Food, Fun, and Family

As we continued to explore all that occurs in the month of November, today's storytime focused on food, fun and family - so much a part of November and Thanksgiving. Remember, I am delivering this storytime at a Marine Corps Base Library and so family can be far away - even deployed in some far away part of the world. Today we had eleven kids...many of them "regulars." There were also a few returnees and a couple of new moms who asked lots of questions about the storytime and indicated that they would be coming back. After working so hard to build this program, I feel as though I am finally having an impact on this mostly young and very transient community. It feels good.

We began today with out usual opening song (and many of the kids are actually singing now) which is "If you want to hear a story" to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It." We added a last verse in honor of the season which is, "If you want to hear a story, shout "Turkey!" - they DEFINITELY liked that. At our "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes" break, we did it a second time - singing the word gobble instead of naming the body parts and the kids loved that, too. Two and three year olds are the most amazing creatures, aren't they? We also sang a song about our favorite pie...doing a verse around each child's favorite pie...I was pleased that they all participated and it was great fun to see the smiles on their faces...

So, here are the books we read today:
I'm A Turkey! by Jim Arnosky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the perfect book to open a storytime about food, fun and family - because it is all about all three of these concepts. Immediately we meet Tom, a wild turkey, who in rhyme introduces us to his family and the other turkeys of his flock of 102. The illustrations are bright, the text has a great read-aloud rhythm and the humor is obvious even to my two and three year old audience. They giggled and one even stated, "Well, that's just silly" Very engaging storytime book. There was even an opportunity to count turkeys -don't do it on the two page spread of Tom's flock, but rather half-way through where there are six turkeys scattered around the meadow.

Thanksgiving With Me by Margaret Willey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We continued storytime with this book about a young girl waiting for her five, larger than life, uncles to arrive for Thanksgiving Dinner. She begs her mother to help the time pass by telling her - again - about what it was like growing up with them. The illustrations are lovely and the text is told in rhyme. Most of the time I think that is a big plus for a toddler storytime book, but the text here is tortured a bit to make it rhyme. Even the kids (and these are 2 and 3 year olds) thought that some of the phrases were not-quite-right. This book does capture a child's anticipation as she waits for family to arrive for thanksgiving and the deep sense of family tradition, that is so much a part of this uniquely American holiday. We followed this book with a Thanksgiving Freeze Dance. Another big hit.

Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book to remind us that we "Americans" are often from other places in the world and that we are a culture of many traditions. Tuyet is a young Vietnamese-American girl, who enjoys all her class preparations for Thanksgiving. When her teacher wishes them all a "Happy Turkey Day" she excitedly comes home to talk to her mom about getting turkey for the big day...only to be told that at their house they would be serving duck in a spicy sauce. As the daughter of non-American parents, I could identify with Tuyet's desire for turkey, feeling that it was somehow wrong to eat anything else but turkey on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving at Tuyet's house looks just like Thanksgivings across America - women in the kitchen, filling the house with wonderful smells, cousins playing, grandparent's reminiscing. The whole family sits down to a wonderful meal, even beginning it by stating what they are thankful for, and everyone leaves happy and full. Back in class, Tuyet's teacher invites all the children to share stories about each of their celebrations and Tuyet is, once again, embarrassed by her family's lack of turkey. She quickly feels much better when many of her classmates share what foods they ate on Thanksgiving: lamb, chicken and noodles, and even a tofu turkey. The message is clear: Thanksgiving isn't about Turkey, it is about a special time with family and about celebrating one's heritage, whatever that may be.

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Pie by Alison Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is one of my favorite versions of "I Know an Old Lady..." as well as one of my favorite Thanksgiving books. The illustrations are wonderful, of this lovely lady, who eats everything in sight and grows bigger with every page turn. The book is a great read aloud, with rhythm and rhyme and just the right amount of repetition. The kids all noticed her changing figure, and looked forward to each page turn, commenting on how big she was getting and speculating about what she might eat next. This book was the perfect lead in to the song about favorite pies.

Next week, we'll be reading more Thanksgiving favorites.