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The holiday season is upon us, and that turns many minds to thoughts of spending time with loved ones. Below is an excerpt from Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter: The Georgia Years, 1924-1974 by E. Stanly Godbold, Jr. tracing the early romance of the former President and First Lady.

In the hot, dusty summer of 1945, people in Plains talked about the heat, the crops, and the war, unaware of an event on Main Street that three decades later would catapult their town onto the world stage. Jimmy Carter, the twenty-year-old eldest child of a prominent local family, was visiting his hometown before returning for his final year at the Naval Academy. As he drove down Main Street in a Ford car with a rumble seat, accompanied by his sister Ruth and her boyfriend, he glanced toward the Methodist church. There he spied a pretty young woman loitering on the steps. Petite Rosalynn Smith, with her large, warm, intelligent eyes, exuded a seductive shyness that captivated the Academy man. Graduated as valedictorian of her class at Plains High School, she had completed one year at a nearby junior college. Jimmy stopped the car, not knowing that Ruth and Rosalynn had conspired to set up the meeting. He invited Rosalynn to attend the movie at the Rylander Theater in nearby Americus that night. She accepted.

Rosalynn was seventeen and Jimmy twenty that night in 1945 when they had their first date. His white Navy uniform dazzled her, and he thought her ravishing in her blue dress that buttoned all the way down the front. Immediately after their first date, Jimmy told his mother that he had met the woman he intended to marry. Lillian disapproved. “Jimmy, she’s just a little girl! She’s Ruth’s friend,” she argued. Lillian thought that Jimmy was much more sophisticated than “naïve” Rosalynn Smith of Plains, Georgia.

Rosalynn’s father lacked the powerful personality and wealth of Earl Carter, and neither her mother nor any woman in Plains could equal Miss Lillian. Yet, connected by blood to the Wises, Murrays, Bells, and Smiths, her pedigree, ever so important in a small southern town, was superior to that of the Gordys or Carters. Because her father died when she was young and her mother remained imprisoned in shyness, Rosalynn had no influential, potent adults to push her into the world. What she had was a robust spirit, a vigorous will, an inquisitive intellect, an energetic mind, an unspoken ambition, a quiet faith, and a tough ability to succeed at whatever she undertook.

It would take Jimmy a decade of marriage to realize the complements to his lifestyle that Rosalynn brought to their union. On their first date, he saw a very pretty, smart, seductively shy girl who smiled at him. Rosalynn did not fall so quickly for him, but she later confessed that she had fallen in love with a picture of him in his uniform. She realized that the man in that uniform, who now said he loved her, had begun to see that world about which she only read and dreamed. The young lovers exchanged a flurry of letters, a correspondence that did not mention the major events of the day, but consisted of, according to Carter, “intimate love letters.”

World War II ended shortly after their courtship began. Rosalynn did not want Jimmy to go to war, but she remained reticent. He teased her about falling in love with his uniform, and he pretended to date other women. On at least one occasion, Jimmy did go out with another woman, and he suggested that Rosalynn see other men. When she reciprocated with letters about nonexistent boyfriends, he bristled, but they soon put aside their jealousies and committed to each other.

When Jimmy returned home on his Christmas leave in 1945, he and Rosalynn sang Christmas carols before open fires and attended church and parties together. Rosalynn beamed beside Jimmy in his dress blue uniform. He teased her mercilessly, a Carter family trait indicating aff

Elvin Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The Anti-intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com.  In the article below he reflects on last Friday’s debate. Read his previous OUPblogs here.

In the first presidential debate on Friday night, Senator McCain tried repeatedly to cast Senator Obama as a naive lightweight who does not understand foreign policy. Seven times, McCain laid the charge that Obama just doesn’t get it.

-”Senator Obama doesn’t understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy.”
-”And, yes, Senator Obama calls for more troops, but what he doesn’t understand, it’s got to be a new strategy…”
-”What Senator Obama doesn’t seem to understand is that if without precondition you sit down across the table from someone …”
-”I don’t think that Senator Obama understands that there was a failed state in Pakistan when Musharraf came to power.”
-”If we adopted Senator Obama’s set date for withdrawal, then that will have a calamitous effect in Afghanistan and American national security interests in the region. Senator Obama doesn’t seem to understand there is a connection between the two.”
-”Again, a little bit of naivete there. He doesn’t understand that Russia committed serious aggression against Georgia.”
-”Senator Obama still doesn’t quite understand – or doesn’t get it — that if we fail in Iraq, it encourages al Qaeda.”

In schools, in the boardroom, even around the kitchen table, people tend to prove their knowledge by proving what they think to be true rather than by attacking their interlocutors for their failure to understand. McCain was deploying a peculiar form of persuasion that we see often in our politics: he was trying to make a self-referential claim by an other-referential jab. By calling Obama naive he was trying to imply that he was not. Since it is bad taste in politics (as in real life) to be a self-professed know-it-all, it was, McCain probably thought, a classier act to simply dismiss Obama as naive and allow the conclusion that he understood foreign policy better to follow.

Yet this was exactly the failed strategy that Al Gore used against George Bush in their presidential debates in 2000. Although some pundits thought that Al Gore was scoring debate points, many viewers came away thinking that he was a condescending know-it-all.

Even the most artful rhetorician of our time, President Ronald Reagan, had to strike the right balance of tone and humor to successfully get away with his “there you go again” rejoinder. This well executed line in his debate with President Carter in 1980 was one of the defining moments of that campaign. But it gained traction only because there was a growing consensus in the electorate that the decades-long liberal formula for solving the country’s economic woes was obsolete and in need of overhaul. “Do you still not get it” only works when the audience has already gotten it and moved on to newer solutions, leaving one’s interlocutor alone in the dustheap of history.

The problem is that in 2008, Obama is not alone in his views. There are significantly more voters tired of George Bush’s unilateralism, his hard-headed focus on the war on terrorism in Iraq, and his refusal to negotiate with rogue nations than there are voters who would prefer to stay his course. Unlike in 1980 when the country was moving to the political right, this year, many Independents will be apt to wonder if it is McCain who still doesn’t get it.

Senator McCain would do well to remember that the primary season is over and he needs to stop speaking only to his base if he wants to narrow Obama’s lead in the polls. The strategy of calling one’s debate partner naive (a euphemism for a fool) does not often get one extra points from neutral bystanders, independent voters. If Republicans were, like McCain, exasperated on Friday night with their perception that Obama just wouldn’t see the obvious, McCain probably appeared condescending to Independents with the forced grins by which he greeted Obama’s alleged displays of naivete. McCain needs to stop harping on the charge that Obama doesn’t get it but start proving that HE gets it - that many Independents and Democrats are looking to restore the country’s relationship with the rest of the world, that there are many Americans who see the war in Iraq as a foreign policy tangent to the brewing problems in Afghanistan. Maybe Senator Obama doesn’t get it. But do you, Senator McCain?

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“Rain, rain, go away” was what quite a few of us in northern and central Virginia were thinking last night! In the spirit of yesterday’s rainy and windy weather, I offer a selection of rain-themed books sure to sweep away those rainy day blues.

Rain makes many different sounds.  It can go “drip drop” or “plip plop,” but it can also “ping ping pingading” on a tin roof, “whoosh and hiss” on a highway, and “bup bup bup bup” on an umbrella.  In Mary Serfozo’s Rain Talk, the many different sounds of raindrops are described to us by a young African-American girl in a yellow flowered sundress.  She delights in the rain as it pours down around her; eventually, her mother calls her in.  After supper, bath, and bedtime stories, she drifts off to sleep as the rain “drum-a-tum-a-Drum[s]” on the roof. The following morning brings bright sunshine, with the hope of spying a rainbow.  Although there is not much story to the book, children will be drawn to the rain sounds and the playfulness of our young friend.  Be sure to practice this one before storytime; you may stumble over the rain sounds.

Remember the fun of jumping into puddles? Jonathan London delightfully captures the simple kid-pleasure of puddle jumping in his aptly titled Puddles.  Nighttime brings fierce thunder and rain, but daytime brings sunshine and puddles.  Mama warns them to stay away from puddles in order to not get wet. It’s not long before our two young siblings discover “[P]uddles! Big one, little ones, long ones, skinny ones–pieces of sky on the ground.  It’s time to puddle-jump! Splash splash splash!” All right!

Not only are there puddles, but there’s mud that slups, worms that squirm, frogs playing in the pond, and on the way home from the great outdoor adventure are more puddles. “It’s time to puddle-jump again! We can hit every puddle from the pond to the meadow-splash splash splash!” Of course, this excursion has made these two rascals very wet, so it’s off to hot baths and hot chocolate….before they run outside for more puddles.

I adore this book! These two little guys are so innocently mischievous that it’s difficult to not cheer them on.  Not only is it a great rain-themed book, but it’s a wonderful celebration of children exploring nature.

Once, there was a water hole.  The animals came to the water hole to quench their thirst, to bathe, and to meet fellow members of the species.  Eventually, the water hole was no more, and the animals went away.  However, a raindrop fell.  It was joined by many other raindrops, providing much needed water for the animals, who were back at the old watering hole.

The Water Hole contains a multitude of goodies; gorgeous illustrations of exotic and/or well-known animals, a counting theme, and a very brief explanation of the rain cycle.  While there are amusing comments sprinkled throughout the story, omitting them from your read aloud will not detract from the story (older children will appreciate the asides).

Some songs-to-story books succeed, while others fail to make a satisfying read aloud.  Maurie J. Manning’s The Aunts Go Marching clearly falls into the former category.  The book opens quite calmly with a two-page illustration of a preschool girl in a jaunty yellow raincoat and hat marching and playing the drums down the street, accompanied by her small white dog and her patient-looking aunt.   We also see other similarly-aged women emerging from their townhouses while opening their sturdy black umbrellas. 

