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Books Are Windows Story Window Storytime Blog

Peek inside for storytime ideas! Wilmette Librarians share suggestions for age-appropriate books, rhymes, songs, and crafts.

June 25, 2009

Stories in Maple Park: Pets
(Special Storytimes)

Last week at Maple Park, we had a great crowd of kids and adults for storytime! We read several books about pets and other animals, as well as singing songs like "Two Little Blackbirds," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Spider on the Floor," and "Shake Your Sillies Out." Here's what we read:

- Are You a Horse?, by Andy Rash. A silly, patterned story about a cowboy with a saddle but no horse -- and no idea what a horse is! The final joke will have the whole room giggling.

- The Birthday Pet, by Ellen Javernick, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. All Danny wants for his birthday is a turtle, but each of his family has a "better" animal in mind. This story uses rhyme to create anticipation ("You don't want a pet that sits like a log. So he went out and got Danny a..."), making it good for audience participation.

- Ten Naughty Little Monkeys, by Suzanne Williams, illustrated by Suzanne Watts. It's not just bed-jumping that gets these monkeys injured! There's more to the pictures than at first meets the eye; one naughty monkey in particular is a prankster! You may need to draw this out, however, by asking the audience what caused each mishap.

- The Best Pet of All, by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama. This is one of my all-time favorites. Mom isn't crazy about the idea of getting a dog until a dragon puts things in perspective for her. Lots of tongue-in-cheek humor for both kids and adults.

Posted by Lisa at 9:06 AM | TrackBack (0)

May 27, 2009

Transportation
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)


The storytime kids love stories about trucks, trains, and cars. We sang along to a familiar melody as I read the exciting pop-up variation of "Wheels on the Bus" by Margaret McNamara called Whistle on the Train. We all made various vehicle sounds as each one was colorfully depicted in Can You Choo Choo? by David Wojtowycz. A drawbridge is up causing the animals in their colorful vehicles to wait patiently to cross the bridge in the charming The Bridge is Up by Babs Bell. We guessed the colors of the bunnies and counted them in the flannel story, "Five Bunnies".

Posted by Sue at 11:44 AM | TrackBack (0)

May 20, 2009

Growing Up Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

To celebrate the end of the spring storytime season, after which many youngsters will "graduate" to the next oldest group, we talked about birthdays and growing up -- what they can do that babies can't, big boy/girl beds, etc. Here's what we read:

- Little Gorilla, by Ruth Bornstein - Simple, classic story of a gorilla whose family and jungle neighbors love him -- from the time he's first born to when he's BIG.

- Hey, Little Baby! by Nola Buck, illustrated by R. W. Alley - Kids can compare their accomplishments to the little girl in this story, as well as all the things little babies can't yet.

- My Big Boy Bed, by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Maggie Smith - Kids who have just graduated or will soon graduate to a big bed will relate to this simple, warmly illustrated story.

Posted by Lisa at 4:18 PM | TrackBack (0)

May 18, 2009

Mother's Day
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)


Mother's Day honors those loving moms and grandmothers that we treasure. To celebrate this special day, I chose books about animal moms and their babies. A child pig works hard to make her mom feel special by making her food and getting her flowers while making many messes in A Special Day For Mommy, by Dan Andreasen. Animal babies are reunited with their moms, thereby depicting mom's important role for us all in the reassuring book, Where Is My Mommy?, by Jule Downing. The love between a mother and child chimpanzee is portrayed in Mama Love, by Kathy Mallat. We thought of spring as I did the flannel story, "Five Little Flowers".

Posted by Sue at 11:23 AM | TrackBack (0)

Lost and Found
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)


Children like to find lost items, animals or people. It's a fun game to them. Mem Fox uses whimsy and humor to describe various types of sheep in the quest to locate a missing green sheep in Where is the Green Sheep. In Overboard! by Sarah Weeks, a mischievous bunny delights in flinging items everywhere! In Where's Spot?, by Eric Hill, the storytime kids enjoyed looking under book flaps and making animals sounds as the missing Spot is finally located. We sang as I read the flannel board story "Five Green and Speckled Frogs".

