Pre-K Library Storytime

B oo k s Snappy Dinosaurs. Office lift-the-flap.  Fun intro, but this group could maybe have taken something a little more challenging. Tyson the Terrible  in storyhour reference. Our copy is much abused but I love the boom boom booming. Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? by Julie Middleton. Dead pan funny. As the (pompous) dad leads the boy through the dino museum, the boy notices them coming to life -- but the father ignores them until they pass by T. Rex.  Great, great pix and a short witty text. Many complaints from the scientist in the audience. Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman.  Forestall the remarks from the scientists in the audience about dinosaurs living with cavemen by reading the title of this funny book in a completely appalled voice.  Underpants?!!! Dinosaurs love.... UNDERPANTS?!!! How Do Dinosaurs Go to School by Jane Yolen. Another nice one in the series.     Note:  Usually I do a whole school theme, but this year with th...

Hark, hark the dogs will bark at Gulf Beaches storyhour this Friday!   B o o k s The Pigeon Wants a Puppy  by Mo Willems. Always a hit. Oh No, George!   by Chris Haughton .  I am a major fan of Chris Haughton even though he's only written three books. I invited the kids to chorus in on the "Oh No, George!" and the involvement really pretty them in.  Then we did "Well done, George!" with upraised power fist.  Is There a Dog In this Book? by Viviane Schwartz.  This is a very cute lapread, but I'm not all that sure about it for storytime. The lift the flaps might be a bit hard for a crowd to see.  Ivan the Terrier   by Peter Catalanotto .  As I turned each page to a familiar new story, 3 bears, 3 little pigs, etc., the children waited for Ivan to put in his appearance. Pictures and text bounce along. But the kids really don't seem to quite get the sarcasm of Ivan making his appearance.  Next year I might use my old favorite Widget ....

B o o k s :   The Mouse Who Ate the Moon  by Petr Horacek.  Adorable. It's not often kids laugh out loud over a book. We had an older group today, so instead of reading Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton.  ( Watch the rhythm. It's not always there.) I picked If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty  j629.4 Space. The group was a bit older, and by skipping and summing up passages, I was able to get the great story of a real live trip to the moon across.   How to Catch a Star   by Oliver Jeffers.  So nice that I just happened to have a starfish (rubber) on hand for the ending. I know they liked this simple but appealing tale of a boy trying to catch a star. I heard one child say, "That was a good story." Cloudland by John Burningham. Isn't playing and living in the clouds everyone's fantasy? It should be. Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me  by the great Eric Carle. I made sure I had on hand the 9780887080265 copy, with its beautiful big pull...

Books: Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae.  One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Bernstrom.   Just a bit long, but the older kids here today really liked it -- maybe as a good starter, and its sing-song quality really appealed.  Don't hesitate to pause and ask how much longer this can go on and point out how fat the snake is getting -- DOES he have room for more? Oh, No!  by Denise Fleming Tiny Little Fly  by Michael Rosen. Love making that buzzing sound. Tried to get the kids to buzz in chorus. You Are a Lion by Yoon.  Very fun. Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo by Laura Murray. Boy, do we love that Gingerbread Man. Animal Boogie by Debbie Harter The Story of Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman OR   Jungle Drums  by Graeme Base. I USED my jungle drum, and shortened a couple of pages.  Giraffes Can't Dance Andreae Ananse's Feast by Tololwa M. Mollel. Songs:   5 Little Monkeys teasing Mr. Crocodile, of course Down in the...

P r o p s Human Body j 612 Colombo How to make a flannel body B o o k s Pete the Cat and the 4 Groovy Buttons Molly at the Dentist   by Angie Sage. Molly the Monster has two teeth now so her mother takes her to the dentist so he can look at her teeth.  This short, bright lift-the-flap is a perfect intro to a dentist's visit. And it turned out that everyone in the room had teeth -- even Nicholas, nine months old, had just gotten one that week! I Ain't Gonna Paint No More   by Karen Beaumont. Bright pictures, funny rhymic text with predictable rhymes -- this book was a great opening number! The newcomers were immediately enthralled. Urgency Emergency:  Itsy Bitsy Spider.  I just love this new, wry series, and it's a good intro to ER visits as well as being very funny. You Are a Lion! by Taeeun Yoo.  This was the surprise hit of the day. The kids LOVED doing the yoga poses and ending with the animal noises.  They were all familiar with yoga and real...

Books: Silly Faces. See Me...In the Ocean. Larry Gets Lost Under the Sea   by Eric Ode. Shortened a tiny bit, but it was a surprise big hit. Ocean Picture Pops.  office. Don't Splash the Sasquatch  by Kent Redeker.   I'm pretty sure the lifeguard is Hispanic.     There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell!   by Lucille Colandro. They always love it when you read the chorus as fast as you can. Penguin on Vacatio n by Salina Yoon.  Maybe not all that crazy about it. Ziggy Piggy and the Three Little Pigs by Frank Asch OR 3 Squids. The Pop-Up Commotion in the Ocean  by Giles Andreae.  If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, DON'T by Elise Parsley Sea & Rex by Molly Idle Cute trip to the beach with dino pal. Asiago at the beach Hush Little Beachcomber Moritz Be Glad Your Dad is Not an Octopus  by Logelin. The VPKs loved this book, but this group was a bit young. And there's not much about octopi in it really. 10...

Books   Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner.  Great opener & great readaloud! Carson fell over backwards! Try to gurgle the r in "frog" and don't forget to pinch up your mouth at the end for the alligator encounter.  I Don't Want to Be a Frog  by Dev Petty. Little Froggie is complaining bitterly to Froggie Dad about being a wet, slimy creature instead of an owl, say, or maybe a pig.  Until they bump into a wolf.... Ribbit by Folgueira,.  99 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura.  It gripped us! They were a bit wiggly today, so I told them the story of the Turtle Who Flew below Big Frog Can't Fit  In by Mo Willems. The sheer engineering genius of this book makes up for its underwhelming story. Try pushing the sad big frog/good friends angle. Little Quack's New Friend by Lauren Thompson I held up two turtle puppets and showed them the cracks on their backs. "This is the story of why turtles have cracks on their backs.  The birds and the turtles all lived...