Ages 5-11
Blog Post
PreK BITS - “W” is for WINTER Wonderland
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel presented stories of WINTER outdoor PLAY at Storytime this week.
UNDER MY HOOD I WEAR A HAT … a dressing story of sequence.
“Hat, Jacket, Pants and Boots” … an action song that speeds up. It is sung to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes” recorded on the CD SINGIN’ And GROOVIN’: 25 Best Sing-Along Songs
10 On The SLED … a sledding story to count on.
For more stories of WINTER try these favorites:
KATY And The BIG SNOW … a classic by Virginia Lee Burton.
NANUK The ICE BEAR … a polar bear family story.
The WINTER TRAIN … all aboard!
WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND … you can sing while you read.
LEMONADE IN WINTER: A Book About two Kids Counting Money …
OVER And UNDER The SNOW … secret worlds can be found.
IF IT’S SNOWY And YOU KNOW IT CLAP YOUR PAWS … another sing-along book.
RED SLED ... an almost wordless adventure in pictures! YOU tell the story.
SUPER SNOW DAY SEEK And FIND … a picture puzzle book of snow day fun.
Be sure to wear two pairs of mittens and two pairs of pants!
The more it snows tiddley-pom, the more it goes tiddley-pom,... the more it goes tiddley-pom on snowing.
Blog Post
Storytimes: D is for Dog!
by eapearce
Elizabeth shared Dog stories this week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate! We heard about the adorable, yet misbehaving dog who wouldn’t drop the shoe in Drop It, Rocket … until he heard a story, of course! Farm animals had to bravely venture into the scary doghouse to find their missing ball in Jan Thomas’ The Doghouse. Mack the dog ate a cake intended for the farmer in The Cake That Mack Ate, and we met a “talking” dog in Lois Ehlert’s Rrralph! Of course, storytime wouldn’t have been complete without a rousing version of B-I-N-G-O!
AADL’s new Westgate storytimes take place three times a week in the program room:
Mondays, from 11:00-11:30am
Wednesdays, from 1:00-1:30pm
Fridays, from 10:00-10:30am
Storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 years. All are welcome and no sign-up or registration is required.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "R" is for ROBOTS
by ryanikoglu
It was Robot time in Ms. Rachel’s Storytime this week.
HELLO ROBOTS … the robots do the work at home until … POP!
“COLOR ROBOTS” … we moved like robots with this rap & rhythm from Harry Kindergarten on youtube.
We danced the "Robo-POkey" with Banjo Betsy.
And in the ... BIRTHDAY BOX … we found a perfect present for a birthday kid.
For more ROBOT reads try these favorites:
ZOE And ROBOT: Let’s Pretend … do robots pretend?
DOUG UNPLUGGED … a robot adventure.
BABY BRAINS And ROBOMOM … an invention to give parents a rest.
NANOBOTS … an accidental discovery.
RALPH MASIELLO’S ROBOT DRAWING BOOK … get out the paper and pencils!
IF I HAD A ROBOT … Oh, the things I would do.
FRANKY … an almost wordless picture book. YOU help with telling the story.
BEEP! BEEP! GO TO SLEEP! … even robots need to sleep.
TWELVE BOTS OF CHRISTMAS … with two turbo doves and a cartridge in a gear tree.
La la la!
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "T" is for Toys
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought Toy Stories to Storytime @ Malletts Creek Library.
“I Can Take Care Of My Bear” … I’ll show you how.
"A Tooty-Tah" was our action rhythm AND it practices the "T" sound too!
PLAYTIME? … Nope! “Bedtime!" for Gorilla.
For more toy stories try these favorites:
The LINE UP BOOK … when Sam wants to line up his toys from his room to Mom.
TOY BOAT … takes a solo adventure on the high seas.
The MARVELOUS TOY … a boy gets a toy that his father got when he was young.
The "Marvelous Toy" is a song by Tom Paxton and is recorded on the CD GOOD MISCHIEF by Gemini.
The TOY FAIRY … where did the toys go?
HENRY And LEO … a Boy and his toy get separated.
BETTY BUNNY WANTS EVERYTHING … and the rule is “You can get one thing.”
LIVING WITH MOM And LIVING WITH DAD … a sweet reassuring story with precious toys in both homes.
TOO MANY TOYS … and which one to keep? By David Shannon.
TOO MANY TOYS! … with an action plan. By Heide Deedman.
Blog Post
Family Books for All!
by evelyn
We have two new beautiful picture books celebrating diverse families.
A Family is a Family is a Family, written by Sara O’Leary and with illustrations by Qin Leng, is a wonderful meditation on how many different kinds of families there are. The narrator is a young girl who is nervous to tell her class about her family because they are different than other families. However, after each of her classmates describes their unique families, she feels comfortable talking about her own foster mom. The illustrations in this sweet book show all different families as they explore, play, eat, and most of all, love each other.
Home at Last is the last book by renowned children’s book author Vera B. Williams. Finished posthumously, with illustrations by Chris Raschka, this lovely book tells the story of Lester, whose adoption day has finally arrived. Although he already feels that he, Daddy Rich, and Daddy Albert are a family, he is nervous to sleep in his own bed at his new home. Luckily, their dog Wincka jumps in to help out. This book is great not only for adopted kids, but for any kids struggling with change or getting used to sleeping in their own big kid bed.
Want to find more great picture books about families? Take a look at this list!
Blog Post
PreK BITS - "F" is for Fabulous FEAST
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought stories of fabulous food to Storytime this week.
Bear found the right ingredients to make his favorite recipe ... UGLY PIE by Lisa Wheeler.