The aunts go marching one by one, hurrah! Hurrah!

The aunts go marching one by one, hurrah! Hurrah!

The aunts go marching one by one

The little one stops to bang on her drum

And they all go marching down to the town

In the rain, in the rain.

Rat a tat-tat! Rat a tat-tat! Ba-rump, ba-rump, ba-rump!

And so it goes.  The (multiethnic) parade of aunts marches down the street, while the little one stops to do a variety of things. 

The illustrations *make* this book.  While it’s a fun read aloud to a crowd, this is undeniably one that benefits from one-on-one close inspection and interaction.  Whether it’s an aerial illustration of the aunts marching nine by nine, the antics of the dog, or the interaction between an aunt and the child, the illustrations practically demand that you spend some time gazing at them. This is one of my “new” favorites.

 Do you have any favorite rainy-day themed books?

Books Mentioned:

Base, Graeme.  The Water Hole.  New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001. 

London, Jonathan.  Puddles.  New York: Viking, 1997. 

Manning, Maurie J.  The Aunts Go Marching.  Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mill Press, 2003.

Serfozo, Mary.  Rain Talk.  New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1990.

I know, I know.  A “cheep” joke.

(I’ll stop-I promise.)

As you have probably already guessed, today’s storytime was centered on birds.  Quite a few of them had to do with a missing/lost mother, which wasn’t planned.  What is it about lost baby birds? Is it the fact that they look so cute and helpless when they are babies?

Choco can’t find his mother; nevertheless, he goes off in search of a mother who looks like him.  He finds a giraffe; he’s yellow, and the giraffe is yellow, so she could be his mother! Right? Well, no.  Neither can Mrs. Penguin, even though she has wings just like Choco.  Neither can Mrs. Walrus, even though she has big round cheeks like Choco. 

Despondent, Choco meets Mrs. Bear.  This brown bear certainly can’t be his mother!  Out of frustration and sadness, he begins to cry.  Mrs. Bear soothes him by asking him what he thinks a mother would do; he sobs that she would hold him, kiss him, and sing and dance with him to cheer him up.  The capable Mrs. Bear knows how to do all these things, and invites him home to join her family.   Mrs. Bear has quite a unique family; even though they don’t look like each other, they all love each other.

A Mother for Choco is a popular choice for adoptive families (our copy was, in fact, donated to the library by a local adoption group), especially multicultural families.  While the market for cross-cultural adoption stories is growing and maturing, many of them focus on a particular country of origin, such as China.  A Mother for Choco is a sweet story that carries a message that is not overly heavy-handed or saccharine.

Nancy Tafuri’s books are terrific for young toddlers; brief yet appealing text and bigbold pictures are well suited for short attention spans.  In Whose Chick Are You?, we discover a soon-t0-be-hatched egg.  It’s not Goose’s egg, nor is it duck’s egg, nor is it hen’s or bird’s egg.  Thankfully, the mystery is revealed when Swan appears; it’s a little swan chick! Mother and baby are happily reunited. 

Although not specifically a springtime book, this would fit in perfectly with a springtime themed storytime, with its story of new life and gentle pastels. 

Baby Birdby Joyce Dunbar is told in a “This is the House That Jack Built” version (the text isn’t cumulative).  Poor baby bird is eager to fly; unfortunately, his intitial attempt is not successful.  A squirrel sniffs at the shaken bird; a bee buzzes, a frog hops, and a cat and bird prove to be treacherous.  Our brave little bird is not a quitter, though, and he gives flying another try.  Is he successful? Of course, he is!

Baby Bird is irresistibly cute; his comic and endearing facial expressions will undoubtedly win you over.  This is not a long story, yet there’s plenty of action for the toddler set.

I’m sure many of you are already familiar with Lois Ehlert’s Feathers for Lunch.  Cat is mighty tired of the same old-same old cat food, and would prefer a gamey meal for a change.  Cat meanders and stalks a variety of delicious looking bird.  Too bad for him, for he wears a bell fastened to his collar.  When that bell comes jingling and jangling, the birds know that Cat is on the loose. “But cats can’t fly and they can’t soar,” so no matter how diligently Cat tries to catch a bird, he only gets feathers for lunch.  Since it’s natural to cheer for the underbird, this is quite a satisfactory ending (unless you’re on the cat’s side). Further information on the fine-feathered friends featured throughout the book is located at the end of the story. Lois Ehlert’s books are awesome read alouds, and this one is no exception.

Books Mentioned:

Dunbar, Joyce.  Baby Bird.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1998.

Ehlert, Lois.  Feathers for Lunch.  San Diego: Harcour Brace Jovanovich, 1990.

Kasza, Keiko.  A Mother for Choco.  New York: Putnam, 1992.

Tafuri, Nancy.  Whose Chick Are You?  New York: Greenwillow Books, 2007.

What are your favorite bird books?

When I look for bathtime-themed books, I tend to look more broadly than I do for other topics.  Not all bathtime books are interesting/suitable enough for a toddler storytime, so I include books that only have a small mention of a bath.  These three books round out a bathtime storytime nicely:

I believe I’ve mentioned Big Smelly Bearin a previous post, but it ties in very well with a bathtime storytime.  Big Smelly Bear has a terrific itch, but refuses to take a bath.  He tries every imaginable way to relieve his itch, but to no avail.  Big Fluffy Bear suggests a bath, yet Big Smelly Bear insists that a bath is not necessary.  A shouting match ensues (you can play this up to great effect), until Big Smelly Bear reluctantly takes a dip into the pond.  Although he enjoys it, he declares that he won’t ever take another bath.  However, he occasionally creeps off to the pond for a surreptitious swim.  Big Smelly Bear is one of the longer picture books I’ve read to my young toddlers, and they enjoyed it very much.  I usually don’t select books with an abundance of conversation; although Big Smelly Bear has more conversation than the books I normally choose, the fact that the conversation is only between two bears makes it a pleasure to read aloud.

Lisa Kopper’s Daisy books are delightful read alouds for toddlers, and Daisy Knows Best is no exception.  Daisy and the kids are romping through another fun-packed day; the babies are old enough to imitate Daisy, which makes for very amusing illustrations.  The babies (both canine and human) “open” the mail (we see everyone chewing on the mail), “set” the table (ending in a great mess), and “clean up” the garbage.  As you can imagine, this results in some very messy babies.  Finally, the much harried human mother scoops them up for some very needed baths.  The illustrations of the babies getting into all sorts of mischief are very cute; this has enough of a storyline to interest older toddlers, but younger toddlers will also enjoy the antics.

Young children will definitely empathize with a bunny that would rather play than take a bath in Little Bunny’s Bathtime! Although his siblings happily hop to the bathtub, Little Bunny continues to play.  When he sees his siblings happily splish-splashing away, he feels a little left out.  He hides (rather noisily) behind the towels and in the laundry basket, and watches his mother dry his siblings.  Feeling rather neglected, he splashes into the bathtub and informs his mother that he is ready for his bath.  Little Bunny gets his own special bath and attention time from his mother; meanwhile, the other bunnies get into a terrific mess in the kitchen.  The soft pastels add to the gentle warmth of this story; this would also be a good Mother’s Day themed storytime.

If you’re doing a bathtime storytime, don’t forget to do the Bathtime Pokey!  It’s the same thing as the Hokey Pokey, except you “do the Bathtime Pokey and you scrub that hand/leg/arm/head clean, that’s what it’s all about!” You can adapt the Hokey Pokey to any theme, anywhere, and the children never tire of the Hokey Pokey. 

Books Mentioned:

Johnson, Jane.  Little Bunny’s Bathtime!  Wilton, CT: Tiger Tales, 2004. 

Kopper, Lisa.  Daisy Knows Best.  New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1999. 

Teckentrup, Britta.  Big Smelly Bear.  New York: Sterling, 2007.

Confession: There aren’t many Valentine’s Day books that I enjoy reading to toddlers.  To mark the occasion, I create a storytime about families. If you’re looking for alternatives to Valentine-themed books, try these on for size.

I rarely need to find excuses to read Owl Babies.  Gorgeous illustrations and a storyline easily understood and appreciated by toddlers has made this a favorite of mine for many years.  Sarah, Percy, and Bill discover that their (owl) mother is missing.  Although they put on a brave front, they soon become very worried and speculate about what might happen to her.  Of course, Owl Mother returns and everyone is happy. The End.

Owls are a welcome break from the usual parade of dogs, cats, and dinosaurs, and these three little guys are quite adorable.  Your toddlers will giggle at Bill’s repetitive cry of “I want my mommy!” 

While there are many books about baby brothers and sisters, some tend to be quite negative in tone.  It’s normal for a child to be apprehensive about an infant sibling, but “hating” the baby isn’t always the case.  When I’m looking for “new baby” books, I look for books that validate the child’s concern, but not one in which the older sibling states that he/she “hates” the baby.

A Baby for Grace is a loving look at one young girl’s experience with a new sibling.  Grace notices changes and notices that she’s hearing a lot of “nos” on the day her mother and baby sibling come home from the hospital.  One “no” is just too much, and Grace dissolves into tears. 

Naturally, her family consoles her and fusses over her, which makes things a bit better.  Grace’s father asks if she would like to go to the swings; when Grace asks if they should take the baby, her father tells her that it’s just for the two of them.  Watercolor illustrations bring this gentle story to life.  Grace is EveryBigSibling; anxious to see and hold the baby, but bewildered by all the new changes. 

What? Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story will bring down the house if you have older toddlers and/or preschoolers in your group.  For the first time in his life, Patrick is spending the night at his Granny’s house.  There’s just one little problem: there’s no bed for him!

