Halloween Cats

Happy Halloween, Friends! Black cats are a must for Halloween fun, so today’s storytime centered mostly on cats with a few Halloween treats thrown in.

Nursery Rhyme of the Week:
Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down!
Hickory Dickory Dock.

Stories Shared:
In a Dark, Dark Wood pop-up version by David Carter
Kitty’s Cuddles by Jane Cabrera
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
Three Little Kittens illustrated by Lorianne Siomades
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

Rhymes (Can be found on Toddler Storytime Rhymes Sheet.):
I Wiggle My Fingers
The Quiet Mouse
Old MacDonald
Apples
Fun with Hands

Bonus Rhyme:
Pumpkin, pumpkin, round and fat
Turned into a jack-o-lantern just like that!

Music:
Wee Sing: For Halloween
Raffi: More Singable Songs (Shake My Sillies Out)

Jungle Animals

Hello, everybody!!! Miss Jennifer is back! I missed everyone while I was out sick last week with bronchitis:( But, I am so happy to be back sharing stories with all of my friends. Today’s theme was Jungle Animals. We had a wild and fun time!

Nursery Rhyme of the Week:
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Catch a tiger by the toe
If he hollers let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Stories Shared:
Walking through the Jungle by Julie Lacome
If You’re Happy and You Know It (Jungle Edition) by James Warhola
Peek and Pat: Hiding in the Jungle by Emma Davis

Rhymes (Can be found on Toddler Storytime Rhymes Sheet.):
Ten Little Fingers
If You’re Happy and You Know It
One Elephant
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Not Say a Single Word

Bonus Rhyme:
Teasing Mr. Crocodile (Words can be found here. Felt board set came from Artfelt.)

Bonus Rhyme:
“Five Elephants in a Bathtub” felt board rhyme
(My Five Elephants in the Bathtub felt board set came from Artfelt.)

One elephant in the bathtub going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
(Clap twice with “Knock, Knock.”)
Splash, Splash,
(Slap knees twice with “Splash, Splash.”)
Come on in!
(Motion with both hands to come in.)

Two elephants…
Three elephants…
Four elephants…

Five elephants in a bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
They all fell in!

Music:
Carol Hammett: Toddlers on Parade
Carole Peterson: Sticky Bubble Gum and Other Tasty Tunes (I am a Fine Musician)

Farm Animals, E-I-E-I-O!

Wowsers! We were all very good listeners today, so we got to read lots of books about farm animals. Miss Jennifer was very silly…she balanced lots of animals on her head: a pig, a chicken, a dog, a cat and a sheep! She also had a BOOK on her head…and it didn’t fall off when she walked across the room! So silly! Storytime is so much fun 🙂

Nursery Rhyme of the Week:
Baa, Baa Black Sheep
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Books Shared:
Cows in the Kitchen by June Crebbin
Barn Sneeze by Karen B. Winnick
Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton
Clip Clop by Nicola Smee
The Farmer in the Dell (pictures by Mary Maki Rae)
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood

Rhymes (Can be found on Toddler Storytime Rhymes Sheet.):
Old MacDonald
Mr. Turkey Went Out One Day
I Wiggle My Fingers
Not Say a Single Word
If You’re Happy and You Know It

Music:
Music for Little People: A Child’s Celebration of Folk Music
Laurie Berkner: Buzz Buzz (Pig on Her Head)
Greg and Steve’s Kids in Motion (Animal Action)

Deep in the Forest…

Today’s storytime was all about FOREST ANIMALS! Owls! Bears! Wolves! Oh my!

Stories Shared:
Who’s There? by Mary Serforzo
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
The Three Little Pigs

Rhymes (Can be found on Toddler Storytime Rhymes Sheet.):
I Wiggle My Fingers
Animals on the Bus
Apples
The Quiet Mouse
Fun with Hands

Music:
Raffi: Everything Grows
Me and My Bean Bag (Take that Bean Bag)

More Bugs at Storytime

Hooray! Storytimes have started up again!!!! We still have some bug decorations left up from our “Catch the Reading Bug” summer reading program, so I thought that I’d start off the year with some more buggy stories…

We always start out with The More We Get Together…
And finish up with We Wave Goodbye Like This
(Words available on Toddler Storytime Rhymes Sheet.)

Nursery Rhyme of the Week:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider went 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 itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again

Stories Shared:
Itsy Bitsy Spider illustrated by Lorianne Siomades
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Rhymes (Can be found on Toddler Storytime Rhymes Sheet.):
Ten Little Fingers
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Animals on the Bus
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Apples

Bonus Song:
“Flutter, Flutter Butterfly” (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Flutter, flutter, butterfly.
Floating in the summer sky.
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily.
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the summer sky.

Music:
Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes (Silly Dance Contest)

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf???

