2013 Texas 2x2 Reading List!

Compared to all of the other reading lists and award lists coming from the Lone Star State, the Texas 2x2 is by far my favorite! The 2x2 Committee and the Children's Round Table of the Texas Library Association has just announced their new 2013 reading list for children beginning at age 2 and up to children in 2nd grade. 

Without further ado....

• A Kiss Means I Love You written by Kathryn Madeline Allen and photographs by Eric Futran. Chicago, Ill: Albert Whitman. ISBN: 9780807541869.
• Z is for Moose written by Kelly Bingham and illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. NY: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 9780060799847.
• Horsefly and Honeybee written and illus. by Randy Cecil. NY: Henry Holt. ISBN: 9780805093001.
• Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle written and illus. by Mary Newell DePalma. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdamans Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780802854087.
• Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos written by Susan Middleton and illus. by Dan Santat. NY: Bloomsburgy Children's Book. ISBN: 9781599904610.
• Step Gently Out written by Helen Frost and photographs by Rick Lieder. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978076365010. 
• Time for a Hug written by Phillis Gershator and Mim Green and illus. by David Walker. NY: Sterling. ISBN: 9781402778629.
• Lemonade in Winter: A Book of Two Kids Counting Money written by Emily Jenkins and illus. by G. Brian Karas. NY: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN: 9780375858833.
• That is Not My Hat written and illus. by Jon Klassen. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763655990.
• It's a Tiger written by David LaRochelle and illus. by Jeremy Tankard. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 97880811869256.
• Frog and Fly: Six Slurpy Stories written and illus. by Jeff Mack. NY: Philomel Books. ISBN: 9780399256172.
• Good News, Bad News written and illus. by Jeff Mack. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 9781452101101.
• Cindy Moo written by Lori Mortensen and illus. by Jeff Mack. NY: HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780062043931.
• I Know a Wee Piggy written by Kim Norman and illus. by Henry Cole. NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780803737358.
• How to Babysit a Grandpa written by Jean Reagan and illus. by Lee Wildish. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 9780375867132.
• Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illus. by Peter Brown. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781442402973.
• The Three Ninja Pigs written by Cory Rosen Schwartz and illus. by Dan Santat. NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN: 9780399255144.
• Demolition written by Sally Sutton and illus. by Brian Lovelock. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763658304.
• Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy written and illus. by Jan Thomas. NY: Beach Lane Books. ISBN: 9781442442764.
• Oddrey written and illus. by Dave Whamond. Toronto: Owlkids Books. ISBN: 9781926973456.

I for one see a lot of titles that I had noted as new fun favorites over the past year, so it is exciting to see this list. Do you see any of your new favorite books on the list? 

Sign Language ABC

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Heller, Lora. 2012. Sign Language ABC. Illus. by Eliz Ong/iStockphoto.com NY, NY: Sterling Children's Books. ISBN: 9781402763922.

BOOK REVIEW

Continuing her work in present American Sign Language (beyond her founding of New York Baby Fingers program) Lora Heller has written a new ABC sign language book. Each page presents the traditional alphabet letter then a inset circle illustration of the ASL sign for that letter. The illustrations to relate the letters to an object or thing are sometimes expected (such as B is for Bird and X for Xylophone); however, the rest are refreshing additions to an alphabet (like M is for Mermaid, R is for Robot and Y is for Yo-yo). The illustrations are crisp, simple, and colorful, which is greatly needed when presenting in presenting ABCs.  Hip and mod comes to mind. The book begins with an introduction for the parent to share with a hearing/speaking child who can practice and learn the skill of sign language and can even share with friends to be speak in a fun new way. At the end of the book is a quick guide to all the letter signs. Not only is this book great for an introduction for the hearing/speaking children but also to the children who truly need to learn ASL for communication. A must needed refreshing addition to ASL ABC collections.

EXTENSIONS 

• Have the children practice doing the ASL signs. 
• Have the children come up with other letter representations ( such as E is for egg plant) to add to the collection of examples.
• Have the children start development words by spelling them out. 

A Seuss-y Time! - A Storytime Outline

I had the opportunity to host a special storytime for a visiting group of four year olds today. At the day school the children were learning about Dr. Seuss as his birthday is on Friday, March 2, and so, obviously, I would do a Dr. Seuss storytime! It's the first one I've ever done, so I was excited in trying it out! And... It was AWESOME!!!!The children were super excited and loved every bit of it. Even the teacher asked for a copy of the Cat in the Hat Fingerplay!

P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Green Eggs and Ham written and illus. by Dr. Seuss
My library owns a big book version of this that I'm in love with!

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? written and illus. by Dr. Seuss
Love the participation from the audience!

Ten Apples Up On Top! written by Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss) and illus. by Ray McKie 
A fun story and the kids loved connection activity for this, as did their teacher!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Cat Tricks! What Can You Do?
(follow actions)
Can you make your mouth make popping sounds?
Can you curl your tongue?
Can you whistle?
Can you wiggle your nose?
Can you make a funny face?
Can you recite the alphabet backwards?
Can you bark like a dog?
Can you do 10 jumping jacks?
Can you spell Lorax?
Can you touch your toes without bending your knees?
Source: Seussville (the Dr. Seuss official website) (this will open as a PDF)

Cat in the Hat Fingerplay (P)
One little cat on a sunny day,
Put on his hat and went out to play.

Two little cats went it started getting dark,
Put their hats on and went to the park.

