Wild About Books

Recently, I was asked what I thought the best part of my job was. That answer was easy: sharing my passion for books! At this weeks storytime, the stories were all about characters who were passionate about books.

I started this week's session with:

Read It, Don't Eat It! by Ian Schoenherr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the book that I started my "Wild About Books" storytime with...in simple rhyme and charming illustrations, animals teach book/library etiquette. The kids loved this book, even the very young ones. It is very simple, but the drawings of the animals are filled with charm and expression. Followed by the tradional fingerplay, "Here is My Book." The five children at storytime really participated in this one.

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderfully imaginative picture book about Henry, who loves books, "Just not the way you and I do." When I introduced this book, I mentioned that this was about a boy who had not read our first storytime read and or had not followed the advice of "Read it, Don't Eat it." I worried that this would be too much for my age group (11 months to just under 3) but the book held their interest and they were able to follow it. They even picked up on the subtle humor of the last page! This was followed by the singing of "At the Library" to the tune of "Here we Go Round the Mulberry Bush." Next up:

Read to Tiger by S.J. Fore

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful read aloud book. A boy just wants to read his book, but Tiger and his antics prove too distracting. Tiger refers to himself in the third person, so he was fun to create a funny voice for...in addition his antics include great sounds like loud gum chewing "chomps" and karate exclamations. The kids were enchanted by the illustrations and laughed at Tiger's antics. (The boy's book is about a tiger and, in the end, the boys reads the book to Tiger and everyone is happy.)

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an easy to read aloud book about a dog who just wants to share a passion for books. At first things don't go as planned, but then he pulls a book off the shelf and the illustrations vividly depict dog's joy of reading and all the wonderful things we can imagine when we read. Finally, dog has an opportunity to share all of this in the story - which the kids loved.

Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my favorite book at Storytime. This illustrations are sweet and there are animals and a library...and animal sounds. What more could you ask for in a read aloud? When the kids go back to school the farm animals are sad and bored and wander off to town in search of something fun to do. They see happy people coming out of the library and so, one by one, they go in and ask the librarian for help. The problem is that she can't understand them, until finally the chicken goes in and clucks, "Book, book, book." Finally, the librarian understands and the happy animals return to the farm to read their books. The kids helped me make all the animal sounds and giggled in all the right places. In honor of this book we did a fingerplay, "Three Little Books" edited from a flannel board story found in Storytime Magic by Kathy MacMillan.

We closed with: It's Library Day by Janet Morgan Stoeke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a simple story about a class visit to the library told in rhyme. I really liked the fact that there was diversity and multiculturalism displayed in the characters. This was a great book for baby/lapsit storytime about books and reading.

Although I didn't read it, I did close with a quote from Rosemary Wells on the end pages of Read to Your Bunny:

The most important thing in the first years of a child’s life is the growth of mind and spirit. Singing, laughing and language are the most important things in a child’s life. Reading to your little ones Is just like putting gold coins in a bank. It will pay you back tenfold!

– Rosemary Wells

Creepy Crawly Storytime

It was all about bugs at Monday's storytime. I read lots of colorful books about bugs - there are some great ones out there. We sang "The Bug Song" and "Have you Ever Seen A Caterpillar?" (from the great King County Public Library site: http://wiki.kcls.org/tellmeastory/index.php/) and we did three or four fingerplays, such as "Here is a Beehive" and "Five Marching Ants." We read:

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A worm keeping a diary....hysterically funny account of typical worm activities, from dodging hopscotch playing feet and scaring girls on a playground to learning about manners (greeting one ant will tie up an entire day as you must say good morning to the next 600 ants in line as well) to dealing with friends and family. The day he describes eating his homework got the biggest laugh from the group.

Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very colorful large board book The rhyming text counts down from ten to one - who flies home. The ladybugs are in 3-d. This is just a fun book for a baby/toddler storytime. I had the kids all using fingers to help with the countdown. Then we did a variation of the action rhyme "Two Little Blackbirds" - turning Jack and Jill sitting on a hill into two little ladybugs. One little girl couldn't wait until I read this book - probably in reaction to the cover with the little plastic ladybugs showing through.

