Reading the 2014-15 California Young Reader Medal Nominees

Twice a month, I get to read to two groups of second graders at a local school. It’s so much fun to share books with them, especially since I get to explore longer stories, and talk about connections between books and authors that I don’t usually get to cover in my library storytimes. They love to jump in with things they notice about the story: “This one rhymes!” or “This is a circle story!” And they often catch things in the illustrations that I never noticed.

One of my favorite things to do with them is to read the Primary level picture books that are nominated for the California Young Reader Medal, and have them vote for the one they want to win (unfortunately, I just realized that I will have to wait until April to submit their votes to the CYRM committee). The nominees are announced every February, and the winning books are announced on May 1. I had already shared the 2013-2014 nominees with them earlier in the year (here’s my post from the storytime I did based on those). This week I shared the nominees for next year.

The rules specify that in order to be eligible to vote, students have to first read or listen to all of the books nominated in a particular category. Here are the Primary Level books for this year:

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

Last year’s nominees included Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lies, so it was funny to find yet another rhyming baseball book in this year’s batch. I hadn’t run across this one before the nominees were announced, but I can see why it was chosen. The kids loved it. It’s the story of Randy Riley, a kid genius who is terrible at baseball, but great at astronomy. One night he sees a massive fireball barreling towards his hometown. No one believes him. It is up to Randy to save the day by building a giant robot, who hits the biggest home run ever. This is a fun read-aloud in solid rhymed verse with a lot of dramatic build-up. A number of the kids recognized Van Dusen’s distinctive illustration style from the Mercy Watson series (several of them also said his drawings reminded them of the movie Meet the Robinsons, which is actually based on a picture book by William Joyce.) This book got 7 votes from the first class, and 5 from the second.

Exclamation Mark by Amy Rosenthal Krouse and Tom Lichtenheld

This was one of my favorite books published in 2013. I loved it so much that I gave it as a end-of-year-gift to my son’s third grade teacher. I was happy to see it in the list of nominees, and many of the kids, having heard it read by their own teacher, were excited to see it as well. It’s the story of an exclamation mark in a world full of periods. No matter how much he tries to blend in, he always stands out. One day he meets a question mark, who asks him so many questions that he shocks them both by shouting, “STOP!” And he realizes he has a gift. This is such a clever and perfectly executed metaphor about celebrating our differences, and a great punctuation lesson as well. The illustrations are whimsical and simple, and drawn on the kind of lined paper that kids use for learning how to write. Although the second class didn’t vote for it, this book got 6 votes from the first class.

Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don’t) by Barbara Bottner; illustrated by Michael Emberley (Amazon.com link)

A librarian book! A little girl is bothered by her school librarian’s boundless (and often goofy) enthusiasm for books, especially when she is asked to share a favorite book of her own. The girl is convinced that she will never love a book as much as Miss Brooks does, until she reads Shrek. I had fun sharing this one (especially reading all the girl’s complaints about the librarian), and the kids enjoyed pointing out characters from books they recognized, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This book got 3 votes from the first class, and 4 from the second.

Too Tall Houses by Gianna Marino (Amazon.com link)

I hadn’t seen this book before the nominee announcement either, but the kids loved it! Before I read it, I asked them what the word “Too” in the title meant, and we talked briefly about the meanings of too, to, and two. The title is actually a pun, because there are two too tall houses in the story. The book is about a rabbit and an owl who live side-by-side until one day they get in a private war to build the tallest house. Soon their two houses are towering high above the earth, making them both unhappy until the wind blows them down. The illustrations are gorgeous and funny, and got a number of laughs from the kids. This book got 8 votes in both classes, which made it the favorite in the first, tied for first in the second, and was the clear favorite overall. It was my daughter’s favorite as well.

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

Before I read this one, I asked the kids what other books they knew by Mo Willems. Many of them recognized his name from the Gerald and Piggie series, Knuffle Bunny, and the Pigeon books. I pointed out that this book, although written by Mo Willems, was illustrated by someone with a completely different art style. The text is a departure from Willems’ other books too. It’s a bittersweet story about a dog and a frog who play together during different seasons. In Spring they play Country Frog games like splashing and croaking. In Summer they play City Dog games like sniffing and barking. In Fall Frog is tired, so they remember the fun times of the past. In Winter, when City Dog rushes to the frog’s rock, he finds himself all alone. Then in Spring, while he waits sadly for his friend, he meets a chipmunk, and makes a new friend. This was a somber book compared to the others, but it’s subtle and sweet nonetheless. When I asked the kids what they thought happened to the frog, most of them said that he probably died, but some thought he might be hibernating. I appreciate that Willems leaves that ambiguous. I wasn’t sure how this book would go over, given the more serious tone, but it got 6 votes from the first class, and 8 from the second (tying with Too Tall Houses for that class).

Overall, I was pleased with the CYRM book selection this year. There was a nice variety to the books, and they were all fun to read aloud. The kids seemed to genuinely enjoy all of them. Too Tall Houses was the clear favorite, followed by City Dog, Country Frog, Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit, Miss Brooks Loves Books, and Exclamation Mark.

Which book would you vote for? And what would you nominate for next year? The guidelines specify that the books have to be written by a living author and published within the past four years, which is pretty broad. At the end of this school year, I think I’ll ask the second graders which books they would like to see in next year’s nominee list.

26Feb2014

Hail to the Chief: Books about the Presidents

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Abe Lincoln Finger Puppet by Paxton

Here’s a (very) little known fact: I once ran for President! Although my entire campaign consisted of this one post from an old blog I shared with two of my friendsHere’s a (very) little known fact: I once ran for President! Although my entire campaign consisted of this one post from an old blog I shared with two of my friends.

Anyway, last Monday was President’s Day, so I thought I’d give a president-themed storytime a try. I was pleased to find that there are some pretty good picture books out there, some of which I really enjoyed. The only problem was that my Family Storytime audience was almost all toddlers. Don’t get me wrong: I was thrilled to see them, especially because a few of them were new families. But I quickly realized that, even though I had picked relatively short books, they were still too long and complex for the under-two set. I adapted by throwing in a lot of songs in between books, excerpting some pages here and there, and then completely abandoning the theme at the end. In spite of it all, I actually had a great time. I would rather be a librarian than President any day!

Here’s what I ended up doing. I’ve included the books that I had planned to read in the list at the end:

George Washington’s Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comara; illustrated by Brock Cole (Amazon.com link)

If your kids don’t like to brush, read them this book. Poor George Washington. Not only did he have that whole Revolutionary War thing to deal with, he also suffered from horrible teeth that rotten and hurt and fell out all the time! This book tells you exactly how, and when, he lost each one, all in solid, entertaining rhymed verse, which is quite an art. A lot of the story was lost on the toddlers, but they hung in there, especially whenever I held up my fingers each time George lost a tooth, to show just how few he had left. The older kids were mesmerized, and one of the moms said at the end, “I never knew that! It’s kind of disgusting.” And it is. But it’s a great picture book all the same.

My Teacher for President by Kay Winters; illustrated by Denise Brunkus (Amazon.com link)

I was relieved to have this book in my stack because it was short and simple, with large illustrations. A kid explains all the reasons why his teacher would make a great president: she is a great listener; she goes to lots of meetings; she is good at finding people jobs. Each two page spread shows the teacher demonstrating the skill (like catching a loose snake on the page about being good in an emergency), as well as showing how she might put it to use if she were President. This would be a nice lead-in to a discussion about what kinds of challenges Presidents face, and what kind of person would make a good leader.

Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner; illustrated by Donald Cook (Amazon.com link)

This one was far too long to read in its’ entirety, so I ended up just sharing parts of it. It’s actually an easy reader about Abe Lincoln, featuring some fun anecdotes about his career as a lawyer. The part I mostly wanted to share (because of the craft I had planned) was that Lincoln carried letters and important papers inside his hat. This would make an excellent book to share with an elementary school class for Lincoln’s birthday, since it does a good job of conveying his cleverness, integrity and good humor.

Elephants Cannot Dance by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Okay, this was the point where I completely abandoned the theme. All the other books in my stack were far too long for the toddlers. So I grabbed this book from the shelf behind me, and it was great. I even had the kids try to do the dance steps along with Piggie. In this story, Piggie tries to teach Gerald to dance, even though Gerald tells her emphatically that “Elephants Cannot Dance.” In the end, Piggie is forced to agree, but meanwhile Gerald has found a following for his “Elephant Dance.” Totally unrelated to presidents, but the toddlers loved it (thank you, Mo Willems!), and hey, at least elephants represent a political party.

SONGS

Brush Your Teeth: This Raffi song is always a hit, and it paired perfectly with George Washington’s Teeth.

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes: This didn’t connect with any of the books, but was great for bringing the wandering toddlers back in. I do the song several times, doing it faster and faster every time. Sometimes, if I want to especially tricky, I’ll have the kids try to sing it backwards: Nose, and Mouth, Ears and Eyes, Ears and Eyes…etc. I also ham it up a bit by flapping my lips with my fingers when we sing the word “Mouth” and pinching my nose when we sing “Nose.” Yes, I am a huge goof-ball, which is yet another reason why I will never be President.

Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee: Another song for the toddlers. I have a big bee puppet that I brought out for the first verse. After that I asked for animal suggestions, and we had to invent new rhymes for each one: “I’m bringing home a baby lion. Won’t my Mommy really start a-crying?” “I’m bringing home a baby grizzly bear. Won’t my Mommy pull out all her hair?” etc.

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD: This Land is Your Land from 20 Great Kids Songs (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Abe Lincoln Finger Puppet

Abe Lincoln Finger Puppet

I thought this craft from Spoonful.com was adorable. I gave each child a rectangle of black paper, which they rolled around a finger and taped or glued together, a tiny black strip for the hat, a white paper triangle for the shirt-front, a penny for the face, and a red paper bowtie. They were all very cute. I thought it was funny that even though I told them at the beginning that Lincoln’s face is on the penny, most of them glued the penny on upside down.

You can do the same craft for Washington, Roosevelt, or Jefferson, but it would be more expensive!

OTHER BOOKS ABOUT PRESIDENTS:

So You Want to Be President by Judith St. George; illustrated by David Small (Amazon.com link)

This one was too long for my family storytime, but I read it to a second grade class a while back when we were showcasing Caldecott Award winners. It’s a nice overview of the presidents, and the ways they were alike and different. There are a number of funny anecdotes and quotes, and the caricature-style illustrations are fun.

What Presidents Are Made Of by Hanoch Piven (Amazon.com link)

Another books with simple stories and facts about different presidents. This one is short enough to use with Kindergartners, or even older preschoolers, especially if you just share certain stories. Hanoch Piven has a unique collage style, where he uses objects that represent different people to create mixed-media caricatures (for example, his illustration of Ronald Reagan uses jelly beans, and George W. Bush has a hot dog nose). The stories are simple and fun, and give a more human portrayal of each president.

Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio; illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Amazon.com link)

I was really hoping to share this one, but in the end, it was too long. When Grace learns that there has never been a female president, she is determined to start by winning the class election. What I find interesting about this book is that the school election mirrors the electoral college process, with different students representing different states, and some having more votes than others. In the end, the decision comes down to one vote, and Grace’s hard campaign work pays off. This would be a great book to share around election time.

President’s Day by Anne Rockwell; illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell (Amazon.com link)

This is a nice story about the holiday, featuring a school play about different presidents, with an election at the end.

What are your favorite books about the presidents?

14Feb2014

Have a Heart! Books for Valentine’s Day

Posted in Books for Second Graders, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Yet another holiday-themed storytime. Fortunately, Valentine’s Day comes with much better picture book options. (Thanksgiving is terrible, and don’t even get me started on St. Patrick’s Day). I actually had a great day reading to different age groups: two classes of second graders, and then my family storytime, which included several of my regular Kindergartners, as well as some new toddlers.

Here were the Family Storytime books:

Froggy’s First Kiss by Jonathan London; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz (Amazon.com link)

I love the Froggy books. Yes, they tend to follow the same pattern: Froggy makes lots of mistakes, adults are always yelling at him, and towards the end, he always gets embarrassed and turns “more red in the face than green.” But they are fun to read aloud, have funny illustrations, and the kids love them. Plus, they are a wonderful opportunity for teaching print awareness, which helps young children understand the connection between the words they hear and the writing on the page (a recent study found that students whose teachers called attention to printed words while reading aloud performed much better on reading tests up to two years later). With the Froggy books, I like to show the kids the places where someone yells out “F-R-O-G-G-Y!” (a words that’s usually written in bright bold letters across the page). I tell them to watch for that word, and then join in. In this story, Froggy is smitten by the new girl at school, Frogilina, who always gives him a surprise at lunch. One day, she gives him a kiss! Blaahhh! I love that Froggy is not interested in romance, and that he gives his special Valentine to his mom (plus he serves her breakfast in bed!). There were several eager kids asking to check this one out.

Love, Splat by Rob Scotton (Amazon.com link)

Splat is another popular picture book series. In this one Splat, a fluffy black cat, wants to give a Valentine to Kitten, even though every time he sees her, she “pulls his ears, and pokes his belly, ties his tail and calls him smelly.” To make matters worse, Spike, the big bully cat at his school, likes Kitten too. The illustrations are adorable, and the kids always giggle at the parts where Kitten calls Splat smelly. This one got snatched up too.

The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson; illustrated by Tricia Tusa (Amazon.com link)

I love this wild West parody of “My Darling, Clementine,” about a man who tries to send his true love a message, but things never go his way. The mailman can’t find her address, the homing pigeon flies to Madagascar, the Pony Express messenger gets bucked clear to Arizona. The parents seemed to get the humor more than the kids, but I was grateful to have this book because some of the toddlers were getting restless after the two longer books, and the singing in this one seemed to draw them back in. Alison Jackson also wrote the wonderful I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, which is one of my Thanksgiving mainstays.

The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond (Amazon.com link)

One day just before Valentine’s Day, it starts raining hearts. Cornelia Augusta catches several and uses them to make special Valentine’s for each of her animal friends: a ring of hearts for the dog; a heart with a cotton ball in the middle for the rabbit; a big heart with holes cut in it for the mouse. This one was a great lead-in for the heart craft we did at the end. I was planning to throw some small paper hearts like confetti, but I forgot.

SONGS:

Skidamarink-a-Dink-a-Dink: I like to teach the kids how to say “I Love You” in sign language, and we do that each time it comes up in the song. Here’s a very trippy animated video of the song, with the lyrics in the subtitles.

Five Green and Speckled Frogs: We did this one after the Froggy book. I have the kids stand up and jump up and down on the line, “One jumped into the pool.” I often do this with a frog puppet, and pretend it is catching flies on the kids’ heads. Here’s an animated video for this song.

If All the Raindrops: We sang this song before The Day It Rained Hearts. As I did last week, I asked the kids for suggestions of what they’d like the rain to be and we made up our own verses. Our rain was made up of milkshakes, pie, cookies, and lots of other goodies.

