The Very Busy Author: In Honor of Eric Carle

Seahorse by Addie

I got my first library job the summer of my freshman year at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. One afternoon, I just happened to stumble into the Jones Library (a lovely public library in town with a vast children’s collection), and even though I was already working as an intern for the local paper, I asked the woman at the children’s desk if they had any jobs available.

I have no idea why I did that, and even less of an idea why they hired me, but for the next three years I worked in the children’s room: checking out books, answering questions, shelving, filing cards in the card catalog (yes, I am THAT old!), and shelf-reading. It was baffling to me that I was getting paid to be there, because I loved every minute of it. And one day, after an arduous meeting with my thesis advisor, I was so relieved to get to my library shift, that I realized in a rush that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I haven’t been back to Amherst since 2001, which means I just missed the opening of The Eric Carle Museum there. I would love to visit it, especially since it hosts so many wonderful children’s authors and exhibits. And I would love to meet Eric Carle himself, who was always one of my childhood favorites (I especially loved The Grouchy Ladybug. and I whacked that whale’s tale at the end so many times that it eventually ripped off).

As I kid, I don’t think I ever appreciated the genius of Eric Carle, specifically how each of his books teaches something: the days of the week, how to tell time, how a spider builds a web, etc. The repeated words and phrases also make his books great for beginning readers. But all that is like spinach secretly hidden in a batch of chocolate chip cookies (which apparently is a thing!). You don’t even notice it, because the story is fun to read, and the illustrations are irresistible.

So last week’s family storytime was in honor of Eric Carle. Here is what we read:

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (Amazon.com link)

Based on the art of Franz Marc, who was famous for his paintings of blue horses, this book shows a boy describing his unusual animal paintings: a red crocodile, a yellow cow, a black polar bear, a polka dotted donkey, etc. It’s simple enough for toddlers to enjoy, but fun for all ages. Kids love books that break the rules, and this one gives them permission to go out and paint their own wild creations. Two first grade girls vied to check this one out in the end.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Amazon.com link)

I had to read this one, and not just because my daughter is raising caterpillars at home right now. When my son was born, my former boss from Amherst sent me a board book copy of this from the Eric Carle Museum. Both of my kids have always loved it. They especially enjoy sticking their fingers through the holes on each page. It’s a naturally interactive read-aloud, since you can ask kids to name the foods the caterpillar ate each day, and to chime in every time you say, “But he was still hungry.” The kids at storytime were all excited to see it, even though (or maybe especially because) most of them had a copy at home.

Mister Seahorse (Amazon.com link)

When Mrs. Seahorse deposits her eggs in Mister Seahorse’s pouch, he proudly swims around meeting other fish fathers, who each have their own way of guarding their offspring: carrying their eggs in their mouths or on top of their heads. But there are many other fish he doesn’t see, because of their clever ways of hiding. The camouflaged fish are revealed behind clear plastic “peek-a-book” pages (as a kid, I was fascinated by the Human Body section of the World Book Encyclopedia, where you could flip the transparent pages to see the layers of bones, organs and muscles. I would have loved this book for the same reason). A great book for teaching about ocean life and camouflage. One girl asked why the baby seahorses swim away from their father as soon as they are born, which led to an interesting discussion about instinct.

The Secret Birthday Message (Amazon.com link)

A mysterious message provides shape-themed clues leading to a birthday surprise. Fun, simple, adventure that would be great lead-in to a scavenger hunt, or a unit on maps or shapes.

A House for Hermit Crab (Amazon.com link)

Another ocean-themed book, this one about a hermit crab who has outgrown his shell. He finds a new one, but is dismayed that it is so plain, so as he travels, he asks other creatures to attach to his shell and make it more decorative. Lovely way to learn about a variety of ocean animals and the names of the months.

SONGS:

I Bought Me a Rooster

To go along with The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, we sang this song, and I asked the kids to supply silly animal and color combinations: purple dog, rainbow horse, etc. Here are the words with the ukulele chords (click on the triangle for the tune):

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

I bought a purple dog and the purple dog pleased me
I fed my purple dog on the bayberry tree
My purple dog goes “Woof! Woof! Woof!”
My yellow rooster goes, “Cock-a-doodle doo!
Dee Doodle, Dee Doodle, Dee Doodle, Dee Doo!”