“What?!” cries Granny, and instead of heading out to the store to buy a bed, she chops down trees and makes him a bed.  However, Patrick also needs a pillow, a blanket, and a teddy bear.  One by one, Patrick informs her of his lack of sleeping supplies, and Granny cries” What?!” at each time.  Shearing sheep, sewing blankets, and other activities needed to complete in order to fulfill Patrick’s needs make for a very busy night.  Finally, Granny informs him that it’s time for bed. There’s just one problem-it’s morning!

“What?!”

Silly grandmas make for rib tickling reads.  I’ve read this story twice in the past two days; once to a preschool class, which absolutely cracked up, and once to my toddler group this morning.  Due to last night’s icy conditions and this morning’s cold and wet conditions, I had a very small number of children for storytime, and they were my youngest attendees. While they paid attention to the story, they didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as did the preschoolers.

You can adapt “If You’re Happy and You Know It” to fit the family-themed storytime.  Just substitute “If you love your mommy/daddy/sister/brother/grandma/grandpa/etc” for the lyrics.  It won’t be the perfect cadence, but it’ll do.  After we sang about mommy, I asked the children to name other family members. Inevitably, someone will name a pet.  And since pets are definitely part of our families, we don’t want to leave them out of the song.

Books Mentioned:

Lum, Kate.  What? Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story.  New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1999.

Waddell, Martin.  Owl Baby.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1992.

Whybrow, Ian.  A Baby for Grace.  New York: Kingfisher, 1998.

Hop on for a swift ride through transportation-themed books. Today’s schedule is not permitting a lengthy post….my apologies!

I don’t often include nonfiction in my toddler storytimes. Finding good nonfiction read alouds for toddlers isn’t always possible. However, given the fascination that very young children have with trains, trucks, planes, and cars, I browsed through our transportation nonfiction section in the hopes of finding great pictures and simple yet appealing text. Once I glanced through All Aboard! A True Train Storyby Susan Kuklin, I knew I had hit the jackpot. These aren’t pictures of the sorry little trains that you may see chugging along railroads. No indeed. This is about five magnificent Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge steam engines. Their route takes them through the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains; Kuklin’s fantastic photographs allows us to gaze at their power. We see the trains in their garage, admire their fire power, and marvel at the backdrop of the mountains. The text, filled with the appropriate steam engine sounds, carries us through the train’s journey. This is a quick read that will capture the attention of all future conductors.

If you work at a library that’s a day trip from the Richmond International Raceway, you’ll probably count a few race car fans among your patrons. The love of auto racing starts young, particularly in the South, and race car books are extremely popular. Combine race cars with a classic children’s song about transportation, and you have a book that’s guaranteed to be checked out after storytime. Alexander Lane has adapted the lyrics of ‘The Wheels on the Bus” in order to evoke a funny and very competitive car race in The Wheels on the Race Car. A variety of animals race along the track. The engines go vroom-vroom-vroom, drivers steer-steer-steer, race car mechanics go zzz-zzz-zzz, and so on. Lots of room for audience participation, if so desired.

Now, let’s accelerate to the finish line:

-If you’re a Minerva Louise fan, check out Minerva Louise and Her Red Truck.

-Trashy Town is a fun read for a very young group.

-Don’t forget to sing “The Wheels on the Bus!”

We’ve crossed the finish line! Did I bypass any of your favorites?

Books Mentioned:

Kuklin, Susan.  All Aboard! A True Train Story.  New York: Orchard Books, 2003. 

Stoeke, Janet Morgan.  Minerva Louise and the Red Truck. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2002.

Zane, Alex.  The Wheels on the Race Car.  New York: Orchard Books, 2005. 

While I do plan a number of storytimes that are non-animal in nature, I have to admit that many of them do feature animals.  Toddler-friendly picture books overwhelmingly feature animals doing all sorts of adorable things and getting into all kinds of mischief.  The children love them and the parents want to check them out after storytime, so who I am to argue with this kind of success?

This morning’s storytime was multi-species; we read books featuring ducks and chickens.  If you’re including chickens in your storytime, there’s no better way to start out your storytime than with a telling of The Little Red Hen.  While there are many versions of The Little Red Hen available, my favorite for a toddler storytime is Byron Barton’s The Little Red Hen.  Barton includes the familiar aspects of the tale (including “new” words such as thresh); the illustrations and text are simple, but not watered down.  The only major difference I noticed is that the hen has chicks, instead of being the solitary diner that we normally hear in other versions of the story.  Preschool groups would probably enjoy more detailed versions of the folktale (try versions by Paul Galdone or Margot Zemach).

A Hat for Minerva Louise was a big hit with this morning’s crowd.  Minerva Louise loves to play in the snow (too bad I didn’t plan this storytime two weeks ago, when we did have snow; northern Virginia is now in the 40s and the snow has turned to slush), but she doesn’t have proper winter garb.  She sets off to find a warm hat for wintry weather.  The children laughed at Minerva trying on a garden hose and a bucket before finding the perfect hat (which is really a mitten, as they pointed out).  Minerva Louise is in luck, for she finds two hats (which is really the other mitten, as they also pointed out).  Minerva Louise hangs the hat on her bottom (which they thought hilarious).  Oh, the gales of giggles this one produced!  Janet Morgan Stoeke’s text is minimal (1-2 sentences on each page for the most part), but Minerva Louise’s antics will keep your audience’s attention until the very end. 

After singing and performing “5 Little Ducks,” we settled down to read Come Along, Daisy by Jane Simmons.  Mama Duck is always calling to Daisy, but Daisy would rather explore and play with animals she discovers, such as a frog.  Unfortunately, Daisy explores too far away from mama!  Suddenly, there’s a rustling sound….what can it be?  The suspense builds over several pages, until we find that it’s Mama Duck rustling along the riverbank, looking for Daisy.  Mother and daughter are reunited, and Daisy has learned her lesson about straying too far from mom.  Expansive illustrations and large text make this an easy read for the story reader, while Daisy’s enjoyment of exploring, worry when separated from mother and relief when reunited will resonate with toddlers.

Richard Waring’s Hungry Hen features two common adversaries: a fox and a hen.  Fox is hungrily watching Hen grow larger and larger every day.  Fox is *really* hungry, but he tells himself that if he waits one more day, Hen will get even bigger.  Hen indeed grows bigger and bigger, but Fox grows thinner and thinner.  Finally, Fox cannot stand it anymore.  He races down the hill and smashes into Hen’s house.  Unfortunately for him, Hen has not yet satiated her appetite, and gobbles him down.  The surprise turn of events will pack an interesting punch to this tale of toddler-friendly suspense. 

It’s not difficult to find chicken/duck related fingerplays and songs.  We had fun performing “5 Little Ducks.”  Our “5 Little Ducks” was the one in which five little ducks “went out one day/Over the hills and far away/Mama Duck called quack quack quack/And four little ducks came waddling back.”  We showed five fingers on “five,” traced an arc in the sky on “over the hills and far away,” made the quacking noises, and waddled at the end.  I’ve heard slightly different versions for the final verse; we sang “Sad Mama duck went out one day/Over the hills and far away/Mama Duck called quack quack quack/And five little ducks came waddling back” Yaaay!

There’s also “5 little ducks that I once knew/Fat ones, skinny ones, short ones too/But the one little duck with the feather on his back/He lead the others with a quack, quack, quack,” et cetera.

The ChildFun family website also has several chicken-themed fingerplays (scroll to the very end).  We did the “5 Eggs and 5 Eggs” fingerplay.

One of my colleagues made adorable felt board figures for the “Hens of Different Colors” poem found on the Lesson Exchange site. The children “helped” me complete the end of each “This little hen is _____” and “All of these hens live at the farm, out in the ______.”

Books Mentioned:

Barton, Byron.  The Little Red Hen.  New York: HarperCollins, 1993.

Simmons, Jane.  Come Along, Daisy!  Boston: Little, Brown, 1998.

Stoeke, Janet Morgan.  A Hat for Minerva Louise.  New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1994.

Waring, Richard.  Hungry Hen.  New York: HarperCollins, 2001.

Did I miss your favorite fowl-themed story?

It’s so disgustingly simple to create a cats storytime that I’m almost ashamed of myself.  There’s such a huge assortment of cat-themed picture books that I had difficulty in choosing which books to include in my storytime.  The books that were not read were placed on display (if you don’t already do so, creating a temporary display in your program room/storytime area is an easy way to increase circulation, extend your storytime theme, and give parents and children something to do while they are waiting for the storytime to begin).

While it’s always fun to showcase the latest and greatest in your collection, including oldies-but- goodies is a good way to reconnect parents/grandparents/childcare providers with childhood favorites or to introduce “neglected” picture books.  Marjorie Flack’s Angus and the Cat (first published in 1931) fits the bill quite nicely.  Marjorie Flack created a series of charming picture books centered around a Scottish terrier named Angus; in this “episode,” Angus has to deal with a newcomer to the family-a mischievous black and white (and some blue; the primary colors in the colored illustrations are yellow and blue, while the opposing illustrations are black and white) cat.  This cat is T-R-O-U-B-L-E with a capital T. Angus is a very well-behaved dog; he knows he’s not supposed to steal food, jump after frogs, and generally do anything else ill-mannered dogs do on a regular basis.  However, he’s never had his curiosity about cats trained out of him (thankfully, the leash is always too short for further investigations).

Apparently, the New Cat didn’t attend any such thing as “Kitty Kindergarten.” This cat lounges on the sofa (uh oh), boxes Angus’s ears (hey!), attempts to steal his food (what the?!), and even sits in his “own special square of sunshine.”

This is clearly uncalled for.

