets to put on our heads, which was an extra challenge, but hilarious for the kids, since they kept falling off. Lots of fun!

SONGS:

I LOVE MY HAIR

I came up with this one to go with Hair Love. It’s to the tune of Love Somebody, Yes, I Do.

I love my hair, yes I do! (nod)

Love to wash it with shampoo (Mime washing your hair)

Rinse it, dry it (shake head vigorously), style it too.

Don’t you love my new hairdo? (fluff your hair with your hands)

AIKEN DRUM

This old Scottish song is one of my favorites to sing and play. I often have the kids suggest their own foods for the different parts of Aiken Drum’s face, but this time I printed out large pictures of meatballs, cheese, pizza, and spaghetti noodles, and taped them to the back of the large notepad I use to display song lyrics. The ukulele/guitar chords are in brackets:

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

Chorus:

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

Verse:

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 mouth was made of pizza…

His hair was made of spaghetti…  etc.

THE HOKEY POKEY

This one worked perfectly as a follow-up to Who Has Wiggle-Waggle Toes. Here are the chords:

[C] You put your right hand in,

You put your right hand out.

You put your right hand in,

[G] And you shake it all about!

You do the Hokey Pokey

And you turn yourself around,

That’s what it’s all [C] about!

HEAD AND SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES

This one needs no explanation, except that I like to sing it three it times, getting faster and faster, and I always add a “beep beep” after the word nose. I also point to each body part before we sing the song the first time, and make the inevitable joke, “Did everyone bring their heads today?,” which usually gets a laugh from the grown-ups.

NO ONE LIKE YOU by Andra Willis Muhoberac:

For years, my manager Thom Ball and I used this as an opening song for Musical Storytime, and we recorded it with two storytime volunteers (Ellen Ron and Sue Beckmeyer) on a CD we created to give away to families. It’s such a sweet and beautiful song.

I like your [C] eyes.

I like your [F] nose.

I like your [G] mouth.

Your ears, your hands, your [C] toes.

I like your face.

It’s really [F] you.

I [Dm] like the things you say and [G] do.

There’s not a [F] single [G] soul

Who [C] sees the [Am] skies

The [G] way you see them.

Through your [C] eyes.

[F] And aren’t you [G] glad.

[E]You should be [Am] glad.

There’s [C] no one, [G] no one

Exactly like [C] you.

STAY AND PLAY ACTIVITY

For our stay and play activity, I printed out these adorable Nature Collage Critters from The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Camping on TommyJohn.com (the link includes a bunny, a bear, and a raccoon). I gave out glue sticks, so the kids could gather leaves and other small objects from around the park to glue onto their picture. This was a big hit!

Any other favorite books or songs about parts of the body? Please share them in the comments.

Out of the Ordinary: Storytime in the Park

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted about storytime, and that’s because it’s been a while since I’ve done one, even virtually. Our library system opted to hold in-person camps over the summer, to help offset some of the learning loss from the pandemic, so most of our other kids programs were put on hold. But now we are moving into a new phase of holding outdoor storytimes.

Unfortunately, neither of the libraries where I work have an outdoor space suitable for a large, socially-distanced storytime, but this opened up the opportunity to partner with our County and City parks. I was excited to be able to lead a series of Outdoor Musical Storytimes in a picnic area at San Pedro Valley Park, one of my favorite places. We had our first one earlier this week.

It was so great to see all of the families in person. Several of my regular parents showed up with babies or toddlers who had been born during the shutdown. We asked that everyone bring a blanket or seating for their family, and that everyone over the age of 2 wear a mask (we had extra adult and kids masks on hand just in case, but everyone seemed to already have one).

Since sound is an issue outdoors, I brought our branch karaoke machine and a mic on a stand, but sadly the karaoke machine battery died midway through. Before that though, I was having a good time playing kids songs from my phone while families settled in, and using sound effects from Spotify (like quail sounds) to go along with my books. Once it died, I had to just be loud.

I brought two copies of each book: one for me to read from at the front of the group, and one for a coworker to walk around with, so the kids had a chance to see the pictures up close. Weirdly, even though I only read three books (instead of my usual four), the storytime ran for 40 minutes, which was longer than I had intended.

Here’s what we did:

BOOKS:

Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up by Jane Whittingham; illustrated by Emma Pedersen

One thing I’m excited to do with this storytime series is introduce kids to the wildlife they might see in the park. And San Pedro Valley Park has LOTS of quail. This is an adorable book about a young quail who always falls behind her large family, because she often stops to look at treasures along the way. The family is constantly fussing at her to keep up, until one day her curiosity saves them from a sneaky cat. The repeated “bob, bob, bobbing” and “hurry, hurry, hurrying” throughout the book were an easy way to keep the kids moving and engaged.

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont and David Catrow

One of my very favorite picture books to read/sing aloud, this parody of the folk song It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More tells the story of a kid who just can’t help painting different parts of his body, even after his mother tells him not to. There is always a page break before each body part, allowing the kids to guess what it is based on the rhyme (“I see some red, so I paint my…head”), and they enjoy miming painting their own bodies. (In the “before times,” I used to hand out play scarves for the kids to use as paintbrushes). Always a hit!

It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Another favorite read-aloud, this book takes readers on an adventure through the jungle and over the sea, where a tiger suddenly appears in the most unlikely places. The book includes lots of opportunities for kids to run in place or pretend to climb a ladder, as well as to yell out “Tiger!” on every other page.