If All the Raindrops

We sang this one after The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and the kids suggested foods to be the rain, including popsicles and chocolate:

C
If all the raindrops
G7 C
Were lemondrops and gumdrops
C G7
Oh, what a rain that would be!
C G7 C G7
Standing outside, with my mouth open wide
C G7 C G7
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah!
C G7 C
If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops,
C G7 C
Oh, what a rain it would be!

CRAFT: Dot Paint Seahorse

Seahorse by Olivia

Seahorse by Shelby

I printed out a seahorse template from this web site. I was originally going to have the kids glue scraps of colored tissue paper on the seahorse, but I ended up letting them use Do A Dot Markers instead, which was far less messy. They had a great time playing with the different colors. I liked that one little girl said her dots were the seahorse’s eggs. Another used the Dot Markers to color in the whole seahorse, which isn’t easy to do. A third used regular markers to add seaweed.

What is your favorite Eric Carle book?

8Aug2014

I Scream, You Scream for Stories about Ice Cream

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

The ice cream mixture: milk, vanilla and sugar

This week we read books about ice cream, and made ice cream in a bag, something I learned from my very first job as a Children’s Librarian, at the North Regional Library in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was only there for a few months before my husband got a job that required us to move to the Bay Area, but I learned a lot from my coworkers there, and I’ll always be grateful to them.

I was actually debating about making the ice cream in coffee cans instead of plastic bags, since it would be more environmental, but my kids and I tried it three times at home (yeah, they hated being guinea pigs for this one), and we just couldn’t get it to work. The stuff in the middle would always be too slushy, and the stuff on the sides so frozen it was hard to scrape off. So I went back to the original plan. I did collect and wash all the plastic bags at the end. (Stores in our county no longer give out plastic bags, so I actually hoard them to dispose of my cat litter).

Here’s what we read:

Ice Cream Larry by Daniel Pinkwater; illustrated by Jill Pinkwater (Amazon.com link)

I hadn’t originally planned to read this one, because it’s a longer picture book, but right when storytime started, there was only one 6 year-old and her mom, so I decided to share it with her. It’s one of a series of books about Larry the polar bear, who lives at the Hotel Larry and serves as the lifeguard for the pool. In this book, Larry makes the news when he asks a local ice cream shop if he can cool down in their freezer, and then eats 1/8 of a ton of their ice cream. “I do not feel sick,” he says. Soon, the owner of the Iceberg Ice Cream company shows up at the hotel to meet with Larry. He ends up making him the spokesbear for his new line of ice creams, and the company’s new slogan, “I do not feel sick,” becomes a national sensation. Very silly, but lots of fun to read, and a hit with the kids.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; illustrated by Jen Corace (Amazon.com link)

Other families with younger kids had come in during the first book, so I went with this one next. It’s not actually an ice cream book, but it tied in with my “Candy Corn for Dinner” song that I sang before I read it. It’s one of my favorite picture books, about a little pea who dreads having to eat his nightly dinner of candy. This one always gets laughs from both kids and adults.

Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems (Amazon.com link)

I had to to do this book, which is one of my favorite Elephant and Piggies. Gerald is just about to enjoy his ice cream cone, when he wonders if he should share it with Piggie instead. It is a terribly difficult decision, and one that takes him so long that his ice cream melts. Most of my regular storytime families are familiar with Gerald and Piggie, but there was one new family who had never heard of the series. I was happy to hear them laughing at the ending.

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

Occasionally I like to share a chapter from an early reader book like this one, and I was reminded of the “Ice Cream” story in this book when my daughter was listening to the audiobook in the car. To my surprise, most of the kids had never heard of the Frog and Toad books, which I know are still asked for frequently at the library. In this story, Toad buys two ice cream cones for himself and Frog to enjoy. But on his way back to Frog, the ice cream melts, covering his face so he cannot see. Other animals run from him in alarm, and when he finally gets back to Frog, he looks like a scary monster with two pointy horns. This one got laughs too.

Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta; illustrated by Ed Young (Amazon.com link)

I should have asked ahead of time if the kids knew what a ninja was, because one of them raised the question. A ninja is stealthily creeping through a house, until he is discovered and unmasked for what he really is: a boy sneaking ice cream from the freezer. This is a short book that is fun to read aloud because you can build up the suspense in the early pages.

SONGS:

Candy Corn for Dinner

I wrote this song for the storytime, since I couldn’t find many that fit the ice cream theme. It needs another verse, which I’ll try to add sometime in the future, but the kids seemed to like it. I’m still too nervous to tell people at storytime when I perform an original song, but it’s a fun challenge to write them. It’s also not too hard if you know a few chords on the guitar or ukulele, which is all you need for most kids songs anyway. This one only has three chords: C G7 and F.

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.

If All the Raindrops

This is an old standby that I use for toddler and baby storytimes too. (I used to sing it to my daughter at toothbrushing time, and it became kind of a game to brush her teeth while we sang the “Aaahs.”) I asked the kids to suggest other things they would like the rain to be. One girl suggested chocolate marshmallows, and her mom suggested margaritas. Here are the traditional lyrics (click on the triangle for the tune):

If all the snowflakes
Were candy bars and milkshakes…

If all the sunbeams
Were bubblegum and ice cream…

CRAFT: Ice Cream in a Bag

Ice cream mixture sealed in a large bag of ice and rock salt

The finished product!

I printed out the directions on a half-page handout, in case anyone wanted to take it home. You can print your own here: ICE CREAM IN A BAG

Before we started, I went over each of the ingredients. We talked about the vanilla, and I let the kids smell the open bottle. I showed them the rock salt, and explained that it was important, because without it the ice cream wouldn’t freeze. (The milk and sugar freeze at a lower temperature than water, but the salt lowers the freezing temperature of water. When you put it on ice, the ice melts, but it turns into a slushy mixture that is actually colder).

I gave each kid a quart-sized plastic zipper bag (for what it’s worth, the bags I bought from Target claimed to be BPA-free, although I’ve read that the other chemicals plastic companies use aren’t necessarily safer). I had them hold their bags open, and I poured the 1/2 of whole milk in for them, since it was a large, heavy gallon of milk. Then I held the bag open for each of them as they scooped in two tablespoons of sugar. I pour in the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then I told them to seal their bags tightly, and make sure they were closed (I once had volunteers mix up the ice cream mixture in the bags ahead of time, and they forgot to seal the bags shut. There were a lot of disappointed kids left holding bags of salty milk).

Once they had their ice cream mixture sealed in the small bags, I gave them each a gallon-sized bag to half-fill with ice. Then we poured the rock salt in on top of the ice (the recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I just estimated). They sealed their ice cream mix into the big bag, and shook the bags while I played some songs on the ukulele. It takes about 5 minutes for the ice cream to freeze.

Once the ice cream was frozen, I gave out spoons and straws for the kids to each it straight out of the bag. Some froze more solidly than others, but it has a pretty good flavor that they all seemed to like.

OTHER BOOKS ABOUT ICE CREAM:

I Scream, Ice Cream! a Book of Wordles by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Serge Bloch (Amazon.com link)

This book’s not actually about ice cream, but I was originally going to read it along with Little Pea, since it references that book at the end. It’s actually a series of phrases that can mean two different things, depending on how you read them. For example: “I scream! Two bucks!” (with a picture of someone running away from two angry deer), sounds just like “Ice cream, two bucks!” The phrases get increasingly complicated, and it’s fun to try and guess what the alternate meaning will be.

Ice Cream: the Full Scoop by Gail Gibbons (Amazon.com link)

Nice overview of the history of ice cream, and how it is made commercially. This one was a little long for my group, but would work well for a preschool or elementary school class.

Any other books about ice cream? I would love some more suggestions.

9Jun2014

The Great Outdoors! Stories about Adventure

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

Foam Shape Boat by Shelby

Last week, Ella, one of my regular storytime patrons, asked if she could read a Bob book about Outdoor Adventures at storytime. So I based last week’s Family Storytime on that theme. Unfortunately, Ella wasn’t able to come, but I still had fun sharing outdoor adventure books.

