Story Window Storytime Blog: September 2008

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

September 26, 2008

Garden Harvest Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

It may be officially fall, but gardens are still producing yummy vegetables! Here's what we did in storytime this week.

- The Surprise Garden, by Zoe Hall, pictures by Shari Halpern - See how many vegetables the kids can name in this concept book just right for the age group.

- Muncha Muncha Muncha, by Candace Fleming, pictures by G. Brian Karas - This story of 3 naughty bunnies sneaking into Mr. McGreely's garden hasn't gotten old yet!

- Stanley Mows the Lawn, by Craig Frazier - Stanley likes his lawn short. Hank the snake prefers it long. In this short picture book, Stanley hits on a solution to make them both happy.

We sang songs about many garden animals: "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Spider on the Floor," "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" (with flannel board), and "Two Little Blackbirds." For our project, we decorated simple paper snakes.

Posted by Lisa at 5:09 PM | TrackBack

September 25, 2008

Farm Time
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

Lift-the-flap books are quite exciting for the storytime kids. With her popular Maisy series, Lucy Cousins excels in this genre. In Maisy at the Farm, Maisy notes many types of animals and the ways they move about the page. We made various funny animal sounds as I read John Lawrence's This Little Chick. Bill Martin gives an example of the beautiful art of Eric Carle in the big book version Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? as a Zookeeper sees children disguised as animals while listening to their animal sounds at the zoo. We sang along to the flannel board story, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Posted by Sue at 3:35 PM | TrackBack

September 21, 2008

Cats and Dogs and Cats
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

There is no shortage of fun dog and cat books for preschoolers. Last week we read the following sampling:

- Be Gentle!, by Virginia Miller - Ba the Bear learns that his new kitten loves him best when he is gentle. This book will ring true for any preschooler with a pet or younger sibling in the family.

- The Best Pet of All, by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama - One of my all time favorites! A boy and his mother learn that, compared with a messy, noisy dragon, a dog really is the best pet of all.

- Ginger, by Charlotte Voake - A just-sweet-enough story that also works as a sibling rivalry story, about a cat who at first is not at all pleased to share his home with new kitten.

We did our "Six Little Kittens Found Some Cans of Paint" flannel board and the following action rhyme (make up actions that make sense):

This is puppy's doghouse, this is puppy's bed.
This is puppy's bowl of milk where he can be fed.
This is puppy's collar, and his name is on it, too.
Take a stick and throw it, and he'll bring it back to you!

We made cat paper bag puppets for craft time.

Posted by Lisa at 1:10 PM | TrackBack

September 17, 2008

Beginnings
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

Hooray, storytime has begun for another fun fall session! We played peek-a-boo as I read a popular toy book called Peek A Moo! , by Marie Torres Cimarusti. The always exciting Maisy series provided us with another wonderful example of making learning fun with Maisy's Nature Walk, by Lucy Cousins. Maisy discovers many animals as she strolls around the neighborhood. Cute drawings by Byron Barton heighten the humor of the big book version of the folk story The Little Red Hen.

Posted by Sue at 10:43 AM | TrackBack

September 12, 2008

Beach and Boats Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

This week was the first of our fall storytime session, and my new batch of 2.5 to 3.5 year-olds and I celebrated the end of summer with stories about the beach and boats!

To start, we talked about what we did for fun this summer. Lots of kids went to the beach and/or pool! We sang "Five Green and Speckled Frogs", counting along with our flannel board. My five frogs each have a different outfit, and at the end of each verse, the kids suggest which frog to take away next.

Beach Day!, by Patricia Lakin, pictures by Scott Nash. I like this simple, rhyming picture book about an enthusiastic foursome of alligators on their way to the beach. On the way, they experience many diversions (park! picnic!). Just right for 2.5 year-olds!

We sang "If You're Wearing Red Today", a song I learned from an online colleague. This is a great way for kids to practice their colors, and it's easy for everyone to sing along.

Tugga-Tugga Tugboat, by Kevin Lewis, pictures by Daniel Kirk. A simple, rhyming book about the strong and mighty tugboat. There's a repeated "toot-toot" refrain for everyone to join in.

After shaking our sillies out Raffi-style, we concluded with Captain Duck, by Jez Alborough, yet another rhyming adventure of a naughty duck who hijacks a boat. I don't think it's as strong a book as Alborough's Duck in a Truck, but we still enjoyed it.

For craft time, we made sailboat pictures by gluing triangles for sail and hull to blue paper, coloring, and adding fun fish stickers.

Posted by Lisa at 10:41 AM | TrackBack

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