Three little cats when the sky was blue,
Put on their hats and went to the zoo.

Four little cats by the kitchen door,
Put on their hats and went to the store.

Five little cats on a sunny day,
Put on their hats and they all ran away!
Source: Step by SteCC

If You Like Dr. Seuss (P)
tune: If You're Happy and You Know It
(follow actions)
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands
If you like Dr. Seuss when the Grinch is on the loose
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.

If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet
If you like Green Eggs and Ham then go tell Sam I Am
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet

If you like Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
If you like Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
If you like Cat in the Hat though he makes the fish so mad
If you like Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
Source: Storytimes Online (this will open as a PDF, but it has some great Seuss songs!)
OK, I didn't do this one this time around, but I had it ready in case I needed a backup song!

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES

Balancing an Apple (P)
I used my felt apple shapes from a previous storytime for this activity. Each child got one apple to put on their heads. We, then, had to do some things that were from the list of the Cat Tricks before we really got our movement on like jumping up and down on both feet, jumping up and down on one foot, turn around three times, squat down to touch the floor and so on. All the while we had to make sure that the apple didn't fall off our heads. This was inspired by the book Ten Apples on Top, obviously, and it was a huge hit with the kids, parents and the teacher!
 
Scavenger Hunt (P)
My fellow Children's Librarian and I created a visual scavenger hunt for the children to do. We took images from the books, such as the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, the fishes from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and etc. Everyone got a form that had the images on it and had to find the the place cards we had posted around the children's area like our Storytime Door, Children's Desk and Dr. Seuss display.

PICTURE

Dr. Seuss on the Loose! Scavenger Hunt
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2012

Poetry for Children: Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yolen, Jane and Andrew Fusek Peters. 2007. Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry. Illus. by Polly Dunbar. Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763631413.

BOOK REVIEW
In this delightful anthology, poets Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters introduce the beauty and fun of poetry to very young readers with sixty-one little poems. Organized into four parts, “Me, Myself, and I,” “Who Lives in My House?,” “I Go Outside” and “Time for Bed,” the collection exudes the playful, imaginative, rambunctious and even peaceful thoughts and actions of children in their everyday life with poems that range from the disgust of green veggies ("Soggy Greens") to the love of pets ("Cat Kisses") and grandparents ("Grandpa") to playing at the beach ("Sand House") and to getting ready for bed ("After a Bath"). Despite the various rhythms and rhymes, with the lively use of words, which are especially seen in "Rickety Train Ride": "It’s an ever so rickety trickety train,/And I honestly thickety think/That before it arrives/At the end of the line/It will tip up my drippety drink," and themes like playing in mud, all the poems radiate fun and humor for everyone to enjoy. Dunbar’s mix-medium (vibrant watercolors with accents of handmade paper collages) artwork fill this over-size formatted book and provides amazingly wonderful illustrations of children doing what they do best and that complements each of the poems. With works written by many of the contemporary and well-known poets, which include the Nikkie Grimes, J. Patrick Lewis, and Jack Prelutsky, as well as the famous authors/poets from by—gone years like Langston Hughes, A.A. Milne, and Robert Louis Stevenson, readers of all ages, including adults, will be enchanted by the refreshing charm of these beginning poems.

Picture Books: Hello, Arctic!

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Theodore. 2002. Hello, Arctic! Illus. by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. NY: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN: 0152015779

BOOK REVIEW
“Arctic winter is cold, so cold/The northern lights flicker across the dark sky/ But no Arctic summer is coming!” In this simple picture book, Taylor brings the changing of seasons of a remote of the part of the world. Written for beginning readers, the text consists of one sentence per double-spread that is reminiscent of the famous Goodnight Moon. As the seasons transitions, the text welcome the animal and plant life that live and grow in the arctic, “Birds return./Hello, birds./Tundra flowers reach for the sun./Hello, flowers” and bid them farewell and goodnight the season turns cold once more, “Polar bears sleep./Good night, bears.” Though the narrative is minimal and tells the stories, the complimentary illustrations take predominance. Through varying types of printmaking techniques Chodos-Irvine’s landscapes swoops and sways in vibrant colors textures. The animals in the foreground beautifully represented to complete the abstract full double-spread. The combination of the lively artwork and simple text, Hello, Arctic! is the perfect book for new readers to enjoy and learn about the different animals in the Arctic.

Intro. to Children and Thier Lit.: Green Eggs and Ham

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Seuss, Dr. 1960. Green Eggs and Ham. NY: Beginner Books, Inc. ISBN: 9780394900162.

BOOK REVIEW
For almost a half a century, readers of all ages have been entertained by Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham. With effectively playful words and quirky, five-colored (red, blue, yellow, black and, of course, green) illustrations that are offset by the white pages, the readers will follow the spirited Sam-I-am through the story as he tries to get the stubborn unnamed main character to eat the famous cuisine. With only fifty different words used, this Beginner Book with a rhyming scheme that constantly builds upon itself with the repetition of “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am” and the silly suggested locations of where the characters could eat the green eggs and ham (in a house, with a mouse, with a goat, on a boat, or on a train), readers will instantly become engaged and will have any reluctant reader reciting the whimsical rhyme to the very end when the main character discovers that he truly does like green eggs and ham. With its imaginative text and illustrations, Seuss’ classic will continue to delight children and adults with a story of trying something new for generations to come.

CONNECTIONS
*Ask the group if they ever had to eat something that they thought they didn’t like but actually did when they did try it.
*Have the group list which foods are green.