SONGS:

Put Your Mask on Your Face (to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It)

My coworker Adrienne Gass came up with this song, which is an easy reminder to throw in at the beginning of storytime:

Put your mask on your face, on your face,
Put your mask on your face, on your face,
Put your mask on your face,
Not on your toes or out in space!
Put your mask on your face, on your face.

Put Your Finger In the Air by Woody Guthrie (Here’s a link to a YouTube performance by Miss Nina, which uses different lyrics than I do, but basically the same tune)

This was my traditional opening song for musical storytime, which I inherited from my former coworker Mike Eppley. It’s fun to come up with different verses each time, and also to ask participants if they know how to count to three in different languages (we usually go through five or six different suggestions, depending on the crowd).

Put your finger in the air, in the air,
Put your finger in the air, in the air,
Put your finger in the air,
And now hide it in your hair,
Put your finger in the air, in the air.

Put your finger on your nose…
And now see how long it grows!…(mime making your nose grow long, and then short again)

Put your finger on your knee…
And now can you count to three?…1,2,3 (uno, dos, tres; un, deux, trois, etc.)

Point your finger at the ground…
And now make a spooky sound!…

Put your fingers all together, all together… (clap)
We we will all be friends forever!

Little Bird

A traditional folk song. I played it on the ukulele (chords and lyrics below), and asked the kids to suggest different birds for each verse. We sang “Owl, Owl, fly through my window,” and “Chickadee, Chickadee…”

C
Little Bird, Little Bird,
C
Fly through my window.
G7
Little Bird, Little Bird,
G7
Fly through my window.
C
Little Bird, Little Bird,
C
Fly through my window.
G7                       C
Find molasses candy.

Chorus:
G7
Fly through my window, my sugar lump!
C                            G7            C
Fly through my window, my sugar lump!
G7                        C
Find molasses candy!

Jay bird, Jay bird, fly through my window…etc…

Chorus

Repeat the verse and chorus, asking kids for the names of different birds (robin, parrot, etc.) to sing in place of “Little Bird” each time.

Two Little Blackbirds

One of my favorite songs/fingerplays. I usually sing it a cappella, so I can do the hand motions.  Click on the triangle to hear how it goes:

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

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

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other f-l-e-w s-l-o-w!…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate.
One was early,
And the other was…late!…  (I like to drag the pauses out as long as possible before saying “Late!” until the kids are all yelling it out.)

Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

For this one, I asked the kids what animals they might find at the park, and we came up with our own verses. We had “I’m bringing home a baby raccoon,/ Won’t my Mommy fly off to the moon?” and “I’m bringing home a baby bunny,/Won’t my Mommy really think that’s funny?”


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

For the last two songs, I handed out shakers, and the kids played along to Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton and Under a Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner (I’m planning to make that my ending song for the whole series, since it fits so well with our outdoor setting).

STAY AND PLAY: Scavenger Hunt

Family Scavenger-HuntDownload

As a final activity for families to do on their own, I handed out small pencils and a scavenger hunt, featuring things that could be easily found near the picnic area. We also passed out stickers as a memento.

Have you performed or attended any outdoor storytimes? If you have any recommendations for things that worked well, please leave them in the comments.

Mixed Feelings: a Virtual Storytime about Emotions

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Today was my last virtual storytime, at least for a while. As our libraries have been reopening in different capacities, first just for walk-up at the door and curbside pick-up of holds, and now for in person browsing and computer use a few days a week, we’ve gradually scaled back our virtual storytimes to once a week. These were shared among different staff across our system, so I was only doing one a month, and we are taking a break for the summer.

It was a bittersweet feeling, preparing for this morning’s storytime. It’s been a long and interesting journey, moving storytimes online. At first, I absolutely hated it. Since we were still trying to work out the technical and legal details of doing interactive kids programs (which are complicated by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), for a long time we were only offering pre-recorded programs on YouTube, which made me feel completely isolated and weird.

After several months of recorded storytimes, our library system decided that what kids were really missing was the chance to see other kids, so we switched to interactive storytimes over Zoom. This was SO much better, because I could see the kids again, and they could see me. I’ve always incorporated a lot of back and forth with the audience into my storytimes, asking kids for suggestions, and I could do all of that again. Still, it’s never felt completely natural, and I’ve always worried about lots of issues that would never come up in real life: my Internet crashing, the ebook not loading, sending out the wrong Zoom link by accident, or even losing track of time and forgetting to start the program.

Still, there will be some things I will miss if we drop the virtual storytimes altogether, once we go back to in-person events again. It’s nice to see kids from all over our county, or even outside of it. Also there’s something weirdly intimate about Zoom: we can all see a little slice of each other’s homes and pets and families, which is something the kids seem to enjoy. They love it when my cat unexpectedly bites my leg mid-story, because she has dragged her toy across the room and is waiting for me to play. They love to show their favorite toys, or an ukulele of their own that they might not allowed to bring to the library. And the virtual programs do provide more flexibility for families and preschools who might not be able to come to the library in person. Plus, sharing the e-books on screen makes it much easier for the kids to see the illustrations. I can even share the link to the ebook, so they can check it out after the storytime, especially if it’s on Hoopla, which has unlimited copies.

