Storytimeland

And You Thought I Was Gone

2009-02-07T15:20:00.001-06:00

The madness that has been my life since late September has really manifested itself in how infrequently I find myself able to do all the things I enjoy in life, such as updating this blog.

However, I did at least get two drafted posts published, and I will make an honest effort to publish more, even if I cannot keep up the weekly pace I had set for myself.

So thanks for reading and enjoy the new material.

Splish Splash Storytime

2008-10-07T17:14:00.002-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

We dove into the tub and read about baths.

Yes, baths are kind of an odd subject for storytime, until you realize that there are a lot of great bathtime books out there.

Our first bubbly story was about Tiff, Taff and Lulu by Eva Montanari.

Okay, it isn't strictly a bath story, but it does begin with a bath. Also, since I had just fallen down and injured my leg over the weekend*, I thought it was funny that the mother in this story does the same. A cute little story that kept the kids attention. Maybe not their favorite, but they seemed to enjoy it and empathize with it.

Next was one of the very cute Huggly (The Monster Under the Bed) stories by Tedd Arnold. Huggly Takes a Bath.

The kids thought this one was hilarious, and rightly so. It has a great little punchline. The kids also really loved it (well in that carthatic way) when he eats some soap.

Our last story was Tub Boo Boo by Margie Palatini.

The one was a huge hit. I mean huge hit. I mean one kid told me after storytime that this was, and I quote, his, "New favoritist book." It is a very funny story about a kid who gets his toe stuck in the spigot and when his mom tries to help him she gets her fingers stuck and then dad comes in, tries to help and get stuck too... you get the idea. Just good, silly humor, and a great use of rhythm and language.

I have something sad to admit now. Since I've been behind on my writing, I have to admit, I've forgotten the song we used, or if we even used one. It seems like we would since I almost always show a movie or do a little ditty, but I've simply forgotten.

And as for the craft... well there really wasn't one. I wasn't in any position to help the kids (leg injury*) so we just colored some bath pictures and glued them on paper. Hey, as long as they get to use the glue and the scissors, they don't care.

*Yes, it was pretty bad. I've dislocated my kneecap and I'll be in therapy for weeks. The kids, however, found the giant bruise I got on my arm as I was falling very fascinating!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-10-01T18:43:00.002-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

We celebrated my birthday!

I know it sounds a bit narcissistic, but really it was just a good excuse for a fun theme and some cupcakes.

Our first birthday book was from the Backbeard the Pirate series by Matthew McElligott. This installment is called Backbeard and the Birthday Suit.

It isn't what you think, you dirty people! It is a story of how the dirty, unwashed, tattered pirate captain becomes the most stylish pirate to sail the high seas when he goes to buy a new suit on his birthday. With a name like Backbeard, you know there is plenty of lowbrow humor for good laughs in this story and it doesn't disappoint. Although, I flatter myself that without my fabulous pirate accent, the book would not have been as successful.

Then we read a bit about Martha Moth on her birthday in Martha Moth Makes Socks by Cambria Evans.

This, I have to admit, kinda bombed. I loved the illustrations and though the story was clever, but the kids had no idea that moths eat clothes, which is sort of the central premise of the story. They did find it kinda funny when Martha keeps "testing" and eating all of the food she is supposed to be making, but all in all they really didn't get it. Oh well, they are my birthday stories and I liked it.

Our third story was the simple and bold A Birthday for Cow by Jan Thomas.

This one was fun to read, requiring a lot of acting and movement. This one played to the crowd really well and got lots of laughs from both parents and kids. (I recommend her book What Will the Fat Cat Sit On as well. Jan Thomas really has it going on.)

Normally I like to sing a little and although we had a song this time, I didn't require anyone to sing it. That's because it was a song that had "Happy Birthday" in, if I'm remembering correctly, 15 languages from the CD Bridges Across the World.

I wrote down all the ways to say it, so the kids could see how they were spelled and we listened while I handed out the cupcakes. I'm not positive about the song, but I know the cupcakes were a hit!

Crafting was, I think, really cool. We made Pop-Up cards!

It's kinda hard for me to explain how I made these, so I'm going to show you later instead. I promise.

Broken Links and Broken Dreams

2008-09-13T15:01:00.001-05:00

I just recently figured out that my boilerplate link to Amazon was corrupted sometime in April so, as a result, none of my links have been working for many, many, months.

I'm working on fixing them, but that is a lot of posts, so have patience.

I apologize for all the 404 errors.

A Toothsome Storytime

2008-09-04T15:24:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We talked about teeth.

The genisis of this storytime came about when my supervisor came back from a meeting with a neat kit provided by our insurance company. The kit included a few books, a DVD, a tape, and (best of all) a giant tooth model and two large toothbrushes.

I wasn't so keen on the books included in the kit, which seemed better for either an educational setting or one-on-one time, so I supplemented the kit with my own ideas and voila!

My first choice was, naturally, Doctor De Soto by William Steig.

This classic tale (and Newbery honor book) was pretty well-received. Maybe not as many laughs as I'd hoped for, but nonetheless amusing.

Our second tale was Madlenka by Peter Sis.

Madlenka is a little girl who has just gotten her first loose tooth (very appropriate for my age group) and runs around her neighborhood in NYC showing all of her international neighbors her loose tooth. I love this book, but, I must admit, it didn't go so well. One little girl was as fascinated as I was by the artwork. Everyone else just looked bored and confused. This may be better for a parent with a lap.

Non-Fiction is always a little risky, but The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums by Edward Miller was a perfect choice for my little group.