A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is another Karma Wilson read-aloud winner! The rhyming text has a great rhythm, so good for building that phonemic awareness. The illustrations are beautiful and the kids enjoyed the repeated phrase "the frog grew bigger." They also love the surprise at the end, when frog discovers that there is something strange about the log he's been sitting on - and it is a great device to allow all the bugs crammed into the frogs stomach to escape. In the end, no one is eaten and everyone learns a lesson.

I Love Bugs! by Philemon Sturges

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Big colorful illustrations and simple text take fear out of bugs for even the youngest listener. There are plenty of opportunities to get the kids involved in the book, like counting particular bugs on a page. Short, sweet, engaging - this book is a great introduction to the world of bugs.

Clara Caterpillar by Pamela Duncan Edwards

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really good story about a plain caterpillar who turns into a plain butterfly - who turns into a respected hero. There is a great potential to use fun voices for the eager boy caterpillar in the story and the catty and egotistical Catisha who looks down on Clara and makes mean comments every chance she gets. There are many "c" words used in the story, so it is a good resource for teaching phonemic awareness.

We ended our time together by coloring a ladybug sheet, cutting it out and attaching a craft stick so that the kids could take home their very own Jack or Jill.

Now to decide between "Pirates" and "Books/Reading" as themes for the next storytime adventure....

Another week....

Well. It's been a busy week.

Monday's storytime had only three kids (and two parents!) but we all had a marvelous time. The kids were great, they really participated in the songs and rhymes and interacted in the stories. We read stories about spring gardens and baseball. They included There Is a Bird on Your Head! (Elephant and Piggie) by Mo Willems which worked well for a spring themed storytime. The kids loved the absurdity of having birds build a nest on Elephant's head as well as the personalities of Piggie and Elephant and the interaction between them. We also read Quacky Baseballby Peter Abrahams, Frank Morrison (Illustrator) a story about Thumby Duckling, who is nervous about his first game on the Webbies baseball team. The text can be read in an "announcer" voice, which the kids at storytime enjoyed. At several points in the story, "the crowd goes wild" and the kids and their moms provided the cheering crowd noices. The illustrations are bright andcolorful and the humorous nature of the pictures and text had both moms and kids laughing out loud. Then there was another baseball read: Dino-Baseball by Lisa Wheeler, Barry Gott (Illustrator). Let's face it, kids love dinosaurs and kids love baseball - so they adored this rhyming book about the plant eating dinosaurs of the Green Sox vs the carnivores of the Rib-eye Reds, played at Jurassic Park, of course! With colorful illustrations and lots of baseball action (even a team manager who "throws his hat and kicks home plate...he calls the ump a nasty name and gets ejected from the game.) This is a book that appeals to very young kids because of the rhythm and rhyme, dinosaurplayers and bright, colorful illustrations. Because of the vocabulary and game descriptions it appeals to the adults in the group as well as preschoolers. Overall a verysuccessful storytime!

Our next storytime is a celebration of Moms in honor of Mother's Day. The hardest part, at least so far, is paring down all the wonderful stories for an about Mothers. We'll be reading several for Mothers (such as Five Minute's Peace by Jill Murphy and Seven Hungry Babies by Candace Fleming) and some around Mom's and their babies - human and animal. So many good stories! Next week I will post complete reviews.

In my regular job in the public libraries, I worked at two of my favorite branches and both days were rewarding and uneventful. My greatest victory involved a phone call from an angry, disgruntled patron who I talked through our online catalog. We finally hung up - after 30 minutes or so - with the patron much happier having a much greater understanding of our catalog and how to use it. She felt so good about our phone converstation, in fact, that she made a special trip down to the library the next day to express personal thanks. Of course, being a sub, I wasn't there! But thanks to a wonderful staff member who emailed me, I had the satisfaction of knowing that I had a positive impact on one person's life.

Spring Fling Stories

This week I had double the storytime fun. I presented my regular Monday morning storytime at the library at our local military base. Nine preschoolers, six books, an assortment of songs and fingerplays, and me.