No matter what Angus does, he never manages to catch the beastly little cat.  Until one day, the cat disappears after being chased.  Angus looks everywhere, but he can’t find that silly cat.  And wouldn’t you know….Angus misses it!  As you can imagine, the cat comes back (he just couldn’t stay away).

The illustrations, which are indicative of 1930s children’s picture books, alternate between color (blue, yellow, and black, with some additional colors in the family rooms) and pen and ink illustrations.  It’s definitely old-fashioned, but absolutely not dated.  The physical book is a medium-sized rectangle (at least, the copies that we have are), which may make the book tricky to share with a large group. 

The Cat Barked by Lydia Monks is in a similar vein of “the grass is always greener” attitude.  While Angus and the Cat was presented from the perspective of a dog, The Cat Barked is presented from a cat’s point of view.  We meet a cat that wishes to be a dog, because he/she thinks that “dogs have all the fun!”  Dogs get to go to the park, guard the house, and are “always the heroes in movies and books.” 

Fortunately, this sorry little cat has a young girl as her life coach.  Little Girl tells her of the annoying things that dogs have to do; do tricks, fetch sticks, and they’re always on leashes.  Cats, on the other hand, can see in the dark, climb up trees, and “go where they please” (as we see a house-confined dog looking mournfully out the doggie door).  And best of all, “they’re just the right size for cuddling in laps.”  At the end, Little Girl tells her to “please, stay just as you are-a most wonderful cat” (and we see a dog thinking, “I wish I were a cat!” while also being hugged by the child).

If you have children on the younger end of the spectrum in your storytime group, this is a great read aloud that is the perfect length and cadence for toddlers, but is not so baby-ish that it will bore the older children.

Drat That Fat Cat! By Pat Thomson is the longest selection in this group, but the action should keep the attention of your audience.  This is a cumulative tale of a very large cat with an insatiable appetite; after asking various animals (on an individual basis) if they have any food to share (and receiving the inevitable “no” and exclamation that he is portly enough already), the cat gobbles him/her/it up.  This malarkey continues on until the cat encounters a bee.  The cat swallows the bee without critically thinking the matter through; and hiccup! Out tumbles the various animals (and one very annoyed elderly lady).

Plenty of opportunities for animal noises and the repetition of “But was that cat fat enough?” will undoubtedly encourage some children to quack-quack, squeak squeak, and shout “No!” along with you.  This will definitely be one of your more livelier reads in your storytime!

Finally, we have Why Not?  by Mary Wormell.  This simple and attractive story centers around a very curious kitten and his mother, who is forever warning him about chasing the chickens, scaring the birds, and generally annoying the other animals on the farm.  After every warning, young Barnaby asks, ‘Why not?”  His question is answered by the aggravated animal in question (rather forcefully), but Barnaby always manages to slip away.  Barnaby eventually meets his ultimate foe-the hay bales!  Poor Barnaby is stuck, but with the forgiveness of adults toward a child that has eventually learned its lesson, the farm animals that he had previously annoyed come to his rescue.  Freed (by his own will and work), Barnaby saunters off to enjoy an inarguably much anticipated supper. 

The story of a trouble-seeking (albeit innocently) kitten and his mother will ring true to your storytime crowd.  While not as short as The Cat Barked?, this serves as a fine bridge between two longer stories. 

If you are looking for cat fingerplays, the Step by Step website has several good choices.  “The Mouse Ran Around the Room” is one easily performed by toddlers.

What are your favorite cat stories (or any that you are allergic to)?

Books Mentioned:

Flack, Marjorie.  Angus and the Cat.  New York: Doubleday, 1931.

Monks, Lydia.  The Cat Barked?  New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1999.

Thomson, Pat.  Drat That Fat Cat!  New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2003.

Wormell, Mary.  Why Not? New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2000.

Can I hear a good MOOOOO?

An animal sounds storytime may lead to bizarre dreams involving the animal See & Say (no longer with a string attached), but it’s a definite crowd pleaser.  You may get tired of oinking and baa-ing, but the children sure won’t!

Snip Snap may not show up in a search for animal sounds picture books, but it’s such a fun book to read aloud that I couldn’t resist including it (the crocodile does, indeed, snip snap).  Snip Snap includes toddler-appropriate suspense that ends with the children taking charge of a scary situation.  If you’re into audience participation, you can encourage your audience to chime in when you read “You bet they were!”  Even if you don’t (I didn’t), you’ll have some yell out, “Yes!”

Nothing at All begins quietly enough; the horses neigh, the cows moo, and other animals make their voices heard.  However, the scarecrow says “nothing at all” (this phrase is repeated).  That is, until a mouse crawls into his pants.  It’s showtime!  The scarecrow sets out on a wiggly jiggly dance until the mouse is mercifully freed.  The silly scarecrow elicited genuine laughs with his crazy dance.

Bark, Georgeis one of my all-time favorite picture books; I hardly need an excuse to include it.  George oinks, moos, and makes other nondog-like sounds until his harried mother takes him to the vet, which ends with surprising results.

It doesn’t matter if you encourage audience participation or not.  When you read, “No, George! ____ go ____. Dogs go _____,” you’ll hear oinks, moos, and woofs.  Feiffer produces delicious suspense when George moos, the vet reaches “deep, deep, deep down inside of George,” you turn the page, and everybody sees a very surprised cow (and flipped out mother) on the next page.  This morning’s group was in a very good humor, so this was a huge hit. Lots of belly laughs!

My animal sounds storytime always includes a rousing rendition of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”  Leading the song with puppets adds a further dimension, and the puppets act as great cues for the animal noises.  If you choose to present this with a male puppet acting as Old MacDonald, make sure you practice changing puppets on the other hand.  The songs moves surprisingly quickly when you have to manipulate and change a variety of puppets on one hand.

Since I have enough “the ___ says ____” type of books, I usually don’t include fingerplays/action songs that involve animal sounds.  We did the “Silly Dance Contest” song on Jim Gill’s The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes CD after reading Nothing at All (because the scarecrow does a silly dance when the mouse creeps into his pants). Our other action songs were wiggle (not Wiggles) songs that are set to familiar tunes.

Books Mentioned:

Bergman, Mara.  Snip Snap! What’s That?  New York: Greenwillow Books, 2005.

Cazet, Denys.  Nothing at All.  New York: Orchard Books, 1994. 

Feiffer, Jules.  Bark, George!  New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

CD Mentioned:

Gill, Jim.  The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Songs.  Chicago: Jim Gill Music, 1993.

Did I miss your favorite animal sounds story?

According to my library’s catalog, we have 628 picture book stories in rhyme and 55 nonfiction books in rhyme. That’s quite a collection for a semi-rural three branch system! While not all stories in rhyme are equal, there are many that are ideal for a toddler storytime. 

Toddlers and parents can definitely relate to Llama Llama, Mad at Mama.  Our red pajama  llama is back for a return engagement.  No bedtime worries here; our young llama is dragged from store to store on a long and boring Saturday shopping day.  Whether it’s trying on clothes or shopping for the week’s groceries, “llama llama does not care.” Finally, the inevitable happens: Llama has a terrific meltdown. Store merchandise is thrown right and left.  However, Mama Llama keeps her cool (amazingly enough-it’s quite an outburst).  She turns the shopping experience into a fun experience for all, and little llama is no longer mad at mama.  If you need a “bridge” between a short book and a longer story, this would be a fun addition to your storytime, especially if you’ve read Llama Llama Red Pajama in a previous storytime.

I was sorry that I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More didn’t receive anything for the Caldecott when it was published, because it’s one of my favorites. After painting the ceilings, walls, the curtains, and just about everything else with paint, the young narrator (no indication of gender) finds the hidden paints and adorns herself with paint. The text is set to “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,” but it’s not necessary that you sing the text when presenting the story (although it would be hard for me to not sing it). After all but one body part is covered with paint, our young narrator says:

“But I’m such a nut

gonna paint my ____”

(Then Mother discovers what he/she is up to.)

“WHAT?!”

Big laughs. Big laughs from your storytime crowd.

“Y’all don’t faint…

’cause there ain’t no paint!

So I ain’t gonna paint no more!”

We see the child sitting in a paint-smeared bathtub.

Will some parents (or librarians/teachers) fuss about the repeated use of “ain’t?’” Perhaps…but it is based on the song. I’ve used it in storytimes several times, and haven’t had any objection. In fact, it usually gets checked out after I read it. 

I normally don’t include more than one book by the same author, but wouldn’t you make an exception for Karen Beaumont? Rover is dry (and bored) in his doghouse during a rainstorm.  However, a cat needing shelter appears. “Move over, Rover!” A raccoon follows suit, as do several more animals.  However, Skunk demands shelter as well.  Animals scatter right and left, until the rainstorm is over and Rover can reclaim his doghouse. 

There’s a wee element of surprise, which always makes for a top-notch selection.  We don’t immediately know why the animals have scattered until the page is turned and we see Skunk lazing away in the empty doghouse. You can also encourage your audience to chime in when you say, “Move over, Rover!”

Hey, Pancakes! is the shortest picture book in this group, but it was a big hit with this morning’s storytime.  The kids decide to make pancakes for breakfast; not surprisingly, they make a huge mess.  However, the pancake flipping is quite impressive.  We see them sifting the flour (no frozen pancakes here-this is the real deal), flipping the pancakes, adding maple syrup, and everyone enjoying the fruits of their labor.  Naturally, they’re sticky with syrup and butter, so that gets taken care of after a most scrumptious breakfast. Very short sentences and high-quality comic illustrations make this a great choice if you have a young toddler group.

Any fingerplay will do for a stories in rhyme storytime.  “Ten in the Bed” (or, as I do it with my toddler group, “Five in the Bed”) works well when anchored with Move Over, Rover. 

Books Mentioned:

Beaumont, Karen.  I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!  San Diego: Harcourt, 2005. 