Given all these feelings, I guess it was appropriate that I did a storytime about emotions. Here’s what I did:

OPENING SONG: Do As I’m Doing

A really easy, fun song that allows the kids to suggest different actions. Today we jumped, ran in place, made funny faces, and wiggled our fingers, and waved our arms in the air.

[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.

SONG: The Handwashing Song

Our library has a grant to help share information about COVID-19 resources, so we have been asked to highlight our webpage for that and do a song for kids about handwashing. My favorite one is The Handwashing Song from JBrary (click on the link to hear the tune and see the motions). I usually ask the kids to pretend we’ve put our hands in something sticky, so now we need to wash them. Today they suggested applesauce and honey.

SONG: If You’re Happy And You Know It

I think most people know the tune to this already, but if you don’t, here’s a video from Barefoot Songs.

To introduce the topic of feelings, I printed out this page of faces, cut them out, and put them in a paper bag. Each time we sang the song, I pulled a face out the bag, held it up to the camera, and asked the kids to name the feeling. Then we sang about it.

Our verses were:

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands…

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

If you’re scared/shy and you know it, hide your face… (I had told the kids to find a cloth or tissue at the beginning of the storytime, so they could put the cloth in front of their face and then pull it away quickly and say, “Peek-a-boo!”)

If you’re sad and you know it, cry “Boo hoo!”…

If you’re silly and you know it, make a face…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout “Hooray!”…

The chords are:

[C] If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [G7] hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands.

If you’re [F] happy and you know it, and you [C] really want to show it.

If you’re [G7] happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands.

BOOK: The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

I love this book about a little boy named Taylor whose tower is unexpectedly destroyed by a flock of birds. While he sits in the wreckage, different animals come by with suggestions. The chicken wants to talk about it, the bear wants to shout about it, the elephant wants to remember how the tower was built, the ostrich wants to hide, and the snake wants to ruin someone else’s tower. But Taylor doesn’t want to do any of those things. He is miserable until the rabbit comes along and just sits close for a while, and then listens while Taylor talks and shouts and remembers and plots revenge, and then finally decides to build a new tower. It’s such a beautiful lesson for grown-ups, as well as kids. (I’ve been plenty guilty myself of just trying to jump to the solution to my kids’ problems, instead of just listening and supporting them). I shared this book on Overdrive, and held a rabbit puppet up the camera when the rabbit appeared.

SONG: Did You Ever See a Rabbit?

To the tune of Did You Ever See a Lassie (again this is a familiar nursery song, but if you don’t know the tune, here’s a video from Rock N Learn).

I used my rabbit puppet for this, and had the kids copy the motions with the cloth or tissue they found, or with their hands. Here are the lyrics:

Did you ever see a rabbit, a rabbit, a rabbit?

Did you ever see a rabbit go this way and that?

Go this way, and that way,

Go this way, and that way,

Did you ever see a rabbit, go this way and that?

We had our cloths/rabbits move from side to side, up and down, up in the air and down, and round and round in either direction.

BOOK: Crunch the Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

This is a fun interactive story, about a dinosaur who is frightened by the audience. The book prompts the kids to say hello in different ways, sing Happy Birthday, shout their names, and say “Good night!” Although the kids were mostly muted, a few unmuted themselves for the prompts, and it was gratifying to hear them playing along. This one was also on Overdrive.

SONG: We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

As usual, I ended with a playalong, asking the kids to make noise with whatever they had on hand (a paper cup, a shaker, their hands or feet, etc.). Here’s a link to the chords and lyrics (the chord charts here are for guitar, but I played it on ukulele).

ENDING SONG: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell (or possibly by Oliver Hood)

[C] You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine [C7]

You make me [F] happy

When skies are [C] gray.

You’ll never [F] know, dear,

How much I [C] love you [Am].

Please don’t [C] take my [G7] sunshine a- [C] way.

If you’ve been performing or attending virtual storytimes or other programs, what are your thoughts about them? Is it something that libraries should continue offering even when in-person programs resume? Please share your comments below.

Virtual Thanksgiving Storytime

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes, Ukulele, Virtual Programs by

My coworker Angela and I had a fun Thanksgiving-themed Interactive storytime this morning, with families and two preschools logging in via Zoom. Here’s what we did:

Introduction:

We opened by talking about Thanksgiving, and sharing this funny list of things that kids are thankful for from the Huffington Post, which includes gas, ceiling fans, and “Mommy wiping my poop”: 21 Things Kids Are Thankful For That Will Make You Laugh by Hollis Miller.

OPENING SONG: Do As I’m Doing

As usual, we asked the kids to find a cloth of some kind to wave the first time we sang this song. Then we asked for suggestions to do for the next few times we sang it. We ended up jumping (always a favorite), twirling, saying “I Love You” in sign language, and smiling.

[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.

SONG: The Turkey Jerky

So many Thanksgiving books are about unfortunate turkeys trying to escape ending up on the dinner table. I do enjoy some of them, especially Sometimes It’s Turkey, Sometimes It’s Feathers by Lorna and Lecia Balian, but they are sometimes a bit depressing. This time, we mostly avoided the turkey theme, but I couldn’t resist including this song, because it’s so much fun.

(To the tune of The Hokey Pokey)

You put your right wing in,

You put your right wing out,

You put your right wing in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the turkey jerky and you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!