I just grabbed my tooth model, got down on the floor, and shared the information with them. Non-Fiction reading is a very different process for me. I like to point at the pictures, discuss the information, prompt questions, and generally skip around a little bit.

The tooth model was great fun as I pointed out the names of the teeth, showed how we use each kind, and then let the kids show me how to brush them. What a blast!

I skipped the song the kit came with (it was very silly and I'm not fond of children's "rap," truth be told), but the movie, Arthur's Tooth was welcome.

Not my favorite episode of the Arthur show, I think, but cute enough, and the kids always like a little moving treat.

For craft time we made lovely smiles-on-sticks.

Okay, mine isn't so lovely. I gave it a missing tooth. We decorated some with cavities (while we ate candy! Ha! Good time to lecture about moderation and brushing after sweets!) and I colored some an ugly brown to show what soda, coffee and tea can do to your teeth.

(Thankfully, nobody commented on how brown my teeth are, although I did confess that I am going to the dentist tomorrow!)

The Cat's Meow

2008-08-28T13:48:00.000-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

We read all about kitties!

Odd that as a cat person, I've done storytimes about dogs, but never cats! I'm glad I've rectified this serious issue.

We started off with a favorite of mine (it's been known to make me cry), The Grannyman by Judith Byron Schachner. She is obviously a cat person and also writes the Skippyjon Jones books.

The "Grannyman" is Simon, an old cat who has new life breathed into him when the family brings home a little kitten. Nothing grand or over the top here, just a sweet, understated little tale. However, it has its moments of humor and got laughs at all the appropriate moments.

Then we read a newfound favorite by Kae Nishimura, Dinah: A Cat Adventure.

Dinah is a loved (and large) cat called, "Princess" by father, "Baby," by Mother, and, "Friend," by the boy. However, when she rolls out of a window one day, Dinah discovers she is none of these things to the outside world. An old woman thinks she is a raccoon, a vendor thinks she is a watermelon, and a shepherd thinks she is a tiger. A dog correctly identifies her as a cat, but then tells her he chases cats! Luckily poor Dinah hears her family and knows who she is and that she is loved.

This story had a great balance between sweetness and humor. The part where the vendor mistakes Dinah for a watermelon was especially funny to the kids.

Drat that Fat Cat by Pat Thomson rounded out our cat choices.

I thought this book was pretty hilarious, and I'm glad to report the kids did too. It is a build up type story in which a fat cat keeps running into things, eating them up, and has the refrain, "But was that fat cat fat enough? No, he was not!"

Finally he gobbles up a bee, who stings the kitty and all the other animals (and the old lady) he's eaten come tumbling out. Children's stories can be weird sometimes!

We also had a film based on Let's Give Kitty a Bath by Steven Lindblom.

Another live-action cutie with no dialogue or narration, this one's about as funny as it sounds. My kids seem to love these almost silent films, calling out what's happening, or what they think is going to happen. Definitely a winner.

For crafts, we made these adorable cat noses.

While they require a little grown-up help (poking the holes for the pipe cleaners can be tough) they made for a great craft.

New Books!

2008-08-21T13:37:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We fell back on that "no idea" idea and shared some new shiny books.

I always make sure to tell the kids that the books are new, and shiny, and no one has colored in them or gotten them sticky yet. And the first new book was a real charmer by Nick Bruel, Who is Melvin Bubble.

I'm lucky to have a small group, so I knew I could share this one with them, but I'm not so sure how it would work with a larger group. With the little group I had today, I got right down on the floor with them, so they could see the illustrations, which are very detailed. It maybe got more smiles from the parents than the kids, but they smiled a few times on their own. Especially when Marvin's Dog answers the question, "Who is Melvin Bubble?"

Then I read the very jazzy Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen.

The rhythm here is great and the repetitions of, "Blub, Bluuub, Bluuuuuub" got lots of giggles. The kids loved the silly ending and me making fishy faces.

However, they were still a little quiet! I told them all they looked like Pout Pout fishes, so it was time to get up and have a little fun. We did a sort of action "song" or really a chant that I remember fondly from my own childhood.

Hi, my name is Joe!
I've got a wife and three kids,
and I work in a button factory!

One day my boss came in and said,
"Joe? Are you busy?"

I said, "No!"

He said, "Turn the button with your right hand."

So, of course you turn your right hand, then left, left foot, right foot, whole body and then tongue! After tongue it goes:

One day my boss came in and said,

"Joe? Are you busy?"

I said, "YES!"

Good times. Good times. Very silly and very easy to pick up. Definitely got those "pout pouts" off their faces!

Lastly, we read from Clinton Gregory's Secret by Bruce Whatley.

This is a more gentle story than I usually read, but the kids actually really liked it. The illustrations are especially engaging. In one, Clinton and his friends make paper hats for a ship of pirates. So that's just what we did too!

Stylin'!

Please Excuse the Delay!

2008-08-09T09:54:00.001-05:00

Sorry, I'm still here and I know I haven't posted the past several storytimes. There's a problem with my blogging software right now that makes posting such image intensive posts really difficult. I've got stuff lined up and ready to go and can't wait to let you know what's been going on in storytimeland!

Back to School Storytime

2008-08-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

Ms. Sunny did a victory dance because it is back-to-school time! Her kids weren't quite excited, but still enjoyed this special storytime.

We started out with a little humor in the form of What Do Teachers Do (When You Leave School) by Anne Bowen.

This one did only so-so, partly because at least half my audience was home-schooled! This isn't the case every week, it just happened to be the makeup of this particular audience. They did laugh at a thing or two, though, so all was not lost.