The Day Louis Got Eaten by John Fardell (Amazon.com link)

When Louis gets unexpectedly eaten by a Gulper, his sister, Sarah, sets out to rescue him. Unfortunately, just as she gets close, the Gulper is eaten by a Grabular, who is eaten by an Undersnatch. Sarah is undaunted. Pursuing the creatures on a bike that magically transforms to suit the terrain, she saves the day with the help of a hiccup frog. The whimsical illustrations in this book are always a hit.

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham (Amazon.com link)

Fun, simple story about a man whose boating outing is complicated by all the animals who want to come along. The kids enjoyed joining in on the animal noises. This one is also fun for kids to act out.

Frog by Susan Cooper; illustrated by Jane Browne (Amazon.com link)

Sweet story with beautiful illustrations. When a frog gets trapped in their swimming pool, Little Joe, who can’t swim, watches as his family tries frantically to get it out. But it is Little Joe who quietly comes to the rescue, and, inspired by Frog, finally learns to swim.

That’s Good! That’s Bad! by Margery Cuyler; illustrated by David Catrow (Amazon.com link)

While visiting the zoo with his parents, a little boy is carried off by a red balloon to a perilous adventure in the jungle. Each page reveals a new part of the story followed by a refrain of “That’s good! No, that’s bad!” Or, “That’s bad! No, that’s good!” which the kids quickly learned to repeat.

SONGS:

I wish I had thought to do “Going on a Bear Hunt,” since that’s a kind of interactive adventure all its own. Instead we sang:

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

I added in these two verses. This song is super easy on the ukulele, since you can play the whole thing with just a C chord:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently to the shore.
And if you see a lion,
Don’t forget to roar! ROAR!

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream,
And if you see an alligator,
Don’t forget to scream! AAAAAHHHH!

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

I have a rude toy frog that burps when you put your hand in its mouth. I passed that around when I sang this song, but it’s just as fun to pretend your hand is the frog’s tongue, and pretend to catch flies on the kids’ heads. Click on the triangle for the first verse:

Five green and speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log.
Eating the most delicious bugs! Yum Yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Now there are four green speckled frogs!

Four green and speckled frogs…etc.

Going to the Zoo

I do this one on the ukulele too. Click on the triangle to hear the tune:

Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow (C)
Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow. (G7)
Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow, (C)
And we can stay all day. (C G7)

CHORUS:
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo! (F)
How about you, you, you? (C)
You can come too, too, too! (G7)
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo! (C G7 C)

See the elephants with the long trunk swinging,
Great big ears and a long trunk swinging.
Snuffing up peanuts with the long trunk swinging,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

See all the monkeys, they’re scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Jumping all around and scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Hanging by the long tails scritch, scritch, scratchin’,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

Well, we stayed all day, and I’m getting sleepy,
Sitting in the car getting sleep, sleep, sleepy.
Home already and I’m sleep, sleep, sleepy,
‘Cause we have stayed all day!

We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
So have you, you, you!
You came too, too, too!
We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

But Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow.
Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

CRAFT: Foam Shape Boats

Foam Shape Boat by Kiley

I got this simple craft idea from DLTK-kids.com: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/transportation/mhalvesboat.html I had some colored foam sheets that I used to cut the shapes out, but you could do it just as easily with construction paper or card stock. I made a mix of colors for the kids to choose from, and gave them markers to decorate if they wanted. They each made their boats a little differently.

OTHER BOOKS:

So many other books fit this theme. Here are just a few:

Journey by Aaron Becker (Amazon.com link)

I don’t often “read” wordless books at storytime, but I have shared this one several times and the kids always love it. A beautifully illustrated story about a lonely girl with a magic red crayon who draws her way into another world to find adventure and a new friend. Reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon, which would also fit the theme.

Fortunately by Remy Charlip (Amazon.com link)

An older book I love that reminds me of That’s Good! That’s Bad! This one is about a boy who is trying to get to a surprise party. Unfortunately, the party is in Florida and he is in New York. Fortunately, he borrows a plane from a friend. Unfortunately, the engine explodes. Fortunately, he has a parachute. You get the picture.