Repeat with your left wing, your right drumstick (right foot), left drumstick, waddle (your chin, or a cloth hanging from your chin), and tail feathers!

BOOK: Benjamin Bear Says Thank you by Claire Freedman, illustrated by Steve Smallman

Angela read this cute story about a bear who always forgets to say “thank you.” We showed the kids how to say “Thank you” in American Sign Language. This book is available through both Hoopla and Overdrive.

SONG: If You’re Happy and You Know It

We taught the kids the sign for Happy in American Sign Language. Then we sang the song, but added in different emotions. Angela had several paper plates with faces depicting different emotions on them, so she up a different one for each verse. We sang:

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands…

If you’re sad and you know it, cry “Boo hoo!”…

If you’re sleepy and you know it, yawn and stretch…

If you’re surprised and you know it, give a big gasp!…

If you’re angry and you know it, say “I’m mad!”…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, “Hooray!”

BOOK: You Are My Happy by Hoda Kotb; illustrated by Suzie Mason

Short, sweet story with adorable illustrations, about a baby bear and his mother, sharing the things that make them happy. It made for a great read-aloud for toddlers and preschoolers because there were lots of opportunities for them to make the sign for Happy, as well as blowing kisses, giving themselves a hug, and other simple motions.

SONG: I Am Thankful

I couldn’t think of a good song for the theme, so I wrote this one. Feel free to use it however you like, or add in your own verses. We did it as a play-along, encouraging the kids to play whatever instruments or noisemakers they had on hand, or just clap or dance along.

[C] I am thankful for

The [F] colors that I see,

For [C] friends who play with me,

And for my [G7] loving family.


[C] I am thankful for [F] rainbows in the sky,

For the [C] taste of pumpkin pie,

And for a [G7] warm hug when I cry.


I’m thankful [F] for the sky above

I’m thankful [C] for the ones I love,

[D] My cozy bed at night,

And for [G] the summer sun so bright.

[C] I am thankful for the [F] monkeys at the zoo

But [C] most of all I’m [G7] thankful for [C] YOU!


[C] I am thankful for [F] bubbles in the air,

For a [C] cool breeze in my hair,

And for my [G7] snuggly teddy bear.

[C] I am thankful for [F] yummy things to eat,

For [C] ice cream cones so sweet,

And for a [G7] special birthday treat.


I’m thankful [F] for the sky above

I’m thankful [C] for the ones I love,

[D] My cozy bed at night,

And for [G] the summer sun so bright.

[C] I am thankful for the [F] monkeys at the zoo

But [C] most of all I’m [G7] thankful,

[C] I am so very [F] thankful!

[C] Most of all I’m [G7] thankful for [C] YOU!

CLOSING SONG: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell (or possibly by Oliver Hood)

All in all it was a fun program! Some of kids held up favorite toys or books, and we talked about them here and there. One challenge with Zoom is that, while we muted the kids while we were reading or singing (because unfortunately music doesn’t sync well over Zoom), the kids can unmute themselves by hitting the space bar, which of course is the biggest button on the keyboard, so we did have to occasionally mute certain kids (even though they were adorable!). Luckily, we had another coworker, Kelly, managing the tech side of the program. Highly recommended if you have enough staff!

What are your favorite Thanksgiving books or songs? Please share them in the comments.

Storytime for National Native American Heritage Month

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes, Virtual Programs by

Last week, my coworker Angela and I did an Interactive Musical Storytime featuring books by and about Native Americans in honor of National Native American Heritage Month. While we were planning it, I checked with a friend of mine, Laverne Pilcher-Villalobos, who is a member of the Omaha tribe. As a school librarian, she is also a passionate advocate for accurate representation of Native Americans in children’s books. She has recently compiled this wonderful virtual library of books, curriculum, and web sites for students and teachers: November American Indian Heritage Month Virtual Library

As with all of our programs right now, the storytime was held over Zoom, with families registering in advance. Here is what we did:

OPENING SONG: Do As I’m Doing

This has been our regular opening song for our Interactive Storytimes. It’s great because it allows the kids to suggest actions they would like to do. As usual, we had asked them to find a cloth or blanket to wave around, so for one verse, we waved the cloths. We also did a couple of verses when we jumped up and down (always a favorite!), and one where we danced. Here are the lyrics and chords, and a link to video if you would like the tune:

[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.

After our opening song, we talked briefly about Native American Heritage Month. I had originally asked Laverne if she had any songs she would recommend, but she was concerned that sharing a song from any one tribe might give the audience the impression that it was representative of all tribes and tribal languages. She emphasized that there are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States, each with their own distinct language and culture. Instead, she shared this video of representatives from different tribes saying “I Love You” in their language, so I played a short clip for the kids:

I also shared the map of historic tribal lands from Native-Land.ca, which is an excellent visual of the sheer number of different tribes who have lived, and are currently living, in the United States: https://native-land.ca/

SONG: If All the Raindrops Were Lemon drops and Gumdrops

Since our first book was about food, we set the tone with one of my favorite food songs. We had the kids throw their cloths in the air and let them fall like raindrops, and suggest different foods to sing about. We had pizza, and strawberries, and strawberries with ketchup (!). As I mention in this video, it’s one of the easiest songs to play on the ukulele, because you only use two chords (C and G7):

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.

