Storytime: Library Time

I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel
Mr. Lobster & Mrs. Crab
Carlo Likes Reading by Jessica Sanyol
Hickory Dickory Dock
Feltboard: Book! Book! Book!
Book! by Kristine O'Connell George
Parachute:
Grand Old Duke of York
Listen to the beat
Balloon Float
Row Your Boat
Close Your Eyes
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Read It, Don't Eat It! by Ian Schoenherr

Storytime: Birds

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
2 Little Blackbirds
Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert
Owl Hokey Pokey
Don't Copy Me by Jonathan Allen

Feltboard: 5 Little Birds
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

Tip: Singing is a great way to help children learn new words and information. Songs are a natural way to learn language.
This is the Way we Plant the Seeds
Birds by Kevin Henkes

Host puppet is Naughty Crow. He is always so fresh to the kids and tends to go after the shiny jewelry worn by moms in the group. I hope he is on his best behavior today. He will introduce the theme and will do the Owl Pokey with us and will help me do the feltboard as well. I won't make him do yoga today though ;)

Children who start kindergarten ready to learn to read have greater success throughout their school years. They are more likely to read at or above grade level by the end of 2nd grade. Children who read at or above grade level by the end of 4th grade are much more likely to graduate from high school and be successful readers and learners throughout their lives.

Storytime: How Kind! (or not so kind sometimes)

Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway
Mrs. Crab
Mine! by Shutta Crum
Roll Your Hands
Me Want Pet by Tammi Sauer
If Your Happy and You Know It
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen
Where is Thumbkin?
How Kind! by Mary Murphy

STORYTIME: 2/14/2012 Pets

Homer the Library Cat by Reeve Lindbergh

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee

The Wheels on the Bus

Dino Pets by Lynn Plourde

Dinosaur Dinosaur Turn Around

Pet Shop Lullaby by Mary Ann Fraser

I'm a Little Teapot

What Pet to Get by Emma Dodd

Yoga

STORYTIME: 2/7/12 Dinosaurs

Brontorina by James Howe
Dinosaur, Dinosaur Turn Around
Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald
Parachute Play
T is for Terrible by Peter McCarthy
The Dinosaurs
How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen

Craft: Baby Dino in it's shell

Storytime 1/31/2012 Whooo Whooo

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Wide Eyed Owl Fingerplay

Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton

Drum

I'm Not Scared by Johnathan allen

Owl Hokey Pokey

Who Said Coo by Deboarah Ruddell

Yoga

1/24/2012 Winter

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Itsy Bitsy Spider

One Mitten byKristine O'Connell George

Bread and Butter Marmalade and Jam

Animal Tracks Game

Whose Footprints by Molly Coxe

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Mother and Father and Uncle John

A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann

STORYTIME: 1/10/12 Imagine

Yes Day by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

A Delicious Cake

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

The Wheels on the Bus

How Do You Hug a Porcupine? by Laurie Isop

The Airplane

Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis

I'm a Little Teapot

Perfect Square by Michael Hall

STORYTIME: Mice

Squeak-a-Lot by Mertin Waddell- Charming book. Some wonderful audience participation and the story repeats so it is great for your 2 year-olds as well as pre-school age kids.

Back to Bed, Ed! by Sebastien Braun- Super cute illustrations. A lil mouse does not want to go to bed alone because he is is scared. Can he overcome is fear of sleeping alone?

Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse by Lindsay Barrett George- I randomly found this book in the stacks and love it. Brilliant illustrations. Story of what an inside and outside mouse's life is like. I especially like it because each page spread has the inside mouse on the left and the outside mouse on the right. Great for a storytime about comparisons too.

The Doghouse by Jan Thomas- I love Jan Thomas's sense of humor. This books is interactive with the audience and creates a sense of drama and suspense not often achieved with picture books. Really funny!

Busy, Busy Mouse by Virginia Kroll- On one page is a busy family going about their day. On the opposite page is the mouse in his hole in the wall. Have the kids tell the story of what the mouse is doing after you have read about what the busy family is up to.

STORYTIME: Bunnies

What Does Bunny See? by Linda Sue Park- What a charming read. The bunny is possibly the cutest thing ever! Introduced kids to colors and kinds of flowers in the garden. An all around wonderful read aloud.

What's the Matter, Bunny Blue? by Nicola Smee- Little bunny lost their grandma. Will she find her? The refrain Boo Hoo Hoo can be fun to have the kids practice their melodrama by saying it along with you.

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems- A modern day classic about a little child who loses their favortie stuffed bunny and the angst it causes the family.

Wee Little Bunny by Lauren Thompson- Lovely realistic painted illustrations. A very sweet story.

Oh So Tiny Bunny by David Kirk- A great use of simple metaphors for very young readers. Lovely illustrations, and a very typical plot line. Bunny is having fun but then realizes he needs a friend. Why can't these picture books let lonliness be okay? Let playing alone sometimes be nessesary?

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown- A classic but brilliant nonetheless.

Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks- Cute, fun rhyme and onomonopeia.

Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan- Bunny and froggie: an unlikely friendship.

The Bunnies are not in their Beds by Marisabina Russo- Excellent bedtime story. A great refrain to have the gang join in on.

My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann- Caldecott winner. Lots of wordless pages to facilitate storytelling with the kids.

Chloe/  & Henry in Love by Peter McCarthy- 

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.

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

STORYTIME: 11/22/2011 It's a Zoosical

Storytime Host Puppet: Arthur The Painting Gorilla!

Zoozical by Judy Sierrra

Where is Thumbkin Fingerplay

The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort (one of my favorites!)

Parachute Games

The Painting Gorilla by Michael Rex

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton

The Elephant

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

Parent Tip: Singing develops listening skills, and helps children remember things for a longer time. -Every Child Ready to Read, adopted by Mary Fellows of the Upper Hudson Library System

STORYTIME: 10/25/11 Monsters!

Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements
If You Ever See a Monster
My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck
I'm a Little Teapot
Monster's Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
Parachute: When the Parachute Goes Up
Parachute: The Grand Old Duke of York
Parachute: Popcorn Sizzle
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Peanut Butter Marmalade and Jam
Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen

STORYTIME: An Egg

Hunwick's Egg by Mem Fox- Has a pretty good story at it's core. The illustrations are perhaps best viewed closer up but this is a nice story to read aloud. Excellent use of the page with the illustrations and the text commingling.

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger - A wonderful book about the contrast between the animal or plant before/after it hatches/blooms. Has cutouts in the book which add interest.

Guess What I'll Be by Anni Axworthy

The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

Eggs All Around Feltboard