Posted by Sue at 9:33 AM | TrackBack (0)

May 14, 2009

Eggs and Birds
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

I like to start out my egg-themed storytime by having the kids name animals that hatch from eggs. Beforehand, I've stuffed a picnic hamper full of puppets representing such animals. From chickens to butterflies to fish to crocodiles, I try to include a bit of everything. I love the delighted surprise when the kids tell me dinosaurs hatch from eggs and I pull out a T-Rex!

Flips, Flap, Fly!, by Phyllis Root, illustrated by David Walker. Not exclusively about animals that hatch from eggs, but there are plenty in there. The story is told in rhyme, with auditory and visual cues of what baby animal will appear on the next page -- fun for the kids to guess! My one beef is that only animal "mamas" are featured in the text, though it's easy enough to throw in a few "papas" to even things out.

Riki's Birdhouse, by Monica Wellington. I do love her informational picture books for this age group. This one takes us through a year in the life of Riki, bird aficionado, as he feeds and admires his feathered friends, and builds a birdhouse for a family of bluebirds.

Fluffy and Baron, by Laura Rankin. I've used this based-on-the-true-story story of a German shepherd and his duck friend for several years now, and I still like it. Kids and caregivers seem to, too.

We sand "Five Little Ducks," counting along with flannel board ducks in different colors, and made bird and egg pictures to take home.

Posted by Lisa at 1:07 PM | TrackBack (0)

May 4, 2009

Colors
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)


Who is ready to identify the colors? The storytime kids are! In the classic title by Ellen Walsh, Mouse Paint, white mice explore (and jump into) jars of paint, discovering the fun of making new colors, changing the color of their fur, and hiding from the cat in the process. Various animals of vibrant color are identified in the toy book Creepy Crawly Colors, by Robin Koontz. Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Lewison explores colors and counting as the rain falls on a spring like day. The flannel story "Little Red House" demonstrates both sizes and colors in a fun manner.

Posted by Sue at 8:25 PM | TrackBack (0)

April 27, 2009

Singing Along
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)


Singing along with books is fun for the storytime kids. A new version of a classic song is the silly and fun The Seals on the Bus, by Lenny Hort, about a bus overrun by seals, snakes, skunks and other animals. Jane Cabrera utilizes her winning illustrations to depict the amusing Mother Goose rhyme, Old Mother Hubbard about an unusual dog. We sang another Mother Goose rhyme along with the big book version of Sing A Song of Sixpence. I did the colorful flannel board story based on the book by Bill Martin called "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Posted by Sue at 10:26 AM | TrackBack (0)

April 22, 2009

Spring Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

Possum and the Peeper, by Anne Hunter. This was my first time using this book, and I really liked it! It's a bit wordy for my group but easy to pare down. Great for talking about little frogs with big voices, a/k/a spring peepers!

Mouse's First Spring, by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan. Simple story in which kids can help identify springtime sights such as butterflies, flowers, and snails.

Fran's Flower, by Lisa Bruce, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. Kids love to show they are smarter about growing flowers than poor Fran, who -- among other things -- tries to make her flower grow by feeding it pizza!

We sang "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" and did our garden action rhymes. In retrospect, I wish I'd had a recording and photographs of real spring peepers!

Posted by Lisa at 6:18 PM | TrackBack (0)

Rescue Worker Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

Some things never change: firefighter, police officer, and doctor continue to be popular career choices even among the three-year-old set! Two weeks ago, we celebrated rescue workers in storytime with these choices.

Dot the Fire Dog, by Lisa DeSimini. Firefighting from a Dalmatian's eye view. I use this book a LOT. It's still one of the best firefighting books for two- and three-year-olds.

Police: Hurrying! Helping! Saving!, by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli. Rhyming story that covers many of police's common tasks, including the many vehicles they may use!

Doctor Meow's Big Emergency, by Sam Lloyd. Simple story about a 9-1-1 call from a cat who falls out of a tree. Doctor Meow to the rescue!

Posted by Lisa at 6:05 PM | TrackBack (0)