Pre-K Library Storytime

Well, I know we're usually p-r-e-t-t-y darn funny at storytime, but this week we're going to be just plain silly. We sang the hello song in silly voices (deep and growly, high and squeaky, just silly). Books The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak.  All about the voice.  I bet the babies would love this one too. Can You Make a Scary Face?  by Jan Thomas.  Good for audience participation. Remember to brush up on your  chicken dance . 15 Things NOT to Do With a Grandma by McAllister.  We had three grandmas present, so this really hit the spot.  Everything was just silly enough -- perfect for this age group. That Is Not a Good Idea  by Mo Willems.  Although let's get real, ANY Pigeon book is really funny. Betty Goes Bananas by Steve Antony. I paused a lot before a turned the next page on this book to give the kids a chance to guess how Betty would react to the tragedy of a banana difficult to open, a broken banana, etc.   That is NOT a Good Idea! by the immortal Mo Willems.

I loved doing a storytime about babies for BIG KIDS like two-year-olds. And you can always throw baby animals into the mix for variety. I like Farm Animals, Watch Me Grow at 636 pets. Game: Intro: I had a four sets of animals and their babies pinned to the clothesline. The lion was with her cub, but the others were all mixed up. I asked the kids to help me straighten them out. Is this right? Is this right? Books   Potty Time  by Guida van Genechten (Yes! Everyone poops! and it's so funny!) Pause and solicit the "Do zebras have potties?" to get that "Nooo!" from the kids. They'll think it's funnier. King Baby  by Kate Beaton.  Must try, toooo funny. More for the moms than the kids, but they thought it was funny too. The Babies on the Bus  by Karen Katz. Kids all sang along. Royal Superbaby  by O'Malley. Every year I think this bunch is going to be much too young for this story, and every year I look up from reading it to see them listening with jaws d

        Construction Storyhour Books:   With Any Luck I'll Drive a Truck by David Friend.  Great description of what trucks do AND fun readaloud. This is the perfect book to lead off this storytime. Stanley the Builder by Bee. OK.  Very simple for this group, but an OK filler. Extremely Cute Animals Operating Heavy Machinery by David Gordon.  Too cute for words! I heightened the drama on this one by saying "You're not going to like what you see on the next page!" before I turned and read about the sand castle bashing.  EVERYONE was listening by the end. Digger to the Rescue   by Mandy Archer. Kids appreciated the cat rescue. I shortened a bit. Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop  by Lisa Shulman. Shorten a bit. This made a great ending to the storytime. The kids all sang along. Roadwork  by Sally Sutton.  I asked the kids to do the actions with me, hammer the pegs, move the earth, load the dirt, etc. I repeated the chorus, like Ping! Bang! Tap! 3 x.  Next t

P r o p s : Cape, crown, and castle! B o o k s : Mixed Up Fairy Tales   by Hilary Robinson. For a young group, pick one story from this book and tell it. THEN use this book as a review of the story. But this year the group was older, and they really appreciated the humor of: And then Goldilocks ate RED RIDING HOOD'S GRANDMOTHER?! We did a couple. Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude  by Kevin O'Malley.  This book's weird dichotomy between ultra girly Princess Tenderheart and the ultra guy Cool Motorcycle Dude, including a horrible green ogre and some innocent ponies, always hits the spot even with the youngest crew. Amazingly. Parts of this book make no sense at all, volcanoes exploding suddenly, invisible cloaks being made, but the kids listened to it all without question and loved it. "Is it scary?" Juliet asked. "Why yes, it is," I answered. She snuggled in with her grandmother and it was just scary enough. Very important: read in two voices, fake little