[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,

[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be!

BOOK: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Maillard; illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

We shared this ebook from Overdrive. Luckily, there were two copies available in library system, allowing both Angela and I to borrow one in case one of us lost our Internet connection (which happened before).

The book is a series of short sensory descriptions of a simple, but delicious food made and enjoyed by a number of different tribes, which also serves as a symbol of their adaptability and resilience. The author, Kevin Maillard, is a registered member of the Seminole Nation. This book was the perfect length for our audience (mostly toddlers and preschoolers), especially because it gives the kids the opportunity to mime the mixing, rolling, and flattening of the dough.

SONG: Five Days Old by Laurie Berkner

This is such a fun and lively song, and was a perfect segway for our next book:

[C] I’m sitting here, I’m [F] one day old, and [C] I’m sitting here I’m [F] two [G7] days [C] old.

[C] I’m sitting here, I’m [F] three days old, and [C] I’m sitting here I’m [F] four [G7] days [C] old.

[F] One [C] day, I’ll [F] be a [C] year, then [F] I’ll be [C] two, then [G7] three, then four.

[C] As for now I’m [F] sitting here, I’m [C] five days old and [F] no [G7] days [C] more!

I’m jumping up, I’m one day old…

I’m clapping my hands, I’m one day old…

I’m kicking my legs, I’m one day old…

Getting really tired, I’m one day old…

I’m jumping up, I’m one day old..

Book: First Laugh, Welcome Baby! By Rose Tahe and Nancy Bo Flood; illustrated by Jonathan Nelson

Angela read this sweet book (also available on Overdrive) honoring the First Laugh Celebration practiced by the Navajo (Diné) tribe. The story follows a family and all of their attempts to make their new baby laugh, so that he may be welcomed into the tribe. This is a wonderful book that portrays experiences all kids and families can relate to, while also demonstrating language and cultural elements unique to the Navajo.

SONG: Circle of the Sun by Sally Rogers

This was one of our two “play-along” songs, so we asked the kids to play something from around their house (pot lid and spoon, cereal box, etc.) or simply clap along. We also asked them for suggestions of things that children or babies might do for the first time. We had “Babies laugh their first laugh,” “Children all go dancing” and “Children all go jumping.” Here’s a recording of the original song:

[C] Babies are born in a circle of the sun,

Circle of the sun on their [G7] birthing [C] day.

[C] Babies are born in a circle of the sun,

Circle of the sun on their [G7] birthing [C] day.

CHORUS

[C] Clouds to the North, Clouds to the South,

[F] Wind and [C] rain to the [F] East and the [G7] West,

[C] Babies are born in a circle of the sun,

Circle of the sun on their [G7] birthing [C] day.

ENDING SONG: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell (or possibly by Oliver Hood)

Incidentally, I noticed that Laverne Pilcher-Villalobos uses the term “American Indian” instead of “Native American,” and I asked her which term was preferred. Here’s what she said:

First, not all American Indians think alike and some don’t care how they are addressed or about stereotypes. However, those of us in the education or libraries do care and a lot. If someone mentions their native background to you, the best way to address them is by asking “what tribe or what nation are you from?” There are approximately 600 federally recognized tribes and each one has its own language and culture… To clump everyone together would be equivalent to saying “European” instead of Italian, Irish, Spanish, French, Swedish or what have you. Using Native American or American Indian is appropriate but the better way to use generic terms is using “Indigenous” to America.

Laverne Pilcher-Villalobos

Do you have favorite books by Native American authors? Please share them in the comments.

Click or Treat! Two Virtual Halloween Storytimes

Posted in Storytime themes, Virtual Programs by

Happy Halloween! Since my last post, my coworker Angela and I have done two more Interactive Musical Storytimes via Zoom. It’s been wonderful to see the kids again, even just on the computer, and we invited them to come in costume, which was adorable.

This time we did sign-ups with a Microsoft Form, instead of using the Zoom registration. This gave us a little more flexibility in the kinds of questions we could include, including a checkbox to acknowledge that the person registering was over 13 years of age, and that any kids under 13 would be accompanied by an adult. This has been our workaround for the COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) rules, which would otherwise prevent from doing any interactive programs for kids under 13. (Click here to see the form we used). The downside to this method was that I had to send participants the Zoom link over email, because unlike registering through Zoom, they wouldn’t receive an automated email confirmation when they filled out the form.

Like last time, we had a coworker managing the chat, and muting and unmuting the kids at different times. We mostly muted everyone during the songs and stories, and unmuted them to ask for suggestions at different points. The books we used were all from Open Library. We did have one major technical glitch in the middle of one of the books. Angela’s Internet suddenly went down, and since she was the one who had the book checked out, I had to improvise for a few minutes until she logged back in. After that, the book wouldn’t load for some reason, so she had to quickly return it, and have me check it out instead. Luckily, the crowd was very patient.

Here’s what we did:

STORYTIME 1: PUMPKINS

Intro: As usual, we asked the kids to find a piece of cloth to wave, and something to make noise with (drum, pot and spoon, etc). We took a few minutes to admire everyone’s costumes, and let them talk if they wanted to, and we explained how to switch from Gallery view (where they could see everyone) to Speaker view (where they could see Angela and I in a larger window). Zoom actually now lets you “spotlight” multiple speakers, which is supposed to make those speakers larger for everyone, but it doesn’t always seem to work.