My Friend Bear by Jez Alborough (Amazon.com link)

The third book in the picture book series about Eddie, his teddy Freddy, and the big bear who lives in the woods. They are all funny rhyming stories with large colorful illustrations, but this is the sweetest one, where the bear thinks his teddy bear can talk (because Eddie is hiding behind it), and Eddie and the bear end up becoming friends.

What are your favorite picture book adventure stories?

10May2014

All About My Mother: Books for Mother’s Day

Posted in Rhymes and songs, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SONGS:

Five Days Old

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

Peanut, Peanut Butter

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

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

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

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

No More Monkeys

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

CRAFT: All About My Mother

My Mommy by Olivia, Sarah, and Lily

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

OTHER BOOKS:

My Mom by Anthony Browne (Amazon.com link)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5Apr2014

April Fool! Books about Jokes and Tricksters

Posted in Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Poisson d’Avril by Sarah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SONGS:

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

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

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

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

Chorus:

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

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

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

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

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

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

CRAFT: Poisson d’Avril

Poisson d’Avril by Shelby

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

OTHER BOOKS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are your favorite picture books about jokes and tricks?

30Mar2014

Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Books About Baseball

Posted in Books for Second Graders, Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Model Magic Bat and Baseball by Ria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SONGS:

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

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

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

CRAFT: Model Magic Baseballs

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

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

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

OTHER BASEBALL BOOKS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are your favorite picture books about baseball?

28Feb2014

What a Feeling! Books about Emotions

Posted in Storytime themes by worldsloudestlibrarian

Emotion Wheel by Olivia

This week for Family Storytime, I read books about emotions. I noticed that most of the books out there with that theme focus on negative emotions like anger and fear, but they are some of my favorites. Here are the ones we read:

What are You So Grumpy About? by Tom Lichtenheld (Amazon.com link)

This book does a great job of illustrating the frustrations of being a kid: boring grown-up conversations that never end; trips to dull museums; bland grown-up cereals. Tom Lichtenheld takes each one to an hilarious extreme, ending with the worst: somebody making you laugh when you were trying to be grumpy, and making you forget what you were grumpy about. This one always gets laughs, from the parents as well as the kids.

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

My favorite of the Elephant and Piggie books, and one of the best for very beginning readers. When Piggie sees that Gerald is sad, she tries to cheer him up by dressing as a cowboy, a clown, and a robot, but only makes him feel worse. I had the kids say the repeated “Ohhhhh”s along with Gerald. A good, funny story about friendship as well as emotion. The kids all loved it. By now they are all so familiar with Gerald and Piggie books that they couldn’t wait to get to the end page, which always has Mo Willem’s Pigeon hidden inside of one of the illustrations.

Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban; illustrated by Henry Cole (Amazon.com link)

This is one of the best picture books about coping with anger. Mouse is so angry, he jumps up and down, stomps his feet, screams, and rolls on the ground. The problem is that other animals (hare, bear, bobcat, and hedgehog), each do those things much better, and when he tries to emulate them, he always ends up falling into a mucky mud puddle and getting even angrier. Finally, he stands still…and breathes…something he can do better than anyone else. A great way to teach an important skill for regaining calm, but taught in the context of a lively, non-preachy read-aloud. My daughter, who could teach bobcat a thing or two about screaming, loves this book, so I’m hoping its quiet lesson will rub off.

Crankenstein by Samantha Berger; illustrated by Dan Santat (Amazon.com link)

Another funny book about being grumpy. Crankenstein is a monster. When you say, “Good Morning! How are you?” he says, “MEHRRRR!” He also says “MEHRRR” to lots of other things: getting ready for school, standing in long lines, and going to bed. But then he meets another Crankenstein, who makes him laugh. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “MEHRRR’s,” and this one grabbed the attention of some of the boys who love monsters.

SONGS:

If You’re Happy And You Know It: I added new verses with other emotions: If you’re sad and you know it, cry ‘Boohoo!’; If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face…peek-a-boo!; If you’re grumpy and you know it, stomp your feet; etc.

