The Loudest Librarian!

Early Literacy Tip: Even though you may tire of reading the same books over and over again, your child gets something new from each reading. Repeated readings of favorite stories is one of the best ways to build early literacy skills, as well as wonderful memories that neither of you will ever forget.

I always struggle with storytime themes around the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, because there aren’t many Thanksgiving books that I actually enjoy reading (some exceptions are in this post from a few years ago). So, this week, I decided to focus on picture books that I am grateful for, from my own childhood, my own children’s childhoods, and as a librarian.

I introduced the idea by asking my Family Storytime crowd what holiday was coming up. When they yelled “Thanksgiving!” (among several other answers), I talked about how Thanksgiving was a time when we think about things that we are thankful for. I said that for this storytime, I was going to share some of my favorite books.

Here’s the outline I followed this week for the rest of Family Storytime.

Opening Song: Wheels on the Bus

As usual, I put out a variety of animal puppets, and the kids took turns suggesting which animals to put on the bus.

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The cat on the bus goes, “Meow! Meow! Meow!… etc.

The shark on the bus goes, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!…etc.

I always end by repeating the first verse, but we sing and make our “wheels” go really fast!

Book: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean; illustrated by Eric Litwin

This was the first Pete the Cat book, and the one I most enjoy reading (I also like Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons). There’s a simplicity to this one that makes it instantly relatable to even very young kids, who love calling out the color each time Pete steps in something that stains his new white shoes. It also has a simple, repeated song (I use my own tune), that the kids (and grown-ups) enjoy singing each time. It’s a book I am grateful for as a children’s librarian, especially because, whenever I hold it up, I hear a chorus of “I have that book!” and “Pete the Cat!”

Song: Can You See the Color Red?

This is such a simple song, but it goes so well with any color-themed picture book. The kids LOVE pointing out the things around them that match the color we are singing about in each verse. I usually sing it four or five times, using a different color each time.

To the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Can you [C] see the color yellow,
The [F] color yellow, the [G7] color yellow?
Can you [C] see the color yellow,
[F] Right here [G7] in this [C] room?

Can you see the color blue… etc.

Book: Harry, the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion; illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham

There’s a bit of plot similarity between the story of Harry (the white dog with black spots who turns into a black dog with white spots) and the story of Pete (above) who keeps stepping in different colored things that stain his shoes. But this was also one of my favorite books from childhood. I remember being so worried for Harry when his family doesn’t recognize him, and so relieved when they discover he is, in fact, their beloved dog during the bath. One of our interns has to help with a couple of storytimes for a school assignment, so she read this one, and I got to see the kids leaning close to look at the pictures. One little boy snatched it up immediately to take home.

Song: B-I-N-G-O!

This is a classic childhood song, where you progressively leave out different letters each time you sing it. Usually, you clap instead of saying the letter, but since I like to play the song on the ukulele, I bark the missing letters instead. Here’s a video from Super Simple Songs in case you are not familiar with it.

[C] There was a farmer [F] had a [C] dog,
And Bingo [G] was his [C] name-o.
[C] B-I- [F] N-G-O
[G] B-I- [C] N-G-O
[Am] B-I- [F] N-G-O
And [G] Bingo was his [C] name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
(Arf!)-I-N-G-O!… etc.

There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
(Arf!)-(Arf!)-N-G-O!… etc.

Book: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

This book has a special place in my heart, not only because I was obsessed with it as a child, but because I have an old paperwork copy that was given to me by my grandmother, with a handwritten dedication from her inside. It was fascinating to read it at Family Storytime, because several of the preschoolers had clearly never read it before, and had so many questions each time I turned the page to a new illustration: “Why is she crying?” “Why is her bed empty?” “Why are all of the girls crying?” It is an unusual story–one of the few I can think of about a medical emergency, or about a boarding school–and I remember how much curiosity I had about Madeline and her appendix (and her scar!) when I was little. The poetry of it is also unforgettable. This one also got snatched up and checked out at the end.

