Story Window Storytime Blog: Special Storytimes

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

June 25, 2009

Stories in Maple Park: Pets

Last week at Maple Park, we had a great crowd of kids and adults for storytime! We read several books about pets and other animals, as well as singing songs like "Two Little Blackbirds," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Spider on the Floor," and "Shake Your Sillies Out." Here's what we read:

- Are You a Horse?, by Andy Rash. A silly, patterned story about a cowboy with a saddle but no horse -- and no idea what a horse is! The final joke will have the whole room giggling.

- The Birthday Pet, by Ellen Javernick, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. All Danny wants for his birthday is a turtle, but each of his family has a "better" animal in mind. This story uses rhyme to create anticipation ("You don't want a pet that sits like a log. So he went out and got Danny a..."), making it good for audience participation.

- Ten Naughty Little Monkeys, by Suzanne Williams, illustrated by Suzanne Watts. It's not just bed-jumping that gets these monkeys injured! There's more to the pictures than at first meets the eye; one naughty monkey in particular is a prankster! You may need to draw this out, however, by asking the audience what caused each mishap.

- The Best Pet of All, by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama. This is one of my all-time favorites. Mom isn't crazy about the idea of getting a dog until a dragon puts things in perspective for her. Lots of tongue-in-cheek humor for both kids and adults.

Posted by Lisa at 9:06 AM | TrackBack

December 27, 2007

Snowman Stories

This morning we chased away the winter break blues with snowman stories and activities!

Snow Dude, by Daniel Kirk - This rhymed retelling of the Gingerbread Boy elicited quite a lot of laughs!

A Really Good Snowman, by Daniel J. Mahoney - A pleasant story about teamwork and sibling appreciation. I think it would have worked better with an older and/or smaller audience. (Most of the group was 3 to 5 years old.)

Snowbaby Could Not Sleep, by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Jim Ishikawa - A beautifully illustrated snowman-themed take on bedtime. This one also got a lot of giggles.

We played musical instruments and had a parade while "Frosty the Snowman" played on the boombox. We also did this action rhyme, which is especially fun if you have a rabbit puppet:

I Built a Little Snowman

I built a little snowman. [make large circle with arms]
He had a carrot nose. [point to nose]
Along came a bunny, [hold up two bent fingers like rabbit ears]
And what do you suppose…? [shrug]
That hungry little bunny, [make a bunny again]
Looking for its lunch, [make the bunny hop around]
Ate the snowman’s nose – [pretend bunny is eating nose]
Nibble, nibble, crunch! [pretend to eat a carrot]

For craft time, we made snowmen made from paper plates and other assorted craft items. I had prepared the snowman bases by stapling two paper plates together -- one dinner size, one dessert size. The kids added features and clothing with paper and crayons. They turned out extremely cute and full of character!

Posted by Lisa at 11:27 AM | TrackBack

August 16, 2006

Stories at Vattmann Park

We had beautiful weather for our final "Stories in the Parks" session of 2006, and a terrific turn-out of kids, moms, and babysitters who were ready to listen, sing, and dance.

Our first story was "I'm Not Cute!", by Jonathan Allen. This is a new book and was fun for kids and adults alike. Baby Owl wants everyone to see him as a fierce predator, but they're too busy telling him how cute he is and giving him hugs. Is it possible to be cute and a hunting machine?

If You're Happy and You Know It, by Jane Cabrera, based on the familiar song, is a book that gets kids active! For example, a lion suggests that if you're happy and you know it, ROAR!

Moving into a farm theme, we read Farmer Duck, by Martin Waddell, and Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round, by Teri Sloat. Farmer Brown is a great companion to that favorite song "Old McDonald," as a twister leaves all the animals saying the wrong sounds. It is, as the children informed me, very silly!

We also gave our new parachute its inaugural use. Lift it high, bring it low, shake it fast, shake it slow... and of course, lots of foam balls. It takes very little instruction for kids to have a great time with a parachute, though coordinating movements is something I look forward to practicing!

Posted by Lisa at 4:33 PM

July 12, 2006

Tiny Tots

This morning I visited some of the Tiny Tots groups run by the Park District. Saw three groups of 3 and 4 year olds; read for 20 - 25 minutes to each group. Amazing what a great book Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems is! One of those sure-fire, never miss read-alouds. Also have new appreciation for Shannon's Duck on a Bike. There are some patterns in the narrative that are interesting to exploit - and one little girl observed, very rightly, that the Duck can talk, while the other animals cannot. But they all (the animals, that is) certainly do a lot of thinking. When I pointed out how snooty the cat was being, "snooty" became the kids'new favorite word, at least for a little while.

Posted by Lyn at 3:38 PM

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