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD: Who’s My Pretty Baby? by Elizabeth Mitchell from You Are My Little Bird (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Fun with Hearts

Heart bracelet by Ella

Heart person by Ella

I cut out paper hearts in all different sizes and colors, and gave the kids glue sticks, white cardstock, and markers. I had made an example page featuring several types of heart animals, but in the end all the kids did different things, and it was great fun to see what they came up with. One little girl even taped several pink hearts together and made me a bracelet, which I thought was a neat idea.

Hearts by Olivia

OTHER VALENTINE’S DAY BOOKS:

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Marc Simont (Amazon.com link)

I read this one to the second graders, and it worked really well. When Nate’s dog Sludge receives a mysterious Valentine, Nate is on the job to find out who sent it. But then his friend Annie begs him to help her find the missing Valentine she made for her brother, giving him two cases at once. In the end, Nate is horrified to discover that someone has given him a Valentine. The book includes a section of craft ideas, jokes, and facts about Valentine’s Day, which were fun to share with the class.

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli; illustrated by Paul Yalowitz (Amazon.com link)

This was a nice counterpoint to the Nate the Great, although I have to tell myself several pages before the end not to get choked up. It’s a lengthy picture book about a lonely man named Mr. Hatch, who has no friends or family, and keeps to himself. Then one day the mailman delivers a big box of chocolates with a card that says, “Somebody Loves You!” and Mr. Hatch’s whole life changes. Wondering who could have sent the chocolates, he reaches out to help people in his community, and bakes brownies for his neighbors. When the mailman discovers that he accidentally delivered the package to the wrong address, Mr. Hatch goes back to his lonely ways, thinking nobody loved him after all. But by then, of course, everybody does.

Lilly’s Chocolate Heart by Kevin Henkes (Amazon.com link)

Great board book for toddlers and preschoolers. When Lilly gets a chocolate heart for Valentine’s Day, she wants to save it. But there seem to be no good hiding places. In the end, she finds the perfect place: in her mouth!

Be Mine, Be Mine, Sweet Valentine by Sarah Weeks and Fumi Kosaka (Amazon.com link)

Cute, rhyming lift the flap book featuring different animals giving each other the things they like best. Preschoolers enjoy guessing what’s under the flap based on the animal and the rhyme: a bone for the dog, cream for the cat, etc.

What are your favorite picture books about Valentine’s Day?

7Feb2014

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring: Stories About Rain

Posted in Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Rain books by Jonas and Alyssa

I’ve lived in the Bay Area now for almost 15 years, and I still don’t understand the weather. The only things I know for certain are that it’s good to bring a jacket, even when it’s seventy degrees outside, because ten minutes from now it might be twenty degrees colder. September is often hot. June is often cold. And winter is always rainy. Until now. Now the reservoirs are so low that we’ve all been urged to cut our water usage by twenty percent, and many towns across the state are in danger of running out of water entirely.

So, in lieu of a rain dance, I did a rain storytime. The weather report now says it’s going to rain all this weekend, so maybe it worked! Here’s what we read:

This is the Rain by Lola M. Schaefer; illustrated by Jane Wattenberg (Amazon.com link)

There’s a new goal in our library system to incorporate more nonfiction into storytimes, so I gave it a try tonight. This book is actually a cumulative poem about the water cycle. It starts with “This is the ocean, big and vast/that holds the rainwater from the past.” Each page adds a new part of the cycle: water vapor, clouds, and then a depiction of water running down streams back into the ocean. I had to explain some of the terminology, like “vapor,” and talk a bit about what was happening. I don’t think it was the best book I could have chosen in terms of giving a clear explanation of what makes the rain, but the kids loved the illustrations! Jane Wattenberg has filled the book with funny visual jokes: dinosaurs in the ocean (to represent the past); starfish in place of stars; birds holding umbrellas. The kids were all clambering around me, pointing and explaining over every page, and the book was quickly snatched up at the end.

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Mo Willems makes my job so easy. All of his books are so much fun to read aloud, but especially the Gerald and Piggie books. They are written ostensibly as beginning readers, with very simple text, usually with a fair amount of repetition. But they are also hilarious. They are especially fun to read with a partner, and they would be perfect for small groups of kids to act out. In this one, Piggie is upset when it starts raining, ruining her plans to play outside. Then she and Gerald discover how much fun it can be to play in the rain… just as the rain stops. Luckily, Gerald saves the day by creating a rain shower of his own. I got lots of laughs over this one, and a small tugging match ensued at the end over who was going to get to check it out.

Rainy Day! by Patricia Lakin and Scott Nash (Amazon.com link)

This book also reads like a beginning reader, with simple, rhyming text. Four crocodiles named Sam, Pam, Will and Jill are all bored on a rainy day. They decide to go outside anyway, and wind up playing mini-golf and baseball (with hailstones!), finding a dog, and going to the library. The kids liked the rabbit librarian, cowering in terror from the crocodiles.

The Patterson Puppies and the Rainy Day by Leslie Patricelli (Amazon.com link)

I brought this one out in my stack, but I hadn’t planned to read it because it was so similar to Rainy Day, but several of the kids spotted the cover and begged to hear it. I was glad because it was a hit! This book is about four puppies who are bored on a rainy day, who decide to pretend they are at the beach. In the end, they pour water all over the living room floor, and have a wonderful time playing in the “ocean,” until their parents walk in the room…

SONGS AND ACTIVITIES:

If All the Raindrops

I used this song a lot when my daughter was a toddler, to get her to open her mouth for the toothbrush. For storytime, I sang the first verse through normally, then asked the kids what they would like the snow and sunbeams to be. We added their suggestions into the second and third verses, so we had sunbeams made of lemonade and butter (and hair!). These are the original lyrics (click on the arrow above to hear the tune):

If all the raindrops
Were lemondrops and gumdrops
Oh, what a rain that would be!
Standing outside, with my mouth open wide
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah!
If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops,
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…

Making a Rain Storm

This is such a simple activity, but always fun. I ask the kids to do what I’m doing in order to make a rainstorm. First we rub our hands together, then click our tongues (to sound like drops of rain), then clap our hands, then slap our knees, then stomp our feet. Finally I have them all stand up, and we all jump at the same time to make a thunderclap, and then we do all of the actions in reverse to make the rain “stop.”

CRAFT: Rain on the Green Grass Book

Rain book by Olivia

I got the idea of making a book from my coworker, Reeba Lynn. I was almost kicking myself for not doing one earlier. In Kindergarten, my son was so proud of his “keep box,” a little collection of simple paper books he made throughout the year. And my daughter has made several similar books in her preschool class that she loves to read to me.

The book Reeba showed me had a more complicated rain poem, but I decided to do the nursery rhyme Rain on the Green Grass (Rain on the green grass/Rain on the tree/Rain on the rooftops/But not on ME!). I cut out Reeba’s umbrella picture (there are lots of other ones online), and printed out the words to go on each page (here’s a Word document for the text: Rain on the green grass). For the rest of the illustrations I cut out basic shapes from colored construction paper: jagged green strips for the grass; lumpy round green shapes for the treetops; brown strips for the tree trunk; red squares for the house; and blue triangles for the roof. It did take a fair amount of prep, but I was able to do a lot of the cutting with the paper cutter.

I folded two sheets of white paper to make each book, and stapled them along the side. I had an example for the kids to follow, and for the most part, they did a good job (there were a couple of kids who accidentally made their books read from left to right, but I explained that’s how books are made in Japan, so they could either read it that way, or consider it a whole new rhyme). If I had more time, I would have glued the text on ahead of time, so they could just add the pictures. I had them glue the umbrella on the cover, along with the title, “RAIN! by ________.” Then they glued the text and pictures on each page, and added rain with markers. For the last page (“But not on ME!”), I asked them to draw a picture of themselves. Each book turned out a little bit differently, and they all seemed engaged by the process of making them.

