Story Window Storytime Blog: January 2008

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

January 30, 2008

It's Snowing Again!
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

Children love to play in the snow. One can make snowy footprints, or funny snow people, or snow angels, or snowballs. Peter does all these fun snow activities in The Snowy Day , by Ezra Jack Keats. Mouse, too, plays with the snow in Mouse's First Snow , by Lauren Thompson. Various animals examine the color of snow against their fur in the evocative Snow, by Manya Stojic. The children love to imitate the actions in the flannel story "Five Little Snowmen".

Posted by Sue at 10:32 AM | TrackBack

January 21, 2008

Sing Along Time
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

The storytime kids always enjoy singing along with books and performing along with the depicted actions. The kids enjoyed nodding their heads, jumping around, etc. to Jane Cabrera's classic, If You're Happy and You Know It. We looked under flaps for the missing teddy bear until we found it on the clothesline in, No Bed Without Ted, by Nicola Smee. "Me too," is the refrain in the charming book, The Chick and the Duckling by Vladimir Suteev, in which a chicken can imitate a duck in everything except swimming. We pretended to blow out the candles in the flannel story "10 Little Candles."

Posted by Sue at 8:25 PM | TrackBack

January 17, 2008

Bedtime Storytime Redux
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

Last year I lamented the (understandable) lack of rousing bedtime-themed stories. This year I fared a little better. In fact, there were so many I wanted to try that I varied the program over the course of the week. Of course, it makes sense that a rousing bedtime story would deal with *lack* of sleep, so that's a common theme in these books.

Snowbaby Could Not Sleep, by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Jim Ishikawa - Gorgeously illustrated story about a typical bedtime routine executed by snowmen, with a little twist, perfect for wintertime.

Little Bunny's Sleepless Night, by Carol Roth, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev - A lonely little bunny sleeps over with a number of woodland friends, each with their own drawback (e.g., Squirrel loves a midnight snack, Porcupine's bed is full of quills...). Gently humorous with adorable illustrations (of course - it's Gorbachev!).

Go to Bed, Monster!, by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Sylvie Kantorovitz - A new book about a little girl who, a la Harold with his purple crayon, draws a comical monster who then refuses to go to bed. I received this one too late to use earlier this week, but I look forward to trying this one again in the future.

Tiger Can't Sleep, by S.J. Fore; illustrated by R.W. Alley - Full of onamatapoeia, this newish book about a noisy tiger in the closet is already a storytime favorite.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, by Mo Willems - This one went over VERY well with Monday's boisterous, slightly older group. You really need a group of kids who aren't shy about telling the pigeon "No!" for this to go over well.

We sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and put felt stars on the black flannelboard. We also got out the animal puppets and did "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." When we and our puppets were tired of jumping, we helped our puppets get ready for bed: put on their jammies, brushed their teeth, sang "Rock-a-bye, Baby," and so on. Even little boys at this age are not shy about being a tender parent to a mousie puppet.

Posted by Lisa at 1:38 PM | TrackBack

January 16, 2008

Beginnings
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

The beginning of a new session of baby storytimes is always so exciting! We are all happy to once more read stories, do fingerplays, sing with puppets, play instruments, watch flannel boards, and hug Mr. Bear. Funny chickens ride around on trains, planes, skateboard, and cars in Where is Coco Going?, by Sloane Tanner. The children enjoy chiming in while making animal sounds in Crunch Munch , by Jonathan London. The big classic book, If You Give a Mouse A Cookie , by Laura Numeroff amusingly portrays a demanding mouse who needs lots of help when he asks for a cookie and a glass of milk to go with it and more. Children always enjoy pointing out what exactly is on their face, as I narrate the flannel board story, "Two Little Eyes".

Posted by Sue at 12:01 PM | TrackBack

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