Pre-K Library Storytime

We'll be trick 'r treating throughout the library, so wear your superduds or tails & horns! We'll supply the books, the songs, the treats & the treat bags.  I'll be wearing my witch hat.  Last year, I used the spinner and had the kids spin and then do the actions in each slot: howl like a werewolf, walk like a zombie, laugh like a witch. It was so much fun we'll probably do it again. I always admire the costumes first. B o o k s Pop-Up by David Carter "I think I'll start with a really SCARY book." Great sound effects, simple text. I do skip a few pages. Susan Hood's Just Say Boo does a nice job of walking kids through the Trick or Treat experience. Audience participation:  Make sure they all say BOO with you, but get them ready for the Trick or Treat at the end. Don't forget to use a tiny ridiculous voice for Bill. As always when reading these, start slow and then read faster and faster to amaze your audi

You know how busy Ms. Travis always is during tornadoes and hurricanes!  We're not sure if we're going to open Monday, so keep your books and your powder dry, and stay safe!

P r o p s : train whistle,  bubble wrap,  Donald Crews' freight train. B o o k s : Freight Train  by Donald Crews. As I turned the pages of the book, I held up each car STARTING WITH THE CABOOSE NOT THE ENGINE, asking the kids what color they were.  They loved starting off the storytime as guest experts. I hung up the train on a clothesline and we talked about the type of cars. And as I hung them up, I talked a little bit about what each car might carry. Tank Car: lemonade; hopper car: Legos (dump them right out the bottom) Cattle car: cows; gondola car: bananas; box car: boxes of books or birthday presents. Thomas the Tank Engine.  I introduce this most famous of trains using the beginner book Blue Train, Green Train,  but I don't actually read it. Down by the Station. I love the Will Hillenbrand version about different zoo animals, but if your copy is torn to shreds, the way mine is, Jennifer Riggs Vetter has a very fun version out about different vehicles:  "Down by

P l a y :  I hung the foam letters of the alphabet on the clothesline. First I took down the T, and brandished it before them. "The most important letter of the alphabet, because that's what my name starts with.  T for Travis.  Then I went around the room and asked each child what their name started with.  Needed quite a bit of help for some, and at first I thought I must be mad beginning a storytime by giving each kids a prop, but they all did quite well with them. The letters were then used for the craft afterward. B o o k s : Old Black Fly  by Jim Aylesworth.  Love this book.  I always have the kids do the Shoo Fly, Shoo Fly, Shoo! The Sleepy Little Alphabet   by Judy Sierra.   Another very funny hit from Judy Sierra. This is the only alphabet book I find to be readable. It doesn't just go A was once an Apple Pie, B blah blah blah.  Instead the naughty lower case letters are each misbehaving at bedtime, and the connection between letter and action isn't labored.  A

Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton Wow! Said the Owl by Hopgood Owl Babies  by Waddell Goodnight Owl by Pizzoli I'm Not Scared/I'm Not Cute Allen The Owl and the Pussycat by Lear Owl Moon by Yolen Hoot Owl by Taylor Peek-a-Who Laden

B o o k s Mammoth in the Fridge  by Michael Escoffier. The parents are horrified to discover a whoolly mammoth in their fridge one morning.  They call the fire dept., but when the mammoth escapes and runs up a tree, they leave. Turns out their daughter is in cahoots with the beast. PIRATE'S PERFECT PET by Beth Ferry.  Alas, I forgot to wear my pirate hat, but this was one still a big hit with the kids. Skip the note from Mom and get right into the action, the progression from farm to zoo to pet store. Prop: Pirate's hat and sword. An Octopus Followed Me Hom e by Dan Yaccarino.  And that's a bad thing? Maybe to Dad. My Rhinoceros  by John Agee.  His new pet rhino is just as sluggish as he looks, so the boy's a bit disappointed. Until he discovers he can fly .  Prop:   Bubble wrap for the popping noise. HOW DO DINOSAURS CHOOSE THEIR PETS by Jane Yolen, who just can't miss with this series. Dino Pets  by Lynn Plourde. Lush illustrations, short rhyming verse.  Plunk do