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD:

My Energy by Laurie Berkner from Under a Shady Tree (Amazon.com link)

CRAFT: Emotion wheel

Emotion wheel by Sarah

This was an easy craft I found on the Allen County Public Library Youth Services web site, on a page with a list of other good books and songs about emotions. I adapted it a little, and created a Word document with circles for the kids to draw faces in. You can print the template here. I also cut out arrows out of cardstock, and punched holes in them for the metal brads (I attached the arrows to the page ahead of time because that part seemed a little tricky, and the brads are a bit sharp. I just pushed them through the middle of the paper and twisted them a bit until the arrow could spin easily, then separated the metal tabs on the back of the page to hold them in place).

The kids had fun drawing in their faces. I liked that this made for a simple reading activity too, since they had to learn the emotion word (happy, sad, angry, or scared), in order to know what kind of face to draw.

OTHER BOOKS:

The great thing about this theme is that you can really use just about any picture book and talk about the emotions the characters may be feeling.

Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods that Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis; illustrated by Laura Cornell (Amazon.com link)

One of the few celebrity authors I actually like. In this book Jamie Lee Curtis explores a wide range of emotions based on situations that kids can easily relate to: feeling angry at not being included in a friend’s playdate; being sad after a fight with a friend; feeling happy at learning how to do something new. The text is simple, well-written rhymed verse, and the illustrations are whimsical and full of feeling. The book comes with an emotion wheel at the back, although I noticed the one from the library copy we have was missing.

How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann and Joost Eiffers (Amazon.com link)

The emotional vegetables and fruits in this book, all made from actual food, are hilarious: angry peppers, kissing strawberries, joyful peas. This is a great book for a food-themed storytime as well.

Baby Happy, Baby Sad by Leslie Patricelli (Amazon.com link)

Perfect for babies, toddlers, and beginning readers, this board book goes through all the things that make baby happy (getting an ice cream!) and sad (dropping the ice cream).

Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman (Amazon.com link)

I’m including this one because it does a great job of conveying a common experience that everyone, especially young kids, can relate to: being SO excited that you rush in and do something you regret later. This story is about an adorable dog named Katie, and three little kittens. When her owner brings home three new kittens, Katie can’t contain herself: she rushes in howling and scares the kittens. Then she feels ashamed and sad. The cycle repeats several times, until she finally learns to control her excitement. The illustrations are darling (no one conveys shame better than a dog), and it’s a terrific read-aloud, with lots of opportunities for kids to howl.

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

Another story all parents and kids can relate to: Llama Llama feels alone and scared in bed, while Mama Llama is on the phone downstairs. Adorable rhyming book with wonderful illustrations. Many of the other Llama Llama books (Llama Llama Mad at Mama; Llama Llama Misses Mama) would work for this theme as well.

When Sophie Gets Angry…Really Really Angry by Molly Bang (Amazon.com link) Recommended by Jeanine Asche and Erica Hohmann

Vivid colors and bold descriptions capture just how it feels to be really, really angry, and how Sophie calms down. This is a simple story about a little girl’s frustration and anger that kids can easily relate to, and one that conveys both the overwhelming feeling of rage and the fact that it eventually passes.

Grumpy Gertie by Sam Lloyd (Amazon.com link) Recommended by Shelley Jacobsen

I haven’t read this one yet, but it looks like a fun, simple way to teach kids that the face they project to the world can affect others. Gertie is determined to tell the world just how grumpy she is, until a monkey teaches her how to turn her frown upside down.

The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen; illustrated by Daniel X. Hanna (Amazon.com link) Recommended by Kim Day

Adorable rhyming story about a pouty fish, whose ocean friends all try to cheer him up, until he turns upside down and becomes a kissy fish instead.

What are your favorite books about emotions?

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

Tag Archives: library storytime themes

The Very Busy Author: In Honor of Eric Carle

The Great Outdoors! Stories about Adventure

All About My Mother: Books for Mother’s Day

April Fool! Books about Jokes and Tricksters

Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Books About Baseball

What a Feeling! Books about Emotions

Ringing in the New Year