Friday with Ms. Eileen

Okay, I'm a little late with this one, but to keep you all updated, Ms. Eileen spent her Friday storytimes talking about losing a tooth. The children made cute tooth necklaces and ate marshmallows (!) (No, not to promote cavities, but because mini-marshmallows look like teeth.) (At least to Ms. Eileen.) One book that Ms. Eileen shared comes from a series by Lauren Child starring Lola and Charlie, on which a television series is based. They are charming and funny and worth checking out (even if you can't imitate their British accents).

Storytime Week 4: Growing Up

This Week's Books:
Bigger, by Daniel Kirk
I'm Not A Baby, by Jill McElmurry
Pig Pig Grows Up, by David McPhail
When You Were a Baby, by Ann Jonas
You'll Soon Grow Into Them, Titch, by Pat Hutchins
When I Was Litte, By Jamie Lee Curtis, ill. by Laura Cornell
Your Own Big Bed, by Rita Bergstein, ill. by Susan Hartung
The Growing Story, by Ruth Krauss, ill. by Helen Oxenbury

This Week's Music:
I Wonder if I'm Growing, by Raffi
Everything Grows, by Raffi
Parents are People, by Marlo Thomas and Harry Belafonte

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Five little peas in a pea pod pressed.
One grew, two grew, so did all the rest
They grew and they grew and they did not stop
Until one day that pea pod POPPED!

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (you know it)

This Week's Art: Tissue paper collage-d number

For Your Browsing Convenience

Ms. Eileen and I have been working on a project and some of you may have already noticed what's different in the children's area of the library. We removed Holiday books from the low browsing carts near the circulation desk and instead put in themed picture books. Currently, the carts hold books in these themes:

Princesses and Fairies
Cats and Dogs
On the Farm
Things that Go
Picture Books for Older Readers
Bugs
Television Characters
Colors
ABC and 123
Dinosaurs
Plus two bins for Current Holiday/Season books

Currently the bins are marked with temporary labels but we have ordered plastic pockets that will enable us to easily change the themes. For example, we may use 4 or more bins for Christmas books next winter. Other possible themes include: Monkeys, Bears, Off to School, Caldicott Winners, Dragons, Bedtime Stories, and so forth.

The out-of-season Holiday books will be shelved on the lowest shelves under the DVDs and VCR tapes. They are shelved alphabetically by author within general categories (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day, Hanukkah, and Other Holiday) and will soon have labels to identify them.

We hope you and especially your children enjoy the opportunity to easily browse for books that interest them. Let us know how you like the change.

Friday with Ms. Eileen

I believe Ms. Eileen, this Friday, will be talking and reading about one of my favorite things: Hot Cocoa! I've surmised this by seeing an adorable craft in the storytime room and by a stack of books in her office featuring that delicious, sweet, warm, wonderful drink. I hope I'm right! I think she'll be featuring a fantastic book by Lauren Stringer called "Winter is the Warmest Season". It's beautifully illustrated (Ms. Eileen always chooses beautiful books) and is a celebration of the warmth and coziness of the winter season.

Storytime Week 3: The Zoo

This Week's Books:
Polar Bear, What Do You Hear, by Bob Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Put Me in the Zoo, by Robert Lopshire
Two at the Zoo, by Danna Smith, ill. by Valeria Petrone
Zoo Looking, by Mem Fox, ill. by Candace Whitman
Animal Strike at the Zoo, by Karma Wilson, ill. by Margaret Spengler
Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell
Birthday Zoo,by Deborah Lee Rose and Lynn Munsinger
Sam Who Never Forgets, by Eve Rice
Psst! by Adam Rex

This Week's Music:
It's All Happening at the Zoo, by Simon and Garfunkel
Animal Fair, by Laurie Berkner
Going to the Zoo, by Raffi

This Week's Action Rhymes:
This is the way the elephant goes
With curly trunk instead of nose
There's the buffalo, shaggy and fat
With two sharp horns in place of hat
The hippo with his mouth so wide
Lets you see his teeth inside
The wiggly snake upon the ground
Crawls along without a sound
But the monkey see and monkey do
Is the funniest animal in the zoo

This Week's Art: polka-dotted "zoo" animal

MUSICal stARTS

Wednesday, February 17, brings musician and educator, Kenneth Quesnel to the Richmond Memorial Library for a fun and lively program described by others as "Dynamic and engaging, Mr. Quesnel has kids and parents clamoring for more. The ecstatic looks on the kids faces tell it all."