Then on Thursday, I was the substitute branch manager at the public library and I was invited to present a storytime there. I read six books to almost forty children. Some of the same songs and fingerplays, but what a different experience! A larger audience meant there was more singing and participation - but also meant more chaos.

Large or small, I realize that I really love presenting storytime to all those small expectant faces. Sharing a love of books, and helping to develop literacy skills in our youngest patrons - well it just doesn't get any better than that.

Here are the books we read this week, along with Clifford's Easter (Bridwell), Muncha, Muncha, Muncha (Fleming) and Quacky Baseball (Abahams):

Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail by Lois G. Grambling




Great goofy read-aloud! T-Rex agrees to deliver eggs for the Easter Bunny when he develops a cold - with interesting results.



Wake Up Its Spring by Lisa C Ernst


Great Storytime opener for a spring-themed storytime. After a long cold winter, one day the sun warms the earth and tells it to wake up since spring is here...the message gets passed along, from earth to earthworm, to seed, to ladybug...and so on until everyone is awake and dancing in the spring sunshine.



Spring Is Here! by Will Hillenbrand


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 the twist at the end!



Bunny's Easter Egg by Anne Mortimer


The illustrations in this book are gorgeous! This gentle story of a very tired Easter Bunny searching for a quiet, comfortable place to sleep enchanted the listeners at storytime.



Flower Garden by Eve Bunting


This story, about a girl buying and planting a window box in her high-rise apartment in a big city is beautifully illustrated...and so very different from the experiences of the boys and girls growing up in suburban San Diego, where I present my storytimes.

Food...and Small Triumphs

This week's storytime was all about food. Six kids joined me in singing "If You're Hungry and You Know It" - a made-up version of the classic "If You're Happy And You Know It" and doing classic fingerplays like "Five Red Grapes," "Three Fat Sausages," "Bananas Unite," and "Make a Pancake." Books included Too Pickley! by Jean Reidy, Like Butter on Pancakes by Jonathan London, The Cow loves Cookies by Karma Wilson, and Just One Bite by Lola Schaefer. The kids loved all of these books - for different reasons. They could chime in on the repeated phrase in the Karma Wilson book, and they loved the illustrations of Just one Bite. Too pickley! was about a hungry, but very pickey, eater with amusing illustrations that made us all laugh. Like Butter was a beautiful, gentle book which gave them a chance to relax and catch their breath. We all had a great deal of fun.

Then there was my regular library job. Last week, I substituted for the manager at one of our branches. When I arrived, there was a van parked in the parking lot - it belonged to a "problem patron." When we opened he was among the first through the door. The staff all held our collective breath as we raced about our morning routine and, despite being short staffed, we managed to make everyone's experience a pleasant one...even our problem patron. He did start off making some loud demands and acting...confrontational, but I politely asked him to be patient, and helped him as soon as I could - he was actually polite and was patient and we had a very pleasant exchange as I helped him with computer and printing issues and then got him information about a book he had heard about. He left smiling. Small triumph, but the staff felt like we had just won the Superbowl.

The best part of that particular day came rather late in the afternoon. A mom came in with two children and a stack of books to return and/or renew, some of the items were overdue and one on her record she couldn't find...we straightened out her account and then I helped her daughter find some books to read. The daughter wanted to check out manga but mom wanted her to read something else as well. Part of the problem is that the girl was an avid reader who read way above her grade level. This was the same position I was in with one of my sons: the stories that were written at a level he would enjoy contained story lines that he just wasn't into. Stories that he would enjoy, written about issues and situations that a second grader would find interesting bored him to death because of the simple sentence structure and limited vocabulary. I talked to mom about strategies to use in a situation like this..did a casual reader's advisory interview with the girl and made some suggestions of books she could try. She left the library with a stack of books that included several manga volumes and Mark Twain and was chattering excitedly. Mom was thrilled, too. Saying that they were going to make sure and come back "on my day" since she was thrilled with the way her daughter responded to this library trip. Another triumph. It is moments like these, where I see a young person's eyes light up over books and I'm able to feed this passion that I know I am in the right occupation.