OTHER BOOKS ABOUT RAIN:

There were lots of other books I could have read (I had originally planned to read the new California Young Reader Medal nominees, but some of the books didn’t come in time, so I had to change topics, and work with the rain books that were available in our small local branches). Anyway, here are a few others:

Down Comes the Rain by Franklin Branley; illustrated by James Graham Hale (Amazon.com link)

Franklin Branley writes wonderfully clear science books for early elementary school children. This one explains every step of the water cycle with a few simple science experiments to illustrate some of the concepts.

Storm is Coming! by Heather Tekavec; illustrated by Margaret Spengler (Amazon.com link)

When the animals on a small farm hear there’s a storm coming, they all think Storm must be a scary monster. They hide in the barn in terror, and then are happy when wind, rain, lightning and thunder apparently scare Storm away. Cute story with colorful illustrations.

Umbrella by Taro Yashima (Amazon.com link)

Such a sweet story, I wish I had been able to get it in time to share. A little girl can’t wait to wear her new red rain boots and carry the umbrella she receives for her birthday, but her parents insist she has to wait for a rainy day. It’s not only a lovely story about rain, but about the small steps kids take towards growing up.

Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton; illustrated by Valeria Petrone (Amazon.com link)

Perfect for toddlers, this is about a red tow truck who pulls a school bus from a deep puddle. There are lots of fun truck noises for the kisd to join in on.

Cloudette by Tom Lichtenfeld (Amazon.com link)

A little cloud worries that she is not big enough to make a difference, until she finds her own way to save the day. I’ve read this one several times, and the kids always love it. The illustrations are adorable.

Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse; illustrated by Jon J. Muth (Amazon.com link)

This one was a little too long for my group, but it sums up how I’ve been feeling through this dry winter. A little girl in a hot city neighborhood can’t wait for the rain. When it finally comes, she and her friends go out dancing in their bathing suits, and so do their mothers!

Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco (Amazon.com link)

This one was also a little too long, but it’s one of my favorite picture books. A little girl is afraid of the thunder, until her grandmother teaches her how to make thunder cake. I’ve never tried the recipe on the last page, but it looks delicious. The story also teaches kids how to count the seconds between the lightning and thunder to see how close the storm is. We very rarely get thunder here (I actually miss it!), but this is a lovely story about overcoming your fears.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring by Kin Eagle; illustrated by Rob Gilbert (Amazon.com link)

An extended version of the nursery rhyme, featuring an old man in a wide variety of weather and precarious situations. The illustrations are colorful and funny. I’ve used this many times for baby and toddler storytimes.

The Aunts Come Marching by Maurie J. Manning (Amazon.com link)

A clever parody of the Ants Go Marching song (which would also have been a good one to include for storytime). This is a counting book about a little girl and her aunts who go marching through town in the rain. Lots of great drum noises, and fun to sing.

What are your favorite books about rain? Please share them in the comments.

5Feb2014

Confessions of a Library Thief

Posted in Book reviews by worldsloudestlibrarian

When I was 12 years-old, I stole a book from the middle school library.

It wasn’t a grand heist. I didn’t shove it under a heavy sweater and scale the electronic gates like a ninja. I doubt the library even had electronic gates. I simply never returned the book, and when the school librarian asked about it, I swore up and down that I had brought it back. And maybe because I was a good student, or maybe because my mother was a teacher, or maybe because she was tired of nagging students about overdue books: whatever the reason, she chose to believe me, and took it off my record.

The book was Beauty, a first person retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley. I couldn’t bear to return it. It was my favorite book.

Thirteen years later, as a newly-minted children’s librarian in a public library, I was anxious to add Beauty to our juvenile fiction collection. Since I was new and the branch was small, all of my purchases were screened, and I was not allowed to purchase an older title like Beauty. Instead I bought a copy with my own money and sneaked it surreptitiously onto the shelves. I then proceeded to rave about it to every middle grade girl who walked in the door. It was like introducing an old friend. I was so happy to see it getting checked out to this whole new generation of girls.

And then one of the little stinkers stole it.

One day it simply wasn’t there. I hope whoever took it loved it as much as I did. Maybe she became a librarian. Karma truly is a bitch.

In any case, I now have my own copy (another one I bought for myself many years ago). I’m saving it to give to my daughter when she’s old enough. Already she asks me, whenever I read her a book, “Is this from the library?” She hates returning books. I know she’s not going to want to let this one go either.

There are many other books I am saving for her. When I think about them as a group, I realize they are all about girls, and each of those girls became part of the girl I was hoping to be: part Pippi Longstocking (by Astrid Lindgren), strong and unflappable (the bag full of gold would also be nice); part Sara Crewe of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, kind and stoical with a story for every situation; part Alanna of Trebond from the Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, a girl brave enough to disguise her identity in order to pursue her dream of becoming a knight.

I am sincerely enjoying my daughter’s preschool years, and dreading some of the times ahead that I know may be hard for both of us. But I am itching to introduce her to my favorite books. I hope that she loves and lives in them the way that I did. Here are just a few:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

I loved the movie The Wizard of Oz so much that in Kindergarten I told the teacher my name was Dorothy, and for a day or so (so I’m told) I refused to answer to any other name. I blew through this whole series a few years later, and although I’ve forgotten a lot, I’ll never forget the startling ending of The Marvelous Land of Oz, the princess with thirty interchangeable heads in Ozma of Oz, or Polychromethe, The Rainbow’s Daughter from The Road to Oz (I insisted on dressing as her for Halloween one year. There was definitely no commercial costume available for that, but my mom kindly made me one.)

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Another fantasy world I spent a lot of time in as a child was Narnia. I loved the idea that the time spent there was like no time at all in our world, making it the best kind of escape. Although the series has been rearranged since then, and now starts with The Magician’s Nephew, to me the wardrobe will always be the best way in.

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery

I will probably read Anne of Green Gables with my daughter first, because it’s so much funnier, and was definitely one of my favorite books too. But I loved Emily Starr, a more serious, dreamy orphan who lives in her own stories, and has a mystical attachment to the natural world around her. I wonder if my daughter will identify with her as much as I did, but I suspect she’ll be drawn more to fiery, spirited Anne, with her hilarious mishaps and rich imagination.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Winner of the 1985 Newbery Medal. An unforgettable fantasy novel about Aerin Firehair, a king’s daughter who battles a dragon. I loved this one almost as much as Beauty, and I had a crush on the the character of Luthe (one of the many fictional characters I pined after).

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

The Wizard Howl was another one of my literary crushes. Plus this book made me laugh out loud. A fairy tale about Sophie, the eldest of three daughters, who enrages the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman. I can’t tell you how many times I read this. I know it was a lot.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

I always loved mousy, brilliant Meg, and her genius brother Charles Wallace. I was terrified by IT, the evil pulsating brain, and fascinated by the idea of the tesseract. I think this was probably the first science fiction novel I read as I child. It was a wonderful gateway into the genre, and one I will never forget.

These are just a few of the books that I read and reread and dreamed about. I don’t know if my daughter will have the same tastes in books that I do, and of course, there’s a whole world of new books out there to feed her imagination. But I’m hoping as she gets older she will love at least a few of my old friends, although I hope she is never compelled to steal one.

2Feb2014

The Results Are In! Reading the 2014 Caldecott Award Winners

Posted in Book reviews, Books for Second Graders by worldsloudestlibrarian

This past Monday, I woke up early to catch the ALA Youth Media Awards online. I was most curious about the Caldecott Medal because I had promised to read the medal winner and the Caldecott honor books to two classes of third graders later that morning.

