Squirrels! - A Storytime Outline

Families and I celebrated the little land creature - squirrels! At first I was a little apprehensive with the theme because I didn't know if I would be able to find enough stories or activities that would be great for my storytimes.  But I did! The programs were a huge success! The books were a great choice. The songs were fun.

LETTER OF THE DAY
 Since we squirrels was a the theme the Letter of the Day was "S." I asked the children to name words that begin with that letter. I had answers like "shark," "sun," "sky," "seed," "sea," "sandcastle," "spider," "snowflake," and "snake." I had some pieces from other flannel boards to help enhance the answers.

BOOKS
Nuts to You! written and illus. by Lois Ehlert (T)
I was wondering how the families would react to this story since the text is very simple and the illustrations were so close up. But, I was wrong! They loved it, especially when I shouted "Nuts to you!". 

The Busy Little Squirrel written and illus. by Nancy Tafuri (T)
To get the toddlers more into the story I asked them to help me identify each of the animals and make their animal noise.

Scaredy Squirrel written and illus. by Melanie Watt (P)
I find that reading this story you have to very dynamic and funny. The children loved this book! If you have the time - make props!

Erroll written and illus. by Hannah Shaw (P)
This story went better than I expected. They thought it was funny and silly, especially at the ending.

Ol' Mama Squirrel written and illus. by David Ezra Stein 
I had planned to read this during Preschool Storytime, but we were having so much fun with the other rhymes and stories that we didn't get to it. It happens. This is a fun book too. I was going to have the children make the "chook, chook" noise!  

SONGS & RHYMES 
Open, Shut Them (T, P)
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Give them 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 let them in!
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Give them a really big clap!
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Lay them in your lap.

My Hands Say Hello (T, P)
My hands say hello, (wave hands)
My hands say hello,
Everytime I see my friends,
My hands say hello.

Additional lyrics:
Feet (stomp feet)
Nose (wiggle or tap nose)
Ears (wiggle ears) 
Tongue (stick that tongue out!) 

Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel (T, P) 
Before you begin, have the children practice sharking and swishing their pretend squirrel tails! 
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail!
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Wrinkle your funny nose!
Hold nuts between your toes (dance on tippy toes!)
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail!
Shake your bushy tail!
Mix up the actions to make it a suspenseful yet fun action rhyme!
Modified from Grey Source: Small Town Story Time Lady

Five Little Squirrels (T, P) 
Tune: Five Little Ducks 
1 little squirrel went out to play
Up in the branches one autumn day.
He had such enormous fun,
He called for another little squirrel to come.

2 little squirrels...
3 little squirrels...
4 little squirrels...

5 little squirrels went out to play
Up in the branches one chilly day.
They had such enormous fun,
Then all scurried home 'cause winter had come.
Note: you can change the season if you need to. I switched it to Summer and they went home because it started to rain (we had a really rainy morning we had our storytime).
Source: Storytime Stuff  

Touch Your Nose (T, P) 
Touch your nose,
Touch your chin,
That's the way this game begins.
Find your eyes,
Touch your knees,
Now pretend you're going to sneeze!
AA-CHOOOO!
Touch your hair,
Touch one ear,
Touch your two red lips right here,
Can you blow a kiss good-bye? (blow a kiss!)
Touch your elbow where it bends
Can you touch your other elbow?
And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARDS
Five Little Squirrels  (T, P)
This rhyme is so much fun because you're counting UP and not down, which is typical for counting rhymes. I made simple squirrels for this rhyme by using the template created by Melanie Fitz that was shared on the Storytime Stuff blog. I didn't make a tree branch or anything to go with the the squirrels, but I did place them on the lower portion of my flannel boar and moved them up when another one joined in on the fun.
Source: Storytime Stuff 

"Little Squirrel, Little Squirrel" Guessing Game (P)
I really wanted a guessing game rhyme like "Little Mouse, Little Mouse," and I essentially made one. However, I could not come up with a rhyme to go with it. So! All I did was have the children recite, "Little Squirrel, little squirrel, where are you?" before I asked them if a squirrel was hiding behind a certain felt item. This game was a HUGE hit with the preschoolers. Whenever they found a squirrel the room would erupt in loud cheers of victory! Awesome!

