What I Read This Week 7/24

Remy and Lulu, Kevin Hawkes

Another one of my favorite picture books. It's a smidge wordy for a read aloud, but the illustrations are so great that I think it would be worth it to read it to a group and just do a little summarizing. It's a nice story with a good message, but my favorite part is the illustrations. They're done by two different artists and having the different styles is really unique.

Bernice Gets Carried Away, Hannah E. Harrison

I was beyond excited when I found out Hannah Harrison had another picture book coming out and Bernice Gets Carried Away did not disappoint. The detail of her illustrations makes me think I could look at this book for an hour and still find something new on every page. I also like that even though the book is about trying to not be grumpy, it doesn't use negative emotions language like "being grumpy is bad" or "you should never be grumpy". The lesson is very much "feeling left out may make most people feel grumpy, but there are ways we can make ourselves feel better".

The Composer Is Dead, Lemony Snicket, music composed by Nathaniel Stookey

Music performed by the San Francisco Symphony.

AR Level 3.9, K-3 interest level

Lexile Measure AD710

I can't believe I've never read this book before. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is up there with Harry Potter as one of my favorite kids' series, so I don't know how I missed this one. This would be an amazing tool for music teachers or anyone whose kids enjoy mysteries. Just like Lemony Snicket's other books, this one is very silly but also has some darker humor and word play older kids will love.

Rude Cakes, Rowboat Watkins

Speaking of silly books, this might be the silliest one I've read in a while. It reminds me of Jane Yolen's books (How Do Dinosaurs Go To School, etc.) in that it demonstrates negative behavior and then highlights positive behavior. Plus now I want to get kids to start calling each other "doughnut holes".

What I Read This Week 7/16

The Real Wonders of the World, Moira Butterfield/Lonely Planet

This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved in elementary and middle school--big pictures and fun facts.

Extraordinary Jane, Hannah E. Harrison

This is probably my #1 favorite picture book. I'm amazed by the illustrations every time I read it. They're so detailed that it doesn't make the best read aloud, but I think it could be done. It also has an Accelerated Reader level of 2.4, for kids whose schools use AR.

Back to School Tortoise, Lucy M. George

This is a great book for kids who are nervous about starting school. It really normalizes being nervous without making school seem scary. Another bonus--it doesn't use the word kindergarten, so it's good for preschool, elementary school, and kids who don't like talking about kindergarten.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Judi Barrett

Another favorite of mine. It's pretty long for a picture book so it's not a great read aloud but it is great for kids who love silly stories and/or pictures. It's a 4.3 on the AR scale or an M for Guided Reading.

Gaston, Kelly DiPucchio

Hilarious read aloud or personal reading. The illustrations are really unique and it has a sweet message. I think all kids would like it, but it would be especially good for adopted kids or kids who don't necessarily look like their families. It's a 2.8 on the AR scale.

Zorro Gets an Outfit, Carter Goodrich

The third in a series about two dogs. It's a funny story and can also start a conversation about worrying and/or confidence.

Ten Rules of Being a Superhero, Deb Poultry

I liked the illustrations in this one. Also, I love Batman and Superman as much as the next librarian, but I think kids would like to see a superhero who looks like them and has problems like them.

Dragons Love Tacos, Adam Rubin

I fundamentally disagree with the plot of this book--I think dragons would love spicy tacos! However, I suppose the author is entitled to artistic license and kids always love it.

A Boy and His Bunny (followed by: A Girl and Her Gator and A Bear and His Boy), Sean Bryan

I love these for read alouds. The rhyming is really fun, they're not too long, and you can ask kids all sorts of silly questions while you read (i.e. What would you wear if you had a gator in your hair?)

Book-O-Masks: A Wearable Book, Donald Lemke

I'm not sure I will use these during storytime since it's a little tough to turn pages, hold the book up, and have kids grabbing all at the same time, but I'm still going to order a set for our library. Kids-especially toddlers- LOVE the silliness of covering up your face, even if they don't what all the masks are. The rest of the series is: Book-O-Teeth, Book-O-Beards, and Book-O-Hats.

Family Storytime 7/15

I just recently covered a family storytime (all ages at our library) for a coworker on vacation. As much as I love my babies at lap sit, I also like to shake it up with some picture books and felt boards I can't do with the tiny ones. Here's what I did for my 30 minute storytime:

Opening song: "Clap Your Hands" (Wiggleworms Love You cd)

ABCs

Wheels on the Bus

A Girl and Her Gator by Sean Bryan

Little Mouse felt board game

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Chu's Day at the Beach by Neil Gaiman

These Are My Glasses (Laurie Berkner cd- Whaddaya Think of That?)

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin (I also used a felt board we have made up to go along with this story)

Hokey Pokey (It was a young-ish group so we stuck with hands, feet, and whole self in so we didn't have to learn left and right)

Open Very Carefully by Nicola O'Byrne













Zoom Zoom Zoom

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox (big book)
* Big books are GREAT for our family storytimes because we'll pretty consistently
have 40-50 people in the room. Plus they're really exciting for kids who haven't seen a book that big before!

Five Little Monkeys Jumping On a Bed

Puddle Pug by Kim Norman

Goodbye song:
Storytime is over now, over now, over now
Storytime is over now- see you next time!