I’ll confess that I was a little dismayed by the results. Yes, they were all wonderful choices, but the winning book was extremely wordy, and all three of the honor books were wordless, or nearly wordless. Sharing wordless books with a large group is a bit of a challenge. But a promise is a promise, so I shared all four books with both classes that day, and with two classes of second graders later that week.

I was especially nervous about reading the Medal winner, Locomotive by Brian Floca. It’s a mini-history lesson that recreates a trip from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California by train in the 19th century. Floca packs an enormous amount of detail into the text, including how the railroad was built, how the train was operated, and the range of landscapes it passed through. It’s too long to share with the toddler and preschool groups I usually read to, so I had never read it aloud to a group, and wasn’t sure if it would hold the kids’ interest. I was relieved to find that it did.

Floca knows his audience well. Amid all the facts about the train and the railroad, he throws in little details to grab kids’ attention. All four classes were gleefully disgusted by the idea that the toilet dumped out onto the tracks, and that you could tell if a switchman (the man responsible for hitching the engine to the train) was new to his job if he still had all his fingers. Floca also portrays visually the rickety terror of the narrow wooden trestles, the darkness of the rough-hewn mountain tunnels, and the dangers that could befall a train with a careless engineer.

By the time I read to the second grade, I was actually looking forward to sharing the journey. I told the kids we were going to go on a train ride. I showed them the map on the inside cover, illustrating how the track was built in two parts that met in Promontory Summit in Utah. And then I read the book. Along the way, we talked about the different landscapes, and what it would have been like to travel them by wagon before the railroad was built. We talked about the telegraph, and what it meant to be able to send messages quickly across the country.

The kids seemed truly engaged by the book, exclaiming over the details, and asking questions about the illustrations and the current state of the railroad (I just read that most of the original track is gone, but parts of it are still in use. Here’s a wikipedia article with a lot more detail). But I wasn’t sure how the book had gone over until yesterday, when I ran into the mother of one of the second grade boys. She said, “My son said you read the best book to his class! Something about a locomotive. He never tells me anything that happens in school, so it must have really made an impression on him.”

So kudos to Brian Floca for making history so exciting that kids even want to talk about it after school!

I did “read” the Caldecott Honor books to the classes as well, and they loved them. They exclaimed over every page of Journey by Aaron Becker, a beautiful wordless story about a girl’s adventure with a magical red crayon. I loved that in every class, around the fourth or fifth page, the light would dawn across the group, and they’d all start saying things like: “This is like…” “This reminds me of…” “That book!” “The kid with the purple crayon!” And I’d have to stop while they put the pieces together, until finally someone would shout out, “Harold and the Purple Crayon!” It was so much fun to see them making connections, and getting excited about the story as it unfolded.

My favorite part was when the bird brings the captured girl her red crayon, and she draws a rectangle on the floor of her cage. “What is she drawing?” I asked. “An escape hatch!” someone would shout. “A door!” And then I’d turn the page, and as a class they would exclaim, “A flying carpet!” and you could hear the wonder and excitement in their voices. Sharing this book made me feel like a magician. I loved every minute of it.

Since the kids had been sitting for a while by now, for Molly Idle’s Flora and the Flamingo I had them stand up and try to emulate the motions of the flamingo, the way the little girl in the book does. This got lots of giggles, especially when they had to put their heads between their legs, the part that makes the little girl fall down. This is a charming book, especially for fans of ballet, and several kids (admittedly mostly girls) said it was their favorite.

All four classes loved Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner. I explained that David Wiesner had won the Caldecott Medal three times already (for Tuesday, The Three Pigs, and Flotsam) and a Caldecott Honor for Sector 9. Clearly he knows what he’s doing. Mr. Wuffles is a comic book-style story about a spaceship full of tiny green aliens who nearly fall prey to a big black-and-white cat named Mr. Wuffles. The portrayal of the cat, who disdains all of his actual toys, but torments the poor aliens, is spot on. The kids loved the confab between the aliens and the ants, who plot out an escape plan together. And it’s fascinating to think about an ant civilization, complete with history that they record on the walls. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to convey the story to such a large group, since there is so much tiny detail in the illustrations, but they loved it.

At the end of the classes, I asked them to vote on the book they liked the best. All the books had several votes, but Mr. Wuffles was the clear winner. Granted, I had read that one last, so it was freshest in their memories. But I figure David Wiesner is kind of the Meryl Streep of the Caldecott Awards. We all know everything he does is award-worthy, but they can’t give him the award every year.

Anyway, in spite of my trepidation at sharing what seemed like four challenging books, the kids loved all of them, and I ended up having a blast. Many thanks to the members of this year’s Caldecott Award Selection Committee!

31Jan2014

The Year of the Horse

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Paper Rocking Horse by Kiki

This year, Chinese New Year begins on January 31, and it’s the year of the Horse (you can find a list of all the animal signs and dates on TravelChinaGuide.com).

I didn’t know much about Chinese New Year until we moved to the Bay Area, but it’s such a fun and colorful celebration. At my son’s school, each Kindergartner decorates a box in bright colors, with holes in the front so they can wear the box on their heads and still see out. One of the teachers wears a big dragon’s head, and the kids line up behind her, making a huge 60-person dragon that winds around the play-yard, while the first graders pop big sheets of bubblewrap behind them. It’s something the whole school looks forward to every year.

For storytime this week, I read books about horses and Chinese New Year.

Dragon Dance: A Chinese New Year Lift-the Flap by Joan Holub; illustrated by Benrei Huang (Amazon.com link)

This one was new to me, but the kids always love Lift-the-Flaps (although they argue over who is going to get to open them). It’s a simple rhyming book that explains the different parts of the New Year celebration: sweeping away the old year, buying fish and flowers at the market, getting red envelopes, and of course, enjoying the big dragon parade. The illustrations are warm and colorful. A good introduction to the holiday for toddlers on up.

Clip Clop by Nicola Smee (Amazon.com link)

This is actually a board book, and unfortunately out of print, but it’s a great horse book, especially for younger kids (I read it again today to both a preschool class, and a toddler storytime, and they all loved it). Mr. Horse offers a cat, a dog, a pig and a duck a ride on his back, but when he gallops too fast, and then stops suddenly, they all fly off into a haystack. The kids enjoy saying the repeated, “Clip Clop! Clippety Clop” lines.

Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea (Amazon.com link)

Okay, I know unicorns are not horses, but I thought the kids would love this one, and they did. It was the clear favorite of the evening, for the 5 year-olds especially. Goat is jealous of Unicorn, and why wouldn’t he be? Not only can Unicorn fly, he makes it rain cupcakes! But when Goat finally meets Unicorn, he finds that he’s got some special talents of his own that Unicorn admires, and to Goat’s surprise, they end up becoming friends. I love all of Bob Shea’s books, especially I’m a Shark and Oh, Daddy!

My Pony by Susan Jeffers (Amazon.com link)

This is the book for little girls who love horses. I would have been all over it as a kid. The little girl in this story wants a pony more than anything else in the world, but her parents say a pony is too expensive, and they don’t have room for it. So she draws a pony instead, a beautiful dapple-gray she calls Silver, and together they fly through the sky and meet lots of other ponies. The illustrations are gorgeous.

SONGS:

Giddy-up!

I do this one often as a bouncing rhyme for babies and toddlers. This time I had the kids gallop in a line around one of the bookshelves. They especially liked the sudden “Whoa!” when we would all stop short. You sing it to the tune of The William Tell Overture:

Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up-up-up!
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up-up-up!
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up-up-up!
WHOA, Horsie!

