STORYTIME: Penguins

If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor- What a great book. Everything about it from the vocab to the illustrations are wonderful. Great for a broad age group.

Playful Little Penguins by Tony Mitton-A nice read aloud book, very colorful

A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

Penguin by Polly Dunbar

Some Things Change by Mary Murphy - A simple graphic illustrated book about a little penguin and his mom seeing things change around them.

Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers - A little bit longer story so use it as your opener. The text and story is simple enough for toddlers as well as pre-schoolers to enjoy. Little penguin wants to learn to fly but his wings really weren't built for it. He figures out a way to fulfill his dreams of flight but at he expense of losing his best friend, a little boy. Will he be able to reconnect with his friend, and will his first flight be a disaster? A cute story all around.

Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon- "When you give love, it grows" is the moral of this delightful storytime read. Adorable illustrations and simple heartwarming text makes this a sure bet for toddler storytime.

STORYTIME: Weather

Red Rubber Boot Day by Mary Lyn Ray- Really lovely realist illustrations. The story is a little slow moving though. This is a great book to use to allow your kids to tell the story in the pictures first and then read the story with the text a second time around.

Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long- A great story with a tender plot. A tornado is heading for the farm, can Otis the tractor get all the animals out in time. This is a long book for storytime so use it as your opener. The plot is suspenseful though and the illustrations help build towards the tense climax of the book.

RainDrop Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison- A little girl goes out to play in the rain. A counting book as well.

STORYTIME: Opposites

Octopus Opposites by Stella Blackstone- Cute illustrations and has some great opposite concepts such as push and pull, hot and cold, and bold and shy.

A Garden of Opposites by Nancy Davis- Simple text so if you are doing this book with older readers have them make observations on the illustrations, or point out what makes the comparisons opposites. Can they think of other examples of big & small or Short and Long?

Cars! Cars! Cars! by Grace Maccarone: A short small read. Very cute though showing all the different kinds of cars such as old cars, big cars, red cars, etc. Simple one word text make this a good storytime book for younger toddlers.

Parachute Play

Up-Down: Slowly raise the chute up, as you do chant up, up, up. Lower and chant down, down, down

Fast-Slow: Hold taut, start walking in a circle chanting slow, slow, slow, then speed up and go fast, fast, fast

Loud-Quiet: Makes waves so it is loud and chant loud, loud, loud. Then make small quiet waves and chant quiet, quiet, quiet

In-Out: Hold taut, chant in, in ,in as you walk in. Then out, out, out as you walk out

Under-over: Have child hold chute with two hands, then say under and child places one hand under chute. Say over and they place that hand on top of chute.

-From the book Parachute Play for Indoor/ Outdoor Fun by Liz and Dick Wilmes, 1985

Parachute: Row Row Row Your Boat

Have the kids hold the parachute backwards and gently make waves while you sing

Row Row Row Your Boat Gently Down the Stream

Merrily merrily merrily merrily

Life is but a dream

-From the book Parachute Play for Indoor/ Outdoor Fun by Liz and Dick Wilmes, 1985

STORYTIME: 1/17/12 Dinosaurs

Brontorina by James Howe

How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by JaneYolen

The Super Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell

Storytime: 1/17/12: Numbers & Letters

Two at the Zoo by Danna Smith

5 Little Peas

Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr

My Friendly Caterpillar

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

If your happy and you know it

The Johnny-Cake Feltboard and Storytelling

One Drowsy Dragon by Ethan Long

Roll Your Hands

Alligator Alphabet by Stella Blackstone

STORYTIME: 1/3/12 ME

What's Special About Me,Mama? by Kristina Evans

Roll Your Hands

Marching to the Drum

Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr

Where is Thumbkin

Glad Monster Sad Monster by Ed Emberly

Hickory Dickory Dock

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont

Open Them Shut Them

Incredible Me! by Kathi Appelt

Yoga

STORYTIME: Owls

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na- Very interesting illustrations. An all around nice storytime read.

Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton- Really wonderful illustrations and a cute story. Similar in plot to "Are You My Mother?" but with a little more humor.