Movement and rhythm, songs and games are sure to make this a fun morning activity for you and your children. Registration is not required but space is limited so come early. This program is best for kids ages 2-7.

Wednesday, 2/17 at 10:30 a.m.

Easy Reader Valentine's Day

Desperate for a last minute Valentine's Day book? While most of our regular holiday picture book collection is out, there are still some easy reader Valentine's Day books on the shelves. (Probably because they are shelved with the rest of the easy reader collection and not the holiday books.) JE-ER books (as we label them) are a perfect transition from picture books to chapter books. They usually have a great little storyline as well as charming characters. Ms. Eileen and I often use them in storytime for that reason. Some of the JE-ER Valentine's Day books still on the shelf this Saturday morning include:

Be My Valentine, by Rosemary Wells
Turtle and Snake's Valentine's Day, by Kate Spohn
Minnie and Moo, Will You Be My Valentine, by Denys Cazet
Super Fine Valentine, by Bill Cosby
A Valentine for Miss Vanilla, by Fred Ehrlich
Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine, by Marjorie Sharmat

Snow Day Treats

Snow Day! Since last week's storytime stories were about snow, one of my storytime regulars, Grace W., shared this recipe with me and it seems perfect for today.

Snow Ice Cream:
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (Grace says this is important)
1/2 cup sugar
Clean snow (Grace says this is very important, too.)

Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as ice cream! Eat up!

And here's one of my family's favorites:

Sugar on Snow:
Bring real maple syrup to a boil, 232-255 degrees F. is recommended if you are using a candy thermometer. I usually don't' use a thermometer, I just boil it awhile and then test on the snow. When poured on the snow it should stay on top. Pour "ribbons" of the syrup over slightly packed clean snow and use a fork or a chopstick to twirl around the "candy". My kids love this! By the way, you can bring the snow in (like in a brownie pan) or, as we prefer, take the hot pan of syrup outside and enjoy the treat in the snow.

Stay safe and warm today!

Storytime Week Two: Hugs

This Week's Books:
Hug, by Jez Alborough
Big Bear Hug, by Nicholas Oldland
Daddy Hug, by Tim Warnes, ill. by Jane Chapman
The Giant Hug, by Sandra Horning, ill. by Valeri Gorbachev
A Hug for You, by Margaret Anastas, ill. by Susan Winter
How About a Hug? by Nancy Carlson
Kitty's Cuddles, by Jane Cabrera
Monster Hug, by David Ezra Stein

This Week's Music:
Hug, by the Mudcakes
No One Loves You Any Better, by John Lithgow
Bushel and a Peck, by Dan Zanes

This Week's Action Rhymes:
1 Fly up, up, up in the sky like this
Fly down, down, down for a great big kiss
Crawl up the flower like a ladybug
Crawl, down, down, down, for a great big hug

2 Pat your head and rub your tummy
Touch your toes and hug your mommy
Pat your head and wave to Ms. Patty
Touch your toes and hug your daddy
Pat your head and reach up above
Touch your toes and hug someone you love!

Today's Art: A Hug! (made from foam sheets and yarn)

Friday with Ms. Eileen

Ms. Eileen's storytime this morning focused on hibernation. The children made adorable bears in their own blankets...very sweet! "Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep" by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple, with illustrations by Brooke Dyer helped kick off the theme. It's a lilting rhyming book with clever, lovely illustrations that has been described by reviewers as a "musical whisper of a book". Adorable.

Read Kiddo Read

I found another great website. It's called Read Kiddo Read and is a website created by none other than James Patterson,( yes, that James Patterson, the number-one best selling author in America) assisted by a panel of knowledgeable editors, writers, and publishers. The website is colorful, fun, and packed with information. It helpfully breaks down books into age categories and offers reviews, as well as a newsletter and an online community. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Storytimes Start!!!

Storytimes start up again this week. Hurray! I missed you all and can't wait to begin. Remember to check the blog each week (usually on Sunday) for an overview of the week's storytime class (for Ms. Patty). I also try to keep up with Ms. Eileen's Friday storytimes as well. Some of the upcoming themes include Snow (this week), Hugs and Kisses, At the Zoo, Growing Up, and more. Let me know if there is a special book or craft or theme you'd enjoy.