Spring Fling Storytime 2012

Although the weather didn't cooperate (we had an unusually cold, gray, and rainy day here in San Diego) this week we read stories and sang songs all about the glories of Spring! We did finger plays about meeting rabbits, planting seeds and sang songs all about the wonderful things that can be found in the spring. The rainy weather didn't dampen our spirits one bit...although it did hold down attendance - the audience consisted of two very lively little boys. Both of which are regulars and today's level of participation showed how far we have come in building confidence and trust. You would never know that six months ago these boys wouldn't say a word and one was so shy he would barely make eye contact. What a great reward for me!

Here are today's books:


Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons by Il Sung Na
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a lovely introduction to the changing seasons. The illustrations are bright and bold - good for a large story time. The text is simple and there are lots of things for members of a story time audience to notice, and they will!

Spring Is Here by Will Hillenbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mole wakes up one morning to find that spring has come. Wanting to share this great news with his friend Bear, he goes to great lengths to wake the snoring bear. Each of mole's attempts result in a giant "snore" from Bear and the text lends itself to some great sound effects. The illustrations are terrific and the kids loved it when they were asked to give me a big bear snore (lots of giggles) and they loved the twist at the end!


Spring Things by Bob Raczka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a beautifully illustrated book about all things spring - told in sparse rhyming text. ("Budding...sprouting...trees leaf-outing" took three pages) My two/three year olds loved this book and insisted that we count butterflies and name all of the things in the pictures (warning there are lots of small details...like lady bugs and caterpillars everywhere.) All in all a very pleasant and engaging story time read.


My Garden by Kevin Henkes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What would a story time about spring be without a book about gardening? This book, at first reading. became my favorite toddler book about gardens. The young girl who narrates the story helps her mother in the garden and then tells the reader about what a wondrous place HER garden would be with huge tomatoes and invisible carrots (because she doesn't like carrots!) flowers in all colors and patterns and whenever you pick a flower another grows back in its place. There are chocolate bunnies and sea shell plants and - and this was the favorite of my story time audience - a jelly bean bush where the narrator is able to pick jelly beans by the bushel. With wonderful illustrations, this garden tale filled with imagination is a real audience pleaser.There are also lots of great opportunities for the audience to point out and count birds and butterflies.

Wear Your Green!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day which happens later this week our theme today was about all things green. Many of our songs and finger plays involved shamrocks and leprechauns. Including two flannel boards:



Five Little Shamrocks.
Five Little Leprechauns.



One of the favorites was Five Fat Peas:

Five fat peas in a pea pod pressed
One grew, two grew and so did all the rest.
They grew and they grew and they never stopped
They grew and they grew until that pea pod popped!

Here are the books we read:

St. Patrick's Day by Anne F. Rockwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a nicely illustrated book all about the history and traditions surrounding St. Patrick's Day, in the context of information gathered and presented for a class project. My story time audience listened politely to this story and it did hold their attention, but it was not as engaging as most of the books that I read. I searched long and hard for a book about St. Patrick's day that would appeal to toddlers and this was the best one I found. The illustrations are fun and the story is solid and simple.

Where Is the Green Sheep? (Horn Book Fanfare List by Mem Fox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was the highlight of story time! In simple rhyming text the reader is introduced to all sorts of wonderful sheep, but not the green sheep. The question "but where is the green sheep?" appears every few pages. The kids gathered around this book and identified all the sheep (the slide sheep, coming down a playground slide on skis was a special favorite) and would join in asking "but where is the green sheep?" Even the youngest member of my audience (14 months or so) happily talked about the sheep as he pointed to them! The children were happily engaged and couldn't wait for the moment when we found the green sheep. The illustrations are wonderful! Even the quiet, shy kids will get involved and interact with this book.

Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a great read aloud! My story time audience got up and gathered around the book to find out what happens when three children are stalked by a big mean alligator who comes "creeping...creeping...creeping up the stairs." The kids gathered around the book in order to point out all the wonderful details to be found in the illustrations. The colors are bright and the text is filled with wonderful sounds and the repeated phrase, "Were the children scared? You bet they were!" It didn't take long for the kids to pick up on that and they giggled as they joined in. The alligator comes closer and closer and and scarier and scarier until the children decide they have had enough of that scary old alligator. In the end, as a tribute to the urban legend, the alligator is seen slinking home - and the last illustration shows just the tip of his tail disappearing into a man-hole with the cover pushed aside. "Snip snap! The end."