Morris Goes to School by B. Wiseman was always a childhood favorite of mine, so I was really looking forward to reading it!

The kids really liked this one. Timeless, I suppose. It was very easy to have a lot of audience participation with this book, which was a pleasant surprise.

We finished up with a little Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for School? by Barney Saltzberg.

While I suppose this one is a little "young" for my group, I tried to increase the interest by making sure they interacted with the book. They seemed to think it was the funniest thing ever, so I suppose it worked!

I was musically uninspired this week, but did have a special video in.

I've always loved the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and this video narrated by Meryl Streep was perfect. While not directly about school, it is about interactions that happen at school, and I think it is a great back-to-school story.

For crafts we made something of my own invention -- these really cool pencils.

Pretty simple really. We wrapped a feather (or two) with the end of a pipe cleaner, strung on a few beads, twisted the whole thing around some cool pencils et voila! Cool pencils. We each made a few. Don't forget you can slide the pipe cleaner off the pencil and put it on a new one once the old one starts to wear down.

Finally, I sent them all off with some "gift bags" made of a few freebies we had laying around like some plastic rulers, bookmarks, cool character paperclips, and, of course, some snacks.

Hope they are having a good school year. I'm certainly enjoying the quiet for now!

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Storytime

2008-07-19T22:27:00.002-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We got angry!

I was inspired by a video that came in Thursday morning to change from my planned theme of monkeys. Maybe we'll get around to those next week.

Our first angry story was Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith.

The story isn't nearly as great as the illustrations. Biddlebox is a witch who wakes up on the wrong side of her bunk one morning, and while drinking her "dark and bitter" tea (I loved that detail) comes up with the idea to bake the bad day into a cake. Of course, since cakes are sweet yummy things, it brightens her day.

This went over just about how I'd expected. It's cute, in rhyme, and the illustrations captured attention, for sure.

The nest story was the obvious choice, When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry... by Molly Bang.

This was probably a bit on the young side for them... but I couldn't resist. And they didn't appear to hate it, so there. It provides a good way to talk about coping techniques for anger, as well.

In my ever-futile goal to work things like non-fiction and poetry into my storytimes, I read a selection from Beatrice Schenk De Regniers' The Way I feel... Sometimes.

And it went over surprisingly well. Of course, it was a very expressive poem about anger, so it was good material to work with.

The last story was also irresistible, Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney.

The llama books are just soooooo cute, aren't they? My favorite line in the books involves "llama drama," but the kids liked it too. It got lots of laughs and reactions. If you've never checked out the previous book, Llama Llama Red Pajama, you should.

Next up was a little Jim Gill (of course).

Jimhelpfully provided me with a song called "I'm So Mad," which lends itself to audience participation. They weren't so keen on "I'm so mad I could growl." (I think they were still getting into it.) However, they loved, "so sad I could cry," because they kept laughing at my cries!

Then, finally, the video. A live action version of Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The kids were excited, because it is a story they are all familiar with. And the little kid that played Alexander was just too precious. He had an irresistible pout.

For crafts we mad Angry/Happy two-sided, paper plate masks.

The principle is simple. Decorate two plates, staple a popsicle stick to one, tape the two plates together (and maybe an extra staple to help secure the second plate to the stick), and you've got an easy and fun craft.

One sweet little girl didn't want to make an angry face. She made two happy faces. Aw. A little boy got creative and made a dog face and a cat face. I love what these kids come up with. They are far more creative than me.

I Wanna Be an Astronaut!

2008-07-03T19:24:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

We read about astronauts!

The first book was the super-cute Dmitri the Astronaut by John Agee.

When poor Dimitri gets back from the moon, he's been gone so long he's been forgotten! Except by a little alien who follows him home. The alien, Lulu, is found by a scientist and put on display at the museaum, and all she does is draw little pictures of astronauts over and over... Will she and Dimitri be reunited? And will anyone ever remember who poor Dmitri is and what he's done?

This book is just too cute. The pictures are fun and lend themselves to interaction. Lulu drawing her little Dmitris all over the place is also adorable. I think the kids liked this one.

The second choice was Space Boy by Leo Landry.

This tells the story of a little boy who gets so tired of all the noise at home, he decides to go to the moon. But pretty soon, he gets lonely for all he has left behind -- even if it is noisy. The kids enjoyed it when I got to make all the noises (a baby crying, a dog barking, etc), but I don't think this one was a huge hit.

The last story was a favorite of mine, Baby Brains by Simon James.

The absolutely adorable Baby Brains is such a genius, he's in and out of college by the time he's a few weeks old! After a stint as a doctor, he is invited to go on a space walk. However, when Baby Brains is out in space, looking at all the vastness around him, the only thing he can think to say to mission control is, "I want my mommy!"

Baby Brains may well be the cutest thing in the world. The kids seemed to agree, and enjoyed the humor in the story. I just take comfort in the idea that even a genius needs mom sometimes.

For a craft, we made some super-cool alien antenna, inspired by this DLTK Chinese New Year craft.

To make ours "alien" we either wrapped puff balls or a couple of large beads to the end of the pipe cleaners. I also used a much thinner band of construction paper. From experience I can tell you that staples also work much better than tape for this. When taped on, the weight of the stuff on the ends of the pipe cleaners tends to tear them off. I also skipped the step involving the tissue paper.

They were stupid cute and I love having a crowd of kids trooping out of my storyroom, proudly wearing these. (Yes, I know, we did aliens last week, but this was the last week of space-themed programming and I really, really wanted to make these!)

Alien Invasion

2008-06-26T18:58:00.000-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

We were invaded by aliens!

