Last week, we did a Fish-themed storytime for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. Here are the books and songs that we did.
Books:
The Blobfish Book by Jessica Olien
This is such a great book for kids who love deep-sea fish. It reads like a nonfiction guide to creepy, toothy creatures like the anglerfish and viperfish (with real photographs), but the adorable cartoon blobfish keeps interrupting. When the book finally gets to the blobfish, it says it is considered the “ugliest animal.” The blobfish is devastated, until the other fish reassure him. It was a bit too long for my Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd, so I didn’t try it there, but my Family Storytime group loved it.
I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
Technically, this book only has a few fish in it, but it’s always such a big hit that I included it anyway. A giant squid is bragging about being the biggest thing in the ocean, until he gets eaten by a whale. But he manages to find the bright side. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the different fish and other animals on each page.
Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway
Adorable, colorful story about a fidgety fish whose mother tells him to go out and swim until he gets tired, but to stay away from the big fish. Unfortunately, on his adventures, he stumbles across a dark cave that turns out to be the mouth of the big fish. The kids loved the part where the big fish burps him out.
Swallow the Leader by Danna Smith; illustrated by Kevin Sherry
A counting book, featuring a variety of different kinds of fish, who all get eaten one by one, and then burped out (again, the kids love anything with bodily functions!)
I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs
This book challenges readers to guess which sea creature is being depicted in this small circle on each page. It’s a simple book, but both the older and younger kids in both storytimes enjoyed calling out the answers.
Songs:
Slippery Fish
We sang this one with a fish, octopus, shark, and whale puppet. Lots of swimming schools around here use this song, and it’s always a big hit.
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Swimming in the water.
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
She was eaten by an octopus, octopus,
Swimming in the water.
Octopus, Octopus,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
He was eaten by a great white shark,
Great white shark,
Swimming in the water,
Great white shark, Great white shark.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
She was eaten by a humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Swimming in the water,
Humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
BURP!! Pardon me!
The Goldfish Song by Laurie Berkner
We sang this one in Family Storytime. I gave out play scarves for the kids to swish around like fish.
[C] Lots of little fish were sleeping on a rock
In the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.
They lifted up their heads,
And they shook out their tails,
And they [G] said let’s go [C] swimming.
CHORUS
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming,
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming.
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.
[C] Then the little fish got so very, very tired
That they [G] swam back to the [C] rock.
And they [C] put down their heads,
And they put down their tails,
And they [G] took a little [C] nap.
And when they woke up, they were a little bit dirty,
So they took a shower.
And they washed their [C] hair,
And they washed their [G] ears,
And they washed their tummies,
And they washed their very long fishy beards.
And they washed their [F] noses,
And they washed their [C] toeses,
And then they [G] said,
“Wait a minute, we’re fish!
We don’t take showers!”
CHORUS:
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming,
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming.
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.
[C] Then the little fish got so very, very tired,
That they [G] came back to the [C] rock.
They [C] put down their heads,
And they put down their tails,
And they [G] took a little [C] nap.
And [C] when they woke up,
They decided to ride their bicycles.
So they rode to the [C] left,
And they rode to the [G] right,
And they rode all day,
And they rode all [C] night-night-night-night-night.
They rode down the [F] hill,
And then faster [C] still,
And then they said,
“Wait a minute, [G] we’re [C] fish!
We don’t ride bicycles!”
[C] Then the little fish got so very, very tired
That they [G] swam back to the [C] rock.
And they [C] put down their heads,
And they put down their tails,
And they [G] took a little [C] nap.
And when they woke up,
They decided to brush their teeth.
So they got out their tooth [C] brush
And their [G] toothpaste.
And they squeezed a little on,
They really liked the [C] taste.
Then they put it in their [F] mouth,
They brushed north and [C] south.
Ch-ka-ch! Ch-ka-ch! Ch-ka-ch!
And then [G] they said,
“Wait a minute, we’re fish!
We don’t brush our teeth!
CHORUS
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [F] o-[C]cean
1-2-3-4-5
Simple counting song that’s always fun.
1,2,3,4,5,
Once I caught a fish alive.
6,7,8,9,10,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so!
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on the right.
The Waves on the Ocean
We did this one with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and put a fish puppet on top to go up and down with the waves. It’s to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus:
The waves on the ocean go up and down,
Up and down, Up and down.
The waves on the ocean go up and down,
All day long!
Baby Shark
We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end of both storytimes.
[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: Tissue Paper Painted Fish
This Stay & Play was a little messy, but the kids really enjoyed it. Before the storytime, I printed some blank fish templates on white paper, and cut out small pieces of colored tissue paper. For the Stay & Play, I put out the printed fish templates, the tissue paper pieces, paint brushes, and small cups of water. The kids had a good time decorating their fish with the tissue paper, and then painting over it with the water to make the colors bleed onto the paper.
Do you have any favorite books or songs about fish? Please share them in the comments below.
The Loudest Librarian! 