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD: Hop Up, Ladies from Putumayo Folk Playground (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Paper Rocking Horses

Paper Rocking Horse by Kiki

I adapted this craft from AHC Arts & Crafts, which has a tremendous number of craft ideas. I printed their template, but since I wanted the kids to be able to color their rocking horses however they liked, I traced the template onto white card stock and cut it out (I had to redraw the lines for the base). I folded the paper in half before I cut it, so it would make a mirror image of the horse. Then I folded it over, so the two horse shapes lined up.

I gave each child a pre-folded horse to color in with markers on both sides, and a paperclip to put on the back, clipping the two horse shapes together. If you bend the bottom of the two horses slightly apart, it will stand up. If you touch the tail lightly, it will rock just like a real rocking horse.

Other Chinese New Year Books:

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin (Amazon.com link)

This is the book I usually read for Chinese New Year, and I still love it. It’s shows a family preparing for the New Year by sweeping their house, making get-rich dumplings, getting haircuts, and looking forward to seeing the dragon, which is presented on pages that fold out into a big spread at the end. In the past, I’ve brought bubblewrap for the kids to pop on the page with the firecrackers. Simple enough to work for toddlers as well as preschoolers and older kids.

This Next New Year by Janet S. Wong; illustrated by Yangsook Choi (Amazon.com link)

I didn’t get this book in time for my storytime, but it’s a good one. A Chinese-Korean boy shares what the New Year means to him and his friends from other cultural backgrounds. I like that the story gives a sense of having a fresh start: a chance to clear away all the mistakes of the past and look forward to the future. A little too lengthy for toddlers, but I think this would work well for preschoolers and elementary school kids.

My Lucky Little Dragon by Joyce Wan (recommended by Sapphira Edgarde)

Sapphira writes, “Our daughter is a dragon, but this book describes a child who has a good trait from each of the signs. Then at the end it says how lucky the reader is to have this particular baby, and there’s a heart-shaped mirror on the last page, which is always a big hit.”

Other Horse Books:

Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash (Amazon.com link)

When Roy gets a saddle for his birthday, he sets out to find a horse. The problem is, he doesn’t know what a horse looks like. Kids like shouting out the names of the other animals he thinks might be a horse, including a snake, a crab, a lion, and a zebra. Plus it has a funny surprise ending.

What are your favorite horse or Chinese New Year picture books?

26Jan2014

Who Will Win the 2014 Caldecott Medal?

Posted in Book reviews by worldsloudestlibrarian

The winners of the 2014 Caldecott Medal (along with the other ALA Youth Medal Media Awards, including the Newbery) will be announced on Monday morning at 8am. You can watch a live webcast of it here: ALA – Webcast 2014. The fashions are a little different than the Academy Awards, but I’m looking forward to it.

As I gaze into my crystal ball, I predict that my favorite books of the year won’t be in the winner’s list. But here they are anyway:

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld (Amazon.com link)

The story of an exclamation mark in a world of periods. No matter how hard he tries to fit in, he always stands out. Then one day, he meets a new punctuation mark, who asks him LOTS of questions. He is so overwhelmed by her, he shouts, “STOP!” He didn’t know he had it in him. After that, he discovers he has a whole range of abilities, and goes off to make his mark. The illustrations, set against a background of elementary school writing paper, are simple, funny, and whimsical. I loved this book so much I gave it to my son’s third grade teacher at the end of the school year, because she is one of those amazing people who celebrates each student’s unique personality and talents. Of course, it also works brilliantly as a lesson in punctuation.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Kevin Cornell (Amazon.com link)

If my four-year-old were on the Caldecott Committee, this book would win hands down. I can’t tell you how many times she’s begged me to read it. It’s also the book I’ve read the most for storytimes. It’s time to count the monkeys. The trouble is, the monkeys have been scared away by 1 King Cobra. More and more animals and odd characters (6 beekeepers, 8 lumberjacks) appear on every page. The narrator’s asides are hilarious, and so are the bright, colorful illustrations. This is an ideal book for storytime.

The Dark by Lemony Snicket; illustrated by Jon Klassen (Amazon.com link)

“You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That’s why the dark is always close by.” Laszlo is afraid of the dark, until the dark calls to him, and summons him down into the basement. I love the deliciously creepy language of this book, and the idea of the dark being alive. Jon Klassen won the Caldecott last year for This is Not My Hat, so I doubt this book will win, but it was one I personally savored.

That is NOT a Good Idea by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

Mo Willems is a picture book rock star. He has a genius for writing books that are perfect for sharing with kids of almost any age. This one is about a sly fox who invites a demure goose to dinner. Kids love joining in on the repeated chorus, “That is NOT a good idea!” And there is a surprising twist at the end.

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig; illustrated by Patrice Barton (Amazon.com link)

My daughter loves this book, and it’s been a great tool for discussing how different things that come up at her preschool (not including someone in a game, talking about an upcoming birthday party with a child who wasn’t invited) might make people feel. Brian feels invisible. When kids in his class choose teams, he is left out. When kids talk about the fun party they went to, he was never invited. But then a new boy arrives in school, and Brian makes a shy effort at friendship. And when the new boy is accepted as part of the class, he reaches out to Brian, and makes him no longer invisible. The beauty of this book is in the artwork. Brian is drawn in black-in-white, with small hints of color whenever he feels “seen.” A lovely book.

This year, there were a number of wonderful wordless, or nearly wordless picture books, several of which are top contenders on several of the Best of the Year lists. These books are hard to share at storytime, but they are still great adventures for kids to enjoy on their own. The one that seems most likely to win is:

Journey by Aaron Becker (Amazon.com link)

If Hiyao Miyazaki (the filmmaker behind My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away) were to make a movie of Harold and the Purple Crayon, it would resemble this book. A girl with a red marker draws a door on her bedroom wall, and escapes into a beautiful world of lights and castles. The girl draws a boat, a balloon, and a magic carpet, but then she is captured. She is rescued by the creations of a boy with a purple crayon, and the two set off together. A magical book for kids (and adults) of any age.

Other books that I loved were:

Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle (Amazon.com link)

A wordless lift-the-flap ballet between a flamingo and a little girl who tries to emulate him. I shared this with a group of preschoolers and had them try to do the motions along with the girl. They had a blast!

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Amazon.com link)

Duncan’s crayons are unhappy, and jealous of each other. They have each written him a letter complaining that he uses them too much, or too little. A brilliant story idea that would also be a wonderful intro to a lesson on letter-writing.

Little Red Writing by Joan Holub and Melissa Sweet (Amazon.com link)

Terrific lesson on the elements of story, with lots of tips on writing, all packed into a fun story. This is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, about a pencil who has to take on a dangerous pencil sharpener, called the Wolf 3000. My daughter loves this book too.

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman and LeUyen Pham (Amazon.com link)

My favorite nonfiction picture book of the year is this biography of quirky genius Paul Erdos. As a boy Paul loved numbers. At age four, he would ask people what day they were born, then calculate how many seconds they had been alive. Since he never learned how to cook or do laundry, as an adult, he travelled around the world living out of hotels and working with other mathematicians. Fascinating and fun.

So there you have it. My favorite picture books of 2013. What are yours, and which book do you think will win the Caldecott Medal?

19Jan2014

Who Was Randolph Caldecott?

Posted in Books for Second Graders, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

This is Not My Hat Collage by Geovanni

Every January, I try to do a series of storytimes related to the upcoming announcement of the newest winner of the Caldecott Medal. This year’s winner will be announced on Monday, January 27 at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association.

This week, I read some of my favorite Caldecott Medal Winners from previous years, both for my Family Storytime, and to two classes of second graders. But before I get to those, it occurred to me that I had never thought to wonder who Randolph Caldecott was, and how the award came to be named after him. So I looked him up.

