"A library book, I imagine, is a happy book." Cornelia Funke

"Everything puts me in mind of a story." Ben Franklin

Friday, February 26, 2016

Books about Growth and Change for ages 3-5


Books about Growth and Change

Fiction

 

1.       I Can See Just Fine by Eric Barclay: Paige doesn’t want to get the glasses that she needs, but changes her mind once she has them.

2.       Your Daddy Was Just Like You by Kelly Bennett: Daddy was once a baby who had to grow up.

3.       Finding Spring by Carin Berger: It’s time to hibernate, but all that little bear wants is spring.

4.       I’m Not Moving! by Wiley Blevins: A little girl does not want to move to the city, but once she gets there she decides that it’s not so bad.

5.       Clifford Grows Up by Norman Bridwell: Clifford the dog was once a tiny puppy.

6.       Little Gorilla by Ruth Borstein: Everyone loves little gorilla, and when he becomes a big gorilla, they love him still.

7.       How Did You Grow So Big, So Soon? by Anne Bowen: A little boy and his mama talk about his first day of school tomorrow and all the growing he had to do to get there.

8.       A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle: As Hermit Crab grows, he must move from shell to shell, and he decorates them with new friends who live with him.

9.       Plant a Little Seed by Bonnie Christensen: Kids plant a garden that grows fruit , vegetables and flowers and then cook with them.

10.   My Brave Year of Firsts: Tries, Sighs and High Fives by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell: A little girl lists her firsts: bike ride, pet, day of first grade, etc.

11.   Tadpole Rex by Kurt Cyrus: Rex Impresses his dinosaur neighbors when he grows from a tadpole to a frog.

12.   Where’s Jamela? by Niki Daly: Jamela and Mama are moving to a new house, but Jamela isn’t excited. On moving day, after packing, she disappears. Will she be found and could her new home be okay after all?

13.   Kangaroo Christine by Guido Van Genechten: Christine doesn’t want to leave her mom’s pouch, until kangaroo Ben invites her to play.

14.   Leaving the Nest by Mordicai Gerstein: Baby Jay is not to leave the nest, but when she falls out, it is witnessed by a little girl, a kitten and a baby squirrel.

15.   Say Hello To Zorro! By Carter Goodrich: Doggie Mister Bud is happy with his routine until new dog Zorro comes on the scene and Mister Bud has to adapt.

16.   One Little Lamb by Elaine Greenstein: A lamb’s wool is made into mittens that a child wears when she visits the lambs.

17.   When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes: If you wait, spring will bring about changes to winter and then change itself into summer

18.   Perfect Square by Michael Hall: Square is happy being square , but it also changes and is  fountain, a park and more.

19.   Tadpoles by Betsy James: Molly’s frog eggs become tadpoles and then frogs, and her baby brother Davey learns to walk.

20.   As an Oak Tree Grows by Brian Karas: An acorn grows into a 200 year old oak tree.

21.   Now I’m Big by Karen Katz: Compares what a baby does with what a big kid can do.

22.   The Growing Story by Ruth Krauss: A boy has chicks and a puppy and over time they grow. His mom assures him that he is growing too, but he is doubtful until he sees that he has outgrown last fall’s clothes.

23.   Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden: Shows how things change with “before” and “after” drawings.

24.   Little Tree by Loren Long: Little Tree has little leaves, but when the seasons change, he is unwilling to drop them and can’t grow until he lets go.

25.   Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin: Speculation on what you will do as you grow up.

26.   When I Grow Up by Colin McNaughton: Kids share what they want to be when they grow up, except one who doesn’t want to grow up.

27.   Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! By Susan Meyers: Kittens do kitten things until they grow into cats and maybe have more kittens.

28.   How You Got So Smart by David Milgrim: A child is told all the things s/he did from babyhood on up that contributed to being a successful person.

29.   I Feel Five! by Bethanie Deeney Murguia: On Fritz’s 5th birthday, he still feels 4, because he still can’t tie his shoes or snap his fingers, but when he reaches apples in a tree for a friend, he feels a little older.

30.   If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson: You can plant seeds that will grow, seeds of carrots, cabbages, tomatoes, selfishness and kindness.

31.   Water Can Be… by Laura Purdis Salas: Things water can be, like ice, fog and snow.

32.   First the Egg by Laura Vacarro Seeger: Things that change into other things.

33.   Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan Shea: Things that will grow and things that won’t.

34.   A Big Boy Now by Eileen Spinelli: Big boy bunny can do lots of things, but he has a little trouble learning how to ride his bike without training wheels.

35.   Pouch! By David Ezra Stein: Kangaroo Joey wants to leave his mom’s pouch and hop, but meeting new friends can be scary at first.

36.   Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick: Things your growing buffalo might experience when he goes to kindergarten.

37.   Look What I Can Do! By Nancy Viau: Young animals learn how to do new things.

38.   Puffling by Margaret Wild: a baby puffin waits until he is old enough to leave his burrow.

39.   Little Boo by Stephen Wungerli (holiday): Seed Little Boo must be patient until he can grow into a scary jack-o-lantern!

