Just Say No!

I realize I have fallen behind my in blogging about my storytime adventures.  So, I am attempting to catch up.  Over President's Day weekend, I realized that had forgotten to pull books for Tuesday morning story time, and the library would be closed on Monday.  So, I spent a little while on Sunday at a neighboring branch pulling books and determining a theme. That theme turned out to be Just Say, NO!  I did worry that it would be too negative, but I found a good set of books, filled with humor and/or love that made for a really good story time.  For our craft we colored pigeon, from Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems and the sheet included a speech bubble.  I encouraged the kids to  think about what the next thing is that Pigeon should ask for.

Here are books we read:


Martha, No! by Edward  Hardy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A very engaging story about angelic looking Martha and her new nanny (who is the 10th nanny so far).  My storytime audience loved chiming in to say, 'Martha, NO!" with nanny as Martha gets into more and more mischief - such as climbing up to the top of the t-rex statue and then drawing on the walls of the museum they visit.  Martha gets herself into some interesting situations and the illustrations and rhyming text are filled with fun.


Cindy Moo by Lori Mortensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The story begins when Cindy Moo, a cow on the Diddle farm overhears Mom Diddle reading the classic Nursery Rhyme, "Hey, Diddle, Diddle!" and decides that if THAT cow could jump over the moon, well she could as well.  While the other cows laugh and tease her, especially when her first attempts fail, Cindy is determined to succeed.  With rhyming text and delightful illustrations - and a little help from a rain puddle - Cindy does manage to jump over the moon.  Truly a fun read aloud about achieving a seemingly impossible dream.


No by Claudia Rueda
My rating: 4 of 5 starsbr />
A sweet story about a stubborn little cub who does not want to go to sleep, and has an answer for each of Mother Bear's arguments...until he gets scared in the middle of a blinding snowstorm and makes his way back to the safety of his mother and his warm cave.  My storytime audience could identify with Baby Bear's not wanting to go to bed...and laughed as he says when returning to the cave, " Mamma, I'm back.  Winter is very long and you might get lonely."

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mo Willems is brilliant when it comes to writing books with storytime appeal.  This book works up a storytime audience into a frenzy of interaction faster and funnier than almost any other book that I have read.  Everytime the pigeon comes up with another request...another reason that he *should* be allowed to drive the bus, my storytime audience gleefully shouted, "No!" amidst giggles.  This is a great read-aloud and a sure audience pleaser for all ages.