According to the Randolph Caldecott Society UK web page, Caldecott was a British artist, who lived from 1846-1886, and was known for his children’s book illustrations. Every year, he would select or write a collection of stories and rhymes, which he would illustrate and publish at Christmastime. The books were enormously popular, and brought him international fame. Like many of the best children’s authors and illustrators (Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Margaret Wise Brown, and Beatrix Potter to name a few), Caldecott never had children of his own. Sadly, he suffered from heart problems and gastritis, and died a few weeks before his 40th birthday, while traveling in St. Augustine, Florida.

I haven’t been able to find an explanation for why the American Library Association in 1937 decided to name the medal after Randolph Caldecott. After all, according to the guidelines, the award-winning artist “must be a citizen or resident of the United States,” and Caldecott was British. Why not name it after an American illustrator like Johnny Gruelle, Wanda Gág or N.C. Wyeth? My only guess is that it had to do with the quality of Caldecott’s illustrations, and the seamless way he integrated them with the text. Maurice Sendak is quoted as saying, “Caldecott’s work heralds the beginning of the modern picture book. He devised an ingenious juxtaposition of picture and word, a counterpoint that never happened before. Words are left out—but the picture says it. Pictures are left out—but the word says it.” And that is the quality that defines the best picture books.

I just learned about a new book by Leonard Marcus entitled Randolph Caldecott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing. I will have to check it out to find out more, especially after reading this intriguing conversation between Leonard Marcus and Brian Selznick, winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal (I love to show kids Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which is not a picture book, but a 533 page heavily illustrated novel). In the meantime, you can see samples of some of Caldecott’s illustrations on the Randolph Caldecott Society web site.

But now, back to the storytime. After I explained the Caldecott Medal to the kids, and showed them the seal on the covers of the winning books, I read these:

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen (Amazon.com link) 2013 Caldecott Medal

It amazing the range of reactions I get whenever I read this book aloud. I remember sharing it with some second grade classes last year where some of the kids were very nervous. In one class, every time the little fish bragged about his certainty that the big fish whose hat he stole would never find him, this one boy would say, “No! Don’t say that! He’s going to eat you!” This year, though, all the second graders laughed. The Kindergartners at storytime, however, looked concerned. The fish is so shockingly naughty and brazen (although, of course, most of the best and most memorable children’s book heroes are naughty). The beauty of the book, though, is that the ending is unspoken. Klassen leaves you with the image of the big fish wearing his hat, and leaves the rest to your imagination. So when I asked my storytime group what happened at the end, they said, “The big fish got his hat back.” The second graders, on the other hand, said, “The little fish got eaten.”

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (Amazon.com link) 1996 Caldecott Medal

I think about this book every time I stand on a swivel chair, which I do often, in spite of this being in part a cautionary tale about that very thing. My only complaint about this book is that it’s really one you want to sit down with and pore over by yourself, to enjoy all the humor in the illustrations, and some of that gets lost in a storytime setting. But the kids love it anyway. At my family storytime, many of them exclaimed over it when they first saw me pull it out of the stack, so clearly they had heard it before (and hopefully had a chance to look at it up close). Officer Buckle’s safety speeches suddenly become a big hit at schools when he is partnered up with a new police dog named Gloria, until Officer Buckle discovers why. This is a wonderful story about a friendship and the importance of working together, and it has great safety tips besides.

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Amazon.com link) 2005 Caldecott Medal

I remember being surprised the first time I saw this book, because the style was so drastically different from Henkes’ other books like Chysanthemum and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. But since then, this has become one of my favorite read-alouds (along with A Good Day, which is perfect for toddlers). The language in this book is so simple, and compelling: ”It was Kitten’s first full moon. When she saw it, she thought, there’s a little bowl of milk in the sky. And she wanted it.” The story is funny because of all of Kitten’s mistakes and accidents, but you also feel her frustration, so it is deeply satisfying when she comes home wet and exhausted to find her own bowl of milk on the porch. There was a little tussle over who was going to get to check this one out after I read it.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead; illustrated by Erin H. Stead (Amazon.com link) 2011 Caldecott Medal

I’ll admit, I hadn’t ever noticed the mouse and the red balloon that appear several times throughout this book, until one of the second graders pointed them out. And then I was instantly transported back to reading Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann with my son when he was small, and trying to find the red balloon and mouse on every page. It’s a subtle reference, but I loved it. The kids loved the pictures of the zoo animals packed into the bus to visit their sick zookeeper friend, and the idea of the owl being afraid of the dark.

SONGS:

1,2,3,4,5, I Caught I Fish Alive

B-I-N-G-O To go along with Officer Buckle and Gloria, I brought out the library’s St. Bernard hand puppet (who likes to lick people’s faces), and we barked the missing letters.

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Rufus Thomas from Sing Along with Putumayo (Amazon.com link) This rock-and-roll version of Old MacDonald is always fun.

CRAFT: This is Not My Hat Collage

For this craft, I cut out pieces for the kids to color and assemble the little fish from This is Not My Hat, and brought some plants from my yard for them to glue down.

I originally had a crazy idea for taping the fish to a piece of yarn, and cutting a slit in the paper, so it would look like the fish was disappearing behind the plants when you pulled the yarn. But I would have needed thicker paper, and it seemed to complicated for the short time the kids had to assemble the craft. Still, I mocked it up with my daughter, and even though we tried it with construction paper, which is flimsy, she still had a lot of fun playing with it.

I drew the fish shapes freehand, and they’re not great, but if you’d like the template, you can print it out here: fishtemplate

OTHER BOOKS:

Along with A Sick Day for Amos McGee and This is Not My Hat, I read these four books to some second grade classes this week:

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein (Amazon.com link) 2004 Caldecott Medal

This is one of my absolutely favorite Caldecott winners to read aloud, although I usually share it with older kids. In 1974, Philippe Petit walked, danced, ran, and lay on a tightrope across the Twin Towers. It was an illegal act, so he and some friends disguised themselves as construction workers, then carried the 400 pound cable up the elevator, and then up ten flights of stairs to the roof. Getting the wire across the gap was a harrowing experience all its own, and at one point, the cable fell, pulling Petit’s friends in the other tower to the edge of the roof. And then he stepped out onto the wire, a quarter of a mile above the ground. The illustrations in this book are dizzying. The kids are always transfixed. And even though Petit broke the law (yes, another naughty character, but a real one!), he did so ready to face the consequences. After he stepped off the wire, he held out his hands for the cuffs. He was sentenced to perform in Central Park for free. There is one line at the end of the book that says, “Now the towers are gone,” and always, always the kids ask why. The first year I read it, I wasn’t prepared, and in the pause while I tried to frame my answer, I could hear a bunch of kids exclaiming to each other the bits of information they knew. Fortunately, I knew that this year on September 11 the principal at the school had spoken to all of the classes in the school, explaining about the tragedy, and telling the kids that they should “remember the heroes.” So this time, when the question came, I was able to remind them of that, and, while I’m sure they still had questions, they seemed to accept that. That question is the only reason I haven’t read this book at my regular storytime, since I’m not sure how comfortable my storytime parents will be with whatever explanation I give, and the inevitable questions that will follow. But otherwise, this is an exhilarating book, and one of the best examples of a nonfiction picture book I know.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Amazon.com link) 1964 Caldecott Medal

I shared this book with the second grade because I wanted to show them that they all knew at least one Caldecott winner. This book is so much a part of our popular children’s culture now (most of the kids had seen the movie too), but I also wanted them to stop and think about how revolutionary the book and the art were when it first came out. Max is the ultimate naughty character, fulfilling that fantasy all kids probably have of running away and going wild. I like to mention how controversial this story was, even down to the last line. In an interview, Sendak once talked about an argument he had with his editor, Ursula Nordstrom, “One of the fights I had with Ursula—and her whole office—though it seems silly now, was with the last line of the book [about Max’s dinner]: “and it was still hot.” It bothered a lot of people, and they wanted me to change it to “and it was still warm.” Warm doesn’t burn your tongue. There is something dangerous in “hot.” It does burn your tongue. Hot is the trouble you can get into. But I won.” We were lucky Sendak was always a bit like Max.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig (Amazon.com link) 1970 Caldecott Medal

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I still love it. Sylvester the donkey is thrilled to find a pebble that makes wishes come true, until he has a run-in with a dangerous lion, and accidentally wishes he were a rock. Steig really draws out the drama of Sylvester, helpless and alone on the hill as the seasons pass, while his parents worry and mourn. Of course, it has a joyfully happy ending, where the family is reunited, and they decide to lock the magic pebble away, at least for a while, realizing that now that they were together again, “they all had all that they wanted.” Before I read this book, I usually tell the kids that William Steig wrote the picture book Shrek, which, oddly, most of them have never seen, although most of them have seen the movies.