Sometimes (especially during the summer), I get to take my show on the road and present storytimes at schools/daycares and outreach events. It’s kind of fun getting out in the community! This week, I did Wolf Storytimes for Bright Horizons and for the Relay for Life (both in Burbank).

Stories Shared
Book! Book! Book! (Storytold) (Not about wolves…but lead nicely into the next story about wolves and chickens!)
The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
The Three Little Pigs (Storytold)
Wolf! by Becky Bloom
Gunniwolf (Storytold)

TumbleBooks and Virtual Storybooks

Looking for something to do this summer? Looking for different ways to share books with your child? Do you miss storytime? (I do…)

The Burbank Public Library (as well as many other public libraries across the nation) offers its patrons an excellent electronic resource that can help get kids excited about books and reading: TumbleBooks!

By clicking on the library’s website and then following the link for “TumbleBooks” found on the homepage, our library users can gain access to an online collection of animated, talking picture books and games. From the comfort of your own home, you can gain unlimited remote access to this FREE program. [This is available to Burbank Public Library cardholders. People in other communities will have to check with their own local libraries to see if this service is available.]

**Here are some of the great features of TumbleBooks…**

Story Books: This is the collection of animated picture books that include favorite titles such as “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “The Paperbag Princess” and “Dairy of a Worm”. Users have the option of having the book read aloud to them or reading the book independently (without audio narration). (This collection is especially geared for toddlers, preschoolers and beginning readers.) There are also corresponding electronic puzzles and games to go with the books.

Tumble Readables: For older, more established readers, there is a collection of e-book classics such as “Anne of Green Gables” and “Black Beauty” for students to read independently (without the bells and whistles of animation and sound effects).

Language Learning: There is also a growing collection of books in Spanish and French as well as bilingual titles. (You also have the option of viewing the website in these languages.) This collection could be useful for ESL, bilingual, Spanish and French language learning and instruction.

Audio Books: Also for older students, there is a collection of full length, unabridged, streaming audio books for listening.

**Another website for free Virtual Storybooks**

Storyline Online: Online videos of actors reading picture books aloud.

Going Buggy at Storytime

Today was the last Toddler Tales of the season:( I am going to miss all of my friends, but I hope that you’ll still come visit me at the library. I also hope that everyone signs up for our summer read-to-me program. Sign-ups start Monday, June 9th. The hour-long club presentations (with professional guest performers) start on Thursday, June 26th and run through July 31st. We’ll meet each Thursday at 10 am at the Central Library. Regular storytimes will resume sometime in late September or early October. I’ll keep you posted on the dates as that information becomes available. In celebration of a great storytime season, I gave out certificates and goody bags to the children. If you were unable to attend and would still like the certificate and bag for your child, please stop by the library and ask for Miss Jennifer (only if you’ve been a regular attendee).

Nursery Rhyme of the Week:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider went 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 itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again

Stories Shared:
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! By Bob Barner (used TumbleBooks off library website)
Five Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek
Little Cockroach Martina (Story and Flannel pieces found in The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra)

Rhymes (Can be found on Toddler Tales Rhymes sheet. Extra copies available at the Library.):
If You’re Wearing Red Today
Five Little Ducks
The Beehive
Round and Round the Garden

Bonus Song:
“Flutter, Flutter Butterfly” (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Flutter, flutter, butterfly.
Floating in the summer sky.
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily.
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the summer sky.

Music:
Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes (Silly Dance Contest)

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

ROAR! Did I scare you??? Didn’t think so. Every now and then, I go over to the Buena Vista Branch Library to do a special Saturday morning storytime geared towards early elementary kids. Today, I presented a “beary” fun Goldilocks and the Three Bears storytime. We went on a bear hunt, we sang songs, we listen to and acted out some bear stories, and we even watched a silly Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears cartoon. The kids were a blast, and I even had one child comment that I was the best librarian ever! How precious. I love being a li-BEAR-ian:) I’ll post some pictures on my Storytime Flickr Photos soon!

OPENING:
Intro Music: Bill Shontz: Teddy Bear’s Greatest Hits
Opening Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands with Me

PROGRAM:
Storytelling Activity: Bear Hunt (based on Michael Rosen’s version)
Read-aloud #1: Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by James Marshall
Storytelling Activity: Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Children dressed up and acted out the parts.)
Read-aloud #2: Dustylocks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell
Storytelling Activity: Sody Sallyrytus (based on Margaret Read MacDonald’s version in Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales for the Beginning Storyteller; also a similar version retold by Aubrey Davis)
Song: The Bear Went Over the Mountain (Melody and lyrics can be found here.)

MOVIE:
Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (Looney Tunes Golden Collection)

CRAFT OR HANDOUT:
Bear Ears Headband