Tweedle Dee Dee by Charlotte Voake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a fun, rhythmic variation on "The Green Grass Grew All Around" This cumulative story focuses on the finest tree you ever did see in a wood.
On this tree there is a branch...on the branch there was a nest....well you get the picture - and the green leaves grew all around. The illustrations are simple and fun, and in addition to birds in a nest and leaves the reader meets other residents of the tree including a pair of squirrels and a family that has a picnic under the tree. It was a nice touch to have the birds in the nest say "Twiddle Dee Dee" - my story time audience enjoyed it so much more than a simple "Tweet, tweet."


After our closing song we colored cut and glued "Shamrocks on a Stick" puppets and learned a bonus song:

I'm a little shamrock look at me
Oh what color can I be?
If you said that I was the color green
Stand right up and yell, "Yippee!"

Hamsters and Guinea Pigs, Oh My!

One of my great regulars at story time is a lovely young girl who has a guinea pig as a pet, and she loves stories about hamsters and guinea pigs. As I had recently purchased a hamster and a guinea pig puppet on Ebay, I felt as though this would be a good time do do a story time around these cute and furry critters. Lots of fun stories, but not too many rhymes and finger plays. Not a problem. I have been doing this just long enough to feel secure in making them up! We did a variation of "Hurry, Hurry, Drive that Firetruck" (Hurry, Scurry, Little Hamster...running on your wheel...munching on your food....it's time to say good night). We also did the following finger play:

Five Little Guinea Pigs (Fingerplay)
Five Little guinea pigs having lots of fun;
This one fell asleep in the warm spring sun.
This one was a pig and ate all the food
Which put this one in a very bad mood!
This one raced around and around
The last one was so quiet
She never made a sound.

I found a Hamster song to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus" which was a great hit.
The Hamster on his wheel goes round and round....in his little cage. Then he munches on his food and, finally, he goes to sleep each night. All accompanied by appropriate actions. We also did a guinea pig version of "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes":

Guinea Pig Head Shoulders Knees Toes
Head, shoulders twitchy nose, twitchy nose
Head, shoulders twitchy nose, twitchy nose
Eyes and ears and whiskers and toes
Head shoulders twitchy nose, twitchy nose

Here are the books (we didn't read all of them, but they are all great):
Little Whistle by Cynthia Rylant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a sweet story filled with wonderful illustrations. Little Whistle, the guinea pig, loves his home in Toy Town, especially at night when all the toys come to life. The story is very imaginative and the characters the author creates, all friends of Little Whistle are just marvelous. At night, Little Whistle wakes up and puts on his blue pea coat (a gift from a long since sold toy sailor) and visits all of his friends: a bear that likes hats, a soldier that loves to read books to babe, a lion that loves vanilla cookies. Some nights he takes the train to the other side of the store and some nights he just walks...well you get the picture. It was a tad long for my two-year-olds but they paid attention all the way to the end of this gentle story.

Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Little Hamster wants to enter the big hot rod race, but needs to find a car. In rhyming text with big, bold illustrations the junkyard dog helps Hamster put together his hot rod racer. There are many choices to be made and the text asks the reader to help hamster make them...which color, fat tires or thin?....and there are plenty of opportunities for a story time audience to not only chime in with answers but to make all sort of car/racing sounds. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read-aloud.

Glamsters by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very cute book about two hamster sisters waiting in a pet shop for someone to adopt them. On the eve of the big sale, Harriet can't sleep and finds herself reading about making oneself over in order to get noticed. She takes a quiz and then works to turn herself into a Glamster. When her sister wakes up she doesn't recognize Harriet right away! But convinces her that Harriet really doesn't need all that stuff to be adoptable - she just needs to be herself.

Pet Shop Lullaby by Mary Ann Fraser
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The entire pet store is awakened by one small hamster who can't sleep. All of the animals take turns doing everything they can think of to put him to sleep - they give him a bath and tell him a story and tuck him in. Of course by then it is morning and now all of the sounds of the pet store keep him awake. There are lots of great read aloud sounds and wonderful pictures. Be sure and look at all the details!

Then there were my two favorites:

Guinea Pig Far and Near by Kate Duke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is just lovely. Kate Duke's amazing illustrations of Guinea Pigs are amazing and capture the essence of these cute, furry critters. The simple text is really just a caption for the pictures - near, far, apart and together. Great concept book and a fun book about Guinea Pigs.


The Guinea Pig ABC by Kate Duke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Not only does this book contain all of Kate Duke's amazing guinea pigs - which convey so much emotion and life - but there is great humor present in this Alphabet book. "A" shows a smug drumming guinea pig beneath a clearly startled guinea pig with night cap flying off his head and the word, "Awake." "C" stands for clean and shows a young guinea pig scrubbing himself, but not looking very happy. Every letter is a joy, almost all are guaranteed to bring a smile.