40.   Baby Bear’s Big Dreams by Jane Yolen: Baby Bear plans for when he is grown up in a year or more, because he knows just what big bears do.

 

 Non-fiction

1.       See How They Grow: Chick by Jane Burton

2.       See How They Grow: Kitten by Jane Burton

3.       From Seed to Sunflower by Dr. Gerald Legg

4.       See How They Grow: Pig by Bill Ling

5.       See How They Grow: Frog by Kim Taylor

6.       Flowers Bloom! By Mary Dodson Wade

7.       Seeds Go, Seeds Grow by Mark Weakland

 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Everything Is a Poem By J. Patrick Lewis


Everything Is a Poem: the Best of J. Patrick Lewis, Illus. by Maria Cristina Pritelli, 2014.

The guest author for this year's MELSA Camp Read-a-Lot is former United States Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis. So, one of our reading choices is any of his works and I picked Everything Is a Poem.
This includes more than 59 illustrated poems on a variety of topics written between 1982-2010. The mood ranges from serious to silly.

Poetry subjects include:
  •  animals ( for example, "Elephant Bill & Jackrabbit Jack")
  •  people  ("The Greatest"),
  • reading ("The Gentleman Bookworm")
  •  sports ("My Baseball Glove")
  •  riddles and epitaphs ("A Dairy Farmer")
  • Mother Nature ("Her-i-Cane")
  • Places ("Okefenokee Swamp Song")
  • a mix ("Say, Hay Won't You Be Mine?")
Here is my favorite silly poem in the collection:

"Snake Song"

Toad gots measles
Frog gots mumps
Both got such
Disgusting bumps.

They so ugly
It's a sin.
They be jumpin'
Out that skin.

Pay no mind
These creepy items
Close my eyes
I bite 'ems, bite 'ems.

J. Patrick Lewis






Thursday, July 9, 2015

Sing-Along with Miss Donell and Miss Carol Program



My colleague Miss Carol and I did a sing-along program for kids ages 2-12 and it was very successful! We sang, danced, read, pretended and blew bubbles. We handed out bells and shakers for the kids so we could make a lot of noise.

Here is our "set list":

  • If You're Happy and You Know It
  • Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ABC Song/ Baa Baa Black Sheep (What do these songs have in common?)
  • Duet for Librarians: We read I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell
  • Row Your Boat: regular, then alligator version, lion version, snake version and round
  • I'm a Little Teapot/Eensy Weensy Spider
  • Dance along: "The Auctioneer" by the Okee Dokee Brothers
  • Duet for Librarians: Three Myopic Rodents, then kids sing Three Blind Mice
  • Bananas!
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
  • B-I-N-G-O
  • Five Little Monkeys, Hap Palmer version
  • Music Maestro
  • The Hokey Pokey
Additional Info:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
If you see an alligator, don't forget to scream.

Row, row, row your boat
Gently to the shore
If you see a lion, don't forget to roar.

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the creek
If you see a great big snake, don't forget to shriek.

Three Myopic Rodents

Three Myopic Rodents, three Myopic Rodents
Observe how they perambulate, observe how they perambulate
They all circumnavigated the agriculturist's significant other
Who amputated their extremities with a carving utensil.
Did you ever regard such an occurrence in your existence
As three myopic rodents?

Bananas! (Miss Carol version)

It is a hot, hot day. And you're so hungry! Your stomach is grumbling. But, you look ahead of you and you see a tall tree.
Then you walk, walk, walk...
When you get to the bottom of the tree, you look up and see bright yellow bananas!
You climb, climb, climb (pause)
And then you pick, pick, pick, bananas
Peel, peel, peel bananas
Slice, slice, slice bananas
Eat, eat, eat bananas
And then, you go, go, go BANANAS!

Music Maestro

Leader: I am the music maestro I come from Deutschesland. 
(All repeat) 
Leader: Ich con spiele
(All repeat) 
Leader: On my [instrument] 
(All repeat) 

Instrument verses: 


Viola: 
Vio Vio Viola, Viola, Viola
Vio Vio Viola, vio viola!
HEY! 

Piano: 
Plink, plink, plink, plink, plink, plink etc.
HEY! 

Tuba: 
Oompah Oompah Oompah pah, etc.
HEY! 

Bass Drum:
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, etc.
HEY!

Triangle: 
Ding A Ling A Ling A Ling 
Ding A Ling 
Ding A Ling 
Ding A Ling A Ling A Ling 
Ding A Ling A Ling 
HEY! 

Bagpipe: 
(In a bagpipe-like sound) 
Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh 
Eh Eh Eh 
Eh Eh Eh 
Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh 
Eh Eh Eh Eh Eh 
HEY! 

