Story Window Storytime Blog: November 2008

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

November 24, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

Holidays for children involve being with family and eating yummy food. We talked about sharing Thanksgiving meals with family and friends that would likely consist of turkey and pumpkin pie. The funny version of the classic song, Over the River, A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson pokes fun of the classic song, "Over the River". In Anderson's version, smart turkeys outwit some turkey hunters hungry for their Thanksgiving dinner, by finally inviting them to have a delicious vegetarian meal with them, the turkeys! Another important aspect of Thanksgiving is giving thanks and feeling grateful for what we have. Thank You, Thanksgiving by David Milgrim provides examples of ordinary things such as boots, that kids can be thankful for.
Children always enjoy looking for Spot the dog under flaps, so the large book version of the classic Where's Spot by Eric Hill is a delight. With the weather getting colder, counting mittens along with the flannel board story "10 Warm Mittens" is timely.

Posted by Sue at 5:13 PM | TrackBack

November 20, 2008

Potato Fun
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

The silliest potato book I've ever read is Potato Joe, by Keith Baker. It takes the familiar counting nursery rhyme "One potato, two potato" into absurd situations that are completely enjoyable to read aloud to my group!
Kanga's cookie dough disappears and Kanga asks all the animals where it could be in Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?, by Karen Beaumont. A scared mouse tries to hide a delicious strawberry from a hungry bear in the big book version of The Little Mouse, Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear , by Don Wood. We counted together and identified colors with the flannel board story, " The Five Little Flowers",

Posted by Sue at 11:45 AM | TrackBack

November 18, 2008

Zoo Storytime
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

I (and the kids, I think) had a lot of fun with last week's storytime theme: zoo animals!

- Monkey and Me, by Emily Gravett - In this deceptively simple book, kids can guess what animal the little girl will see next based on what she's acting out: waddling penguins, bounding kangaroos, etc. Way more fun than I expected!

- If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition, by James Warhola - I love this book, a very fun, animal-themed spin-off of the traditional song.

- Such a Silly Baby, by Steffanie and Richard Lorig, illustrated by Amanda Shepherd - A careless mom leaves baby behind at the zoo, circus, etc., where baby picks up all sorts of new habits. Very silly, as you can imagine.

- The Seals on the Bus, by Lenny Hort, illustrated by G. Brian Karas - Another of my favorites and another sing-along book about a bus overrun by seals, vipers, and skunks, among other things.

Posted by Lisa at 1:01 PM | TrackBack

November 12, 2008

Happiness=Storytimes
(For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds)

We are happy to enjoy storytimes together and we can add to our fun by singing along to James Warhola's If You're Happy and You Know It. Warhola happens to be Andy Warhol's nephew and his jungle illustrations to this classic song are joyful and fun. A rooster rushes her fellow farm animals to a barn to witness the birth of a chicken in the colorful Hurry! Hurry!, by Eve Bunting. Singing about food is funny, and indeed, we had some smiles as we sang along to the big book version of Peanut Butter and Jelly , by Nadine Wescott. We sang together and counted on our fingers, pretending they were frogs with the flannel story of the Raffi song, "Five Green and Speckled Frogs".

Posted by Sue at 11:13 AM | TrackBack

November 9, 2008

Lost and Found
(For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds)

By the time they're 3, most kids have had the experience of losing something important to them, whether temporarily or permanently. Last week we read stories on that subject-- all with happy endings!

- Where's Spot?, by Eric Hill
- Corduroy, by Don Freeman
- Where's My Darling Daughter?, by Mij Kelly & Katherine McEwen ORWhere's My Teddy?, by Jez Alborough

We also did the "Here is the beehive but where are the bees?" finger play.

Posted by Lisa at 1:33 PM | TrackBack

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