School is Cool

Today's storytime was all about the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. We had almost twenty-youngsters attend today - which is record attendance for an event that was not a party or contain giveaways! We started out discussing the end of summer and then read four books about starting school or the school experience. We sang "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "The Wheels on the Bus" and did two finger plays (one I made up!) and sang two other going-off-to-school songs. The group was very engaged and very participatory - always great fun. Here are the books we read today:

Summer's End by Maribeth Boelts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a very sweet read-aloud for this time of year! A young girl, Jill, mourns the end of summer and all the wonderful things that she experienced while getting ready for the first day of second grade. The softly colored water color illustrations are lovely. This captures all of the emotions that we all experience with the change of seasons and the transition from summer to the school year.

Bailey by Harry Bliss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Bailey is quite a dog. He goes to school with regular kids, who love him, but he retains his own doggie quirks! For instance, when it comes to choosing his school "outfit" his closet is filled with half a dozen dog collars. He eats his own homework, and then has to visit the school nurse. Bailey is so very lovable, and when that is combined with wonderful illustrations and a text filled with humor, the result is a fun read aloud book about school.

Never Spit on Your Shoes by Denys Cazet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Arnie arrives home from his first day of school and tells his mother all about his great adventure over milk and cookies. As he recounts his day, we see the events in big bright illustrations. He describes his diverse group of classmates and enjoys the school tour, learning to write his name, and lunch in the cafeteria. Filled with humor, and interesting misadventures I read this one for all of the moms in my audience, who can identify with the experience of listening to tales told by sons and daughters.

We Love Our School!: A Read-Together Rebus Story by Judy Sierra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The kids at my story time loved this book, which allowed them to participate in the telling of this story. The brightly colored illustrations held their interest and they loved this rebus story, happily yelling out the words represented by the rebus pictures. The rhyming text bounces along to make this a great interactive read aloud.

Mom, It's My First Day of Kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My storytime loved this story about a young boy getting ready to head off for his first day of kindergarten. In this version of a first day, it is the mom rather than the child that has first day jitters. The kids loved this twist to the traditional stories - you know, where the child is anxious about starting school and the parent is the calming influence. The text and illustrations are engaging and my audience loved this book.