First up was a book I have been dying to read ever since I discovered that this year's summer reading theme was space-related. Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big by Berkeley Breathed.

I fell in love with this book many years ago, and it was the first book I thought of when I decided to do an alien theme. The story is told from the point of view of Edward's sister, who is not only indignant that he lies all the time, but is even more upset that he never pays any attention to her. Until one day, Edwurd fibs too big. And attracts the attention of a nosy neighbor, the Air Force, and eventually a giant alien!

This got a lot of good laughs. I was actually afraid that it might be one of those books that charmed me more than the kids, but they were very engaged.

The natural follow-up to Edwurd was Baloney (Henry P.) by Jon Scieszka.

Henry P. Baloney is late for school and spins a very elaborate tale for his teacher to explain his tardiness. (See why he's such a great alien companion to Edwurd?) The real fun of this story, though, is that Scieszka uses a variety of foreign, pig-latin, and scrambled words to make his "alien" words for things like pencil, school, rocket, etc.

The kids seemed to enjoy guessing what words like "zimulis" might mean, although some words were a little harder to suss out than others. (Check it out... It has its own website!)

Last up was the fun title Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman

Aliens. Underpants. The kids loved it. Need I say more? (It explains why your underwear sometimes disappears in the wash too!)

We got to have a special treat, watching an animated version of Beegu by Alexis Deacon.

The animation was very good, although Freddie Prinz Jr's narration was a little flat. The nice thing about this story is that it has broad age appeal and is very short.

Craft time was Paper Bowl UFOs!

(Not our UFOs, but with a fuzzy enough shot, a lot like them!)

We took two paper bowls and punched a hole in the center of one. Through this we passed a long piece of yarn and taped it to the inside of the bowl. We then taped the other bowl to this top bowl, and decorated with puff balls.

The string through the center gives great movement. A fab project, if I do say so myself!

The Moon

2008-06-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

We learned all about our moon.

We started out with a cute little story, Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett.

This one went over pretty well. It had a nice repetitious line that the kids picked up on, and they really seemed to get the humor of the story (which relies on a mole believing he can somehow get the moon out of the sky, despite the fact that his friends keep telling him "It's not as close as it looks!"). When mole bursts into tears because he thinks he broke the moon, they all cracked up.

Next up was something a little special, using Gail Gibbons' The Moon Book.

Of course, I don't usually use non-fiction, so first I quizzed the kids on whether or not they knew what that meant. Some did, and some didn't, so I was glad to introduce them to the concept!

I also had a special treat -- a National Geographic product called Moon in My Room that lights up and demonstrates the phases of the moon. As Gibbons' book talked about the bumpy surface of the moon, I directed them to look at our model moon. We discussed how our model did not show the Dark Side and that we never see that side here on earth.

And when we discussed the phases of the moon, out went the lights, and by using a special remote, I was able to cycle the moon through its phases. Very cool, I think.

The Moon Book segued nicely into our next book, Cosmo's Moon by Devin Scillian.

Cosmo's Moon discusses some of the factual things about the moon -- like that it makes the tides go -- and used a few vocabulary words we picked up in Gibbons' book, so it was nice to have read that first. Cosmo's Moon is a really sweet story and I love the pictures, although I think I liked it better than the kids did.

Craft time was pretty simple. I had some neat space cut-outs that we assembled on to a blue piece of paper to create space views. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures.

"Fractured" Fairy Tales

2008-05-30T18:49:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

I was feeling a little uninspired, so I went with a theme that never fails, fractured fairy tales! (I did not mean for that to rhyme.)

And when you think fractured fairy tales, you really ought to think Jon Scieszka. (Hey, you ever figure out how to pronounce that? If not, I've got a great link for you right here!) I started out with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.

Poor Wolf. All he wanted to do was go borrow a cup of sugar to make his granny a cake. When he went to ask his pig neighbor that lived in a straw house, he felt a sneeze coming on. So he huffed and puffed and, "Achoo!" Well... you know where this is going. Scieszka is magic. I had a pretty varied crowd in terms of age and they all laughed their little heinies off. How does he do it?

The next one I'm glad I thought of, because it isn't in the picture book section, but I think it's a good one: Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen.

When a beautiful (on the outside) princess meets an old hag in the woods, they both take shelter in Plain Jane's cabin. The hag is, of course, an enchantress, and is in the process of granting Jane some wishes for her kindness, when the princess keeps interrupting. Angry, the hag casts a sleeping spell... a very large sleeping spell that puts them all out for a hundred years. Until a handsome prince comes along and then has to make a choice.

This might not be the most eye-catching book I've ever read, and indeed I started losing some of those in the younger end of my audience, but for the most part, the kids liked this one. Although I think the punny "moral" at the end got more laughs out of their parents than them.

Although I shouldn't double dip, I went back to Jon Scieszka at the end for some selectionf from Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales.

Find me someone who doesn't like this book. I just read a few things that caught my eye, but I must say that The Ugly Duckling was a particular favorite.

It was time, then, to get up on our feet a little and do something I should have done a long time ago -- The Tooty Ta.

This is one of those songs with building actions, along the lines of Father Abraham or Hi, My Name is Joe, and is simply hilarious! Although my colleagues do it with the toddlers all the time, this was my first shot with the older kids and they had a blast. You should do this. Everyone should do this.

We wrapped things up with a few paper plate crowns along these lines, giving the kids a chance to use scissors, and glue, and sparkley puff balls. The kids can cut their own. Have them fold the plate in half, and then cut it in half from the center, stopping at the decorative edges. Then fold the other way and repeat. They can cut the for triangles they've made in half to have more points, if they'd like and then just glue shiny things to the end! How could they not love it?