Scarf Song: The Wishy Washy Washer Woman

This one wasn’t particularly tied to the book Madeline, but it’s one of my favorite songs to sing with the play scarves.

Way down in the valley where nobody goes,
There’s a wishy washy washer woman washing her clothes.
She goes “Oooh! Ahhh! Oooh! Ahhh! Oooh! Ahhh!”
And that’s the way she washes her clothes.

Repeat with drying her clothes (we blow on the scarves), folding her clothes, and wearing her clothes.

Song: Popcorn Kernels

I sing this as my second play scarf song every week, so it’s one all of the kids and families know well and look forward to.

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels, (Wave scarves)
In the pot, In the pot. (bundle the scarf into your hand)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em. (shake your hands)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop! (throw the scarf in the air)

Book: Owl Babies by Martin Waddell; illustrated by Patrick Benson

This was one of my favorite books to read with my own children when they were little, and it remains one of my favorites to share at storytime. It’s such a sweet, relatable story about three adorable baby owls waiting for their mother to come home. The kids love the repeated line, “I want my Mommy!” The illustrations are stunning, and the text is so memorable and poetic.

Instrument Play-Along Song: Down By the Bay

For my instrument play-along with the egg shakers, I asked the kids if they had any favorite songs. This is the one they requested. I like to ask the kids to suggest silly things for the “Did you ever see…” line in each verse. We ended up singing, “Did you ever see a cat wearing a hat?” and “Did you ever see a banana wearing some pajamas?”

[C] Down by the bay, where the watermelons [G7] grow,
Back to my home, I dare not [C] go,
For if I [F] do, my mother will [C] say,
“Did you ever see a whale with a polka dot tail
[G7] Down by the [C] bay?”

Repeat with verses from the Super Simple Songs video above, or come up with your own.

Closing Song: The More We Get Together

As usual, we ended the reading portion of our storytime by singing The More We Get Together with American Sign Language signs as in the Sing & Sign video below.

Stay & Play: Fall Leaf Owls

As I mentioned above, one of our interns has to help with a storytime for a school activity, and she suggested this fall leaf craft, which ended up being a lot of fun.

Before storytime, I gathered a number of colorful fall leaves (mostly from a sweet gum tree). I also had some of our VolunTEENs cut out circles out of white paper for the eyes (they used the circle cutter from the button machine), as well as small circles out of black construction paper for the pupils, and small triangles out of orange construction paper for the beaks.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the leaves, white and black paper circles, orange triangles, small bowls of white glue for the kids to dip their leaves in, white paper to glue them down on, and glue sticks for the eyes and beaks. The finished owls were adorable!

What books are you grateful for? Please share them in the comments below.

Early Literacy Tip: When you read books like Go Away, Big Green Monster! which feature a repeated word or phrase, make it a paired reading experience, by having your child say the repeated part (Go Away!). Point to the word on the page to help build their print awareness.

Many of the neighborhoods in our community take Halloween decorating VERY seriously, which is fun, but possibly frightening for younger kids. So, this week I thought I would present stories about monsters, as a way of giving the kids a chance to think and talk about them in a safe, fun environment.

I started my storytime by asking who was ready for Halloween, and what their costumes were (Elsa is evidently very popular this year!). We also talked a little about trick-or-treating, and practiced saying, “Trick or Treat!” together. Finally, I asked if anyone had been seeing scary monster decorations around town (they all had!), and said we were going to read books about monsters today.

Here’s the whole outline that I used for Family Storytime, plus a parachute song that I used for Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Links go to Worldcat.org, which lists Goodreads reviews and links to libraries who own the title. I wasn’t able to find a good link for the print English version of Go Away, Big Green Monster for some reason.

Opening Song: Wheels on the Bus

As usual, I put out a variety of animal puppets, and the kids took turns suggesting which animals to put on the bus.

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The cat on the bus goes, “Meow! Meow! Meow!… etc.

The shark on the bus goes, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!…etc.

I always end by repeating the first verse, but we sing and make our “wheels” go really fast!

