Story Window Storytime Blog: September 2007
Peek inside for storytime ideas! Wilmette Librarians share suggestions for age-appropriate books, rhymes, songs, and crafts.
September 28, 2007
Substitute Susan
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)
I had fun this morning filling in for the toddler storytime. I hope the kids had fun, too! Everybody made noises along with the baby when we read The Baby Goes Beep by Rebecca O'Connell. Baby goes through his day--eating, bathing, playing--making fun sounds. Beeep! We pondered animal sounds while reading Judy Hindley's Does a Cow Say Boo? Finally, we boogied to Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont. During the toddler jam session at the end, everybody shook their instruments slow and fast to Laurie Berkner's "I Know a Chicken." Oh my goodness! It's a shaky egg.
Posted by Janet at 3:17 PM | TrackBack
Royal Romp
(For 3.5-5 Year Olds)
Everyone was a princess or a prince in storytime this week. We read the cleverly written and exquisitely illustrated King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, by Audrey and Don Wood. We enjoyed Janet Stevens's anthropomorphic rendition of The Princess and the Pea. Rapunzel doesn't let down her hair in Leah Wilcox's Falling for Rapunzel. Instead, many troublesome objects come flying out of her tower. That poor prince. We also read Keiko Kasza's The Mightiest and June Crebbin's slightly scary Into the Castle. Finally, we decorated crowns and everyone went home royal.
Here's a favorite nursery rhyme, courtesy of a favorite storyteller, Rob Reid. When the kids hear "up," they have to stand up; when they hear "down" they have to sit down.
The Grand Old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up a hill.
He marched them down again.
And when they're up, they're up.
And when they're down, they're down.
But when they're only halfway up,
They're neither up
Nor down.
Posted by Janet at 2:42 PM | TrackBack
September 27, 2007
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)
Wow, dinosaurs are really exciting! Byron Barton's, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs depicts the various types of dinosaurs than once roamed around our planet. We saw that not all of them were big and scary looking. We searched through the book by Mem Fox, Where is the Green Sheep?, to find the green sheep sleeping under a tree on the last page! In Wake Up Engines , by Denise Mortensen, a boy imagines the many vehicles and aircraft he sees in a day as our group made the sounds that go along with them.
Posted by Sue at 10:19 AM | TrackBack
September 21, 2007
Bathtime Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)
There isn't much consensus on whether bathtime is a regular party or a horrible chore, but bathtime storytime is fun for everyone...
Big Smelly Bear, by Britta Teckentrup. Big Smelly Bear's big smelly stink inhibits his comfort and relationships, until Big Fluffy Bear persuades him to bathe. VERY cute story and pictures -- one of my new favorites.
"The Hair-Raising Adventure of Sara Susan" flannelboard story. It takes a bee, a mouse, and several larger animals infesting Sara Susan's hair to convince her to wash it. A fun story with opportunities for audience participation. You can find it in Glad Rags: Stories and Activities Featuring Clothes for Children, by Jan Irving and Robin Currie.
Kid Tea, written by Elizabeth Ficocelli, illustrated by Glin Dibley. What if kids were like tea bags and stained their bath water the color of whatever they'd gotten into that day? This is a fun book for colors and days of the week. I demonstrated the magic of a tea bag before reading it aloud. (One caveat: there's a brief mention of church on Sunday. It didn't seem to be a stumbling block, but it does keep the book from being 100% secular.)
We got out the scarves, pretended they were washcloths, and gave ourselves a scrub. "This is the way we wash our chins, wash our chins, wash our chins. This is the way we wash our chins, so early Thursday morning." Yes, one child really did suggest chins. We also did tummies, feet, hair, and whatever else the kids came up with. Fun!
Posted by Lisa at 1:05 PM | TrackBack
September 19, 2007
Lapsit Storytime Begins
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)
Hooray, it's time for Lapsits! We all enjoy hearing stories, doing fingerplays along with the puppets, singing songs, playing music and dancing, and watching flannel board stories. We sang along and made animal sounds with the funny storybook, Seals on the Bus , by Lenny Hort. We thought about fun activities that make us happy just like the girl does in Taking a Bath With the Dog, by Scott Menchin. Do Lapsit Storytimes make you happy? Mouse Paint , by Ellen Walsh, is always a favorite for the children enjoy watching the mice get paint on their fur and mixing colors together to create new colors.
Posted by Sue at 10:04 AM | TrackBack
September 13, 2007
Boat Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)
Row, Row, Row Your Boat, by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Stephen Lambert. This extension of the old song has some gently scary moments (the children are briefly chased by a maligned lion) and lots of animals to identify.
Tugga Tugga Tugboat, by Kevin Lewis, illustrated by Daniel Kirk. This is a brightly illustrated, rhyming picture book that demonstrates the many jobs of the small but mighty tugboat. Lots of opportunities for tooting.
Benjy's Boat Trip, by Margaret Bloy Graham. This personal childhood favorite features a stowaway dog and the cat who intimidates him. It pushes the attention span for this age group (probably best for 4 and 5 year olds), but it's really a fun story, especially when so many children have just returned from vacation themselves.
We sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in many different styles (fast over the rapids! slow down the lazy river! bouncy over the waves! loud past the waterfall! quiet past the sleeping babies!). We also got out our scarves and pretended we were sailboats while singing this song:
(To the tune of "Did You Ever See a Lassie?")
Did you ever see a sailboat, a sailboat, a sailboat,
Did you ever see a sailboat waving its sail?
Wave this way, and that way, and this way, and that way.
Did you every see a sailboat waving its sail?
Posted by Lisa at 12:04 PM | TrackBack
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