Rob Reid's Comin' Down to Storytime

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"We'll be comin' down to storytime when we come. Yee ha!"

If you read to groups of kids in your library or organization, you will want to see Comin' Down to Storytime by Rob Reid. The text is a fun song set to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" to get kids excited about, you guessed it, storytime. Reid has written such excellent librarian's helpers as: Storytime Slam: 15 Lesson Plans for Preschool and Primary Story Programs, Shake & Shout: 16 Noisy, Lively Story Programs and more.

The book is cheerfully illustrated with joyful animals by Nadine Bernard Westcott, who has done the pictures for other story songbooks such as Miss Mary Mack, Down By the Bay, and I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and other titles like Farm Flu and Panda Palace.

I look forward to reading this book to my Family Storytime folks!

"We will check out lots of books when we leave. Bye now!"

Cowpoke storytime

Yee Haw! Here are some titles to try:

• Princess Party (includes a cowgirl princess) by Joy Allen


• Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp by Denise Fleming


• Buckamoo Girls by Ellen A. Kelley, Illus. by Tom Curry


• Giddy Up, Cowgirl by Jarrett J. Krosoczka


• Don't Touch My Hat! by James Rumford


• Cowboy & Octopus by John Scieszka & Lane Smith

and a little ditty:

Way Out West

Original Author Unknown

Sung to: "Old MacDonald"

Way out West are buffaloes. Yippie-yippie-oh!

Way out West are buffaloes. Yippie-yippie-oh!

with a stomp, stomp here and a stomp, stomp there.

Here a stomp, there a stomp, everywhere a stomp, stomp.

Way out West are buffaloes. Yippie-yippie-oh!

Way out West are prairie dogs. Yippie-yippie-oh!

Way out West are prairie dogs. Yippie-yippie-oh!

with a bark, bark here and a bark, bark there.

Here a bark, there a bark, everywhere a bark, bark.

Way out West are prairie dogs. Yippie-yippie-oh!

Other Verses:

rattlesnakes - hiss,hiss

jackrabbits - twitch, twitch

coyotes - howl, howl

Happy trails to you!

Books for a Winter's Storytime

Picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubbo-tubbo/

Here are some titles that I'm considering for my Pajamarama Family Storytime:

• Duck Skates by Lynne Berry, Illus. by Hiroe Nakata


• Frozen Noses by Jan Carr, Illus. by Dorothy Donohue


• Diamond in the Snow by Jonathan Emmett, Illus. by Vanessa Cabban


• Is That You, Winter? by Stephen Gammel


• Danny's First Snow by Leonid Gore


• You Can Do It, Sam by Amy Hest, Illus. by Anita Jeram


• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats


• Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara


• Don't Wake Up the Bear! by Marjorie Dennis Murray, Illus. by Patricia Wittmann


• A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann


• Very Hairy Bear by Alice Schertle, Illus. by Matt Phelan


• A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Stewart, Illus. by Chris Riddell


• Red Sled by Patricia Thomas, Illus. by Chris L. Demarest


• Hello, Snow! by Hope Vestergaard, Illus. by Nadine Bernard Westcott


• Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Illus. by Jane Chapman


• Dinos In the Snow! by Karma Wilson, Illus. by Laura Rader

Show Off: How to Do Absolutely Everything...

If you're looking for a fun book for the teens in your life, give Show Off: How to Do Absolutely Everything. One Step at a Time. by Sarah Hines Stephens and Bethany Mann a gander. I'm absolutely impressed by the variety of things to do that it provides. When I was a bored kid I would have loved it.

Targeted at young people ages 10-14, it offers 224 projects and activities categorized under Amaze, Investigate, Create, Explore, Cook, and Move. Every page is in color and each activity is broken down into simple steps. There truly is a wide scope here, from "fake a cheek piercing," "light up a lava lamp," and "cook campfire candy apples" to "read kitty's body language" and "skate a back crossover." Though at times the information seems a bit minimal, this book is a treasure for inspiration. I'm showing it to my Teen Advisory Group to see what they think of it.

As for me, I might try to "make a hive for mason bees," "make a compact disco ball" or "make a dessert aquarium"!

Let's Eat! Family Storytime

1. Vintage dollhouse food from Juliet Pain
   
   
   Let's Eat!
   
   
   
   As always, I like to have a big pile of titles to choose from, but I usually only get in 3 or 4 at my evening storytime.
   
   
   
   I will definitely highlight Monster's Don't Eat Broccoli, which contains this charming refrain: "Fum, foe. fie, fee, monsters don't eat broccoli!". I think that the kids will love it!
   
   
   
   
   The Runaway Dinner by Allan Ahlberg & Bruce Ingham
   Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt
   Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks, Illus. by Sue Hendra
   Badger's Fancy Meal by Keiko Kasza
   All For Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, Illus. by Valeri Gorbachev
   Stone Soup told by Tony Ross
   Sheep Out to Eat by Nancy Shaw, Illus. by Margot Apple
   Fast Food! Gulp! Gulp! by Bernard Waber
   Two Eggs, Please by Sarah Weeks and Betsy Lewin
   
   "Vegetable Soup Song", courtesy of Preschool Education
   
   Sung to: "Farmer in the Dell"
   
   The soup is boiling up
   The soup is boiling up
   Stir slow-around we go
   The soup is boiling up.
   
   First we add the broth
   
   First we add the broth
   
   Stir slow-around we go
   
   The soup is boiling up.
   
   
   Now we add some carrots
   
   Now we add some carrots
   
   Stir slow-around we go
   
   The soup is boiling up.
   
   
   Continue with whichever vegetables you children want. Have the children stand around a large imaginary pot pretending to stir the soup.
   

National Book Award Finalists: Young People's Literature

Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith

Phillip Hoose, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

David Small, Stitches

Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times

Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped

Young People's Literature Judges: Kathi Appelt, Coe Booth, Carolyn Coman, Nancy Werlin, Gene Luen Yang

Click the names above for book descriptions.

I have only read Stitches so far, and I think that it is very interesting. I have mentioned before that I'm not generally a graphic novel fan, but this one bowled me over. I am familiar with David Small through his children's book illustrations, and even met him and his lovely and sweet wife Sarah Stewart back in the early 1990s. So, I might be slightly biased, but I think that his story of childhood trauma and recovery is tops.

I also have (have had prior to this finalist announcement) a request in for Laini Taylor's new book. I read her fantasy novel Blackbringer from the Faeries of Dreamdark series and I thought it was original and memorable, so I want to see what else she's cooked up.


I plan to read the other finalists. Have you read any?

Unshelved's Pimp My Bookcart Contest Entries

Click to enlarge strip

Are you familiar with Unshelved, the comic strip about libraries? It is done by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum and for the last four years running, they have sponsored a Pimp My Bookcart contest. Contestants find a crummy old cart, pick a theme and pretty it up.

Here are a few of my favorites, but don't forget to go to Unshelved and find your own!








Where are the Wild Things? by Beaumont Branch of the Lexington Public Library


Horton Hears a Who by Monroe County Public Library (Bloomington, IN): Collection Services



Wild About Reading by Mount Laurel Library