Things Green

2008-05-23T18:13:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We read about green things like turtles and frogs.

The genesis of this storytime was one of my regulars who kept asking me, "Are next week's stories going to be about turtles?" Either I'm picking favorites, or I was just harassed into it, but I believe a combination of the two finally led me to at least include turtles in a storytime.

Besides, what better opportunity to read the adorable book Tudley Didn't Know by John Himmelman?

How cute is that turtle? Tudley is sitting in the pond one day when a hummingbird drops some lichen she was using to make her nest. So, Tudley flies up to return it to her. The incredulous hummingbird asks Tudley if he realizes what he just did, since turtles can't fly. "I didn't know that!" the amazed Tudley replies, calling down to the turtles below him, "Did you know turtles can't fly?"

Of course they did. Neither can they make their tails light up like a firefly's, hop, or do any other number of things. But Tudley doesn't know this. You audience does, and Tudley will hopefully crack them up as much as he did mine. Tudley's enthusiasm is almost catching, and the illustrations manage to be both lifelike, and really cute. I just love this book.

Shifting to frogs, I read Excuse Me by Lisa Kopelke.

Basically, this is a book about burps. I read to K-4th graders. Need I say more. Lots of "Eeeeews," and giggles greeting this story of a frog who likes to eat and burp, but whose friends don't like it so much. I briefly considered using my own ability to burp on demand, but eventually decided that might be going to far!

Next up was Hi, Harry!: The Moving Story of How One Slow Tortoise Slowly Made a Friend by Martin Waddell.

This was probably a little "young" for my group, but I pepped it up a little by giving Harry a reeeeeeeeeeeeally sloooooooooow and deeeeeeeeeeeeep voice, and by having fun with the text. Harry keeps trying to ask various creatures to play with him, but they keep jetting off before he can get the words out. I liked to play this up by not always finishing his sentences, but instead looking up and around at my audience in a bewildered manner. Clowning it up dressed up this story for an older audience, and made it fun to read.

Although I don't usually do a fourth book, and even though I'd read it in storytime before, I simply couldn't resist revisiting Ana Martin Larranaga's version of the folk-tale, The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog.

This one was just as much of a hit as it was the last time, and is another one great for hamming it up. The big wide-mouthed frog keeps bumping into animals, demanding to know what they are and what they eat, and then announcing, "Well, I'm the big wide-mouthed frog, and I eat flies!" That is until a crocodile tells him what she is, and that she eats big, wide mouthed frogs. Then the frog makes his mouth very leeetle and hops away! I like Larranaga's version because the frog character is so brash, greeting each animal with an insult (He calls the panda "big nose" for instance) and the drawings are very vibrant. Be sure to read the frogs lines with as big and wide a mouth as possible -- except for when he meets the crocodile, of course.

We happened to have in a good video this week, a movie version of Mercer Mayer's A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog.

This cute film is live-action, but wordless and the kids loved it. I've never heard them enjoy one of our movies so much! Not only did they laugh, but you could hear them telling their parents and peers what they just knew was going to happen next. What a great film!

Our craft was a modified version of this Paper Plate Turtle.

I rarely have time to go about doing things like painting dessert plates green, so instead, we glued the template meant to go with the flat craft over our dessert plates, and then decorated them with torn pieces of brown and tan paper. Very cute turtles, if I do say so myself.

And my regular was very, very happy. I wonder what she'll come up with for next week? ;)

A Moo-velous Storytime

2008-05-20T18:54:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We read some very silly stories about cows.

First up was a book that I was really excited to see come in, The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill.

It's a shame you can't see how sparkly the cover is here! It's all about a cow who doesn't feel special, and how her friends the hens hatch a plan (the book's pun, not mine!) to make her feel better by convincing her she's laid an egg. However, the other cows are jealous, and eventually figure out what the chickens have done. The chickens deny it, but they all know the truth will out when the egg hatches. Of course, when it does, they all get a little surprise!

Some of the silliness and humor in this book is a little forced (the cow doesn't feel special, for instance, because she can't "ride bicycles and do handstands like the other cows." Um. Yes. Of course.), but the overall content is funny and the illustrations are great. My kids seemed to like this one a lot. Giggles aplenty were to be had.

Next up was a Mem Fox favorite, A Particular Cow.

This particular cow goes out on a particular walk in which nothing particular usually happens, until the day she runs into a particular pair of underpants. This sets off a Keystone-Cops-like chain of events in which more and more people (and animals) end up chasing the cow, who crashes into a wedding, then a boat, then hops off the boat and goes on her merry little way as if nothing ever happened.

I love this book, but I'm thinking maybe it was not the best choice for a group. There are lots of great details in the illustrations that I think the kids couldn't see, and for such a funny book, it didn't get a lot of laughs. Ah, well.

Last up was the cow book that generated the whole idea for a cow theme in the first place, Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier.

This book is really hilarious. It's all about a cow whose one joy in life is hiding, and then jumping out and scaring the bejesus out of the mailman. What's not to like? Of course, the cow and the mailman do eventually come to an understanding, which is cool, although not as funny as the mental image of a cow jumping out of a pigsty, mooing, and scaring a mailman.

Anyway, the kids really liked this one, and I'm so glad they did. It really engaged them, and they had fun shouting out how they thought it was going to end.

We did a little Jim Gill action song (Toe, Leg, Knee) just to get up and move around a bit. I couldn't find any good school-age cow-related songs. Oh well. They liked it anyway. Sang along too!