Stamps

Lap Sit: Week of 7/13/2015

I'm so sad this is the final week of our Summer storytime session! I've been in my position for about a year and a half so it's really hitting me that kids are starting to age out of my storytimes. To make myself feel better, I put together a storytime with some of my favorite songs and books. Here it is:

If You're Ready For a Story [to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It]\
If you're ready for a story, clap your hands (clap, clap)
If you're ready for a story, clap your hands (clap, clap)
If you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story
If you're ready for a story, clap your hands (clap, clap)
[repeat with stomp feet and wave hello]

Big Big Big
This is big, big, big
This is small, small, small
This is short, short, short
This is tall, tall, tall
This is fast, fast, fast
This is slow, slow, slow
This is yes, yes, yes
This is no, no, no

ABCs

Acka Backa
Acka backa soda cracker, acka backa boo
Acka backa soda cracker, I love you [big hug]
Acka back soda cracker, acka backa boo
Acka backa soda cracker, up goes you! [lift baby or baby's arms up]

Book #1: Do Crocs Kiss? by Salina Yoon

Open Shut Them
[do the coordinating hand motions]
Open shut them, open shut them
Give a little clap, clap, clap
Open shut them, open shut them
Put them in your lap, lap, lap
Creep them crawl them, creep them crawl them
Right up to your chinny-chin-chin
Open wide your little mouth-
but do not let them in!

Wheels On the Bus
[my most popular verses seem to be wheels on the bus go round and round, kids on the bus go up and down, horn on the bus goes beep beep beep, and grown-ups on the bus go shh shh shh]

Slowly, Slowly
[make a creeping motion up and down kids' arms and legs]
Slowly, slowly, very slowly creeps the garden snail
Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the garden rail
Quickly, quickly very quickly runs the little mouse
Quickly, quickly, very quickly to his little house

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Book #2: Noodle Loves the Farm by Marion Billet

Wiggle Waggle Went the Bear
Wiggle waggle went the bear
Catching bees in his underwear
One bee out, one bee in
One bee bit him on his big bear skin...bzzz!

Thumbs are Starting to Wiggle
My thumbs are starting to wiggle, my thumbs are starting to wiggle, my thumbs are starting to wiggle- and now so are my arms!
My arms are starting to wiggle, my arms are starting to wiggle, my arms are starting to wiggle- around and around and around!
[You can repeat with as many body parts as you'd like. For babies I usually stick with 3 or 4]

Row Row Row Your Boat

She'll be Coming Around the Mountain
[I do this on accompanied by my ukulele, but when I don't do that, I like the additions that the ladies over at Jbrary make]:

Book #3: Zoom, Zoom, Baby! by Karen Katz

Bubbles (using a bubble machine)

Goodbye Song
Storytime is over now, over now, over now
Storytime is over now-
See you next time!

Baby Storytimes

Since I started at my library about a year and a half ago, I’ve been the sole leader of Lap Sit, our 0-23 month group. From my coworkers and other librarians, I’ve heard a lot of nervousness about leading storytimes for infants, so I thought I would share a general outline for my 20 minute Lap Sit.

A couple of quick tips first:

- Sometimes I’ll do themes and sometimes I won’t, but I don’t worry at all about having songs about the same topic. Babies don’t care and parents might notice or appreciate it, but in around 300 storytimes, I have never had an adult comment one way or another on a theme.

- It’s ok to change what you do throughout the week! I do anywhere from 2 to 6 storytimes a week and sometimes a song or a book will totally bomb on Monday so I’ll skip it next time.

- On the other hand, don’t worry about doing the exact same thing throughout the week! I have a couple families who come to multiple storytimes a week and are happy to do the same songs and stories again.

- Finally, just remember that your audience is full of babies! I never worry about how much my group is paying attention. I always say as long as 75% of my group is paying attention at any given time, that’s pretty good.

On to the Lap Sit! Here is a general outline I’ve been using with great success:

If You're Ready for a Story (to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It")

This is Big Big Big

ABCs

Open/Shut Them

Book #1
* For about a year I've been doing this as a group reading. We are fortunate enough to have enough copies of 6 different books so far that every baby gets his or her own copy and we (try to) read all together out loud.

3-4 songs

Book #2 (and only if total chaos hasn't yet set in)

3-4 songs

Bubbles

Goodbye song

Flannel Friday: Sharks

I thought I’d dive right in (ha!) to my new blog with a Flannel Friday post. One of my co-workers and I are really into felt board stories and games, so when she made a shark puppet for her ocean themed storytime this Friday, I knew I had to share it!

She made it to go along with the song “5 Little Monkeys Swinging In a Tree” but will be using it as “5 Little Fish Swimming in the Sea”. We're not sure exactly where we heard the re-written lyrics, so if anybody has an answer, we'd love to link to it!

Start out with five fish:

5 little fish swimming in the sea

Teasing Mr, Shark- you can’t catch me!

Along came Mr. Shark, quiet as can be

And snapped that fish right out of the sea!

4 little fish swimming in the sea

Teasing Mr, Shark- you can’t catch me!

Along came Mr. Shark, quiet as can be

And snapped that fish right out of the sea!

[continue counting down until...]

No more fish!

Hopefully kids will like this one--they seem to love any sort of puppet, so it should be a hit! 

Hello, Internet!

Welcome to the blog of The Buckeye Librarian! I am currently a Youth Services Library Associate in the north east corner of Ohio and am about to start my MLIS. I'm starting this blog as a way  to collect all the resources, books, craft ideas, songs, and programs I use or come across in my travels. If it ends up giving ideas to anybody else, then that's just chocolate on the buckeye!