When it came to making the felt pieces (tree, bird feeder, bird bath, acorns, and leaves) I mostly drew everything by hand. The leaves was the only thing that came from a die cutter. For the bird feeder I used a piece of scrap laminate and some bird seeds from home to create an "authentic" look.

"Little Squirrel, Little Squirrel" flannel board,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2014.

ACTIVITIES
Movement Scarves Dancing (T)
Instead of the usual egg shakers I had the toddlers dance around with the movement scarves. I played one song on the iPod to get them loosened up. Then we played Freeze Dance. This was the first time that I have ever done Freeze Dance with Toddlers, and I was very happy with the result... they knew what they were doing! Yay! The families loved it!

"Little Squirrel, Little Squirrel" Guessing Game (P)
See above.

Tree Hopping (T, P) 
I came across this simple activity while searching the web for more interactive things to for the children to do. This was perfect (especially since my Room of Requirement had two hula hoops handy). I taped die cut leaves to the hoops to make them more tree-like. For Toddler Time I had the little ones jump from one "tree" to another after they picked their craft bag. Since the Preschool Time program was very large (34 children total!) I couldn't do that. So! Instead, they tree hopped as they left the program room after they finished their craft. I even had a couple of parents jump from tree to tree too!
Source: Twiggle Magazine

CRAFT 
Ss is for Squirrel Activity Page (T, P)
Since it's summer I really wanted a simple craft (Hey! There's a lot of S's in that sentence!). So I created an activity sheet that the children could color, glue a letter S to, and, for the older kids, answer questions. The body of the squirrel came from a Mailbox image and I erased the tail. The letter S was created by die cutting, and it was glued to the squirrel to be its tail. I typed out a few words that began with the letter S and left empty spaces for the children to write their own words. Several of the children did a really good job at doing this. I also had a little question tucked down in the corner of the page: What do squirrels eat? A couple of children new the answer (acorns or nuts). The is was a perfect craft for everyone!

Squirrel Storytime Craft, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2014

The Ones That Stick With You (AKA Books You Grew Up With)

Just recently I helped a mom find books for her children and grandchildren. We didn't have a copy of a book that her daughter grew-up with, but I did find something along the same theme. We then explored books that I remember from my own childhood. The mom really wanted books that her little ones would love and remember when they're older.

This got me to thinking: what are all of the books that I had grown up with. Do you smell a new reading list? I do!

Whenever I see these books I reminisce and smile.

PICTURE BOOKS

• Madeline books written and illus. by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Berenstain Bears series written and illus. by Stan and Jan Berenstain
• The Day It Rained Hearts written and illus. by Felicia Bond
• Annie and the Wild Animals written and illus. by Jan Brett
• Arthur's Halloween written and illus. by Marc Brown
• The Little House written and illus. by Virginia Lee Burton
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel written and illus. by Virginia Lee Burton
• Brush written by Pere Calders and illus. by Carme Sole Vendrell
• Stellaluna written and illus. by Jannell Cannon
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illus. by Eric Carle
• Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type written by Doreen Cronin and illus. by Betsy Lewin
• Are You My Mother? written and illus. by P.D. Eastman
• The Happy Lion written and illus. by Louise Fatio
• Bark, George written and illus. by Jules Feiffer
• Wynken, Blynken, and Nod written by Eugune Field and illus. by
• Possum Magic written and illus. by Mem Fox
• Where is the Green Sheep? written and illus. by Mem Fox
• Full Moon Soup written and illus. by Alastair Graham 
• Corduroy books written and illus. by Don Freeman
• Orlando the Marmalade Cat series written and illus. by Kathleen Hale
• Bailey Goes Camping written and illus. by Kevin Henkes
• Snow White written by Paul Heins and illus. by Trina Schart Hyman
• Harold and the Purple Crayon written and illus. by Crockett Johnson
• Elmer written and illus. by David McKee
• Zin! Zin! Zin!: A Violin written by Lloyd Moss and illus. by Marjorie Priceman
• If You Give A Pig a Pancake written by Laura Numeroff and illus. by Felicia Bond
• Curious George written and illus. by H.A. Rey
• The Dot written and illus. by Peter Reynolds
• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales written by Jon Scieszka and illus. by Lane Smith
• Where the Wild Things Are written and illus. by Maurice Sendak
• Green Eggs and Ham written and illus. by Dr. Seuss
• The Pop-Up Mice of Mr. Brice written and illus. by Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg
• Gregory the Terrible Eater written by Mitchel Sharmat and illus. by Jose Aruego and Adriane Dewey
• Caps for Sale written and illus. by Esphyr Slobodkina
• Calvin and Hobbes comics written and illus. by Bill Watterson 
• A Chair for My Mother written and illus. by Vera B. Williams
• Teddy Bear Farmer series written by Phoebe Worthington and illus. by Joan Worthington
• Harry the Dirty Dog written by Gene Zion and illus. by Margaret Bloy Graham 

