Tag Archives: picture books about families

Take Care: A Caregiver Appreciation Storytime

Posted in Storytime themes by

This week, our libraries have been observing what we called “Caregiver Appreciation Week,” a celebration of everyone who cares for children in our communities: parents, grandparents, babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, teachers, etc. We have been using it as an opportunity to promote library cards to some of the adults who bring children to storytime, but also as a chance to say thank you.

Here’s what we did this week:

Books:

I Really Want to See You, Grandma by Taro Gomi

Simple, but adorable story about a little girl and her Grandma, who decide to visit each other at the same time, but keep missing each other. The kids at Family Storytime thought it was very funny.

Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter by Reed Duncan; illustrated by J. T. Morrow

Cute addition to the Llama Llama series created by Anna Dewdney. In this one, Llama Llama is upset to learn that he will have a babysitter when Mama Llama goes out for the evening. But the sitter turns out to be someone he knows from their local ice cream shop, and he ends up having a wonderful time.

Saturday by Oge Mora

I love this book so much, even though I usually get choked up at the ending. A little girl and her mother are so excited about their Saturday plans, but the library storytime is cancelled (the horror!), their new hairdos get ruined by a splash from a passing car, their picnic at the park is loud, and they forget the tickets to the puppet show. But they discover that the day is still special, just because they are together. The kids enjoyed the repeated “Zoom’s” and the deep breaths.

Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea

This is one of my favorite Dad stories. A little hippo explains how he is so much smarter than his Dad, who can’t seem to do the simplest tasks. Like when he’s busy getting dressed (the illustrations show him sitting in front of the TV), his Dad asks him “Is this how you get dressed?” while wearing all of his clothes in the wrong places. Then the little hippo has to demonstrate the right way to get dressed. Even the preschoolers in my Outdoor Musical Storytime seemed to get the joke, or at least thought the Dad’s “mistakes” were very funny.

Songs:

Freight Train by Elizabeth Mitchell (Based on the original version by Elizabeth Cotten)

We sang this after reading I Really Want to See You, Grandma, and I asked the kids to suggest different places they would like to go.

[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] plane I’m on,
So they [C] won’t know [G7] where I’ve [C] gone.

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

With My Family

Based on a song I found on NoTimeForFlashcards.com. I asked the kids to suggest things they like to do with the caregivers in their life, and we sang about them. One little boy said he liked to run around with his “fun Daddy,” which was adorable!

To the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

[C] Tell me what you like to do,
You [F] like to do, you [G7] like to do.
[C] Tell me what you like to do,
[F] With your [G7] fami-[C]ly.

Ollie likes to run around,
Run around,
Run around.
Ollie likes to run around,
With his fun Daddy!

Love Somebody, Yes I Do!

We sang this song with the parachute in Outdoor Musical Storytime, shaking the chute along with the rhythm and getting faster each time we sang it. The version I sing uses the tune in this Magical Musical Kingdom video, but we only sang the second verse.

Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody
And it’s YOU! YOU! YOU!

You Sing a Song by Ella Jenkins

We sang this with play scarves for Family Storytime.

[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
And [C] we’ll sing a [Dm] song toge-[G]ther.
[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
In [G] warm or [C] wintry [G] wea-[C]ther.

You’ll wave a scarf, and I’ll wave a scarf, and we’ll wave our scarves together…

You’ll peek-a-boo, and I’ll peek-a-boo… (put the scarf over your face, then pull it away)

You’ll throw a scarf, and I’ll throw a scarf…

Baby Shark by PinkFong

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo do
[F] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo
[Am] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo
[G] Baby shark!

Mommy shark…

Daddy shark…

Grandma Shark…

Grandpa Shark…

Let’s go hunt!…

Run Away…

Safe at last…

That’s the end…

Stay & Play: Beaded Keychains & Necklaces

For the Stay & Play, I thought it would be fun to have the kids make necklaces or keychains for their caregivers. We put out lacing strings and pony beads (a mix of colored beads and alphabet ones), along with scissors and keyrings.

I pre-tied some of the lacing strings onto keyrings and then taped the aglets (the ends of the strings) together, to make it easier for the kids. When they finished adding beads, I helped them tie a knot at the end to keep the beads on, and then cut the ends of the strings.