Beaumont, Karen.  Move Over, Rover!  San Diego: Harcourt, 2006.

Dewdney, Anna.  Llama Llama, Mad at Mama.  New York: Viking, 2007.

Weston, Tamson.  Hey, Pancakes!  San Diego: Harcourt, 2003.

I know I’m leaving out a ton of great stories in rhyme.  Which ones are your favorite?

Even if you regularly plan themes and fingerplays for storytime, the inevitable happens. A coworker calls in sick and you need to cover her/his storytime.  A preschool group calls Friday afternoon and would like to visit the library on Monday as part of its “community helpers” week. Or, despite the best intentions, you fail to plan a theme for the first storytime following an extended holiday vacation….and despite your best efforts, can’t muster up enthusiasm for a farm or puppies and kitten storytime.

Theme enthusiasts! I know who you are, because I am one of you.  You want every story and every fingerplay to flow seamlessly from one energetic reading to another. Does the thought of a theme-less storytime make you want to burrow underneath your collection of Folkmanis puppets?

(Storytime) Nation, when a themeless storytime stares you in the face, stare right back at it (it can smell fear). Think of five read aloud picture books and hope that they are on the shelves. I predict that you’ll think of the most imaginative, best illustrated, and best written picture books. Or think of five picture book authors. You’ll conjure up the brightest talents in the field. I also predict that you’ll think of stories that quite a few of your storytime attendees have heard several times. Don’t worry-they’ll tell you.

“I know that one!” Isn’t that wonderful? Aren’t those great words? Those words, or something akin to it, brightens my morning ten-fold when I hear it. This is a child who has fallen in love with a book so much that he/she has requested repeated readings of it.

“That’s awesome! It’s a great story. It’ll be fun to listen to it again. But some of us haven’t heard the story yet. Let’s not tell them what happens. It’ll be a surprise!”

Yes, children often love to hear the same story many times. However, it’s usually their mother or father who read the same story. Hearing the story from a new reader is a different experience; a new reader presents the story in a different way with inflection and facial expressions.

Somewhere in the sky between Louis Armstrong International Airport (New Orleans) and Dulles International Airport (serving Washington DC and northern VA), I remembered that quite a few children and parents would expect storytime come Wednesday morning. Knowing that I had not practiced my fingerplays and songs for that week’s storytime, I knew I would have to use a fall-back plan. Either recycle a theme or do a free-for-all storytime. Anticipating that I would face a week’s load of email, snail mail, and New Year’s wishes and Christmas discussions with colleagues in the morning, I knew that I could only give a half-hearted run-through of recycled fingerplays. Since I only use “cheat sheets” for fingerplays when absolutely necessary, I went for the free-for-all. I went searching for the first five picture book authors that came to mind (Denise Fleming, Eric Carle, Mo Willems, Nancy Tafuri, and Jules Feiffer).  I thought of the most popular songs and fingerplays that we’ve done for the past few months (”Wheels on the Bus,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and a trifecta of circle songs-”Ring Around the Rosie” and “Pop Goes the Weasel” followed by our standard closing, “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.”)

Did anyone complain about not having a theme? Absolutely not! Parents don’t bring their children to storytime because of the theme. This was one of our best storytimes yet; even the ones who have been the shyest about participating joined in when we did our familiar songs. Every book held the children’s attention. The children loved the stories and songs, the parents sang along to the songs, and I was thrilled. A perfect storytime, and no rhyme and reason for it. 

Will I abandon themed storytimes for good? No; frankly, it’s easier for me to pull together stories and fingerplays/action rhymes when I have a theme planned. But every so often, that doesn’t happen. When it does, it’s not something that causes stress.

What would be your “go to” books or authors?

Happy New Year, everyone!

Children’s literature is certainly not lacking in Christmas books. While there is a great variety of quality, I have many favorites. While not all are suitable read alouds for a toddler storytime, I’d like to mention a few long-time favorites.

Waiting for Christmas touches on the excitement and impatience felt by children celebrating Christmas.  Christmas just cannot come soon enough for these two youngsters! However, they manage to find ways to make the time go fast: sledding down hills, looking for hidden presents, and enjoying hot cider and a fire with the family. Finally, Christmas Day comes!

Although the text is simple (usually a line per page), the illustrations are rich with detail and color. It’s an excellent read aloud for toddlers, who can definitely understand how difficult it is to be patient.  I also enjoy the fact that the family is the center of the story, rather than Santa and presents. 

Too Many Tamales may be a bit too long for toddlers, but preschoolers should definitely be able to appreciate the story. A close-knit Latino family, a misplaced ring, and tamales are the center of this gently humorous and loving story. The antics of Maria and her cousins are funny, but the depiction of this loving and understanding family is the real charm of the story. Ed Martinez’s illustrations are meant to be lingered over.

As a fan of the Woods’s Little Mouse, I always include Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear!in my Christmas storytime. Little Mouse is once again told of the big hungry bear; however, Little Mouse pays an unexpected Christmas visit to the Big Hungry Bear. A bit too sweet? Perhaps. But the illustrations are bright and cute, and it’s in the spirit of the season.

I usually include adaptations of traditional fingerplays for a Christmas storytime. The Reindeer Pokey, 5 Little Reindeer Jumping on the Bed, etc. We also ring bells and sing Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. 

Books Mentioned:

Greenfield, Monica.  Waiting for Christmas.  New York: Scholastic, 1996.

Soto, Gary.  Too Many Tamales.  Putnam, 1993.

Wood, Don.  Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! New York: Blue Sky Press, 2002.

I won’t be able to post next week, as I’ll be out of town. Happy holidays to everyone and a Happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2008.

There’s an abundance of picture books created from songs.  While some don’t quite make it as a satisfying read aloud, there are quite a few that make fine picture books.  I’ve found that my favorites either come from a story-song or expand the song in some fashion. 

Will Hillenbrand has created two of my favorite song-to-text picture books: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush and Down by the Station.  Hillenbrand has created new lyrics for Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, resulting in a delightful “first day of school” book from the perspective of a nervous young pig. We see the piglets hanging up their hats, building with blocks, playing outside, enjoying snacktime, cleaning up messes at the end of the day, and greeting his parents at the end of the day.  The reluctant piglet starts off the day by wondering how many hours until the school day is done, feeling alone at recess, eventually joining in the fun, and having a blast until “[Now] it’s time to say good-bye, say good-bye, say good-bye. My first day has made me one happy guy. I’ll see you tomorrow at school!” The illustrations feature piglets of varying colors and even includes a piglet in a wheelchair. The girl piglets are in dresses and the boy piglets are in overalls. Honestly, though, how else would you differentiate the piglets? This is a great read aloud for a “first day of school” storytime.

Down by the Station features zoo baby animals on the way to the children’s zoo via the train (good way to introduce the proper names of baby animals: calf is a baby elephant, pup is a baby seal, etc).

The illustrations are cute enough to melt the heart of the most jaded children’s librarian. The babies are waiting with their parents; some babies, like the calf, look excited to go, while the panda cub is clinging to its blanket and appears rather reluctant. On the other hand, the seal pup’s parents look rather worried, while the mama elephant is so excited that she’s holding a stop sign, lest the train pass them by. The refrain ” off we go” invites audience participation, should you choose to do so.

Everyone knows the story of the “Eensy-Weensy Spider.” Went up the water spout, fell down when the rain came down, and crawled up again when the sun came out. While I’ve seen some cute board books of the rhyme, Mary Ann Hoberman has taken the song much further.   After we witness the spider’s initial mishap and recovery, we see her playing in the springtime, meeting a baby bug, swimming in the pool, and enjoying other activities and getting into other mishaps.  Here’s an example of one of my favorite scenes:

“The eensy-weensy spider fell down and scraped her knees.

‘Ouch!’ cried the spider. ‘I need some Band-Aids please!’

‘How many?’ asked her mama. ‘I only have a few.’

Said the eensy-weensy spider, ‘Six of them will do.’ “

Hoberman obviously knows the obsession many children have with Band-Aids….very clever.

It’s a new day at the end of the story:

“The eensy-weensy spider slept right through the night.

When she awoke, the sun was shining bright.

‘Good,’ said the spider, ‘there isn’t any rain.

And the eensy-weensy spider went up the spout again.”

And we come full circle!

If you’re looking for a story to include in a colors storytime or an animal sounds storytime, consider Little White Duck, illustrated by Joan Paley. Do you know the song?

“There’s a little white duck sitting in the water

A little white duck doing what he oughter.

He took a bite of the lily pad

Flapped his wings

And he said

‘I’m glad I’m a little white duck sitting in the water. Quack quack!”

Sitting on the lily pad is a little green frog, who jumps off the lily pad and says

” ‘I’m glad I’m a little green frog swimming in the water. Glug glug!”

There’s also a little black bug, who tickles the frog.  Following him is a little red snake, who frightens the duck, the frog, and eats the bug.  So now our little narrator (hmm….a brown mouse?) is all alone, except for his banjo/guitar. “Boo hoo hoo!” Very cute, despite the bug snack. Oh, well….that’s nature.

Fingerplays and action rhymes are easy for this storytime.  I always end my toddler storytime with “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” except I’ve created my own actions (clap our hands, pat our head, brush our teeth, wave goodbye). Of course, doing “Eensy Weensy Spider” would be a great segue into the story.  “5 Little Ducks” would also be a good transition to or from Little White Duck.

Books Mentioned:

Hillenbrand, Will.  Down by the Station.  San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1999.

Hillenbrand, Will.  Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.  San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 2003.

Hoberman, Mary Ann.  The Eensy-Weensy Spider.  Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.

Whipp, Walt.  Little White Duck.  Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.

Do you have any favorite song-to-text books? Is there a word for this kind of book?

