storytime – friends, big and small

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers — sweet little story, had a small group of kids today so this worked well since some of the pictures are only half a page. But they seemed interested in what would happen.

Little Beauty by Anthony Browne — I wish I knew the sign-language for “I did it, I broke the televison”. Might have made the ending a bit more interesting for the kids. But they enjoyed the tale of the monkey and his pet kitten.

Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn’t Fit by Catherine Rayner — They def. responded to this one, especially when I started unfolding that final page.

[song] Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems — you could tell the kids were familiar with Elephant & Piggie by how quiet they got when I picked up this book. Always fun to read his stuff out loud and the small crowd made this easier to present during storytime.

A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom — this one just didn’t do it for them, I don’t think they quite understood bear’s plight as Goose ran around him asking all kinds of questions.

[song] If You’re Happy and You Know It — one of my favorites. I use the book Clap Your Hands to read the words and actions.

Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley — big on pictures, short on text. Some of the kids knew what was coming but a few hadn’t learned that basic caterpillar to butterfly story yet.

[craft] make little bear and butterfly puppets to take home and continue the story!

Storytime – imagination!

Me and My Dragon by David Biedrzycki — great story to start off with since it’s a bit morei involved. The kid’s really seemed to like it and you could tell which of them had pets and saw the similarities between the relationship between the Dragon and the boy and them and their own pets.

Not A Box by Antoinette Portis — I could hear them already getting wiggly (lots of little kids) so I went with this book which I always try to make interactive and have the kids shout out what the bunny is imagining the box to be. Kept some of their attention.

[song]The Irrational Anthem by Jim Gill — great action song, the kids were giggling by the end. Good times. Will def. use this one again!!!

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow by Susan A. Shea; paintings by Tom Slaughter — this was my first storytime using this title and the kids LOVED it! I’m convinced that any time a child is given permission to shout “NO!” they are happy. Great illustrations made it easy for everyone to see.

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas — Jan Thomas is quickly becoming a storytime favorite of mine and this might be my favorite book so far. I had the kids stand up and we did all the actions the cows did. It’s perfect since the last thing they do is sit down and take a nap. 🙂

What Little Boys Are Made Of by Robert Neubecker — I wanted to feature a little boy because I was worried the next book might turn them off. This book has a lot in common with “Not A Box” in that you can encourage audience participation by asking the kids what the little boy is playing.

Princess Super Kitty by Antoinette Portis — This was a HUGE hit but part of that was because I put on MY OWN Princess Super Kitty outfit as I read the book. I had my ears from Dragon*Con, a towel for a cape, and then my crown (which would be our craft at the end of storytime). Everyone enjoyed the little girl’s antics.

[craft] Decorate a Crown so you can be Prince or Princess Super Kitty at home! (thank you Accu-Cut!). I put out crayons, stickers, and puffy balls for the kids to attach to the crowns. I also had my stapler so they could come to me to have their crown “fitted”. A HUGE HIT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS!

storytime — jungle critters

I Love It When You Smile by Sam McBratney — Good story to start with, I think we actually had a “grumpy Roo” in the room, his brow was furrowed when he arrived with his little sister. The kids thought the mud puddle ending was funny.

I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge — Cute little rhymes, moves quick, and most of the kids new the animals names.

(song) The Wheels on the Bus by Jane Cabrera — this one was fun. I modified some of the “noises” they made to make it easier for the kids. They had a really good time!

(fingerplay) Five Little Monkeys — found some felt board monkeys and stuck them to our fingerplay glove. I had the kids stand up and jump with me, then we all called the doctor and wagged our fingers. They knew the rhyme already and I think it made them feel good after the tricky “Wheels on the Bus” revision.

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle — classic. They acted out all the movements perfectly and they I told them shout out “I CAN DO IT!” each time.

I Spy with My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs — got them to sit back down and do this one. The older kids knew a lot of the animals and had fun shouting out the answers.

Peek-a-Zoo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti — this book, I want to like it but it never seems to go over as well in storytime. I think it’s because the animals are so uncommon when it comes to making noises so they kids stumble. I think the Seal was the biggest winner of them all.

Craft: Hippo paper bag puppet — a big hit! I had them all come up and talk to my puppet with their puppets after they were done.

storytime – ducks!

Come Along, Daisy by Jane Simmons — My first time reading this for storytime. I had the kids help with Mama Duck’s “Come Along, Daisy!” line. They seemed to enjoy that. This was a hit.

Little Quack by Lauren Thompson — Another first for me. Kept the older kid’s attention when I asked them to count the ducks, but the little guys lost interest since counting to five is still pretty tricky for them. Plus, the older kids would just yell out “2 DUCKS!” but the little kids needed me to count with them. Just have to be prepared to do that next time. Maybe a flannel board version of this book would work best.

SONG: Six Little Ducks by Raffi — I had the kids stand up and we flapped our duck “wings” and waddled while this song played, then during the “quack quack quack” part, we said it out loud and made “ducks” with our hands.

Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic — I think this might have been a little to old for my crowd. This is a better lap book than storytime. The older kids were keeping up but it lost most of the little guys.

The Ducklings Gets a Cookie?! by Mo Willems — Probably would have been more effective if I had the pigeon puppet…these are always fun to read but the little were getting wiggly and I had one wander up and grab a toy from behind me and it threw off my reading groove.

SONG/FINGERPLAY: Five Little Ducks — I had Mama Duck get a little cranky by the end, it brought some LOLs from the kids and parents.

Ducks Don’t Wear Socks by John Nedwidek — Probably should have ended it with the fingerplay, but I really wanted to give this book a try! The kids that could still sit still enjoyed it but by this far into the storytime, most of them had a case of the wiggles!

CRAFT: Duck in a Pond (duck cutout, paper plate, popsicle stick)