The craft was pretty simple. I just used the cut up and glue together pattern found at DLTK Kids. We colored 'em and glued 'em to blue paper. Here I was thinking they would hate it, considering I try to get together really interesting crafts, but they loved it. Hey, the scissors and glue will always make them happy. Also, I let them use the good crayons. :)

For the Mamas

2008-05-14T23:08:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We read about moms. This is one of those themes that, at certain times of the year, are just a given!

There are lots and lots and lots and lots of books about moms out there, but I tried to whittle it down to some of the funnier ones. My kids really don't need a Hallmark moment from me, right?

So we started out with the Lisa McCourt classic, I Love You Stinkyface.

I love this one because it is a little sweet and mushy, but gets the kids laughing too. A clear winner, this one got lots of giggles. It's one of those, "Mom would you still love me if I (insert crazy thing here)" stories, and is therefore sweet, but the things he thinks of (If he
were a dinosaur, a skunk so smelly they called him "stinky face" etc) are good for giggles.

Next up was Skateboard Mom by Barbara Odanka.

I wasn't all that thrilled with this rhyming picture book about a mom who jets off on her son's new birthday present, but I had a feeling the kids would find it funny. They did and this one got checked out fast after the storytime was over. Considering the people I grew up with sometimes skateboarded and are at least old enough to be moms, I don't find the concept inherently hilarious. But the kids did, as I suspected, and maybe it will make them think about moms a little different, right?

We took a little break to sing M-O-M-M-Y to the tune of Bingo here. That kinda flopped because, once again, my kids were not in a singing along mood. Rather than replace left out letterswith claps we did various sorts of claps and stomps and such, which they liked a little better. Overall, not the best choice, though.

The last book, Good Knight by Linda Rymill isn't so much about moms as about children and the way they interact with moms.

In the book the little boy is doing everything to avoid taking his bath and going to bed. Arguing and yelling and just being stubborn with his mom the whole time. But, of course, when she puts him in bed, finally, she can't leave without a story and a kiss. Awwww.

This one was okay. It is one of those books that requires a lot of action (and acting) on my part and that always catches the kids' attention. But their overall reaction to it was sort of ambivalent.

For a craft we made bouquets of Mother's Day flowers out of muffin cups.

(Sorry for the bad contrast. That's as good as it got.)

It was pretty simple. We just grabbed two cups of contrasting colors, took a pipe cleaner and folded over the tip so it wouldn't just run right through, and then poked it through the centers of the cups.

A little crumpling makes them look more flower-like. We then twisted the stems together and added some ribbon for the finishing touch. Went over very well and they were quite cute, if I do say so myself.

Going to the Dogs

2008-05-01T19:37:00.001-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We read stories about doggies!

Although dogs aren't something I gravitate towards, (I'm a cat person myself) this week's theme was inspired by a video that came in, a Weston Woods production of Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann.

I do believe, thanks to my recognizing the distinctive voice, that it is narrated by John Lithgow and it is very cute. But since showing the video is the last thing I did, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I started off with a new-ish book, Poor Puppy by Nick Bruel.

Poor Puppy is a "sequel" of sorts to one of my favorite picture books, Bad Kitty. Poor Puppy was a big hit. Not only did the long alphabetical lists of things for the puppy to play with get the kids laughing, they loved saying, "Poooooor Puppy. Pooooor, Pooooor, Pooooooooooor Puppy," along with me.

Next up was a Dav Pilkey offering, Dog Breath.

Dog Breath is a bit like Walter the Farting Dog, minus the farting. I figured I was safer with Hally Tosis. However, although Pilkey is usually storytime gold, Dog Breath fell a leetle flat. Not a disaster, mind, just not quite the laugh getter I'd hoped it would be.

I was inspired by recommendations in Rob Reid's Something Musical Happened at the Library to add the song My Dog Rags to the lineup. Of the versions we had in the library, I chose one by Sesame Street veteran Bob McGrath.

Very fun! I have fond memories of the Sharon, Lois, and Brahm version of this, which was the one mentioned in Reid's book. I need to pick up some of their CDs, I think. I just loved them as a kid.

The last book was another newbie, Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto, the cover of which fails to do the story justice.

This book is simply hilarious. As the narrator, you are trying to tell various fairy tales, and the little Jack Russel, Ivan, keeps wreaking havoc in the stories. My favorite moment is when he eats the Gingerbread Man.

The kids probably didn't love it as much as I did, but they enjoyed it, and it did get checked out.

Next up was the aforementioned film, which was a treat. I don't show a lot of movies, partially because a lot of our collection with public performance rights is more toddler geared, and partially because I am too lazy to drag out the big AV cart!

The craft was a VERY simple origami dog. I had googly eyes and foam triangles on hand, of course, to make faces.

Not one for the record books, but all in all a good time. Plus, some of my favorite little buddies showed up, and a couple of new ones. Yay!

Books about Books

2008-04-27T16:01:00.003-05:00

This weeks in storytimeland....

We were very postmodern, reading books that were about books.

Did you know that there are simply a ton of great books about books out there? I guess it makes sense, because if there is one things writers of books are almost guaranteed to have in common, it is a love of books. I actually had to have help weeding my pile 'o books about books down to three to read. Hey, at least I had a great display table this week!

The first book, which isn't obviously about books, was Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi.

This was super-cute, if a little long, and had bunny pirates. What more do you need?

Next up was Wolves by Emily Gravett.