Book: Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

One of my all-time favorite read-alouds. Leonardo is a terrible monster, who can’t scare anyone! Until one day, he finds the most scaredy-cat kid in the entire world and scares the tuna salad out of him. But when he finds out the real reason the little boy is crying, he decides to give up being a terrible monster and become a wonderful friend instead. I love trying to read the page with the boy’s long list of problems in one breath. The large format and simple text make it perfect for almost any age group, and the kids always laugh at the friendly chase scene on the last page.

Song: We Are Scary Monsters

I usually sing this one with the play scarves, and have the kids pretend to be ghosts. But this time, we pretended to be monsters instead. We sang it through twice, and then I asked the kids what else they would like to be. They suggested “creepy ghosts” and “giant waves splashing down the street.”

We are scary monsters
Stomping down the street,
Stomping down the street,
Stomping down the street.
We are scary monsters
Stomping down the street.
We’ll scare you!
BOO!

Book: Max the Brave

Very cute story about a brave black cat who is determined to catch a mouse. The problem is that he doesn’t know what a mouse looks like. He asks a rabbit, birds, an elephant, and other animals if they are a mouse, and they all say no. When he finally asks Mouse, he says he is a monster, but that he saw Mouse sleeping. He finally finds what he thinks is Mouse, but gets eaten (and sneezed out!) by Monster.

Song: Hickory Dickory Dock

I sang this to follow Max, the Brave, using a mouse puppet to run up and down the kids’ arms, which they thought was hilarious!

[C] Hickory [G7] Dickory [C] Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse [G7] ran up the [C] clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck one: BONG!
The [F] mouse ran down. (run fingers down arm)
[C] Hickory [G7] Dickory [C] Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)

Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse ran up the clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck two: BONG! BONG!
The mouse went, “BOO!” (cover your face and then uncover it when you yell, “BOO!”)
Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands)

Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse ran up the clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck three: BONG! BONG! BONG!
The mouse went “Whee!” (run fingers down body quickly)
Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands)

Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands in rhythm)
The mouse ran up the clock. (run fingers up arm)
The clock struck four: BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!
The mouse said, “No more!” (hold hands out palms up and shrug shoulders)
Hickory Dickory Dock! (clap hands)

Book: Go Away, Big Green Monster

Before I read this, I gave each child a play scarf, and told them that every time we said, “Go Away!” to part of the monster, we would wave the scarf and make a “whsh!” sound. The kids loved it so much that they begged me to read it a second time. I don’t usually do that, but since it was short, I read it again.

Scarf Song: Popcorn Kernels

We sing this scarf song every week, usually after singing a song tied to the theme. But since we read Go Away, Big Green Monster twice with the scarves, I decided to just do this one.

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels, (Wave scarves)
In the pot, In the pot. (bundle the scarf into your hand)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em. (shake your hands)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop! (throw the scarf in the air)

Parachute Song: Trick or Treating

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I came up with a really simple song about trick-or-treating to sing with the parachute. I threw a handful of pompoms on the chute each time we sang it and pretended they were pieces of candy. The kids loved watching them bounce up and down as we shook the chute in time to the song.

To the tune of Are You Sleeping?

Trick-or-treating,
Trick-or-treating,
On our street,
On our street.
Please, give me some candy!
Please, give me some candy!
Nice and sweet,
Nice and sweet.

Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

It’s always fun to throw in an absolute classic picture book every now and then, and hear the caregivers say, “Oh!” in happy recognition. A lot of the kids recognized it too. The story of a mischievous boy named Max, who sails away to where the Wild Things are and becomes king of all Wild Things, before sailing back home to where someone loves him best of all. The kids enjoyed pretending to be Wild Things, and joining in on the terrible roars. I also throw in a funny chant during the Wild Rumpus pages that goes something like, “Dong-a-da-ding-a-duh, Dong-a-da-ding-a-duh, Dong-a-da-ding-a-duh, Dong Dong Dong.” My favorite piece of trivia about this book is that Sendak had to fight his editor over the last line (about Max’s dinner): And it was still hot. The editor thought it sounded too dangerous, and wanted to change it to “warm” instead, but Sendak refused.