So You Want to be President by Judith St. George; illustrated by David Small (Amazon.com link) 2001 Caldecott Medal

I made the mistake of reading this book last to one of the classes, and it was a bit too long. Still, it’s a fun collection of facts about the presidents, both the traits that many of them shared, as well as the things that made each one unique. The illustrations by David Small are colorful and funny, and there are some great quotes scattered throughout the text. My favorite is from Ulysses S. Grant, about his own musical ability, “I know only two tunes: one of them is Yankee Doodle, and the other isn’t.” This is a great book to share on President’s Day or around Election time.

You can find the complete list of Caldecott Medal winners here. Please tell me your favorites, and more importantly, who do you think will win this year?

10Jan2014

Ringing in the New Year

Posted in Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

I had so much fun at this week’s storytime, seeing most of my regular families, and some I hadn’t seen in a long time. Auld Acquaintances! But if there are any publishers, children’s authors, or aspiring children’s authors reading this, please take note: there is a desperate shortage of books about New Year’s.

I had pulled or ordered over every book I could find in our system on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. There weren’t many, not even on Amazon, and the ones I found were mostly too long to read at story time. There are LOTS of books on Chinese New Year, which I’m looking forward to covering in a few weeks. But publishers appear to have dropped the ball on New Year’s Eve, and I don’t mean the one in Times Square.

I ended up resorting to an odd mix of books about babies (in honor of Baby New Year) and parties and the year in general. Luckily there are a fair number of these. These were the ones I ended up reading:

The Night Before New Year’s by Natasha Wing; illustrated by Amy Wummer (Amazon.com link)

The only actual New Year’s book I read. It’s a rhymed book, and the meter is awkward in some places, but overall it meets my requirements for a good holiday book: it covers the major traditions without being dry, and tells a story in the process. In this case, it’s about a girl and her brother who want to stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve, but don’t quite make it. The kids enjoyed this one, and it was eagerly snatched up at the end. After the book, we all counted down from 10 and yelled, “Happy New Year!” It would have been fun to throw confetti too, except for the inevitable clean-up.

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos; illustrated by Joy Ang (Amazon.com link)

Okay, this was a stretch, but I justified it by mentioning Baby New Year. I had originally pulled this one because it was on a list of best picture books published in 2013 (a topic I will be covering soon). And the kids loved it! There was even a minor brawl over it at the end. When a baby is born with a mustache, the delivery nurse tells his startled family that they need to find out if it’s a good guy mustache or a bad guy mustache. The baby starts out taking on all kinds of good mustachioed roles: cowboy, Spanish painter, sword fighter, and man of the law. But then the mustache begins to curl on the ends… The illustrations are very funny.

Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel (Amazon.com link)

I read the first story in this early chapter book, partly because it fit the theme of a new year, and partly because there’s an Arnold Lobel exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, including a concert of songs based on his works on January 12. I also thought it would fun for some of the Kindergartners in my storytime to get to know Frog and Toad, who were favorite characters from my old childhood. In the story I read, Frog drags Toad out on a cold winter day, and gets him to go sledding.

Xander’s Panda Party by Linda Sue Park; illustrated by Matt Phelan (Amazon.com link)

Another stretch, but I justified it because it was about a party. Xander wants to throw a panda party, but since he’s the only panda at the zoo, he reconsiders and invites all the bears. When he finds out the koala isn’t really a bear, he extends his invitation to mammals, but rhinoceros insists on bringing his bird. In the end, of course, he ends up inviting every creature at the zoo, including the people. Cute rhyming story that the kids seemed to enjoy. It got checked out immediately too.

CRAFT: Decorated Calendars

Calendars decorated by Alyssa, Jonas and Sarah

I happened to be at Michael’s the other day, and picked up a bunch of small picture frame calendars for 60 cents each. The kids had fun drawing, stickering, and collaging on them with pictures I cut from magazines. A cheaper way to go would be to print out calendars (or even just the month of January) from CalendarLabs.com and have the kids decorate those.

OTHER BOOKS:

The Stars Will Still Shine by Cynthia Rylant; illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke (Amazon.com link)

This is actually a really sweet book, that would work well for New Year’s, even for toddlers. It’s a lovely poem about all the nice things that will remain the same: “…this new year/the sky will still be there/the stars will still shine/birds will fly over us/church bells will chime…we shall have peaches/we shall have pie/we shall have ice cream three scoops high” The illustrations are soft, colorful, and peaceful.

Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller; illustrated by Kathi Ember (Amazon.com link)

This one was a bit too long for my storytime, but I liked that it addresses the idea of writing New Year’s Resolutions, which might have been a fun craft idea too. Squirrel is frustrated that she can’t come up with any resolutions of her own, but she ends up helping each of her friends keep theirs.

Shanté Keys and the New Year Peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport; illustrated by Marian Eldridge (Amazon.com link) Submitted by Lindsey Tear

Grandma has made all the lucky foods for New Year’s Day, but she forgot the black-eyed peas. So Shanté Keys sets out to find some. I haven’t seen this one yet, but I’ve requested a copy for our library system. As a kid, we always had kidney beans, cornbread, and collard greens for New Year’s Day, a tradition that I miss, so I can empathize with Shanté Keys.

Happy New Year, Pooh! by Kathlein Weidner Zoehfield (Amazon.com link) Submitted by Lindsey Tear

This book is out of print, unfortunately, but it looks sweet. Winnie the Pooh and his friends are sad to see that the calendar has come to an end, until Christopher Robin tells them they have a whole new year ahead.

Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel (Amazon.com link) Submitted by Barbara Bruxvoort

Another Frog and Toad book, but one that may be even more appropriate for New Year’s. It’s even referenced in this article on keeping your New Year’s resolutions. The two stories that fit best are “A List,” where Toad makes a list of things he plans to do, and “Cookies,” where Frog and Toad try to find the willpower not to eat all the cookies.

P. Bear’s New Year’s Eve Party by Paul Owen Lewis (Amazon.com link) Submitted by Neeru Penumella

This one isn’t in our library system either, probably because it’s only available in paperback, but it looks like fun. The book uses the arrival of each of P. Bear’s friends to demonstrate counting and telling time.

Are there any great New Year’s books I’m missing out on? Please share them in the comments.

The Loudest Librarian!

Weekly library storytime themes, book recommendations, songs, crafts, and other library programming ideas

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Hail to the Chief: Books about the Presidents

Have a Heart! Books for Valentine’s Day

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring: Stories About Rain

Confessions of a Library Thief

The Results Are In! Reading the 2014 Caldecott Award Winners

The Year of the Horse

Who Will Win the 2014 Caldecott Medal?

Who Was Randolph Caldecott?

Ringing in the New Year