  NONFICTION

• Mummies Made in Egypt written by Aliki

CHAPTER BOOKS

• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle written by Avi
• Who Stole the Wizard of Oz written by Avi
• Chasing Vermeer written by Blue Balliett and illus. by Brett Helquist
• The Wright Three written by Blue Balliett and illus. by Brett Helquist
• The Calder Game written by Blue Balliett and illus. by Brett Helquist
• Time For Andrew written by Mary Downing Hahn
• The Doll in the Garden written by Mary Downing Hahn
• The Gentleman Outlaw and Me - Eli written by Mary Downing Hahn
• Following the Mystery Man written by Mary Downing Hahn
• Following My Own Footsteps written by Mary Downing Hahn
• Daphne's Book written by Mary Downing Hahn
• Look For Me By Moonlight written by Mary Downing Hahn (YA level)
• Nancy Drew series written by Carolyn Keene 
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler written by E. L. Konigsburg
• Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling
• The Egypt Game written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
• Little House on the Prairie series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Mozart Season written by Virginia Euwer Wolff
• American Girl series
• Molly and Felicity books written by Valerie Tripp and illus. by C. F. Payne,
• Samantha books written by Susan S. Adler and illus. by Dan Andreasen,
• Kirsten books written by Janet Beeler Shaw,
• Addy books written by Connie Porter and illus. by Dahl Taylor

GROWN-UPS ARE STILL GROWING
In my mind, I'm still growing up. These are books I discovered once I became a grown-up (with a job) that I will never forget.

• A Little Book of Sloth written by Lucy Cooke
• Cows in the Kitchen written by June Crebbin and illus. by Katharine McEwen 
• Flora and the Flamingo written and illus. by Molly Idle
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illus. by Eric Carle
• Anne of Green Gables series written by L. M. Montgomery 
• Smells Like Dog written by Suzanne Selfors
• Smells Like Treasure written by Suzanne Selfors
• Smells Like Pirates written by Suzanne Selfors

What books did you grew up with that you will always remember?

The Name is Frog... Bullfrog

Yesterday we welcomed an animal expert at my library today for our weekly summer reading program event. Ms. B showed some amazingly cool animals and shared great information about them. One of two that I can't get out of my head is the West African Burrow Bullfrog. He's a giant fellow and was quite mellow as he was walked around the room of the one hundred plus children and guardians. You're like, "Wow! That's a huge frog," especially after you learn that he'll double his size (he was currently the size squished honeydew mellon). And then... Ms. B talked about the what he ate. Insects. Sure. Detectible. Mice? Yes. Wait! What??? Mice?! Yes. They eat mice. And to help them swallow said creature they use their buggy eyes, which pop out of their head, to push the little thing in! Gulp! Wow. I'm still in shock!

So! What does a Children's Librarian do when you got mice-eating bullfrogs on the brain? Why, make a reading list about frogs and toads, of course!

