Session II, Week 2: Cats

Everybody wants to be a cat...or so they say. It's this week's theme:

This Week's Books:
Bad Kitty, by Nick Bruel
A Kitten Tale, by Eric Rohmann
Hondo and Fabian, by Peter McCarty
Kitten's First Full Moon, by Kevin Henkes
Top Cat, by Lois Ehlert
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens, by Denise Fleming
No, No, Jo! by Kate and Jim McMullan
Kate, the Cat, and the Moon, by David Almond, ill. by Stephen Lambert

This Week's Music:
Stray Cat Strut, by The Stray Cats
The Cat Came Back, by Laurie Berkner
Everybody Wants to be a Cat, from the movie the Aristocats

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Creeping creeping comes the little cat
But bunny with his long ears hops like that!

I have a teeny tiny cat
Well actually he's really fat
He runs around from here to there
And sometimes jumps into the air
But when he wants to take a nap
He comes and curls up in my lap

This Week's Art: Cat masks

Our Storytime Alums Returned!

Ms. Eileen and I had sooooo much fun on Friday when 30 of our storytime alumni (in grades K,1,2) returned for an afternoon of stories, songs, a craft, games, and a snack with a Halloween theme. We squeezed a lot into the hour and a half we had together, including a walk from the elementary school to the library. The children were remarkably well-behaved, and just plain fun to be with. Thank you to Maria's mother for supplying all 30 kids with popcorn and to my own daughter for helping me make "Dry Bones" (meringue cookies) to share as an after-school snack.

We hope all of your children enjoyed this nostalgic visit and we certainly hope to do it again soon. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you all at the library.

Happy Halloween Everyone! (Be safe.)

Storytime Session II, Week 1: In the Night

Storytime session II begins this week and our first theme (for 2s and 3/4s) is 'In the Night'.

This Week's Books:
In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
Scaredy Squirrel at Night, by Melanie Watt
Night Lights, by Susan Gal
Night's Nice, by Barbara and Ed Emberley
Mouse at Night, by Nancy Hall, ill. by Buket Erdogan
The House in the Night, by Susan Swanson, ill. by Beth Krommes
One Dark Night, by Lisa Wheeler, ill. by Ivan Bates

This Week's Music:
The Starry Night, by Jessica Harper
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, traditional

This Week's Action Rhymes:
The big yellow moon shines so bright
And glides across the starry night
It shines on me asleep in my bed
And whispers, "Good night you sleepy head"

This Week's Art: Starry night pictures with crayons, glitter and liquid watercolor
Plus: "The Bats in the Night" (to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus") and a flannel board game

An Arty New Book

"Art and Max" by David Wiesner has just arrived at the library. This unusual book is geared more towards older children as through its clever story and AMAZING illustrations it brings up an interesting conversation about the nature of art. We all know that kids love to create and what they create doesn't always have to be representational. "Art and Max" celebrates the exuberance and messiness of children's art. As Picasso once famously stated, "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child".

New Potty Books

One of the most common requests we get is for picture books that address potty training. While there are the classics, like "Everybody Poops"by Taro Gomi and "Once Upon a Potty" by Alona Frankel, there are several new toilet-themed books that are fun, funny, and actually good books for anytime reading.

"Danny is Done with Diapers" by Rebecca O'Connell and illustrated by Amanda Gulliver, uses the alphabet to show 26 youngsters and their potty training adventures including having accidents and successes. Sweet,appealing and reassuring.

"Potty Animals" by Hope Vestergaard and illustrated by Valeria Petrone, uses charming preschool animal "beasties" to humorously demonstrate toilet manners and hygiene.
The illustrations alone will make you laugh.

"Dinosaur vs. the Potty", by Bob Shea is the silliest of the bunch. If you know Bob Shea ("Dinosaur vs. Bedtime", "Oh Daddy") you know what to expect: bright, bold illustrations with brief expressive text perfect for over-acting to when reading aloud.

Enjoy these books anytime, and be sure to ask if you need any potty-training resources. We have a few DVDs as well as parent books that may be of assistance.

Fridays with Ms. Eileen

Our four and five year-olds finished Session I with a storytime about leaves. They made a beautiful painted fall tree, played autumn games, pretended to be bears going into their dens for winter, and read lovely fall books such as "Leaves" by David Ezra Stein and "Every Autumn Comes the Bear" by Jim Arnosky.

Storytime Week 5: Shoes

The last class of Session One takes place on Thursday 10/14 and on Monday 10/18. Sign-up at your last class for Session Two which begins the week of October 25.

This week's theme is Shoes!