Instrument Play-Along: My Imaginary Friend

I actually wrote a song about Where the Wild Things Are many years ago, but I thought this song (which was originally inspired by the book The Adventures of Beekle: the Unimaginary Friend) was a better fit for the monster theme:

[C] I have a little monster
No [F] larger than a [C] tear.
He climbs up on my shoulder
And [G7] whispers in my [C] ear.

CHORUS
He’s my [C] friend, my friend,
My [F] imaginary [C] friend.
Nobody else can see him.
They [G7] say he’s just pre-[C]tend.

Chorus

My monster’s always hungry.
He likes to eat my peas.
He brings me little treasures,
Like shiny coins and keys.

Chorus

My monster sleeps beside me
In a matchbox filled with hay.
He tells me funny stories,
And scares bad dreams away.

Chorus

If you find a monster,
I hope you’ll let him stay,
To chase away your nightmares
And play throughout the day.

He’ll be your friend, your friend,
Your imaginary friend.
And though no one else can see him,
He’ll be with you till the end.

Closing Song: The More We Get Together

As always, we ended the reading portion of storytime by singing The More We Get Together, with ASL signs, as in the video below.

The more we get together,
Together, together.
The more we get together,
The happier we’ll be.

Stay & Play: Dot Monsters or Foam Shape Monsters

For Family Storytime, I actually had the kids make monsters out of different shapes cut out of adhesive foam sheets, and decorated with markers and googly eyes. But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any pictures of their creations.

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we made “dot monsters” with dot markers and googly eyes on white paper. The kids especially love the sparkly dot markers.

Happy Halloween!

Early Literacy Tip: When reading books with flaps, ask your child to predict what will be underneath each one before they lift it. Making predictions is a great way to keep kids engaged in the books they read, while also improving their comprehension.

We finally made it to the end of the alphabet! It’s been a fun challenge to revisit, especially since this time I was trying to be more intentional about modeling fun ways to engage kids around early literacy skills like recognizing letters and learning their sounds.

As always, we started by drawing an upper- and lower-case letter Z together in the air, and talking about any Z words we knew. The families suggested zebra, zoo, and zigzag. I pulled a few things out of a paper bag: a zipper, a toy zebra, and a zucchini (for Family Storytime, I also included a picture of a zebu, which is so much fun to say).

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Trucks Zooming By by Pamela Jane; illustrated by Barry Gott

There’s always one or two kids in every storytime audience who LOVE trucks, and immediately start pointing excitedly whenever they see one in a picture book. This rhyming story about a little boy traveling with his long-haul trucker parents was a big hit with those kids. Every page features different types of trucks that the family sees on their journey. There’s even one illustration of a trailer full of horses that drew exclamations from the horse-lovers in the crowd.

Not Yet, Zebra by Lou Kentzler and Julia Wolf

This is my favorite type of alphabet book–one that builds a story around trying to create an alphabetic list (another favorite title along the same lines is Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky). In this story, a little girl is painting animals in alphabetical order, but the zebra keeps trying to sneak into an earlier spot by dressing up as different animals. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of each animal.

Zee by Michel Gay

I’m pretty sure this book is out of print, but it’s a cute story that my Family Storytime families enjoyed (a couple of the grown-ups said, “That’s so sweet!”). A little zebra tries to wake his parents by bringing them coffee and breakfast in bed, but when he trips and spills the tray, he only has enough coffee left to fill a doll’s tea set, and it only wakes his parents enough to give him doll-sized kisses.

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

I had to include this one, even though it’s a board book. It’s such a classic, and it was a big favorite of my own kids. The narrator explains that they wrote to the zoo to send them a pet. Each page features a different animal that the zoo sent, hidden under a flap, and explains why they weren’t a good pet: the elephant was too big, the giraffe was too tall, etc. For my Family Storytime, which has a smaller group, I let the kids take turns opening the flaps. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I asked them to guess which animal was under each flap.

