http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/ Peek inside for storytime ideas! Wilmette Librarians share suggestions for age-appropriate books, rhymes, songs, and crafts. en Copyright 2010 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:08:50 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Summertime brings warm weather and various insects, some cute, some not so cute! A caterpillar's huge appetite and awesome transformation into a butterfly is depicted in Eric Carle's beautifully illustrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Another insect exploration book is Emma Dodd's I Love Bugs! which celebrates the many types of insects a child can find in his backyard. We counted and identified the colors to the flannel board story, "Five Little Flowers". ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/insects.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/insects.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:08:50 -0600 I always enjoy singing with the storytime kids! In this parody of the classic song," Wheels on the Bus", noisy animals get on a city bus in The Seals on the Bus, by Lenny Hort. We made all the animal sounds together. Jane Cabrera utilizes her winning illustrations to depict an amusing dog in the Mother Goose rhyme, Old Mother Hubbard. I did the flannel board story, "Two Little Blackbirds". ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/singing_redux.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/singing_redux.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:31:25 -0600 Singing along with books is fun for the storytime kids. Children and animals help create a comically outsized and absurd peanut butter and jelly sandwich from scratch in the funny songbook, Peanut Butter and Jelly, by Nadine Wescott. Everybody enjoys this high-spirited comical jungle version of the classic song cleverly illustrated with a stomping dancing elephant by James Warhola called, You're Happy and You Know It. I lifted the many flaps in the clever book illustrated by Paul Zelinsky that created enjoyment and excitement to the familiar song, called The Wheels on the Bus. The children discovered the parts of their own faces as I did the flannel story called, "Two Little Eyes."]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/singing_fun_1.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/singing_fun_1.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:46:53 -0600 The storytime kids enjoy the Fourth of July holiday. Jenny sees her neighborhood get ready for the July 4th holiday by having picnics and attending a parade in Happy 4th of July, Jenny Sweeney! by Leslie Kimmelman. The various elements of a parade such as marching bands, vendors, and spectators are depicted in Parade, by Donald Crews. Celebrating all things summer in Bob Raczka's Summer Wonders provided many delightful ways for summer enjoyment for children including attending July 4th parades! We did our annual march around the room to "Sousa's March". Fun stuff!]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/hooray_for_the_fourth_of_july_2.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/08/hooray_for_the_fourth_of_july_2.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:21:50 -0600 Summer has arrived bringing with it lots of rain. A popular song in book form is Itsy Bitsy Spider, by Lorianne Siomedes about a spider washed out by the rain. Big Frog learns how to fit into the charming pop-up book by the popular Mo Willems in Big Frog Can't Fit In. A joyful romp into a pond by all the animals on a farm, including the farmer himself, takes place in Pig In the Pond, by Martin Waddell. We sang and counted to the flannelboard song originated by Raffi called, "Five Green and Speckled Frogs." We like those funny frogs.]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/06/frogs_and_rain_8.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/06/frogs_and_rain_8.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:47:38 -0600 At the farm, we played peek-a-boo with lift-the-flaps and touch the fluffy animals in Pig-A-Boo! by Dorothea DePrisco. An adorable dog looks for a playmate among the farm animals and finds a playful child in Dog Wants To Play, by Christine McDonnell. The challenge is to find four small chicks on each page while singing along with the familiar schoolyard counting song in the colorful One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, by Jane Cabrera. We counted five green and speckled frogs as I did the flannel board story of this Raffi song.]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/counting_fun_1.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/counting_fun_1.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Tue, 25 May 2010 14:25:35 -0600 Animal stories always bring smiles to the storytime kids. James Warhola, nephew of Andy Warhol, has humorous depictions of dancing noisy animals at their zoo in this classic song version of If You're Happy and You Know It. My many Maisy fans enjoyed the irresistible concept book about opposites called Maisy Big, Maisy Small, by Lucy Cousins. We spent a day in the country with Anita Lobel's colorfully drawn and expressive animals in Hello, Day!. We counted along with the flannel board story, "Five Little Owls". ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/happy_storytime.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/happy_storytime.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Wed, 19 May 2010 12:10:07 -0600 Mother's Day honors those loving moms and grandmothers that we cherish. To celebrate this special day, I chose books about animal moms and their babies. Animal babies are reunited with their moms in the reassuring book, Where Is My Mommy?, by Julie Downing. In Kiss Kiss, by Margaret Wild, a baby hippo forgets to kiss his mom goodbye but remembers to do this after watching other baby animals kiss their parents. A child pig works hard to make her mother feel special on Mother's Day by making her food, etc. but she makes messes for her mom to clean up as well in A Special Day for Mommy, by Dan Andreasen. We enjoyed singing along to the classic nursery rhyme as I did the flannel board story called, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/mothers_day_2.