Conductor:
Wave arms around

Orchestra: 
(All groups sing their instrument in unison)
 

Action

As each group sings they do an action related to their instrument. 
Viola: Motion like bowing a viola 
Piano: Motion like pounding on a piano 
Tuba: Oompah style arms (like an accordion)
Bass Drum: Bang imaginary drum
Triangle: Motion like ringing a triangle 
Bagpipe: Plug nose

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Food Storytime in the Park

 
 
Fun books about food:
  • Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming: bunnies want Mr. McGreely's garden veggies.
  • Monsters Don't Like Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks: or do they?
  • Senorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman: a southwestern version of The Gingerbread Man.
  • The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli: a crocodile swallows a watermelon seed and worries, will a watermelon grow inside him?
  • Rah, Rah, Radishes!: a Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre: hooray for tasty veggies!
  • Foxy and Egg by Alex T. Smith: Foxy invites Egg over for dinner, but she is hoping to make him her breakfast!
  • Snack Time for Confetti by Kali Stiles: Confetti is a hungry little bird who asks her animal friends for tips on what she should eat.
  • Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins: a bratty cake gets his comeuppance when he is stolen by a Giant Cyclops!

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

IPad Storytime a.k.a Apps for Laps



Toca Band Dancing Clock


This month was the first time that my library branch offered IPad storytime to an audience of 3 to 6- year-olds and their grownups. We did two sessions two weeks apart. Here's what I showcased:

Session 1:


  • The Monster at the End of This Book ... Starring Grover! by Sesame Street, $4.99
Grover reads The Monster at the End of This Book,or you can read it yourself. The screen allows interaction, so kids can untie rope knots or knock down the wall that Grover builds. The group enjoyed it.






  • Toca Band by Toca Boca AB, Free
Put characters that make different sounds and do various actions onstage to make the band of your choice. Move them up higher on the stage and their routines become more complex with each level. There is a rapper, a whistler, some lady singers, various dancers, etc. This is my personal favorite, although it admittedly can become very annoying very fast. My favorite characters are scattered throughout this post. The 5-year-olds in the groups loved this app and played it most of the session!
 

Toca Band Cat


 

 
 
  • Endless Alphabet by Originator, Inc., $6.99
This is a fun app to learn the sounds that letters make and increase vocabulary and it features monsters! You choose a word that you'd like to learn, like "itchy" and the screen shows the word. Then the monsters run through, scattering the letters. Your job is to drag the letters where they belong and as you do, the letter you're touching makes its correct sound. When the word is reassembled, the monsters act it out, and the narrator defines the word. New words appear monthly.

Toca Band Frogs

Session 2:

Toca Band Piano Dancer


  • Go Away, Big Green Monster, No longer in ITunes :(
Just like the print book, Big Green Monster is described, and then you take him apart to make him disappear. Ed Emberley can read it, a child narrator can read it to you or you can read it yourself. You can touch the monster's eyes, nose, mouth etc. and they will react. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be available now.





  • Dr. Panda's Handyman by Dr. Panda Ltd, $2.99
I think that we have the free version of this, and it might be limited. In the one we own, kids can help repair and paint items in two rooms, for elephant and polar bear families. You can fix chairs and decide what color they should be, or put together a bunk bed, repair plumbing or knock down a door, replace it and paint it. It can even be polka dotted!





  • Finger Paint with Sounds by Inclusive Technology, Ltd, Free
As you choose colors and "paint" you make music or sound effects. Each color has a different type of music or noise. You can erase as you go or scrap the whole thing and start over. You can also save your favorites. This was the big hit for the 3 1/2-year-olds in the group.

Additionally, I told the adults about:



 
 
Felt Board by Software Smoothie, $2.99

This functions as a flannel board. You can choose your background, create characters and tell a story. There is lots of potential here. It is probably better for adults to direct the activity, because I think that it is a little harder to use than the other apps in this post. For example, when clothes are chosen for the characters, they don't just "hop" on. You have to line them up and put them on the body, so that, say, skin doesn't show beyond the edge of a sleeve. If your child isn't  frustrated by that, then let him or her go to it!

Toca Band Stomper says goodbye!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Aviary Wonders Inc. By Kate Samworth



Aviary Wonders Inc: Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual By Kate Samworth

Although this book is made in a 32 page picture book format, it is perfectly suitable for a 4th-5th grade audience. On the surface, it is a catalog for us to buy parts that when assembled, make our perfect bird, and that is amazing and fun. Beyond that, it invites us to consider a world without natural birds, one where they must be taught to sing, their beaks must be strapped on and where a clumsy human hand can create a bird with so much decoration that it cannot lift its head. These lovely creatures are made from silk and leather with the finest craftsmanship, but something essential is missing. The message is subtly presented and the reader will be lost in the beautiful artwork.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

El Deafo by Cece Bell



The first book that I read for Camp Read-a-Lot this year is El Deafo by Cece Bell. You are probably aware of this recent Newbery Honor winning graphic novel for kids. Based on Bell's childhood, Cece ( now an anthropomorphic bunny) deals with her sudden hearing loss at age four and learns to handle her large hearing aid, the sometimes weird attitudes of her classmates and neighborhood friends and her own feelings about her deafness.

This book is funny and sweet and true to childhood, capturing the things kids laugh at, the intensity of a first crush and the wish to have a best friend, even one that's too bossy. Through it, Cece learns how to stand up for herself, express her inner super hero and accept herself for who she is.


Learn more about Cece Bell and her books here: https://cecebell.wordpress.com/