I actually did this storytime a couple of weeks ago, but haven’t had a chance to post about it until now.

I’ve enjoyed doing this series of storytimes about the colors of the rainbow, but I admit I had a hard time deciding what to do about indigo. From everything I’ve read, indigo was included in the colors of the rainbow by Sir Isaac Newton because he attributed mystical significance to the number seven, and wanted there to be seven colors. But there are very few books (at least books that are simple enough for my storytime audience) about the color indigo. In the end, I talked a bit about the color at the beginning of my purple storytime, and then read the book Big Choo, which features a train with an indigo engine and a purple car.

Books:

Big Choo by Stephen Shaskan

Cute story about a little train who is determined to climb a big hill, with the encouragement of his father. The kids loved joining in on the train noises. As I mentioned in the intro, the engine of the train is indigo, but the book also features a purple train car, so it was provided a good way to show the difference between the two colors.

Purple Little Bird by Greg Foley

Adorable story about a little bird who paints everything purple, but isn’t completely happy with his house, so he goes on a journey to find the perfect home. The ending got a lot of laughs.

Sally and the Purple Socks by Lisze Bechtold

Funny story about a goose whose new purple socks keep growing, and growing, becoming a scarf, then curtains, then a blanket, and more. The kids were really engaged by this one.

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

I didn’t actually end up reading this because I had done it fairly recently, but I wanted to include it in my list since it’s such a classic (there’s also a movie adaptation coming out this fall). It was a favorite of my own kids when they were little, an imaginative story about a little boy whose drawings come to life. I especially love the part about the nine different kinds of pie.

Songs:

Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten

We sang this after reading Big Choo. I sing the adapted kids version by Elizabeth Mitchell, which is the one in the video below, although the original version is beautiful and has a fascinating back story. I usually ask the families to suggest places where they would like to go, and we sing a verse about each of those places.

[C] Freight train, freight train, [G7] going so fast.
[G7] Freight train, freight train, [C] going so fast.
[E7]Please don’t tell what [F] train I’m on,
So they [C] won’t know [G7] where I’ve [C] gone.

Going to Mexico, going so fast!
Going to Mexico, going so fast!
Please don’t tell what train I’m on,
So they won’t know where I’ve gone.

Two Little Purple Birds

We sang this after reading The Little Purple Bird, although it works well for any color (the original version is “Two Little Blackbirds”). We sang it with play scarves for Family Storytime.

Two little purple birds 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 purple birds 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 purple birds sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little purple birds sitting on a gate.
One was early, and the other was…late!…

The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley

We did this as our instrument play-along, and it was a big hit! The original song features several key changes, but I sang the whole thing in C. I actually only sang the first couple of verses, and then repeated the chorus several times, but I included the full version below.

[C] Well, I saw the thing comin’ out of the sky,
It had [G] one long horn, [C] one big eye.
I commenced to shakin’ and I [F] said “ooh-eee!”,
It [G] looks like a purple people eater to [C] me.

CHORUS:
[C] It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater.
[G] One-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater.
A [C] one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater.
[G] Sure looks strange to [C] me.

[C] Well, he came down to earth, and he lit in a tree.
I said, [G] “Mr. Purple People Eater, [C] don’t eat me.”
I heard him say in a [F] voice so gruff:
“I [G] wouldn’t eat you cause you’re so [C] tough!”

CHORUS

I said, “Mr. Purple People Eater, what’s your line?”
He said, “It’s eatin’ purple people and it sure is fine.
But that’s not the reason that I came to land..
I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band.”

Well, bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin’ purple people eater.
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin’ purple people eater.
(We wear short shorts) Flyin’ purple people eater..
Sure looks strange to me.

And then he swung from the tree and he lit on the ground,
He started to rock, really rockin’ around.
It was a crazy ditty with a swingin’ tune..
Sing A bop bop-A-boppa-loppa-lim-bam-boom.

Well, bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin’ purple people eater.
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin’ purple people eater.
I like short shorts!..Flyin’ little people eater.
Sure looks strange to me.

And then he went on his way, and then what do ya know?
I saw him last night on a TV show.
He was blowing it out, a’really knockin’ ’em dead..
Playin’ rock and roll music through the horn in his head.

Stay & Play: Flower Petal Collage

I love doing activities with flowers. For Outdoor Storytime, I gathered a variety of flowers from my yard (lavender, nasturtiums, geraniums, etc.) and them out on the tables with some white cardstock and glue sticks. The kids had a great time exploring the different colors and textures, as they arranged them on their paper and glued them down.

For Family Storytime, which gets a smaller crowd, I did the same basic activity, but taped squares of contact paper onto the table. The kids stuck the flowers onto the sticky part of the contact paper, and then we helped them seal them in with another piece of contact paper on top.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the color purple (or indigo)? Please share them in the comments below.