This book is a little on the odd side. It is about a bunny who checks out a book about wolves from the library. As she is reading about wolves and their scary teeth, claws, etc, is unknowingly about to encounter one. When she gets to the section about what wolves eat, she discovers they eat rabbits, and is gobbled up. Then there is a funny disclaimer and an alternate ending wherein it turns out the wolf is vegetarian.

I was a wee bit worried about this one, but it got huge laughs. So, hey, what do I know? I love the spartan illustrations and colors in this one, by the way.

Next it was time to get up on those feet for a little song. Once again, I went with Gill.

However, the "Sound Effects Song" didn't go over well. The kids seemed kind of lost, and a little reluctant to shout out sound effects. It was just one of those days. Sometimes they are more talkative/outgoing than others.

I did think the song played right into my next choice, Book, Book, Book by Deborah Bruss.

I love this book. This is the only book, to date, I've read in more than one storytime. It is full of lots of puns, which at least amuse the parents (and me), and a whole lot of animal noises. Never think school age kids are above animal noises. If you ask them, "Can you give me your best pig snort?" rather than, "What does the piggy say?" you can update the concept well. Also, they like to see me make an idiot out of myself and snorting like a pig is one way to do that.

Craft time we made... duh... books! We had some premade blank booklets from a library program from heaven knows when. So I brought in the crayons and the stickers, and told 'em to have at it.

This went over really well. (It always does when I break out the stickers.) They had a great time telling me what their books were about. For myself, I made an autograph book and had them all sign it and draw me a picture. It is too cute.

New Books! (It's good to be back)

2008-04-17T19:33:00.002-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

We read new books!

Is there anything more exciting than a shiny new book? I certainly can't think of anything. "New books" is one of those nice, loose, not really themed themes that are good to do every once in awhile, and was inspired, this week, by a very special book coming in.

However, we didn't start with it. We began with The Lamb Who Came for Dinner by Steve Smallman.

Awwww... this book is so cute. Of course, the lamb is supposed to be dinner, but she's just so darn precious, even a big bad wolf can't eat her. The kids (espcially the girls) loved the cuteness here, but it is also quite funny. I got quite a few out-loud laughs (and gasps).

Up next was a new one I've been holding on to for awhile, Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, reimagined by Chirstopher Myers as a basketball game.

The images were really eye-catching, and the kids liked it more than I thought they would. (After the monumental failure that happened the last time I tried to do nonsense poetry.) One kid even checked it out!

Next came time to get up and move around, and I went, as usual with Jim Gill.

Jim Gill Makes it Noisy in Boise has a take off "If you're happy and you know it," which encourages the kids to make lots of expressive faces. The last one is "if you are silly," so I told them to be thinking of their best silly faces before I hit play, and got some great ones there at the end. Fun!

Then came our big surprise. A brand-spankin-new copy of The Pigeon Wants a Puppy.

Mo Willems has done it again, and the children love my hammy acting when I do a pigeon book. The pigeon just begs and begs them for a puppy (how they love denying that poor bird) but he gets a surprise when a puppy actually shows up. Very funny and they were all clamoring to check it out. Unfortunately, the book is reserved by a billion people, so I told them that would be a bit like cutting ahead in line. So, they checked out some "old" pigeon books instead.

For a craft, I had just enough socks left over to replay the incredibly popular sock puppet gig. None of my storytime kids had been there on Saturday, so they were very excited. It went over just as well, if a little more hectic, since all my Saturday kids had "helpers" with them. I'll never outdo this one. :)

(I missed storytime way more than I ever thought I would.)

Sock Puppet Saturday!

2008-04-17T19:01:00.002-05:00

This weekend in storytimeland....

We made sock puppets!

As part of a special spring programming block, we had a sock puppet making program on Saturday. It was BYOS (bring your own socks), but we had a few extra on hand for those who just happened to be around. We had a very good mix of those who came for the program and those who were enticed by the announcement.

And... we had so much fun!

I provided googly eyes, pom poms, foam shapes, and yarn, and the kids went wild. Frankly, so did I. Meet my new friend, Roy (who does have 2 eyes, one's just under his hair):

I got lots of good ideas out of the Usborne Book of Puppets, like how to make the puppet wigs, although attaching them to the rubber band was my idea. The rubber band has the added bonus of helping keep the mouth formed properly.

The kids had a very, very good time crafting their puppets, while I turned into a wig factory with the help of an older sibling of one of the kids. The wigs are a bit beyond little hands, and I might have premade some, if I hadn't come up with the idea that very morning! Plus, I didn't know if all the kids would want a wig, but once they saw them, they all did.

Then, we all laid our puppets aside to give them some dry time while I talked about (for parents) Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori.

I showed off some of the cute creations, and book talked it a little. Awwww....

And then I read Smitten by David Gordon.

This book is just precious. It follows a poor, partnerless mitten, as she meets a similarly unmated sock, and they go on a quest to find their "rights." Very cute pictures. The littler ones were a bit bored by this one, as I expected they might be. This was an "All Ages" program, so I felt I couldn't only do babyish books.

The next choice was enjoyed by all: New Socks by Bob Shea.

New Socks has a Mo Willems quality, in that it is very cartoony and requires a lot of expressiveness for reading. Everyone found this funny, as they always do when I really ham it up. Plus, the drawings are just so darn cute.

So, sock puppets went really well. I think we have a winner!

Duck, Duck, Goose

2008-04-01T11:23:00.002-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

I read to preschoolers.

Well, in some odd twist of fate (since I said I was on hiatus), I ended up having to cover a storytime for a coworker. Toddlers are such a different crowd, but very cute. I read...

Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin.

The kiddos loved this one, especially as I made them sing the songs with me.