This Week's Books:
Which Shoes Would You Choose? by Betsy Rosenthal, ill. by Nancy Coate
Hello Shoes, by Joan Blos, ill. by Ann Boyajian
My Best Shoes, by Marilee Robin Burton, ill, by James Ransome
1, 2, Buckle My Shoe, by Anna Grossnickle Hines
New Shoes, Red Shoes, by Susan Rollings
Baby Shoes, by Dashka Slater, ill, by Hiroe Nakata
Shoes, The Sound of SH, by Peg Ballard
Shoes, by Elizabeth Winthrop, ill, by William Joyce
Blueberry Shoe, by Anna Dixon and Evon Zerbetz

This Week's Music:
These Boots Are Made For Walking, by The Sugar Beats
Boogie Shoes, by K.C. and the Sunshine Band
Your Shoes, My Shoes, by Tom Paxton

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Point to your shoe and hop, hop, hop
When you're tired, stop, stop, stop
Turn around and count to ten
(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
Point to you shoe and sit down again

1,2 Buckle my shoe
3,4 Shut the door
5,6 Pick up sticks
7,.9 Open the gate
9,10 My big fat hen!

This Week's Craft: Sponge Painted Shoe

Reading Rockets Book Lists

A patron who also happens to be a mother of three and a speech/language professional steered me to a wonderful site for literacy. The site, readingrockets.org is an initiative by several PBS stations with a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education. Among the many wonderful resources for parents, teachers, and librarians, are numerous book lists accessible by clicking HERE. It's quite a treasure trove. Enjoy, and let us know if you discover any books you'd like us to add to our collection.

Friday with Ms. Eileen

"Chicken Soup with Rice", by Maurice Sendak, and other tasty books were served up on Friday at Ms. Eileen's storytimes. The children made their own soup bowls of chicken soup with rice decorated with their birthdays.

And of course, everyone got to listen to Carole King singing her classic version of the story in song form. Click HERE to listen and see a video.

You're Never Too Old For Storytime

Kids grow up, we get it, however, Ms. Eileen and I miss our old friends. So we've introduced our "Not-Too-Old-For-Storytime Storytime"! We'll have our "pilot" session on Friday October 29th from 3:15-4:15 and if it's well-received we may do it as a regular thing.

Here's how it works. You need to sign-up your child (in grades K-2) at the library and then send a permission slip to the school to allow your child to be charged to our care. We'll meet the children at the school at the end of the day and walk them down to the library. There we'll have an afterschool snack as well as the usual storytime events, geared for older children. You come pick up your child at the library at 4:15. (You can also drop-off your child for this program at 3:15, if you wish.)

Sign-up at the library now. We look forward to seeing all of our old friends and making some new ones, too.

Storytime Week 4: PIZZA!

Seriously, who doesn't love it! This week's storytime theme is PIZZA!

This Week's Books:
Pete's a Pizza, by William Steig
Pizza Kittens, by Charlotte Voake
Little Nino's Pizzeria, by Karen Barbour
The Pizza That We Made, by Joan Holub, ill. by Lynne Cravath
Pizza Pat, by Rita Golden Gelman, ill. by Will Terry
Curious George and the Pizza, by Margret and H.A. Rey
The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza, by Philemon Sturges, ill. by Amy Walrod
Hi Pizza Man! by Virginia Walter, ill. by Ponder Goembel

This Week's Music:
That's Amore, by Dean Martin
The Pizza That Ate Chicago, by Tom Paxton
P-I-Z-Z-A, by Rachel Sumner
The Pizza Dance, by Laughing Pizza

This Week's Action Rhyme
You pound and pull and toss the dough
Pour on sauce and oregano
Grate the cheese, throw it on top
Mushrooms, olives, broccoli, CHOP!
Pepperoni, meatballs, sausage too
Making a pizza for me and you!

This Week's Craft: Playdough
Plus flannel board make-your-own-pizzas!

Drop In Monday!

Don't forget, Monday at 1:00 is another drop-in storytime for children ages 2-6. We'll do a simple craft (probably play with playdough that is part of this week's regular storytime craft) and read a variety books, sing songs, and play action rhymes...all without a theme, just whatever strikes us! Come join the fun.

Fridays with Ms. Eileen

This Friday Ms. Eileen shared stories about scarecrows and the kids made their own adorable scarecrows from scraps of cloth and popsicle sticks. Books included "Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch", by Jana Dillon, and "The Scarecrow's Hat", by Ken Brown. She also shared this lovely, lilting seasonal poem by Arthur Guiterman called "The Harvest Home".

The maples flare among the spruces
The bursting foxgrape spill its juices
The gentians lift their sapphire fringes
On roadways rich with golden tinges
The waddling woodchucks fill their hampers
The deermouse run, the chipmunk scampers
The squirrels scurry, never stopping
For all they hear are apples dropping
And walnuts plumping fast and faster
The bee weighs down the purple aster
Yes, hive your honey, little hummer
The woods are wavering, "Farewell Summer!"