Spring Storytime Week 4: Wind

This Week's Books:
Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert
The Wind Blew, by Pat Hutchins
Kite Flying, by Grace Lin
One Monday, by Amy Huntington
Like a Windy Day, by Frank and Devin Asch
How the Wind Plays, by Michael Lipson, ill. by Daniel Kirk
Who Took The Farmer's Hat? by Joan Nodset, ill, by Fritz Siebel

This Week's Music:
Colors of the Wind, from "Pocahontas", sung by Judy Kuhn
Let's Go Fly a Kite, from "Mary Poppins", cast
In the Clouds, by Laurie Berkner

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Blow wind blow,
All through the town
Blow wind blow,
Up and down
Blow wind blow
From left to right
Blow wind blow
All through the night

This Week's Art/Craft: Windsock/Kite with tissue paper
Plus flannel board game and an Aesop's tale.

Pizza Love

Thanks to all who joined our Pizzapalooza on Friday. What a fun event. We had over 85 attendees; that's a lot of people in our small-ish library. The pizza was very good (Thank you Village Green!) and enjoyed by all. Thank you very, very much to Matt and Robert Bates for being our lemonade makers for the evening. Who knows how many gallons of lemonade they made and carried up the stairs. They kept everyone quenched. Ms. Eileen looked adorable in her pizza costume, didn't she? And, while I didn't get to witness the pizza stories, I could hear lots of laughter and fun cheers. Thank you also to Nancy Woods, our fearless leader for indulging the slightly unorthodox programming whims of Ms. Eileen and Ms. Patty, and also for manning the circulation desk along with Sandy Bates during the event. A word of thanks also to those patrons who found themselves surrounded by a bit of chaos when they merely wanted a book or DVD. Most of all, congratulations to the children for all the great reading they did this month and taking the time to "Take-Out a Good Book". Keep it up.
Ms. Patty

Spring Storytime Week 3: Big and Little

This week's theme, Big and Little, was inspired by an adorable book I just discovered, "Ernest, the Moose That Doesn't Fit".

This Week's Books:
Ernest, the Moose that Doesn't Fit, by Catherine Raynor
Little Gorilla, by Ruth Bornstein
Estelle and Lucy, by Anna Alter
Titch, by Pat Hutchins
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean, by Kevin Sherry
A Very Big Bunny, by Marisabina Russo
Never Too Little to Love, by Jeanne Willis and Jan Fearnley
Wee Little Chick, by Lauren Thompson, ill. by John Butler

This Week's Music:
Bigger isn't Better, from Barnum, by Broadway Kids
I Wonder If I'm Growing, by Raffi
The Littlest Birds, by the Be Good Tanyas
Little Things, by Tony Bennett and Elmo

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Itsy Bitsy Spider

Five Little Peas

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.

This Weeks Art/Craft: A big/little bead bracelet

Spring Storytime, Week 2: Dance!

Oh we all have spring fever! Makes you just want to jump, jive, and wail (in other words, DANCE)!

This Week's Books:
Barnyard Dance, by Sandra Boynton
Moondance, by Frank Asch
Elephants Cannot Dance, by Mo Willems
Dance! by Ward Schumaker
Dancing Feet, by Lindsey Craig and Marc Brown
Harriet Dancing, by Ruth Symes, ill, by Caroline Church
Down by the Cool of the Pool, by Tony Mitton, ill. by Guy Parker-Rees
Hilda Must Be Dancing, by Karma Wilson, ill, by Suzanne Watts

This Week's Music:
Boogie Shoes, by K.C. and the Sunshine Band
Jump, Jive, and Wail, by the Brian Setzer Orchestra
The Chicken Dance, by D.J.'s Choice
Hokey Pokey, traditional

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

I clap my hands, I touch my feet,
I jump up from the ground.
I clap my hands, I touch my feet,
And turn myself around.
I clap my hands, I touch my feet,
I sit myself right down.
I clap my hands, I touch my feet,
I do not make a sound. (Shhhh…)