• Toads on Toast written by Linda Bailey and illus. by Colin Jack
• The Frog Who Wanted to See the Sea written and illus. by Guy Billout
• Toad written and illus. by Ruth Brown
• Frogs written and illus. by Gail Gibbons
• Gem written and illus. by Holly Hobbie
• Jump, Frog, Jump! written by Robert Kalan and illus. by Byron Barton
• Excuse Me! written and illus. by Lisa Kopelke
• Frog and Toad books written and illus. by Arnold Lobel 
• The Frogs and Toads All Sang books written by Arnold Lobel and illus. by Adrianne Lobel
• Froggy books written by Jonathan London and illus. by Frank Remkiewicz
• Ah Ha! written and illus. by Jeff Mack 
• Once There Was A Bull... (Frog) written by Rick Walton and illus. by Greg Hally 
• Bullfrog Pops!  written by Rick Walton and illus. by Chris McCallister 
• The Biggest Frog in Australia written and illus. by Susan Roth
• Hop Jump written and illus. by Ellen Stoll Walsh
• Tuesday written and illus. by David Wiesner
• Big Frog Can't Fit In: A Pop-Up Book written and illus. by Mo Willems

Do you have a favorite frog or toad story book?

P.S. The other creature that is on my mind is the coatimundi, which is a mammal native to Texas. I got to hold a six-month, bottle fed little one. She was so wiggly and curious, and her paws were uber soft like baby toes. SO ADORABLE!

Mighty Dads - A Book Review

Just in time for Father's Day there is a new book to share with you all! 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holub, Joan. 2014. Mighty Dads. Illus. by James Dean. NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780545609685.

BOOK REVIEW
Dads do many things. Even construction vehicle dads. Dump trucks, bulldozers, cranes, and the rest of the mighty dads dig, scoop, spin, and lift to teach and encourage their children. The story is in a welcoming and perfect rhyme, and the text is in a bold font that allows the children to see. James Dean's illustrations are absolutely wonderful! They are bight in color and, though simple in general, has plenty of details. The children will love seeing the little construction children next to their dad. There are not too many books about fathers, especially compared to mother books. This is a must read and own book for any family library, school library, public library, and any storytime celebrating everyone's mighty dads!

CONNECTION

• Have the children make Father Day's cards, especially with a construction theme!

*Book image was taken from www.goodreads.com. 

Wild Animals - A Storytime Outline

This was my first storytime of the new spring season and for the years 2014. I chose an easier theme to start off with (who needs something complicated when you're still have semi-holiday brain?). However, with an easy theme also comes with the large amount of options of activities to do! Ideas that I had but did not do included playing different animals noises (from an iPod app called NAME) and letting the children guess which animal it was. Another was to do the popular Dear Zoo storytelling with puppets and large boxes. These are so much fun, but just didn't make it into this program. Oh well. Maybe next time!

BOOKS  
From Head to Toe written and illus. by Eric Carle (T, P)
You can never go wrong with Eric Carle. I love this book. The children do such a great job mimicking the animals!

The Wheels on the Bus written and illus. by Jane Cabrera (T, P) 
This is such a fun book. It works great for Toddlers especially because it allows them to work on their animal recognition.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt written by Michael Rosen and illus. by Helen Oxenbury (P)
This was the second time that I have ever read this book. Seriously! Knowing the reaction during the last reading, I knew more interactiveness was needed to keep the kids engaged. So I made props! Also, it helps if you get the rhythm correct. If you need help need help with the rhythm Micheal Rosen has a video doing the story rhyme from beginning to end (it was hard for me to not use his accent during the program!). 

SONGS & RHYMES
Open, Shut Them (T, 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

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap. 

Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree
Five little monkeys swinging from a tree (hold up five fingers and swing your arm)
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!" (but your hands to your ears like antlers!)
Along come Mr. Crocodile, (but your hands together and swim them around slowly)
As hungry as can be
And SNAP! (make your whole arms into a large crocodile mouth and snap your hands together like a big gulp!)

Four little monkeys swinging from a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Crocodile,
As hungry as can be
And SNAP!