The Washington DC metro area had its first snow today.  What a coincidence that I had planned a winter storytime for my toddlers today!  Here are some winter-themed books that you (and your storytime group) might enjoy:

Lovely and expansive illustrations (by Nancy Tafuri), animals easily identified by young children, and a story simple enough for your youngest attendees to follow…..we have a winner!  Someone is leaving delicious tidbits in the snow for the cold and hungry animals.  One by one (or two by two, etc), they come to explore and nibble.  Finally, we see who’s been leaving the treats for the animals.  If you have several long stories in your storytime, In the Snow would be a great bridge between your longer stories.

When you add Denise Fleming and “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” you get a fabulous book about winter. “On the first day of winter my best friend gave to me…a red cap with a gold snap.” And so it goes until the 10th day of winter, when our very resourceful and adorable narrator decorates his snowman with his gifts.   Singing the tune while reading The First Day of Winter is definitely optional, but may prove to be irresistable!

Another Denise Fleming book? Yes, yes-she’s one of my favorites.  If you’re doing a hibernation or bear storytime, take a look at Time to Sleep.  Winter is fast approaching, which means that it’s time for Bear to sleep.  However, Bear is anything but not thoughtful, and informs Snail that winter is on its way.  Snail tells Skunk, who tells Turtle, who tells Woodchuck, who tells Ladybug, who rushes to tell Bear, already asleep in his cave.  As you can imagine, Bear is a bit grouchy to be told old news.  However, Bear is nothing if not mild mannered, so he and Ladybug curl up for a long winter’s nap.  There is much dialogue in here, so you might want to think about your “voices” for the different animals.  If doing a truckload of voices isn’t comfortable for you, don’t stress about it.  It’s more important that you’re comfortable reading the story.

If you’re reading to a preschool group, Winter is the Warmest Season is definitely one is to include.  Why is winter the warmest season? Our young narrator will tell us: “When winter comes my jacket puffs warm with feathers, my hat grows earflaps, my pants hide deep in fuzzy boots, and my hands wear warm woolly sweaters.” Winter is also the time for scarves on snowmen, soups, and when “sleeping radiators awake to their dragon selves, banging and hissing and pouring heat all through my house.” If your winter books emphasize the cold and stark aspects of winter, use this as a unique and warm contrast.

The Busy Little Squirrel could be read during a fall or winter storytime, since winter hasn’t actually started.  Little Squirrel is busily preparing for the long winter, gathering seeds, berries, and other squirrel food.  Temptation to play and cavort lurks in the calls of his fellow animals, who invite him to join in their activities.  This is a very focused squirrel who won’t stray from his duties. Illustrations of cute animals, animal noises, and the opportunity to chime in when ” He was so busy!” is repeated should make this a hit with your storytime crowd.

If you need fingerplays, I have a simple one for you (to the tune of “Frere Jacques”):

Dance like snowflakes

Dance like snowflakes

In the air, in the air

Whirling, twirling snowflakes

Whirling, twirling snowflakes

Here and there, here and there

I often end up repeating this several times, because my toddlers enjoy whirling and twirling so much.

Other snow/winter themed fingerplays can be found here.

Books Mentioned:

Denslow, Sharon. In the Snow. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2005.

Fleming, Denise. The First Day of Winter. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2005.

Fleming, Denise. Time to Sleep. New York: Henry Holt, 1997.

Stringer, Lauren. Winter is the Warmest Season. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006.

Tafuri, Nancy. The Busy Little Squirrel. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007.

What are your favorite winter-themed books?

Bears are my favorite non-domestic animals.  Now, I love elephants and penguins, but bears are my #1 favorite.  I moved to the northern Virginia area not long after the birth of the National Zoo’s young male panda, Tai Shan, and quickly fell in love as I learned more about these fascinating and rare animals.  When the adorable Knut the polar bear became a media sensation, I became an admirer of those majestic and also critically endangered bears. 

The 100th day naming of the San Diego giant panda cub inspired me to retool and present my bear storytime (genetic testing has linked giant pandas to bears and are classified as such, although the red pandas are not in the Ursidae family).

Although it only features a bear on its first page, I had to include Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? A “sequel” of sorts to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, this title features endangered animals “living wild and free” such as the black panther, spider monkey, and the bald eagle.  I also could have chosen Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, featuring animals found in zoos (and their noises), or Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?, featuring animals native to North America.

Big Smelly Bear is a recent addition to our collection; not having used it in a previous storytime, I was unsure as to how my group would react. They loved it! The star of the story is indeed big, smelly, and a bear.  He’s also a bear with a major issue: a ferocious itch!  No matter how hard he tries, the itch won’t go away.  Along comes Big Fluffy Bear, who naturally suggests that he bathe himself.  Insisting that he doesn’t need a bath, BSB and BFB get into a yelling match (major opportunity for hamming it up). Finally, BSB discovers that baths aren’t so bad after all, and even sneaks away at times to bathe.  Although this book contains more dialogue than most books I choose for storytime, it’s a fun choice for toddlers, who are notorious for balking at baths.

I couldn’t do a storytime without one of the most famous bear stories for the toddler and preschool crowd: Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  Although there are many wonderfully told and illustrated editions of this story, I usually choose Byron Barton’s The Three Bears for a toddler storytime (I would chose another edition for a preschool storytime, or I would tell the story to the group).  The prose is simple and direct without boring the reader or the audience.

For a preschool group, I would include Dinner at the Panda Palace.  Mr. Panda runs the hottest restaurant in town, gathering from the constant stream of diners.  One by one, they arrive in groups (this is a counting book): three pigs running from a wolf, five swinging monkeys, eight impeccably dressed penguins, and so on, all the way to ten chickens.  Suddenly, one more patron arrives…a small mouse.  Can Mr. Panda find room for one more diner?  Wittily told in rhyme, this is a fun read aloud for preschoolers.

I haven’t yet used You’re a Bear in a storytime (this week’s toddler group was younger than normal), I look forward to introducing children and parents to this lovely celebration of imagination.  We see a young girl covered with a brown blanket and pretending to be a bear, from bathing, to stomping, spinning and tumbling, and finally sleeping.  This would be a fine bedtime book as well. 

Need fingerplays? You’re in luck.  There’s “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around,” of course.  Here’s a cute one I found from the Child Care Lounge site:

Five little bears
Five little bears little bears were dancing on the floor
One fell down and that left four
Four little bears climbed up a tree
One found a bee hive that left three
Three little bears were wondering what to do
One chased a bunny rabbit that left two
Two little bears were looking for some fun
One took a swim that left one
One little bear sitting all alone
He looked all around and then ran home.

thebestkidsbooksite.com also has several good fingerplays.

What are your favorite books about bears? Do you know of a good nonfiction book about bears that could be shared with preschoolers? We have excellent books about bears in our collection, but they are suitable for older children.

Books Mentioned:

Barton, Byron.  The Three Bears.  New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 

Calmenson, Stephanie.  Dinner at the Panda Palace.  New York: HarperCollins, 1991.

Jukes, Mavis.  You’re a Bear.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

Martin, Bill.  Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?  New York: H. Holt, 2003.

Teckentrup, Britta.  Big Smelly Bear.  New York: Sterling, 2007.

Happy Children’s Book Week! I know many of you have terrific displays and have planned neat programs at your library (we have a wonderful storyteller performing this Saturday!) for this event.

During Children’s Book Week, I do a “Reader’s Choice” storytime. While I have a set theme 9 times out of 10, I occasionally do a non-themed storytime. I usually do this when I am not in the mood for reading books and singing songs about dogs/cats/transportation/seasons/etc. Sometimes, you just can’t take bunnies anymore. That’s when I do my free for all storytime. When I cannot possibly thumb through books and search the Internet for frog fingerplays any more to match my frog books, I start planning my “Reader’s Choice” storytime.

For the past two years, I have selected my Children’s Book Week storytime books from New York Public Library’s excellent 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know list. I deliberately choose older classics and modern classics.

Since I undoubtedly don’t need to go into lengthy explanations about the books, this will be a shorter post than usual. However, I would love to know what your library is doing for Children’s Book Week and/or your favorite childhood books.

Remember Ferdinand? This story about the gentle bull that loved flowers was definitely one of my childhood favorites.  This little book caused a lot of controversy when it was originally published; it was banned in Spain under the Franco regime and and copies were burned in Nazi Germany. However, it gained a multitude of fans and knocked Gone With the Wind from its top bestseller list in 1938. How’s that for a children’s picture book?

There’s no shortage of adorable picture books about teddy bears. Although the book was published 39 years ago, the bear with the missing button manages to win new fans with each new generation.

66 years old and still going strong! One of our most frequently asked directional questions is, “Where are the Curious George books?” This is the original and the king of them all. If you set up a display of related storytime books for your storytime attendees, display The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden. It’s written for older children, but your storytime parents might not know the Reys’s story.

When children of this generation reminisce about their favorite books, I’m sure many will include Olivia in their discussions. Pigs are naturally adorable to begin with, and Olivia’s antics make this book a genuinely adorable book without overbearing treacle.

For this storytime, we usually sing our favorite songs and fingerplays. It’s a storytime I look forward to every year.

It’s your turn now! If you’re having a program during Children’s Book Week, what are you doing? Or tell us about your favorite childhood books

(I’m posting a day early due to the fact that I will be at a summer reading program workshop all day tomorrow and won’t have access to a computer.)

We’ve entered the eating season, ladies and gentlemen. We’re sick of the fun sized candy bars and we’re thinking about our Thanksgiving menu (does anyone remember Thanksgiving being three weeks after Halloween? Or am I just getting older?). Then comes Christmas cookies and Hanukkah latkes.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and/or Kwanzaa, delicious and very special feasts probably play important roles in your celebration.

