Kitty Soft Storytime

 I Don't Want a Cool Cat! by Emma Dodd

 Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman

Cat Count by Betsy Lewin


 Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! by Susan Meyers, Illus. by David Walker


 Posy by Linda Newbery & Catherine Rayner

 Frankie Works the Night Shift by Lisa Westberg Peters

 A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann

 There Are Cats in This Book by Vivian Schwartz


 What's Your Sound, Hound the Hound? (Cat the Cat) by Mo Willems


I Know a Cat (Sung to "Bingo")

I know a cat with perky ears,
And Kitty is her name-o,
K-I-T-T-Y, K-I-T-T-Y, K-I-T-T-Y,
And Kitty is her name-o.

She makes a sound and it's "meow",

And Kitty is her name-o,
K-I-T-T-Y, K-I-T-T-Y, K-I-T-T-Y,
And Kitty is her name-o.

Piggy Possibilities for a Family Storytime

 A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black, Illus. by Kevin Hawkes

  Chicken, Pig, Cow On The Move (A Ruth Ohi Picture Book)


  Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch by Mary Peterson & Jennifer Rofe

Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud by Lynn Plourde, illus. by John Schoenherr

  Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs: An Upside-Down, Turn-Around Bathtime Counting Book by Carol Roth, Illus. by Pamela Paparone


  Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Jen Corace

  Piggy Pie Po by Audrey & Don Wood


  Granny Gomez & Jigsaw by Deborah Underwood, Illus. by Scott Magoon

Two great new books: Interrupting Chicken & Spork!

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein stars a little girl chicken, who, as you can guess, is so enthusiastic about the bedtime stories her papa reads her that she can't help chiming in when she shouldn't. No sooner does he launch into a familiar fairytale when chicken butts in with some advice for the characters, leaving them puzzled but enlightened. This fun story winds down to a sweet and pleasing ending.

Stein's illustrations, made of "watercolor, water-soluble crayon, china marker, pen, opaque, white ink and tea," are intentionally childlike. They are bright with color and convey movement and excitement, matching chicken's bubbly personality.

Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault's Spork is a very cute book about the son of a fork and a spoon (not even from the same set! The scandal!) trying to fit in in the world of flatware. Sometimes he tries to be more like a spoon, sometimes he attempts to be fork-like, but neither of those moves are right for him. He is one of a kind, and doesn't know his purpose until...

Arsenault has made Spork so darn cute with his little round head, tiny tines, and rosy cheeks! His tableware neighbors are equally whimsical and charming, and the scene where Spork tries to imagine other unique kitchen utensils is funny, but touching. The artwork is subtly shaded in neutrals with the smallest touches of color, putting the focus on the characters' expressiveness.

Elephants! Family Storytime

Fun elephant titles:

 My Elephant by Petr Horacek


 Sleepover at Gramma's House by Barbara Joose, Illus by Jan Jutte


 The Mightiest (Picture Puffin) by Keiko Kasza




 Beautiful Bananas by Elizabeth Laird, Illus. by Liz Pichon


 Tacky in Trouble (Tacky the Penguin) by Helen Lester, Illus. by Lynn Munsinger


 Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem by Chris Monroe


We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems


And our music for tonight:

One elephant/child invites others!



"One elephant went out to play,


Upon a spider's web one day,

He / she had such enormous fun,

That he called for another elephant to come.

Two elephants went out to play... etc

(until there are no more children/elephants, then)

Five elephants went out to play,

Upon a spider's web one day,

They had such enormous fun,

But the web it broke and they all fell down."

(Everyone then falls to the floor).