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell- It is often hard to find a good storytime book that has a more traditional narrative (beginning, middle/climax, and a resolution). This story fills that niche very nicely. Wonderful bold and detailed illustrations.

Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood- An owl wakes up in the daytime and sees all the colors of the world. Story is nothing special but the illustrations are wonderful.

Who Said Coo? by Deborah Ruddell- Such a great book. A pig is woken up to a string of different sounds outside her window. The culprits are a pigeon and an owl!

"I'm Not Scared!" by Jonathan Allen- Ohhh I love this owl character from the previous book "I'm not cute." This is a really cute and pretty funny story your kids and parents will enjoy.

Storytime Performed On:

1/31/2012

STORYTIME: My Body

Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr- I am surprised I have not come across this book sooner. Simple big rhymes invite the audience to interact with their different body parts along with the story. "Here are my hands for catching and throwing."

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle- This book asks kids to participate by doing the various motions the animals in the book do. A great way to make children aware of the different parts of the body and what the names for certain movements are.

STORYTIME: Feelings

Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly- Comes with different happy and sad masks in the back. Invite a few audience participants to come up and hold the appropriate masks in front of their face while you are reading the story.

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard- Super cute and funny. Bird wakes up grumpy and goes for a walk. As he travels more animals join him.

How Kind! by Mary Murphy- A very elemental lesson in Karma! One good deed leads to another until the book comes full circle at the end. A short read.

STORYTIME: All About Me

What's Special About Me,Mama? by Kristina Evans- A really sweet story with a boy asking his mother what is is about him that makes him special and different from everyone else. Younger kids may have a hard time sitting through. A change from the normally funny and fast paced books I tend to favor for storytime

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont-Beaumont has a real gift for rhyme and this book is no exception. Kids will like the silly humor and make sure to read it with an emphasis on the rhyme.

Incredible Me! by Kathi Appelt- Nobody is like you. You are the only one with your nose and those two feet. As goes the message of this fun little uplifting book about the uniqueness of you. Talk with your kids about what makes them different than everyone else in the room.

I'm Me! by Sara Sheridan- A little girl listens to suggestions from her auntie about what they can pretend to become for the day but finally settles on being herself. A bit on the longer side so do this book as your first for the program.

Storytime Performed on:

1/3/12

Mr. Lobster and Mrs. Crab

Mr. Lobster and Mrs. Crab pinch and snap all day
Mr. Lobster and Mrs. Crab pinch and snap all day
With a pinch, pinch here and a snap, snap there
Here a pinch, there a snap, everywhere a pinch, snap
Mr. Lobster and Mrs. Crab pinch and snap all day.

Credit: Everything Preschool
Via StoryTimeKatie

Zoo Song

Song: “You Can Hear” (Tune: She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain)

You can hear the lions roaring at the zoo, ROAR ROAR!
You can hear the lions roaring at the zoo, ROAR ROAR!
You can hear the lions roaring, you can hear the lions roaring,
You can hear the lions roaring at the zoo, ROAR ROAR!
(Snakes hissing, bears growling, wolves howling, frogs croaking, zebras braying)

Perpetual Preschool
Via StoryTimeKatie

Fingerplay: “Wide-Eyed Owl”

There’s a wide-eyed owl (circle your eyes with your hands)
With a pointed nose (make a beak with your fingers)
Two pointed ears (make ears with your fingers)
And claws for toes (wiggle your “claws”)
He lives way up in the tree (point way up)
And when he looks at you (point to children)
He flaps his wings (flap your wings)
And says, “Whoo! Whoo!” (say “whoo whoo”)

Credit: Wilmette Public Library
Via StoryTimeKatie

Owl Hokey Pokey

Action Song: “Owl Hokey Pokey”
You put your right wing in
You put your right wing out
You put your right wing in
And you flap it all about
You do the owl pokey and you fly yourself around
That’s what it’s all about! Hoo, hoo!
(left wing, right claw, left claw, beak, whole self)

Credit: Ms. Hegna’s Storyroom
Via StoryTimeKatie