The kids LOVED the beading! One four-year-old was so into it that his grandmother was asking where she could buy pony beads. She had never seen him so focused on an activity before! Some kids made bracelets too.

Do you have any favorite books or songs about caregivers or families? Please share them in the comments below.

All in the Family: A Storytime for Family Fun Month

Posted in Storytime themes by

I recently learned that August is Family Fun Month, which I was excited to try as a storytime theme for Outdoor Musical Storytime. Here’s what we did:

Books:

The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin; illustrated by Scott Magoon

I had never read this one aloud before, but it was a big hit! Simple story about Wally and Hazel Nut, who are too busy singing their song (“We’re Nuts! We’re Nuts! We’re Nuts!”) to hear their mother’s repeated refrain, “All little Nuts need to go up to bed!” Most of the kids and grown-ups were singing along by the end.

Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root; illustrated by Jill Barton

This book is so much fun to read aloud, and I was able to borrow a Big Book version from another library, which made it even better for storytime. When Junie, Jakie, and the Baby beg to go to the lake on a hot, hot day, their Poppa worries that their rattletrap car won’t be able to survive the trip. Sure enough, they are met with one disaster after another: a flat tire, a missing floorboard, a detached gas tank, and finally a missing engine! Luckily, with some quick thinking, and their supply of chocolate raspberry fudge delight, they are able to make the journey. The joy of the book is in the sound effects: fizzelly sizzelly, wappity bappity, lumpety bumpety, etc.

Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa by Anna Dewdney

I wanted to include grandparents in my family theme, and this Llama Llama book is so sweet! When Llama Llama goes for his first overnight alone at his grandparents’ house, he enjoys getting to try new things, like building a chair for his Little Llama stuffie. But he can’t stop thinking about Little Llama, who he has accidentally left at home. He is especially upset at bedtime, until Grandpa shares the special toy that HE had when he was a young llama.

Songs:

No More Monkeys

I love this lively, musical version of the traditional Five Little Monkeys rhyme, written and performed by  Caribbean singer-songwriter Asheba. The kids really enjoyed all of the jumping up and down!

[C] Five monkeys were playing on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his [G7] head.
Mama called the doctor, and [F] the doctor said,
[C] “No more monkeys [G7] jumping on the [C] bed!”
[C] “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!
No more monkeys [G7] jumping on the bed!
[C] No more monkeys [F] jumping on the bed!”
[C] That is what the [G7] doctor [C] said.

Four monkeys were jumping on the bed…
(Repeat, counting down to one…)

One monkey was playing on the bed,
She fell off and bumped her head.
Mama called the children, and the children said,
“YES! More monkeys jumping on the bed!”
“Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!
Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!
Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!”
That is what the children said.

The Wheels on the Bus (with parachute)

My coworker, Rachel, recently surprised me with a 20 foot parachute, which I was excited to try with our Outdoor Musical Storytime group. We did The Wheels on the Bus, which was a nice follow-up to Rattletrap Car, and gave us lots of opportunities to move the parachute in different ways. Some kids wanted to hold the handles, while others just wanted to run underneath, but they all had fun:

[C]The wheels on the bus go round and round. (Walk the parachute around in a circle)

[G7]Round and round, [C] Round and round.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

[G7]All over [C] town.

The doors on the bus go open and shut… (Step in towards the middle of the parachute, then out again)

The windows on the bus go up and down… (Raise the parachute up in the air, then lower it)

The people on the bus go bumpety bump… (Shake the parachute).

Baby Shark

I couldn’t resist throwing in the quintessential preschool ear-worm, about a family a sharks. We did it as our instrument play-along at the end:

C] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

[F] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

[Am] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

[G] Baby shark!

Mommy shark…

Daddy shark…

Grandma Shark…

Grandpa Shark…

Let’s go hunt!…

Run Away…

Safe at last…

That’s the end…

Stay & Play: Craft Stick Families

For the Stay & Play, we put out jumbo craft sticks, pieces of yarn in different colors, glue sticks, googly eyes, and markers, for the kids to make families (their own, or one they invented). Some of them were very determined to make sure every member of their family was represented.

Do you have favorite books about families having fun together? Please share them in the comments below.