We also celebrate dance during this season. At this time, ballet companies and schools are in preparation for their biggest event/fundraiser of the year-the annual performance of the Nutcracker (Jennifer Fisher wrote a fascinating book titled Nutcracker Nation: How An Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World that I highly recommend).

Dance is also a great stress reliever and cardiac/calorie buster workout. As we anticipate turkeys and tutus, let’s take a look at some dance-themed picture books that are great for a high-energy toddler/preschool storytime.

I’m sure I’m not telling you anything new when I tell you that Doreen Cronin’s Wiggle and Bounce books are perfect for a dance/movement storytime. While some books in rhyme have a forced and awkward rhyme scheme, Cronin’s text trips perfectly along your tongue. Not only do they invite (but not demand) audience participation, there are plenty of gags sure to make your toddlers/preschoolers giggle (”Feeling extra silly? Wiggle in your underwear!” Underwear is always funny-even the mere mention of it.).

Not only does Jonathan London’s Who Bop? include rabbits and frogs “boppin, hip-hop hoppin,” but it also includes the sax-playin’ Jazz Bo (a cool cat, naturally) and his drum and piano playing friends. It’s sock hop night at the jazz club, and everyone is getting down.  You’ll definitely want to practice this one before your storytime, or you might stumble on the quick rhythm of the text. The font is also quite jazzy, which makes it a little tricky for the story reader. However, the illustrations are crisp and clear, and the “story” is infectiously fun.

Books that are heavy on rhythm and slight on story can be delightful, but if you include too many in one storytime, children’s attention spans will probably drift. Bill Martin Jr’s Barn Dance definitely includes rhyme and rhythm, but there’s also a genuine story twirling through the text (a young boy discovers animals dancing the night away). Illustrations of a scarecrow and pumpkins are prominent, so it’s perfect for the fall season.

I sense a subtheme going here….dancing animals! Here’s another one to throw into that theme: Joanne Ryder’s Big Bear Ball. This is a genuine country hoedown, complete with a caller and fiddlers. The caller is the narrator of the story; he’s busy calling out the steps and describing the illustrations. Bears of all sorts, from brown bears, polar bears (I think that’s what the white bears are supposed to be), to panda bears arrive by hot air balloon (why not?) for a fun-filled night of swinging and two stepping. Toddlers will love it, but older preschoolers may think they are too old for it.

Our final book involves an individual and independent-minded frog who basks in the joy of dance. Betsy would rather dance than hop or jump; as a frog, this puts her into a problematic situation. The other frogs tell her that there’s no room for dancing; however, they are soon intrigued by Betsy’s new style of locomotion. Sure enough, everyfrog but one is twisting and hopping. This guy insists that there is no room for dancing, until Betsy tells him otherwise. Simple text, a solid storyline, and large, clear, and uncluttered illustrations make Hop Jump a terrific choice for toddlers and young preschoolers.

That’s only a handful of dance-themed books. I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Fingerplays and action rhymes are easy for this storytime! Although these books involve animals, you can save your animal-themed fingerplays for another storytime. This is a great time to break out your tried and true. The children who already know the songs will love performing them, and it’s a great way to introduce standards to families that are not familiar with them. Here are just a few suggestions:

• “If You’re Happy and You Know It”
• “The Hokey Pokey”
• “This Old Man” (perform the actions, slap thighs for “knick knack,” clap hands for “paddy whack,” and pretend to “throw” a bone for “give a dog a bone.” Adjust it to the level of your audience; toddlers may find it easier to show the numbers with their fingers and just perform the actions without the “knick knack” and “paddy whack” part. I also usually only count to 5 instead of 10 for toddler storytime.)
• “5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” (animal themed, but always a fun one)

There are a multitude of great children’s musicians, but these musicians are known for their movement-oriented music:

• Jim Gill
• Johnette Downing (definitely check her out-if if you think you don’t like children’s music, you’ll love her CDs. Her music is influenced by traditional Louisiana music-being from the New Orleans area, I can’t leave her out! Her “Ants in Your Pants” is always a hit with preschoolers.)
• Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer
• Laurie Berkner (your toddlers and preschoolers will be familiar with her if they watch the Noggin channel-she’s on Jack’s Big Music Show)

Not every song that these musicians sing are movement oriented, but many of them are. These musicians have websites on which you can find more information.

Books Mentioned:

• Cronin, Doreen.  Bounce.  New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007.
• Cronin, Doreen.  Wiggle.  New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005.
• London, Jonathan.  Who Bop? New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
• Ryder, Joanne.  Big Bear Ball.  New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
• Walsh, Ellen Stoll.  Hop Jump.  San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1993.

I don’t have to tell you what day it is today. I’ll bet that your library is decorated in orange pumpkins, black bats, and other slightly scarier critters and creatures. If you had storytime today (as I did), you already had a stash of Halloween stories and songs at your disposal. Maybe you’re having an after school program today if you didn’t have one this past weekend.  I definitely know that many of you have dressed up in honor of the day (’fess up-you don’t need much encouragement to dress up for anything!).  

So, unwrap another “fun sized” Kit Kat or Snickers bar and pour yourself another cup of apple cider while I tell you about a few of my favorite things-Halloween books! If you don’t like these treats, leave a note in the comments section instead of rolling my house.

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex is fun any time of year, but including some of the hilarious poems in your elementary age Halloween program will definitely bring some grins and giggles to your group. Shel Silverstein fans will definitely get a kick out of the poems and drawings. I read the title poem during our Halloween program; it was a great bridge between stories.

Readers’ theatre and participatory stories are always a fun way to shake up a storytime. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman was a big hit during our Halloween program. We had premade signs for the characters in the story-bat, vampire, etc. I asked for volunteers before beginning the story (making sure that I chose a small child for the bat) and prompted the children with their lines. Very simple (if you had more time, you could make masks), but the parents and children loved it!

If you know the Russian folktale “The Enormous Turnip,” then you know the basic story of Big Pumpkin. A witch wants to pluck an enormous pumpkin, but can’t manage to pick it up. Along come various Halloween-ish characters (one by one) who boast that they can pick it up. Ultimately, it’s up to the small bat to do the deed.

For younger audiences, Anne Rockwell’s Apples and Pumpkins works nicely. It’s a simple story of a family’s trip to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch. We see the family pick the fruit, carve the pumpkin, and greet trick or treaters. My group was well versed in the ways of orchards and pumpkin patches, so they related to the familiarity of the story. Not the most glamourous or spooky selection, but if you’re reading to a toddler group or need to avoid overt depictions of witches, ghosts, and the like, this would be a good selection.

Another ”can’t miss” title is Linda Williams’s The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. Although the book is a little longer than what my group is currently accustomed to, it had enough of an element of surprise and suspense to keep their attention. For some strange reason, a little old (and unafraid) lady is followed home by a pair of shoes, a shirt, and two gloves, among other things. Although she tells the things that she isn’t afraid, her steps quicken with each new strange encounter. Unfortunately, they follow her home. Although disappointed that they still haven’t managed to scare her, the little old lady and the things manage to work together (the things assemble into a scarecrow). It has nothing to do with trick or treating or ghosts, but there is a pumpkin, scarecrow, and definitely some (tame) spookiness. Inviting the children to go clomp clomp with the shoes, shake shake with the shirt, clap clap with the gloves is entirely up to you. If I were reading with a preschool or kindergarten group, it would be fun. It would have been an exercise in frustration for my toddlers and would have distracted from the story, so I was the only one shaking, clomping, nodding, and so forth. 

Want more treats? Here are some fun Halloween fingerplays (found on a multitude of websites):

Heigh-Ho on Halloween (Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

The owl goes whoo

The owl goes whoo

Heigh-ho on Halloween

The owl goes whoo

-The bats go eek

-The pumpkin rolls and rolls

-The scarecrow waves goodbye

Orange Pumpkin (Tune: I Am a Little Teapot)

I am an orange pumpkin, big and round

Once upon a time I grew on the ground

Now I have a mouth, two eyes, and a nose

Where did they come from, do you suppose?

When I have a candle shining inside of me

A jack-o-lantern you will see!

Spin Little Spider (Tune: 10 Little Indians)

Spin, spin, little spider

Spin, spin, spin out wider

Spin, spin, little spider

Early in the morning

-Dance

-Jump

(add your own directions)

Books mentioned in this post:

• Rex, Adam.  Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich.  Orlando: Harcourt, 2006.
• Silverman, Erica.  Big Pumpkin.  New York: Macmillan, 1992.
• Rockwell, Anne F.  Apples and Pumpkins.  New York: Collier Macmillan, 1989.
• Williams, Linda.  The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.  New York:     Thomas Y. Crowell, 1986

Happy Halloween!

And the only prescription….is more cowbell!

Well, no. That’s not the point of this point. (However, including rhythm instruments during storytime=always good. Unless the kids begin to whack each other with the instruments. That would be bad.) But whether you are buggy for bugs or insane about insects, consider these titles for a bugalicious storytime.

I have a wide range of listening abilities in my storytime group. Some are ready for longer picture books, while others are not quite there yet. It can be a challenge to find books that will interest the younger children but not bore the older children. Felicia Bond’s Tumble Bumble worked nicely for my group. It’s the story of a young bug out for a walk. Simple enough, right? Well, he meets a variety of animals along the way, including a cat, a crocodile, a young pig, and a mouse. There’s a cause and effect relationship between the animals that makes for some interesting (and hairy) circumstances. After such an eventful walk, one is naturally inclined to want to nap. And so the animal friends enter a yellow house with a very suitable bed.  That’s not the end of the story, however, for this enables them to make two additional friends (one animal and one human).  With a rhyming text and an underlying message (at the end) of friendship, Tumble Bumble is a great choice if you need a bridge between two longer picture books.