It's All About the People

So, there are those that claim librarians are in the book business and there are those that argue that we are really in the information business. I say we are really in the people business. Yes, we know books and we are trained in techniques to make the hunt for information efficient and effective...but we do this to help people. At the end of a typical work day I go home hoarse and tired because I have talked with so many people. Some of the interactions are simple and brief. Some, more like a brief conversation with a friend...and some patrons will be with me for twenty minutes or a half hour because of some complicated reference question...or sometimes just because they are feeling lonely or scared. The people business.

I think everyone who has worked in a library has come to know the people that frequent the location well. There are the patrons that cause staff to scatter when they walk through the door but then there are those wonderful regulars who you come to love. I had the good fortune of running into one such patron this week. Several years ago, when I was a lowly library aide, there was a grandmother who would come in every week and read stories to her grandson. I would usually be nearby shelving books, and would enjoy the stories almost as much as her grandson, who was about two at the time. I would help them find books, and talk to both of them every week. Then I was promoted, and moved to another location. I thought of them often and wondered what they were both up to. Yesterday, I was subbing at that location, and went into our community room to do a head-count for an irish dance demonstration. I came face to face with a woman, who smiled when our eyes met. She said her name and I immediately went back to those days of "Curious George" and "Henry and Mudge." She remembered my name (wow!) and mentioned that her grandson was now finishing first grade and is one of the top readers in his class. It was hugs all around and comments about how much I enjoyed her stories and how grown up her grandson was. We had a very nice chat, I helped her grandson find some books just like old times, and then they were off.

For all of you out there, take heart: we do touch lives. We provide an important service for PEOPLE and make their lives a little better. Yesterday, was a very good day - I'm going to hold on to that feeling and it will get me though the not-so-good days.

Stories, stories, stories

When I set up this blog, I really did intend on writing a weekly post. Honest. But then life got in the way and well, even though I had plenty to say, I just never had the time to sit and write it down here. With the start of a new year (yes, I know that it is almost March...) I am determined to post something each week.

So today's post is all about stories and resources for storytime. When I last posted I was preparing a baby-lapsit storytime for our local military base library. When I started "Tiny Toes Storytime" in the fall, I presented twice a month. In January took the leap to weekly. At first, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to present a quality storytime every week, but so far, so good. I am even starting to have regulars come back every week. Hmmm, that will make it more difficult to repeat programs!

Today's theme was "Shall We Dance?" I read Farmer Joe and the Music Show by Tony Mitton (great rhyme and rhythm), Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton, Brontorina by James Howe (The problem is not that she was too big to learn to dance, but that the studio was too small), Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andrede (everyone can dance if they can only find the right music), and Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig (Kid's guess who belongs to the dancing feet on each page). We did a couple of fingerplays and action rhymes, sang a couple of songs and danced "The Hokey Pokey" and "Dinosaur Stomp." Even though there were only three kids there, everyone had a good time - and took another step in developing early literacy skills.

One thing that makes creating a weekly storytime easier these days is the availability of good resources. Judy Sierra's books on flannelboards and storytelling are terrific. Collections of rhymes and fingerplays are great sources for "storytime extras." My newest discovery, and current favorite, is Storytime Magic: 400 Fingerplays, Flannelboards, and other activities by Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker. Well organized and current, it has a wealth of useful information for almost any age group or storytime theme. Some of my favorite online resources include the Kings County and Canton Public Library lists of songs, rhymes and fingerplays. Do you have any favorite resources? Favorite books to read for storytime???

Next week's theme will be cars and trucks...to balance out this week's "girl" theme of dance!

Even though I am still not working full time as a librarian, I am working two days a week for San Diego Public Library. So far, I have worked at 22 of the 35 branches in the system. My favorite work days have been the three days I have been asked to present storytime, due to a last minute absence. The first time it was pretty scary to prepare a program in 25 minutes! Now that I have more experience and resources at my disposal I know I can do it. I find myself hoping that I'll have the opportunity to present a storytime and make another group of children a little happier.