“Five Plum Buns In A Bakery Shop” is a counting rhythm/rhyme that we clapped out together as the rhyme was called out.
GREGORY The TERRIBLE EATER ... his parents found a way to solve his picky-eater issues. Now all are happy.
For a Feast of more Favorite Food Fables try the following:
STREGA NONA: An Old Tale by Tomie DePaola.
WOODPECKER WANTS A WAFFLE by Steve Breen.
WHO PUT The COOKIES In The COOKIE JAR? by George Shannon.
ELLA TAKES The CAKE by Carmela D’Amico.
MORE PIES! by Robert Munsch.
DRAGONS LOVE TACOS by Adam Rubin.
Happy Feast Day!
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "S" is for sumptuous SOUP
by ryanikoglu
Harvest is coming in. Weather is turning cold.
'Tis the season for SOUP!
Ms. Rachel brought sumptuous Soup tales to Storytime at Malletts Creek Branch Library this week.
We pulled and pulled … The TURNIP ... and made soup enough for All.
We chopped the vegetables in “Chop, Chop, Choppity Chop” Gari Stein's SING WITH ME - WINTER FUN and threw what’s left into the pot!
The REAL STORY Of STONE SOUP … is a Chinese folk tale of how to make soup from finding the right stones.
For more SOUP tales, try these favorites:
STONE SOUP WITH MATZOH BALLS: a Chelm tale of Passover … a Russian Jewish version of stone soup.
FOX TALE SOUP … so many ways to tell a tale!
SOUP DAY … a nice snowy day spent making soup … recipe included.
SOUP For ONE … a silly tale of imagined ownership.
DUCK SOUP … Duck. Soup. Silly! ... All good!
GAZPACHO For NACHO … it’s the only soup Nacho wants to eat.
CHICKEN SOUP WITH RICE … a book of months with a song to sing, by Maurice Sendak. You can listen to the recording in this Book + CD Kit set.
THERE’S A GIRAFFE IN MY SOUP … uh-oh!
MARTHA SPEAKS … because she ate the alphabet soup …
For FUN in the KITCHEN (including SOUP), here are great cook books for children:
PRETEND SOUP And Other REAL RECIPES … Author from from Moosewood Cookbok fame.
COOL THANKSGIVING DINNER.
MAKE And EAT VEGETARIAN FOOD.
CHILDREN’S COOKBOOK … from Usborne Farmyard Tales.
MOMMY And ME START COOKING.
Or browse HERE for more more more ideas to make in the kitchen.
Blog Post
Election Day Reads for Kids
by evelyn
Want to talk to your kids about election day and civic engagement? Look no further than your library!
For a basic primer on voting and democracy, check out Every Vote Matters or School House Rocks: Election Collection.
Help your little ones learn about the people who fought for the right to vote with these great titles. I especially recommend the beautiful and moving book Lillian’s Right to Vote, which is about the Voting Rights Act of 1965. With lovely illustrations and stirring text, this book will help kids learn understand how hard citizens have worked to earn the vote.
For even more books on voting and democracy, take a look at this list!
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "O" is for OWLS
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought Owl stories to Storytime @ Malletts Creek Branch this week.
Baby Owl was lost and the forest animals helped find Mama in … LITTLE OWL LOST by Chris Haughton
Ms. Rachel led the action rhyme "Dr. Knickerbocker" which can be found on the CD SINGING ALL The WAY HOME by Liz Buchanan.
Banjo Betsy led the song "If You're Happy And You Know It" which can be found on the CD LAURIE BERKNER'S FAVORITE CLASSIC KIDS' SONGS.
All the forest animals tell Baby Owl “You are SO So cute! And fluffy!” but ... Baby Owl knows he’s a “huge scary hunting machine” in … I’M NOT CUTE! by Jonathan Allen.
Here are more of Ms. Rachel’s favorite owl stories:
OWL BABIES by Martin Waddell … also In SPANISH language and in FRENCH language. The illustrations are among my all time favorites.
OWL MOON … 1988 Caldecott Award Winner.
OWL SEES OWL … a book regarding reflection.
HOOT OWL: Master Of Disguise … a book regarding dinner plans.
NIGHT OWL … a book of sound effects.
TOO TALL HOUSES … a competitive housing project between Owl and Rabbit.
WINTER’S COMING: A Story Of Seasonal Change … winter is coming.
I ENJOY Owls!
Blog Post
PreK BITS - "M" is for Mother ... and "moo", "mouse", "more" and "me" ....
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel's Storytime theme this week was bedtime on the Farm.
GOBBLE GOBBLE MOO TRACTOR ... Everyone is NOT asleep.
Banjo Betsy and Ms. Rachel's action song “Wake Up You Sleepy Heads!” is recorded on the CD SING IT! SAY IT! STAMP IT! SWAY IT! by Peter and Ellen Allard.
We also sang 'Skinnimarink" which is recorded on the CD ONE ELEPHANT DEUX ELEPHANTS by Sharon, Lois and Bram.
In the story MOTHER MOTHER I WANT ANOTHER ... Baby Mouse needs something more.
Can You find the Mama Mouse, the young Mouse, or the “Moo” in these stories?
WHERE’S MOMMY?
MOO!
HERMELIN The DETECTIVE MOUSE
The LITTLE MOUSE, The RED RIPE STRAWBERRY, and The HUNGRY BEAR
ALEXANDER And The WIND-UP MOUSE
LITTLE RABBIT WHO LIKED To SAY MOO
MOO! SAID MORRIS
A LITTLE BIT Of LOVE
MMMmmmmm Good!
Now everybody ... "Go to sleep!"