Do I really need to tell you about The Very Hungry Caterpillar? When I showed the children the cover, many shouted out that they had that book at home and that it was their favorite book. Not a shocker! Children love it when you read them a familiar book. Why do people like to reread books? I know I occasionally reread books when I need some “comfort” reading or if I’ve entered a “reading slump” in which I can’t settle on a book to read. Rereading beloved books is fun and comforting. It’s also fun to share beloved books with others, which is what the children and I did this morning. For the families that have not read The Very Hungry Caterpillar (or another classic/popular book of your choosing), you’ve introduced them to a great book. It’s tempting to only present the new and/or the less well-known titles, but including the tried and true is a win-win situation. As my group demonstrated, some families may not be familiar with a certain book.

I have certain “go to” authors for storytime. Denise Fleming is one of them. The vivid illustrations, the text that dances on your tongue…she’s a fave. Did you know that there were so many different kinds of beetles? Striped beetles? Fly in the air beetles? Hide in the crack beetles? Fleming presents the wide world of beetles in her usual fantastic way with awesome illustrations and text with a terrific beat.

Dee Lillegard’s The Big Bug Ball also has a text with natural and unforced rhythm, but it does have a slight storyline. It’s time for the Big Bug Ball, and all the bugs are getting down. Except for the sow bug! We see everyone else having a grand old time dancing and eating, but the sow bug is definitely missing out. Luckily, all this fun inspires him to at least try. Not only does he find that dancing is fun, he also catches the eye of a lady sow bug. The Big Bug Ball presents a message (you never know if you really like something or not until you try it) in flowing rhythmic text and clever illustrations (one bug is depicted as a Saturday Night Fever John Travolta).

Finally, we have Karma Wilson’s A Frog in the Bog. A frog sits on a log, catching all matter of insects. With each insect, he grows bigger. But why does the log have eyes and snapping jaws? This book presents amble opportunity for hamming it up (”eww! ugggh!”). It’s also a counting book! This may be a *little* too long for a toddler storytime (I had to skip over some lines this morning), but perfect for preschoolers.

You need some bug-oriented fingerplays as well. There’s always the “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” My toddlers loved doing this so much, we did it twice (we usually perform our fingerplays twice anyway). Again, familiarity is very comforting!

There aren’t any ladybugs (that I remember) in the books mentioned above, but we couldn’t leave the ladybugs out. This is a simple action rhyme; just flap your arms as indicated. The tune is “Three Blind Mice,” but it isn’t necessary to sing it. This fingerplay can be found on a multitude of storytime/fingerplay websites.

Fly, fly fly

Ladybugs fly

Fly over here, fly over there

They fly up high and they fly down low

Around and around and around they go

They fly fast, and they fly slow

Oh ladybugs fly

 Here’s a fingerplay to follow The Very Hungry Caterpillar (from The Giant Encyclopedia of Science Activities for Children 3 to 6):

Roly poly caterpillar into a corner crept (creep one hand up opposite arm)

Wound himself around a blanket (winding motion with hands)

For a long time slept (lay head on hands)

Roly poly caterpillar waking by and by (pop head up)

Found himself with beautiful wings, changed to a butterfly (hook thumbs together and flap hands)

Do you have any favorite books about bugs? Fingerplays or activities?

Books mentioned in this post:

• Bond, Felicia. Tumble Bumble.  Arden, CT: Front Street, 1996.
• Charner, Kathy.  The Giant Encyclopedia of Science Activities for Children 3 to 6.  Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House, 1998.
• Carle, Eric.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  New York: Philomel Books, 1987.
• Fleming, Denise. Beetle Bop.  Orlando: Harcourt, 2007.
• Lillegard, Dee.  The Big Bug Ball.  New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1999.
• Wilson, Karma.  A Frog in the Bog.  New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003.

Hello, ALSC members and friends!  My name is Jennifer Schultz, and I am the youth services librarian with Fauquier County Public Library (in
Virginia).  Every Wednesday, I will tell you about the books and fingerplays I am using for my Wednesday toddler storytime (and those that didn’t make the “cut” but are great for other audiences and uses).  I’d love to read your comments and suggestions for additional books and fingerplays.  We can build an awesome storytime idea exchange together, so please don’t hesitate to add your suggestions.  I am looking forward to reading them!

Libraries are awash with counting books.  While some are basic “let’s count the objects in the picture,” others are quite complex.  Although counting books aren’t always suitable for storytimes, here are several that you might consider for a number themed storytime.

There’s not much story to Keith Baker’s Big Fat Hen; it’s basically an extended version of the old “One, two, buckle my shoe” rhyme.  It’s a great selection for a young crowd, though; the pictures are large, bright, and appealing.  You can encourage them to count with you.  After reading it, you can extend it by teaching them the rhyme. 

Graeme Base’s The Water Hole is a gem.   Various animals pause at the water hole to quench their thirst-a rhino, two tigers, seven pandas (I can’t resist a book that includes representatives of the National Zoo superstars), and so on.  This is no mere counting book!  As we turn the page, we see the pond growing smaller and smaller (and the number of frogs squatting by the pond getting smaller as well), resulting in 10 quite unhappy (and thirsty) kangaroos.  The situation seems quite dire until it begins to rain.  The illustrations are gorgeous! There are a few wisecracks made throughout the story; if you think they will go over your audiences’ heads, you can omit them without losing much of the story.

Eric Carle has several counting books, but my favorite one for a numbers storytime is 10 Little Rubber Ducks.  10 little rubber ducks are thrown overboard in a storm.  The rubber ducks drift their separate ways and encounter various animals.  The tenth little duck encounters a mama duck and her ducklings, and when you think the story couldn’t get even cuter, it does.  Carle based the book on a newspaper article about a shipment of 29,000 bath toys finding themselves lost at sea. 

Denise Fleming’s books are ideal for toddler and preschool storytimes, so consider Count!  Not only can we count animals, but we can also do the actions described in the book (jumping zebras, wiggling worms, fluttering butterflies).  Count! also introduces the concept of counting by tens.  Use this as a bridge between longer books, or pull out when you sense that wiggles need to be wiggled out.

You’ve got action in your numbers storytime, so why not add a dash of multiculturalism?  Laurie Krebs’s We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania introduces Swahili names, numbers, and African animals.  A mixed group (sex and age) of children go on a safari, spotting and counting native Tanzanian animals along the way.  Throw in rhyming verse, and you’ve got an irresistible addition to your storytime.  Don’t worry about pronouncing the numbers and names; Krebs has included a helpful pronunciation guide for both (including the significance and meaning of each name).  She’s also included basic facts about Tanzania, the Maasai, a map of
Tanzania, and facts about the native Tanzanian animals found throughout the book. 

Out of the many picture books interpreting the “Over in the Meadow” rhyme, I usually rely on Jane Cabrera’s version (Over in the Meadow) for storytime.  Not only is the text font crisp, bold, and large enough for the story reader, but the illustrations are bright and detailed without being too fussy.  If you don’t know the traditional theme, you’ll probably get into you own theme when reading it.  If you’d like audience participation, this has ample opportunity for participation.  However, it certainly isn’t necessary (and you can definitely go overboard with participation with the story).

Finally, Jakki Wood’s Moo Moo, Brown Cow is a fine choice if you have a toddler crowd.  The “story” is very simple: a kitten meets an animal and asks it if it has any offspring.  The animal replies with the number of offspring:

“Moo moo, brown cow, have you any calves? Yes, kitty, yes kitty, one spotted calf.”

And so it goes, until the animals ask if the kitten has any kittens.  “No kittens, no kittens-but many, many friends.” Awww.

Not only are we counting, but we’re including colors, animal sounds, and the proper name for the respective baby animals.  We also have my three favorite B’s of illustration: Big, Bright, and Bold pictures ideal for storytime. 

When looking for fingerplays for a numbers storytime, consult Zita Newcome’s Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: And Other Action Rhymes.  Newcome includes traditional counting rhymes such as “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” “10 in the Bed,” “Number One, Touch Your Tongue,” as well as several uncommon rhymes. 

One of my favorite fingerplays (that’s always a hit) is “Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree.”

5 little monkeys

Swinging from a tree

Teasing Mr. Alligator

“You can’t catch me! You can’t catch me!”

Along comes Mr. Alligator

Quiet as can be

And snaps that monkey out of that tree

(Continue until “No more monkeys swinging from the tree.)

Flannel board activity: If you want a flannel board activity, “5 Little Ducks” works nicely.  Cut out 5 small ducks and a larger duck (for the mother duck). 

5 little ducks went out one day

Over the hills and far away

Mother Duck said, “Quack, quack, quack”

But only four little ducks came waddling back

(Continue until you get to one little duck, then “And five little ducks came waddling back.”)

Now it’s your turn! What are your favorite counting/number books? What are your favorite counting fingerplays and activities?

Books mentioned:

Baker, Keith.  Big Fat Hen.  Harcourt Brace:
San Diego, 1994.

Base, Graeme.  The Water Hole.  Harry N.  Abrams:
New York, 2001.

Cabrera, Jane.  Over in the Meadow.  Holiday House:
New York, 1999.

Carle, Eric.  10 Little Rubber Ducks.  HarperCollins:
New York, 2005.

Fleming, Denise.  Count!  Henry Holt:
New York, 1992.

Krebs. Laurie.  We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through
Tanzania. 

     Barefoot Books:
Cambridge, MA, 2003.

Newcome, Zita.  Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: And Other Action Rhymes. 

     Candlewick Press:
Cambridge, MA, 2002.

Wood, Jakki.  Moo Moo, Brown Cow.  Harcourt Brace & Company:
San Diego, 1992.

What are your favorite counting books? What makes them your favorite?