This Week's Art: A dancing man

A Way to Help Japan

What's going on in Japan is such a huge crisis that
we often feel helpless. Here's something to do that
is perfect for those of us who love children's books and
libraries. It's called Children's Authors &
Illustrators for Japan and you can get in the
action by participating in an auction beginning
on Monday, March 21st. Go to the link below
and you can bid on great items donated by
authors, publishers and illustrators. The money
will go to the UNICEF U.S. Fund and be put to good use helping children specifically in Japan.
Ms Eileen
(Check out the photo of this Japanese Library - makes us feel grateful for RML!)
http://kidlit4japan.wordpress.com

Spring Storytime, Week 1: Elephants

Welcome back for Spring Storytimes! This week's theme: Elephants

This Week's Books:
Sam Who Never Forgets, by Sam Rice
I Dream of an Elephant, by Ami Rubinger
Splash, by Flora McDonnell
My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World, by Gilles Bachelet
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip and Eric Stead
The Right Number of Elephants, by Jeff Sheppard, ill. by Felicia Bond
17 Kings and 42 Elephants, by Margaret Mahy, ill. by Patricia MacCarthy

This Week's Music:
Zousan, Little Elephant, by Elizabeth Mitchell
One Elephant, by Sharon, Lois, and Bram
Baby Elephant Walk, by Sounds of the Circus

This Week's Action Rhyme:
The elephant goes like this, like that
He's terribly big and terribly fat
He has no fingers
He has no nose
But goodness gracious, what a nose!

This Week's Art/Craft: Glittery elephants
Plus, "Five Blind Mice" flannel board story

Storytime Week 5: I Can Help

This Week's Books:
I Can Help, by David Costello
Hands, by Lois Ehlert
Little Owl Lost, by Chris Haughton
Oh Daddy! by Bob Shea
No No, Jo! by Kate and Jim McMullan
Clifford's Good Deeds, by Norman Bridwell
Chickens to the Rescue, by John Himmelman
You and Me, Little Bear, by Martin Waddell, ill. by Barbara Firth

This Week's Music:
Help! by the Beatles
The Work Song, from "Cinderella", Classic Disney
I Can Help, by Mr. Saxophone

This Week's Action Rhymes:
This is the way we sweep the floor
Sweep the floor, sweep the floor
This is the way we sweep the floor
So early in the morning

This is the way fold the clothes,
This is the way we scrub the pans
(And other chores)

This Week's Art/Craft: Helping Hand bouquets, plus help Ms. Patty and Ms. Eileen with our Spring display

And "The Little Red Hen" flannel board story.

Blog Contest Winner Announced!

Congratulations to Audrey & Maria Skorski of Marlborough! They win a copy of the book of their choice from any of the ones we reviewed in January on the blog. So keep reading, keep posting and thanks!

Ms Patty & Ms Eileen

Blog Contest Ends Today

Today is the last day to check out our Book-A-Day reviews from January, leave a comment, and enter to win one of the books(of your choice). Tomorrow morning we'll put all the names in a hat and pull out a winner! Good luck.

Storytime Week 4: Sheep

March is upon us and, as the old saying goes, it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, for us March begins with stories about lambs and sheep.

This Week's Books:
Friska, by Rob Lewis
Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy Shaw
Little Baa, by Kim Lewis
Russell the Sheep, by Rob Scotton
Sneaky Sheep, by Chris Monroe
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox, ill. by Judy Horacek

This Week's Music:
Mary Had a Little Lamb, by the Wiggleworms
Sheep, by Zoe Lewis
Baa Baa Black Sheep, byRalph's World

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn
And where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under the haystack fast asleep.

Sheep are quiet and sheep are shy
I asked a sheep the reason
But he wouldn't say why.

This Week's Art/Craft: A wooly sheep with yarn and craft foam