Countdown to one monkey

One little monkey swinging from a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Crocodile,
As hunger as can be (still!)
And SNAP!
Along goes Mr. Crocodile as full as can be!  

Touch Your Nose (T, 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 bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARDS
Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree (T, P) 
I used a flannel board that was created by a coworker.

ACTIVITIES
We're Going on a Bear Hunt (P) 
To make the story We're Going on a Bear Hunt more interactive I weighed my options. It would have been amazing fun if we had done a actual obstacle course, but I didn't have space for that. So instead I created my own props. I'm hoping that I'll be able to use these props again in a future storytime format that my partner-in-storytime-crime and I are working on right now (hence why I used felt). I did not use any patterns - just my imagination. Each child got their own set of grass, water, mud, snowflake and tree, and either remain seated or could stand up. During the reading of the book they had to wave the different prop around when we got to that part. It worked out pretty well. Next time around I'll make them stand up, which works out better when they have  to run from the bear and to go up and down the stairs. I also included a little bear in a cave.

CRAFT
Pretend Binoculars (T, P)
If you're going to hear stories about wild animals and if you're going to keep an eye out for wild animals out in your world, you will need a pair of binoculars! You take two toilet paper tubes and glue or tape them together. I added a strip of construction paper to decorated it up a bit but also keep the tubes together more. The children LOVED them!

PICTURES

Toddler and Preschool Binocular craft,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014

We're Going On a Bear Hunt flannel props,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014

Bear Cave for We're Going on a Bear Hunt storytelling,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014

Miss Dorothy's Favorites II - A Storytime Outline

This is the second of the continuing theme, "Miss Dorothy's Favorites." These books are among the ones that I love to read due to the story and/or the illustrations.

BOOKS
Tuck Me In! written by Dean Hacohen and illus. by Sherry Scharschmidt (T)
This book is extremely simple and so adorable for  adults to share with babies and toddlers. Sometimes I use this book with puppets and the little ones have to tuck them with pieces of fabric/blankets. This time around, I walked around the room and let everyone have a turn turning the half-page blankets on each illustrated baby animal. The children loved it!

What Will the Fat Cat Sit On? written and illus. by Jan Thomas (T)
I have a Folkmanis cat puppet that is perfect for this story. I used puppets to help tell this story.
Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit written and illus. by Catherine Rayner (T, P)
A great book about friendship and thinking outside of the box ... errr.. book!

Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch created by James Dean (P)
Pete the Cat is awesome! As it's in an Easy Reader format I needed a way make this book more visual for the children. So! I created a flannel sandwich that the children had to help build during the reading of the book. See the Flannel Board section below for more details.

The Watermelon Seed written and illus. by Greg Pizzoli (P)
This books MUST be read with dramatics! It's very silly and imaginative. The children loved it!

SONGS & RHYMES
Open, Shut Them (T, 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

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider (P)
(follow actions with your fingers and arms)
The itsy bitsy spider (move your fingers like a spider going upward)
went up the water spout.
Down came the rain (wiggle your fingers like rain is falling)
and washed the spider out! (sweep with your hands like the a wave of water washed the spider out)
Out came the sun (raise arms overhead in a circle to make a sun)
and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider (make your finger spider go upwards again!)
went up the spout again! 

The Great Big Hairy Spider (P)
Tune: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
(follow actions)
The great big hairy spider
climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out!
Out came the sun
and dried up all the rain.
And the great big hairy spider
climbed up the spout again!

Touch Your Nose (T, 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 bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARDS

Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch (P)
As I mentioned above, I needed visual aids during the reading of the book Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch since the book is in Easy Reader format, which makes the illustrations smaller than normal for storytimes. I made all the pieces by hand with the help of Microsoft clip art templates. I had a Pete the Cat doll with me that day, since then I've added a flannelized version of Pete to go along with the story.

ACTIVITIES
Storytime Scarves (T)
The little ones were restless so in addition to our egg shakers I let the toddlers dance to the following songs with our storytime scarves:

• I'm Gonna Catch You by Laurie Berkner
• My Energy by Laurie Berkner

Egg Shakers (T, P)
Shake them up high and shake them down low!