OPENING SONG: Do As I’m Doing

We asked the kids for action ideas: spinning their cloth, throwing it in the air, jumping up and down, etc. Here are the chords and lyrics:

[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.

RHYME: Five Little Pumpkins

This is a classic Halloween rhyme that most of the kids already new. My daughter made me five paper pumpkins that I stuck on my fingers with tape.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.

The first one said, “Oh my! It’s getting late!

The second one said, “There are witches in the air!”

The third one said, “But WE don’t care!”

The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run!” (run in place)

The five one said, “This is Halloween fun!”

Then, “OOOH” went the wind, and OUT (clap!) went the light!

And the five little pumpkins rolled (roll your hands) out of sight.

BOOK: The Pumpkin House by Roger Vaughan Carr; illustrated by Julie Davey: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL4794526W/The_Pumpkin_House?edition=pumpkinhouse00carr

An adorable story about a mouse who decides to carve herself out of a pumpkin, only to eat so much of the pumpkin that she soon outgrows it.

RHYME: Pumpkin Patch

I learned this rhyme from an Orth Music teacher years ago, so I don’t know who wrote it, but it’s a fun one to do with a group.

Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Patch,

Walking all around in my pumpkin patch.

Here is a pumpkin, nice and fat (spread arms wide),

Turns into a jack-o-lantern, just like that! (make a scary face!)

We did this one a few times, taking a minute or two to comment on all the scary faces on the screen. The kids loved it!

BOOK: This is NOT a Pumpkin by Bob Staake: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8458611M/This_Is_NOT_a_Pumpkin

Cute, simple book with large illustrations which show something that clearly looks like a pumpkin, but turns out to be a Jack-O-Lantern.

SONG: Jack-O-Lantern

I loved this song as a child, although I have no idea where it came from. We had the kids play their homemade instruments while I sang and played on the ukulele.

[C] Jack-O-Lantern, Jack-O- [G7] Lantern, you are such a spooky [C]sight,

As you sit there in the window looking out [G7] at the [C] night.

You were once a pretty [G7] pumpkin, growing on a pretty [C] vine,

Now you are a Jack-O-Lantern, let your can- [G7] dlelight [C] shine.

ENDING SONG: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell (or possibly by Oliver Hood)

STORYTIME 2: MONSTERS

OPENING SONG: Do As I’m Doing (see above)

RHYME: Five Little Monsters

Angela did this one with an adorable felt board of five little monsters, partially covered by a blanket.

Five little monsters sleeping in my bed,

One crawled out from under my spread.

I called to Mama (call “Mama!”)

And Mama said, “No more monsters sleeping in the bed!”

Four little monsters sleeping in my bed…

BOOK: Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems: https://archive.org/details/yourpalmowillems00will

You can’t go wrong with Mo Willems, so I’m grateful that he has given us a book perfect for Halloween. Leonardo is a terrible monster, who simply can’t scare anyone, until he meets Sam. Angela read the narration and Leonardo, and I got to do Sam’s long tearful rant.

SONG: We Are Scary Ghosts

I learned this song from an Orth Music curriculum, where it was originally called Scary Skeletons. We had the kids put their cloths over their heads to be ghosts, and sang it through a couple of times. Then we asked for other things to be. We were scary witches, monsters, vampires (with the cloth as a cape), bees, and pretty butterflies.

We are scary ghosts floating down the street,

Floating down the street,

Floating down the street.

We are scary ghosts floating down the street,

We’ll scare you…BOO! (pull the scarf off and yell, “BOO!”)

BOOK: Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler and S.D. Schindler: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL166479W/Skeleton_Hiccups?edition=skeletonhiccups00cuyl (There are two editions of this on Open Library)

Simple story about a skeleton with hiccups, and the hilarious way his friend Ghost finds to help him. Angela read the narration and I provided the hiccups all the way through.

SONG: On Halloween

Our first play-along song, where we asked the kids to pull out their drums or other noise-makers. We asked for suggestions of scary things they might find in the house. We had cats in the house saying, “Meow, Meow, Meow!”; spiders in the house going creep, creep, creep; monsters in the house going stomp, stomp, stomp; witches in the house saying “Hee, Hee, Hee!”; and children at the door saying “Trick or Treat!”

To the Tune of The Wheels on the Bus

[C]The ghosts in the house say, “Boo! Boo! Boo!”

[G7]“Boo! Boo! Boo! C] Boo! Boo! Boo!”

The ghosts in the house say “Boo! Boo! Boo!”

[G7]On Hallo- [C]ween!

ENDING SONG: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell (or possibly by Oliver Hood)

Do you have favorite Halloween songs or books (either e-books or print ones)? Please share them in the comments.

The New Frontier: Interactive Virtual Storytimes

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes, Virtual Programs by

Last week, my coworker Angela and I performed our first “live” interactive virtual storytime via Zoom.

For the first time since March, we could actually see the kids and they could see us.

I was surprisingly nervous, even though prior to the shutdown, I used to regularly perform six or more live storytimes a week. But technology adds a whole new level of unpredictability. Now, on top of my recurring nightmare of being faced with a large crowd of toddlers with nothing to read but The Grapes of Wrath, I now had to worry about Zoom bombers, Internet outages, glitches with our ebook databases, and any number of other problems completely out of our control.