Then, Silly Suzy Goose by Petr Horáček.

A cute story with lots of animals for the children to marvel at. However, they seemed confused by the goose noises.

We did a little glove fingerplay about 5 little ducks who go out to play (which they really enjoyed) and then read Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins.

The reactions were mixed here. It was very short, so it more or less held the attention of the little ones, even if they didn't get it. The slightly older ones were having a good time deciding what would happen to the fox.

An emergency lead me to show Make Way for Ducklings rather that what I had intended to show.

It was a little on the long side, and some of the kids just couldn't take it. I knew it was long, but didn't have a whole lot of choice, so... oh well!

I'll have to get used to this. Soon, I may be doing toddler storytimes every week!

Storytime Vacation

2008-03-31T13:42:00.001-05:00

This month in storytimeland...

Our library is doing a celebration of the arts, and in honor of this, there are special art classes going on during my storytime. Even better, they are art classes I am not expected to lead!

I hope my kids enjoy them, while I enjoy having a little more project time at work. I'll see you in a few weeks!

Bunnies

2008-03-31T13:34:00.002-05:00

This week in storytimeland....

I struggled with holidays.

I'm Jewish, but not oblivious to the rather ubiquitous and secular Christian holidays that just about everyone celebrates. However, Easter is a bit uncomfortable for me. Of course, I also rejected the idea of a Purim storytime, since I thought that was really just the other side of the same coin. I've done special events (like a Hanukkah party) before, but the difference there is that I advertised those programs, they were held and special times, and so everyone there chose to come. I don't want to inflict religion on anyone!

So, I compromised with bunnies. Bunnies are Easter-y, but also Spring-y. And bunnies were, apparently, a very good choice.

I started off with the longest and riskiest selection Listen Buddy by Helen Lester.

The story of a bunny who doesn't listen, Listen Buddy gives us silly moments like Buddy bringing his dad a hen when he asks for a pen. Of course, Buddy doesn't listen when his parents give him directions for his first long hop, and ends up tussling with the "Scruffy Varmint," who threatens to make "bunnyrabbit" stew out of Buddy for never listening. So Buddy learns to listen.

Not a guffaw-out-loud book, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. One of them even checked it out.

The next selection was a P.J. Funnybunny book by Marilyn Sadler, It's Not Easy Being a Bunny.

In it, P.J. decides to try being various animals. But bears sleep too much, beavers work too hard, pigs are too dirty, and skunks, well... you know. Until P.J. decides the best animal to be (even if his ears are HUGE) is a bunny.

I like the cute message here and the kids giggled at the little jokes. All in all, I'd say it was a hit.

After that, it was time to get on our feet and do the "Bunny Rabbit Pokey." I'm sure you can figure this one out. (I think I used big floppy ears, cute little nose, furry paws, among others, and you don't turn yourself around you hop yourself around.) Great fun was had -- especially when it was time to shake our cottontails about!

The last book was Dumb Bunnies by Sue Denim.

And this -- I bet you aren't a bit surprised -- was a huge hit. I think I'm just going to read Dumb Bunnies books for every storytime now. The kids will love me. (I think all of these are sold under Dav Pilkey's name now... I wonder why they dropped the Sue Denim? I bet it was the popularity of a certain Capt. Underpants.)

The craft, sadly, was a total failure. I bet you could have guessed that if you glue cotton balls around the edges of pink paper shaped like bunny ears, you will have a very cute pair of bunny ears that won't stand up! It was chaos when the ears kept flopping over.

I rigged a few up with popsicle sticks and packing tape, but, mostly, this is what I deserve for giving my kids an untested craft. The first (and obviously last) time I've ever done that.

.

Silly Storytime

2008-03-31T11:31:00.003-05:00

This week in storytimeland...

I bombed.

I've always loved nonsense poetry. I had some classics in a little book as a child, and I still have many of them memorized. The idea of doing a very silly storytime was inspired by a coworker who handed me what looked like a great book, No Laughing, No Smiling, No Giggling by James Stevenson.

Now, in my experience, when you tell kids not to laugh, that is the first thing they do, right? And this book has silly names and goofy stories and an alligator who keeps ordering people not to laugh... which worked out, because no one did. Was it me? The book? I'm not sure, but that initial failure must have affected my whole performance, because not laughing was one thing they were doing really well! I'm a little out of order here, as I actually started by greeting the kids with a pig nose on (Which made some of them laugh. Others looked like they might think it impolite to comment.) Then I read a selection from Jack Pretlutsky's Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant.

The poem was about frog/toasters, and got few giggles, so maybe I was already dispirited by the time I launched into No Laughing, No Smiling, No Giggling?

They took the title literally, I think. Also, I ripped a page while turning it. They didn't even find that funny! I read a short poem from Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny by Bill Grossman.

I though it was hilarious. The jist of it is that a barber is trimming hair and accidentally nicks off the customer's ear. When she tells him what she's done, he says, "What?" Heh. Still makes me laugh. Made one of my kids laugh too. I don't think the rest of 'em got it.

Well, I thought, certainly The Silly Book by Stoo Hample would succeed where others might not. Especially as I got right down on the floor with the kids and really tried to engage them.

The silly mustache I donned to match the cat with the mustache on the cover got a few laughs, but the book itself was clearly very unfunny. I was clearly unfunny. The whole thing was just... unfunny.

At least the craft -- making stupid faces out of precut parts on a paper plate -- was popular. And the kids did like it when I gave them their own silly mustaches or pig noses. Many decorated their parents with them.

Oh well. You can't win them all.