CRAFTS
"Tuck Me In and Read Me a Story" coloring page (T)
The toddlers got a coloring page that allowed them color their own bed and blanket. If they wanted to they could draw (or scribble) an animal or themselves on the pillow. 

Pop-Up Book/Card (P)
To tie into the book Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit I used a pop-up card die cut to create the inside page for children to paste and tape scrapes of paper to create their own fold out book/card like the book is. The cover was created just by cutting a rectangle and folding it in half. Then they could draw anything inside of it that would need extra room to fit in the book. I drew a giraffe as you can see. I saw a couple rockets that were pretty awesome.

PICTURES

Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch flannel board,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

Tuck me in and Read me a story! coloring page,
Toddler Storytime craft, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

Pop-Up Book/Card, Preschool Storytime craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013

Flora and the Flamingo - Picture Book Gush!

This is not entirely a book review (in some form and fashion it really is). This is more of a book gush. I don't know if I can put into words or complete sentences on how much LOVE this book. I have seen so many different types of picture picture over my lifetime as a reader and as a Children's Librarian. Generally, adjectives I've used in the past to describe the books include "cute," "adorable", "pleasant," "lovely," "funny," "icky," "gross" "ugly," (those last three are describing book illustrations are not my cup of tea). I cannot remember a time of when I used the word "beautiful" ... until now. Also, I am not only referring to the illustrations. I am referring to the entire book itself. Cover art. End pages. Illustrations. Book design. Flora and the Flamingo is a beautiful book. Hands down. I don't care what other people may say.

Another way I can describe this book is that it's like finding a friend and never wanting to let it go. I am constantly looking at this book, I had it on display during a My Favorite Stories storytime, I have a poster in my storytime room, and I am getting to the point that I will have buy this book so that it can grace my home for forever. This beautiful book makes me happy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Idles, Molly. 2013. Flora and the Flamingo. Illus. by Molly Idle. San Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC. ISBN: 9781452110066.

BOOK REVIEW
Though Flora and the Flamingo is a wordless, flip-the-flap book it does not mean that this book lacks characters or a story. Unlike some lift-the-flap books, but not all, this book has a real storyline. A beautiful flamingo is resting by by the water when Flora appears in a bathing suit, flippers and adorable swim cap. She follows the bird's movement creating a graceful dance between the two of them. Then... a flop. through their twists and turns they have become friends and the flamingo encourages her back to the dance before splashing into the water at the end.

As you are turning the pages, in tuned with the story, and flipping the flaps to reveal the next move, you can hear the music they are dancing to in your head (at least I do!). The sense of movement you get of Flora and the flamingo dancing around the pages is excellent.

A study of lovely pink hues and a pop of yellow from Flora's swim cap is calm and soothing. All picture books are works of art. Art in writing. Art in illustrations. Art in book design. Plain and simple. Flora and the Flamingo is an example when all three things (yes, there are no words, but a story had to be developed somehow. Perhaps note taking? Also, don't forget the cover flap description!) combined creates the ultimate book. This book is a masterpiece. The fonts used on the cover and cover flaps are perfect. The delicate yellow scalloped border of the vignette on the cover. Matching plain yellow end pages. The black and white stripe at the top of the spine. A word for design: Perfect.

For those who enjoy picture books on eReaders I have seen the Adobe EPUB version as well as the Kindle Book version. I was disappointed in the EPUB format as the illustrations did not fill up the whole screen (it did better in the landscape view). The Kindle Book version was better. Not only are you required to view the picture book in landscape (and it fills the entire screen!), but it is still interactive like in the real book. Whenever there is a flap the reader will have to double-tap to "flip" it. The only downside side is that you cannot do both flaps at once like you can with the real book. I still recommend reading/sharing the real, original book format, but the Kindle version is my second best choice. 

It will be a sad day when the book's flaps will be separate from the book pages. However, that means that this book was read over and over again and was loved. Which is also a wonderful thing! A must read and own book!