But thankfully the Internet gods were kind, and we had a wonderful coworker (Darren) managing all of the nitty gritty techical challenges of muting and unmuting, and monitoring the chat. We had a large and enthusiastic audience of kids, and we all had a blast.

Here’s how we did it:

In order to reduce the risk of Zoom bombers, and also to comply with COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), we required participants to register in advance, and verify that children under the age of 13 would be participating with an adult. Advertising went out over social media (Facebook and Instagram) a week in advance, although it was really the email newsletter that went out to our patrons that brought in the most sign-ups.

On the morning of the program, we logged on to our Zoom meeting about an hour in advance to make sure all of our ebooks were loading properly, run through songs, adjust the lighting, and gather props. We kept everyone in the Zoom waiting room until the program started, although I sent a message to them saying that they could rename themselves if they didn’t want their full name or their child’s full name on the screen.

Once we let the audience in to the meeting, we spent a few minutes explaining to the families how to mute and unmute, and how to set the Zoom meeting to Speaker view, so the kids could see me or Angela when we were talking. Mostly Darren managed muting throughout the storytime, which was a bit of a challenge, since muting everyone meant that Angela and I were temporarily muted too, but only for few seconds.

We also asked the kids to find some kind of cloth (dish towel, small blanket, wash cloth, etc.) and something to make noise with (paper cups, pots and pans, keys, etc.) to use in different parts of the storytime.

We kept the kids muted while we read the books and sang the songs, but we would unmute them in between. For many of the songs, we asked for suggestions of motions we could do, or animals to sing about. These were the books and songs we used:

Opening Song: Do As I’m Doing

This is a really simple action song, which worked well in the virtual setting. We asked the kids to suggest different motions (twirling, jumping, etc.), which they demonstrated on video. Some of the actions involved the cloth that we asked the kids to gather at the beginning (twirling the cloth, throwing it in the air, etc., basically the same kinds of things we used to do with play scarves in our regular storytimes). I played it on the ukulele, while Angela demonstrated the motions. Here are the chords and lyrics.

[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.

Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It

We added verses for different emotions: If you’re sad and you know it, cry boo-hoo!… If you’re angry and you know it, say “I’m mad!”… If you’re sleepy and you know it yawn and stretch… If you’re nervous and you know it, hide your face (we used the cloth, and then did a big “Peek-a-boo!” at the end of each line). Angela had paper plates with different faces (happy, sad, angry) on them that she held up at the beginning of each verse.

eBook: Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang; illustrated by Max Lang

When Jim Panzee, the monkey, wakes up in a bad mood, all of the other animals try to cheer him up. We read this one from Overdrive, using the Share Screen, so the kids could see the illustrations up close. Angela read the narration and the voice of Jim Panzee, and I did all the other animal voices. This is such a great book for 2020, when everyone feels a little grumpy sometimes. One mom emailed me later to say that her toddler retold the story to every member of their family, so I think it was a hit!

Song: Old McDonald Had a Farm

Angela had a bunch of puppets prepared to hold up, so we could sing about the different animals, but we didn’t end up needing them. The kids (adorably) were all eager to hold up their own stuffed animals, or suggest a favorite animal and the sound it made (unicorns apparently say “neigh!”). This ended up being one of my favorite parts of the storytime.

eBook: There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Williems

Gerald the Elephant is unhappy when two birds build a nest on his head. This book is available for 1 Hour Borrowing from Open Library. Angela and I each read a character, and I held a bird stuffed animal on my head (in retrospect, I wish I had asked the kids to pretend their cloths were birds and had them put them on their heads). The simplicity and humor of these books make them perfect for almost any age group, and sharing the ebook on screen made it really easy for the kids to enjoy the illustrations.

Song: Five Little Ducks

There are LOTS of different versions of this song, but the tune I usually sing is the Raffi one). Angela had a Monkey Mitt with the 5 Little Ducks velcroed on, so she held it up while I sang and played the song on the ukulele.

Closing Song: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell (or possibly by Oliver Hood)

We had unmuted the kids temporarily while we talked about this being our last song, but before we could mute them again, one little boy sang the whole song through all by himself and it was adorable! We asked the kids to play along on the noisemakers (pots and pans, etc.) that they gathered at the beginning of storytime. Angela and I always used to end our regular Musical Storytimes with this song, so it felt almost like old times.

REACTIONS AND TAKE-AWAYS

All in all, Angela and I felt that the storytime went really well. It was wonderful for us to actually see our audience, after months of performing pre-recorded storytimes in an empty room, and wonderful for the kids to see us and each other.

After the storytime, I emailed all of our participants with the registration link for the next Interactive Storytime (which was led by a different librarian). One mom emailed me back to say that in some ways she almost preferred this format to the live storytimes in the library. She said that sharing the ebooks on screen made it easier for her toddler to see the illsutrations and follow the story, and muting the kids during the story meant he wasn’t distracted by the usual noises of the audience. He also bragged to his older brother, who is doing At Home Learning, that he too got to be in a big class with lots of kids on Zoom.

This feedback made me wonder if there might be ways to incorporate some elements of virtual programming into in-person storytimes in the future. For example, I might try displaying the illustrations on a screen while I read from the physical book (so the kids still get the sense of how physical books “work”, but can still see the illustrations clearly. Or I might try to use more “big books,” although I have a hard time turning the pages. In any case, it’s definitely something I will be thinking about when I finally go back to doing in-person storytimes.