Wheels on the Bus

We sang this after reading Trucks Zooming By. It’s such a versatile song, and I love modifying it in silly ways: having the wheels go really fast, having the horn make silly noises, putting animals or favorite characters (Spiderman is a particular favorite) on the bus, and having the grown-ups cry “Waah! Waah! Waah!” It’s also one of the easiest songs to play on the ukulele.

[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.

The horn on the bus goes “Beep! Beep! Beep!”…

The doors on the bus go open and shut…

The Sleepy Bunny Song

We sang this after reading Not Yet, Zebra, which ends with the zebra sound asleep in bed. This song is always a favorite, especially at the preschools I visit. For some reason, kids love to pretend to be asleep and then jump up suddenly.

[C] See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch or lie down and pretend to sleep)
[F]‘Till it’s nearly [C] noon.
[F]Come, let us [C] wake them [G7] with a merry tune?
[C]They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies! (jump up)
[C]Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (hop!)
[F] Hop little bunnies,[C] hop, hop, hop!
[F]Hop little bunnies, [C] hop, hop, hop!
[G7] Hop little bunnies, [C] hop and stop!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We sang this with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, lifting it up high when we got to “blast off!” The kids loved running underneath each time. For Family Storytime, I gave out play scarves to throw up in the air at the end.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!

Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I substituted Grandma for Mommy in the last verse, since we had a lot of grandparents at Outdoor Musical Storytime. It’s such a fun and happy song.

[C] Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow.
[G7] Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow.
[C] Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow,
And [G7] we can stay all [C] day.

CHORUS:
[F] We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
[C] How about you, you, you?
[G7] You can come too, too, too! (G7)
We’re [C] going to the zoo, [G7] zoo, [C] zoo!

See the elephants with the long trunk swinging,
Great big ears and a long trunk swinging.
Snuffing up peanuts with the long trunk swinging,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

See all the monkeys, they’re scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Jumping all around and scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Hanging by the long tails scritch, scritch, scratchin’,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

Well, we stayed all day, and I’m getting sleepy,
Sitting in the car getting sleep, sleep, sleepy.
Home already and I’m sleep, sleep, sleepy,
‘Cause we have stayed all day!

We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
So have you, you, you!
You came too, too, too!
We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

But Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow.
Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

This was a really simple process art activity, but the kids loved it because they got to use decorative edge scissors, which make different patterns. Honestly, they love any excuse to use scissors!

For the Stay & Play, I put out different colored sheets of origami paper, the decorative edge scissors, white paper, and glue sticks. I had also precut some pieces of origami paper, for any littles that couldn’t use scissors yet. They had a blast cutting different shapes and gluing them on the white paper.

Whew! Can’t believe it’s the end of the alphabet! What themes should I try next? Do you have any favorites? Or any you’ve wanted to try? Please let me know in the comments.

Early Literacy Tip: When reading a story like Yummy, Yucky, which features a particular pattern, make a game out of coming up with your own examples, like Tacos are yummy! Legos are yucky!

We’re almost at the end of our alphabetic journey through storytime! This week, we focused on the letter Y.

As usual, we started by singing the Alphabet Song up to the letter Y (I do finish the song after we cheer for the Letter of the Day). Then we drew upper and lower-case letter Y’s in the air together.

I asked the kids if they knew any words that started with Y. They suggested yogurt, yummy, yucky, and yellow. I also pulled out yard stick (at Family Storytime, I held it up so the kids could see if they were taller or shorter than a yard), some yellow yarn, and a yo-yo.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Yummy, Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

I don’t usually use board books for storytime, because the format is often small and hard to share in a large group. But I couldn’t resist reading this one, which was a favorite of my own kids when they were little. The illustrations are hilarious, but even if kids were sitting too far away to make them out well, they enjoyed calling out “yummy” and “yucky” on each set of pages: Spaghetti is yummy! Worms are yucky!, etc. Even the older kids were into it.

I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell

I read this one for Family Storytime, which had a number of older kids, including a fourth grader who found it absolutely hilarious. It features an argument about grammar between a donkey and a yam. Eventually several other vegetables show up, and the donkey says, “Oh, you is lunch!” and eats them all.