CONNECTIONS

• View the book trailer at Chronicle Books' webpage (scroll down to the bottom). Ask the children if the music that was used matches the music that played in their head while they read the book.
• Play different types of music while reading the book (perhaps several times) and allow the children to decide which one they think fits the best. Different answers are encouraged!

EXRTA
I am not the only one who thinks so. I came across this blog post by Carter Higgins (Design of the Picture Book). Her review of the book is beautifully written and she echos the same thought I have:

 "... if I had to put all of my money on the top Caldecott contender for this year? This one, by leaps and bounds."

For the first time, my fingers will be crossed when it comes to the Caldecott Medal announcement next year!

Have I gushed enough? I don't know...

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? 

2013-2014 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List

As we're saying goodbye to October (where as the month gone, by the way?) we say a big "Hello" and "Howdy" to the new 2013-2014 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List! 

The books found on this list will be voted on by children across the entire state of Texas in January 2014! 

For those who are curious about the vote that will happen in January 2013, view the 2012-2013 Master List here! 

• Aguirre, Jorge. 2012. Giants Beware! Illus. by Rafael Rosado. New York: Firsdt Second.
• Applegate, Katherine. 2012. The One and Only Ivan. Illus. by Patricia Castelao. New York: Harper.
• Burg, Shana. 2012. Laugh with the Moon. New York: Delacorte.
• Chin, Jason. 2011. Coral Reefs. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 
• clifton, Lutricia. 2012. Freaky Fast Frankie Joe. New York: Holiday house. 
• Fem, Tracey. 2012. Barnum's Bones. Illus. by Boris Kulikov. New York: Margaret Ferguson Books. 
• Grandits, John. 2011. 10 Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus. Illus. by Michael Allen Austin. Boston: Clarion Books.
• Harris, R.P. 2012. Tua and the Elephant. Illus. by Taeeun Yoo. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. 
• Kalman, Maira. 2012. Looking at Lincoln. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.
• Lorenzi, Natalie Dias. 2012. Flying the Dragon. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
• MacLachlan, Patricia. 2011. Waiting for the Magic. Illus. by Amy June Bates. New York: Atheneum Books.
• Mlynowski, Sarah. 2012. Whatever After: Fairest of All. New York: Scholastic.
• Neri, G. 2011. Ghetto Cowboy. Illus. by Jesse Joshua Watson. Summerville, MA: Candlewick.
• Palacio, R.J. 2012. Wonder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• Potter, Ellen. 2012. The Humming Room. New York: Feiwel and riends.
• Scattergood, Augusta. 2012. Glory Be. New York: Scholastic. 
• Shannon, David. 2012. Jangles: A BIG Fish Story. New York: The Blue Sky Press.
• Sherry, Maureen. 2010. Walls Within Walls. Illus. by Adam Stower. New York: Katherine Tegen.
• Sweet, Melissa. 2011. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade. Boston: Houghton Miffin. 
• Varon, Sara. 2011. Bake Sale. New York: First Second. 

If you would like to read the official Annotated 2013-2104 Master List to learn more about each title, please follow the link here to visit the Texas Bluebonnet Award webpage. While you are there, you much check out the wonderful photo of Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka, and Mac Barnett as Robin, Batman and Robin as they announced the new list! 

      

Do you seen any titles that you're excited to see 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. 

Arbor Day - A Storytime Outline

In celebration of Arbor Day (April 28 or any last Friday of April),  I focused on trees for my last spring storytime. I had a great group of toddlers and a school group visit in my preschool program. We definitely had a lot of fun. Despite being a good number of books about trees, there was not many for the toddler age group. Thus, I focused also on birds.

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Little Robin Redbreast: A Mother Goose Rhyme illustrated by Shari Halpern (T)
I chose this book cause it was great and simple. One little boy was super excited to see a kitty cat in the pictures!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault and illus. by Lois Ehlert (T)
How can you :: not :: go wrong with this classic! One girl would say that we had to save the letters after they fell out of the coconut tree. We then had to go straight into singing the Alphabet Song.