Have you performed or attended any virtual storytimes? If so, what worked well, or not so well, for you? Please share any thoughts in the comments.

Hungry for Stories: A Food Themed Storytime

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It’s been a while since I’ve written up a food-themed storytime, so I thought I’d do an updated one. I’ve actually done three different storytimes this week, with the same theme but for different age groups, so these are some of the highlights:

caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

I had to include this classic, of course, especially for my toddler groups. Lately, I’ve been trying to add an interactive element into one or two of the books I read, so, since I read this one after doing a song with play scarves, I asked the kids to pretend that their scarf was a caterpillar while I read. We made munching noises and pretended the scarf caterpillars were eating the foods on each page, and when the caterpillar went into his cocoon, we stuffed the scarves into our fists, then had them emerge as “butterflies.”

food fight

Food Fight Fiesta by Tracey Kyle; illustrated by Ana Gomez

This rhyming book is so much fun, especially since it is based on an actual celebration in Buñol, Spain, where the whole town has a huge tomato fight. Once again, we used the scarves, only this time we pretended they were tomatoes, which we threw into the air whenever the story called for it. The kids loved it!

pea

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; illustrated by Jen Corace

One of my all-time favorites, this hilarious story about a pea who hates to eat candy is always a hit.

peeling

How Are You Peeling by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers

This is another fun book to share. The kids love shouting out the names of the vegetables and fruits in each photo, as well as answering the questions posed by the text about feelings.

sausages

Sausages by Jessica Souhami

This is a wonderful, funny, simple adaptation of the classic Three Wishes folk tale, where a couple are granted three wishes, and accidentally waste them on a string of sausages, which get stuck to the man’s nose.

water

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

Adorable and hilarious story about a crocodile who accidentally swallows a watermelon seed, and imagines that a watermelon vine is growing in his stomach. The kids loved repeating the “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!” lines.

SONGS:

If You’re Happy and You Know It: I sang this one after reading How Are You Peeling? For the past few years I’ve changed it to add in different emotions, and the kids love it. Here’s what we sing (with ukulele or guitar chords):

 

C                                                           G
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands, (Clap, Clap)
G                                                           C
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands, (Clap, Clap)
F                                                           C
If you’re happy and you know it, and you really want to show it,
G                                                           C
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. (Clap, Clap)

 

If you’re sad and you know it, cry Boo Hoo! (“Boo Hoo!”)…

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

If you’re sleepy and you know it, yawn and stretch (Yawn! Stretch!)…

If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face (cover your eyes, then uncover them and say “Peek-a-boo!”)…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout hooray! (Hooray!)

 

If All the Raindrops

I use this song all the time, with a wide range of age groups. The lyrics below are the “real” version, but usually when I sing it for storytime, I just do the first verse, then have the kids suggest other foods for the next few verses. Click on the arrow to hear the tune:


C
If all the raindrops
G                             C
Were lemondrops and gumdrops
C                                               G
Oh, what a rain that would be!
C                    G                            C                     G
I’d stand outside, with my mouth open wide
C               G               C                C
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah!
C                                         G                             C
If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops,
C                   G                    C
Oh, what a rain it would be!

If all the snowflakes
Were candy bars and milkshakes…

If all the sunbeams
Were bubblegum and ice cream…

Candy Corn for Dinner: I wrote this song several years ago for an Ice Cream Storytime, and it’s a fun one to have the kids play along to with maracas and egg shakers. Click on the arrow to hear a recording:

C                                                                     G7                   C
My mom and dad put me in charge of our dinner tonight.
C                                                                                G7
They said I could make anything as long as we ate right.
C                                                        G7                   C
I had to serve some vegetables, a salad, and a stew.
C                                                                        G7               C
I thought a while and cooked a bit, and here is my menu.

F                                                     C
We’re having candy corn for dinner
G7                             C
With a side of chocolate stew.
F                               C
A three jelly bean salad,
G7                                                C
And an ice cream sandwich too.

I don’t know why Mom and Dad say cooking’s such a chore,
‘Cause I had such a great time going to the grocery store.
My mom said we were out of milk, so I bought a big milkshake,
And since my dad likes cheese so much, I got him a cheesecake.

We’re having candy corn for dinner
With a side of chocolate stew.
A three jelly bean salad,
And an ice cream sandwich too.

CRAFT: SPICE PAINTING

This week, I ended up doing Playdough for craft time, but one of my all-time favorite art activities is spice painting, which I did a few months ago. Basically, you just mix different spices with water (turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, etc.) and give the kids paper and brushes to paint. The kids loved the different colors and smells.  There’s a description with pictures on Mama.Papa.Bubba: https://mamapapabubba.com/2014/02/19/spice-painting/

OTHER BOOKS ABOUT FOOD: 

martha

How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Mark Fearing

I love this story, although it works better for older preschool and early elementary school kids. Martha has always hated eating green beans, but when they kidnap her parents, there is only one way for her to rescue them.

rude

Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins

This hilariously quirky book describes how cakes who never say please or thank you get their comeuppance when they encounter a cyclops who likes to wear cakes as hats. Delightfully random and very funny.

What are your favorite picture books about food?