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/mothers_day_2.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Tue, 11 May 2010 13:49:49 -0600 A bright yellow chick hatches, gets a hug, eats, poops and sleeps under its mother's liftable wing in the playful Chick: A Pop-Up Book, by Ed Vere. There are lots of things to count such as sticks and chickens hatching out of eggs in the colorful rendition of the familiar counting rhyme, "One Two Buckle My Shoe" in Big Fat Hen, by Keith Baker. It is always good fun to sing along to the nursery rhyme big book version of Farmer In the Dell.]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/chicks.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/05/chicks.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Mon, 03 May 2010 18:00:37 -0600 Mo Willems, a favorite picture book author, creates more fun as Cat introduces her new friends in Cat the Cat Who Is That? Daisy the duckling almost loses her mother as she explores a pond in Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons. A chicken finds out he can't quite do everything a duckling can do, especially swimming, in The Chick and the Duckling, by Vladimir Suteev. The storytime kids enjoyed counting and identifying colors along with the flannelboard "Five Little Flowers". ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/duck_fun.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/duck_fun.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:15:02 -0600 We didn't actually have rain this week, but the memory of last week's storms was still pretty fresh in the kids' minds. In any case, there is no avoiding all those beautiful flowers coming up! "April showers bring May flowers," yada yada! - My Red Umbrella, by Robert Bright. As in years past, I like to start with our flannel board version of this simple story with lots of opportunities for animal identification and counting. - Rabbits & Raindrops, by Jim Arnosky. Short and gentle, his is a lovely, realistic book about wild rabbits taking shelter during a rain shower. - Thirsty Thursday, by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Helen Craig. This is a cute and silly fantasy about a girl tickling clouds to make them rain. Very short, there's not much to it, but it was fun to flesh out the program. - Move Over, Rover!, by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer. Cumulative, patterned story about animals crowding into a dog house during a storm. Good for animal identification. We also sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and did our garden action rhymes.]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/april_showers_storytime.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/april_showers_storytime.php For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:42:35 -0600 We've had a beautiful entrance into spring this year, and I love reading books to celebrate the occasion! - Possum and the Peeper, by Anne Hunter. A group of animals seeks the source of the mysterious springtime peeping and finds it comes from a very tiny creature! I find the text a bit wordy for this age group, so I usually pare it down. - Mouse's First Spring, by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan. Mouse discovers signs of spring on a windy day. Kids can really fill in the blanks with this simple book. - Green Eyes, by A. Birnbaum. This was my first time reading this charming Caldecott Honor book about a year in the life of a white cat with green eyes. It would be a good match for storytimes dealing with any of the seasons, but I chose to read it in spring because the cat has a spring birthday! We also sang "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" with our accompanying flannel board and did some of our garden action rhymes.]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/spring_storytime_1.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/spring_storytime_1.php For 2.5-3.5 Year Olds Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:28:36 -0600 Hooray for spring and the lovely flower blossoms and sprouting leaves that occur at this time! To celebrate spring, I read Mouse's First Spring, by Lauren Thompson, in which Mouse enjoys springtime sights such as flowers and snails. The funny book, Fran's Flower, by Lisa Bruce, shows Fran giving her new plant pizza and hamburgers to help it grow! Various animals on the farm contribute their unique sounds in the beautiful Big Red Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown. The storytime kids always enjoy singing along with the Mother Goose magnets! ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/spring_time.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/04/spring_time.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:57:48 -0600 Who enjoys singing? The storytime kids do! A familiar counting rhyme is enhanced with lovely illustrations of cozy, cuddly animals in Ten In the Den, by John Butler. Tom Farmer wakes up to mischief as his farm animals take over his house in the sing-along book Cows in the Kitchen, by June Crebbin. Generous Maisy brings nice gifts to her friends in a pop-up format in With Love From Maisy, by Lucy Cousins. We counted together with the flannel board story, "Two Little Blackbirds."]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/03/singing_fun.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/03/singing_fun.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:31:04 -0600 Trucks and trains are familiar to the storytime kids and they enjoy the unique sounds they make. We all made various vehicle sounds as each one was colorfully depicted in Can You Choo Choo? by David Wojtowycz. Hush Little Digger, by Ellen Olson-Brown, is a funny twist on the traditional lullaby, referring to dump trucks, backhoes, bulldozers and other heavy machinery instead of babies. The big book Down by the Station has noisy vehicles you can see in the morning, complete with die cut pages, sung to the traditional song. I sang the Raffi song "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" as I demonstrated the magnet storyboard. ]]> http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/03/trains_and_trucks.php http://www.wilmettelibrary.info/blog/2010/03/trains_and_trucks.php For 1.5-2.5 Year Olds Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:07:14 -0600