The Busy Tree written by Jennifer Ward and illus. by Lisa Falkenstern (P)
This is a nice book about what type of animals live in a tree. The illustrations are a little dark in color so it did make it a little difficult to see small details. 

Mighty Tree written and illus. by Fick Gackenback (P)
This is a good book for the preschoolers and school kids. Trees can be used for products like paper and can be used for a Christmas tree, but it has a far more important job as being a home.

Fall is Not Easy written and illus. by Marty Kelley (P)
The children thought that this was hilarious!

SONGS & RHYMES

Open, Shut Them (T, 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.

Alphabet Song (T)
tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K,
L, M, N, O, P,
Q, R, S,
T, U, V,
W, X, Y, and Z.
Now I know my ABCs,
Next time won't you sing with me.

Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Way Up High in an Apple Tree
An apple smiled at me
I shook the tree as hard as I could
Down fell the apple
Mmmmm it was good

Additional verbs:
frowned, winked, laughed, blew a kiss, etc.
Inspiration source: King County Library System

Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree (P)
Five little monkeys swinging from a tree (hold up five fingers and swing your arm)
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!" (but your hands to your ears like antlers!)
Along come Mr. Crocodile, (but your hands together and swim them around slowly)
As hungry as can be
And SNAP! (make your whole arms into a large crocodile mouth and snap your hands together like a big gulp!)

Four little monkeys swinging from a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Crocodile,
As hungry as can be
And SNAP!

Countdown to one monkey

One little monkey swinging from a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Crocodile,
As hunger as can be (still!)
And SNAP!
Along go Mr. Crocodile as fat as can be!

Touch Your Nose (T, 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.

FLANNEL BOARD

Way Up High in the Apple Tree (T)
I created a large tree to cover my flannel board by making a simple looking trunk and a fluffy tree canopy. For the rhyme I simply placed the number of needed apples to the tree top. While reading the rhyme I tried to promote the "one at a time / taking turns" side of fun by pointing at each toddler to get them to come up and pick and apple. It was mildly successful! The toddlers loved putting the apples back on the tree too at the end of the rhymes.

Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree (P)
The children had a lot of fun doing this fun, especially during the SNAP! portion of the rhyme! I used a flannel board monkeys for this rhyme.

ACTIVITIES

Puppet Petting (T)
My library owns the Baby Birds in Nest puppet from Folkmanis. I walked around the group of toddlers so that they had an up close encounter with the birdies. Each one got to put the little heads. One precocious little girl kept on asking where the mommy bird was. It was super cute!

Eggs Shakers (T)
I pulled out the egg shakers one of my little regulars shout and jumped up. He loves the shakers!

CRAFTS

Tree Coloring Page (T)
The toddlers got another coloring page. In addition, they also had strips of green tissue paper to glue to the tree canopy. There was also a birds nest, to which I had a lot of questions about where the mommy bird was. They had to draw her in.

Miniature Trees (P)
The preschoolers got to make their own miniature tree from a toilet paper roll and construction paper. To make the green canopy stay up right all you have to do is cut two slits on either "ends" of the tube, and you just slip the paper right in. The children also got to add in a birds nest and a squirrel so that we highlighted the roll as tree=home to animals.

PICTURES

Way Up High in the Apple Tree, flannel board,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Tree coloring page, Toddler Storytime Craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Miniature Tree, Preschool Storytime Craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

MORE BOOKS

Leo's Tree written by Debora Pearson and illus. by Nora Hilb (T, P)
If I Were a Tree written by Dar Hosta (T, P)
A Tree for Me written by Nancy Van Laan and illus. by Sheila White Samption (P)
A Tree is Nice written by Janice May Udry and illus. by Marc Simont (P)
A Tree for Emmy written by Mary Ann Rodman and illus. by Tatjana Mai-Wyss (P)
The Apple Pie Tree written by Zoe Hall and illus. by Shari Helpern
Our Tree Named Steve written by Alan Zweibel and illus. by David Catrow (P, SA)
The Alphabet Tree written and illus. by Leo Lionni (P, SA)
Tree Ring Circus written and illus. by Adam Rex (P, SA)