I Dare You Not to Yawn by Hélène Boudreau; illustrated by Serge Bloch

I’m pretty sure this book is out of print, but we still have several copies in the library system. It was a fun one to do for Family Storytime, since it’s in the evening, and a lot of the kids come in pajamas. A little boy shares his advice for not yawning, since yawning always leads to bedtime. The text and illustrations are designed to make you yawn.

You Are a Lion: And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

I read this one for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and demonstrated the poses as I read (with the exception of the lying down ones). It’s a cute book, providing basic instructions on how to do several animal-based yoga poses, like Lion, Frog, and Downward-facing Dog. The kids enjoyed trying to guess which animal went with each one.

Blue vs. Yellow by Tom Sullivan

Blue and Yellow argue about which is the best color, based on the different items represented by each one. When they take the form of blue and yellow vehicles that crash into each other, they discover that they both enjoy being green. The book ends on a little bit of a cliff-hanger, with Red entering the argument.

If All the Raindrops

I know I do this song a lot, but it’s only because the kids seem to enjoy it so much. They especially love suggesting foods that they would like to fall from the sky for each verse. This time we had blueberries and strawberries, and pizza and chocolate eclairs.

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.
[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,
[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”
[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be.

If all the raindrops were cookies and ice cream…

Love Somebody, Yes I Do!

We sang this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I put tiny pompoms on the chute so they would bounce up and down as we sang. It’s part of a much longer song, but I only used the first verse.

Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody and it’s you, you, you!
You, you, you! You, you, you!

You Sing a Song, and I’ll Sing a Song by Ella Jenkins

We sang this with the play scarves at Family Storytime. I asked the kids for different motions to do with the scarves for each verse.

[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
And [C] we’ll sing a [Dm] song toge-[G]ther.
[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
In [G] warm or [C] wintry [G] wea-[C]ther.

You’ll wave a scarf, and I’ll wave a scarf, and we’ll wave our scarves together…

You’ll peek-a-boo, and I’ll peek-a-boo… (put the scarf over your face, then pull it away)

Can You See the Color Yellow?

We sang this after reading Blue vs. Yellow at Family Storytime. The kids had fun pointing out different things around the room to match each color, and suggesting which colors to sing about next.

Can you [C] see the color yellow,
The [F] color yellow, the [G7] color yellow?
Can you [C] see the color yellow,
[F] Right here [G7] where you [C] are?

Can you see the color blue… etc.

Yellow Submarine

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I did the first two verses, and then repeated the chorus several times, in different ways (quiet, loud, etc.).

In the [D] town where I was [G] born,
Lived a [Am] man who sailed to [D] sea.
And he [D] told us of his [G] life
In the [Am] land of [D] submarines
So we [D] sailed up to the [G] sun,
Till we [Am] found the sea of [D] green.
And we [D] lived beneath the [G] waves,
In our [Am] yellow [D] submarine.

Chorus:
[G] We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow [G] submarine.
We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, [G] yellow submarine.

And our [D] friends are all a-[G]board.
Many [Am] more of them live next [D] door.
And the [D] band begins to [G] play
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo,
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.

Chorus:
[G] We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow [G] submarine.
We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, [G] yellow submarine.

As we [D] live a life of [G] ease.
Every-[Am] one of us has all we [D] need.
Sky of [D] blue and sea of [G] green,
In our [Am] yellow [D] submarine.

Chorus:
[G] We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow [G] submarine.
We all live in a [D] yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, [G] yellow submarine.

The caregivers were blown away by the results of this process art project, and so was I. Before storytime, I folded letter-sized pieces of white cardstock in half, like a greeting card, and cut pieces of different types of yarn, about two feet long.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the cardstock, yarn pieces, and several different colors of tempera paint. When I did this project for Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put a drop of each color of paint inside each folded paper, and showed the kids how to lay the yarn in the paint so one end was hanging off of the paper. Then they folded the paper, and squished it down, while pulling the yarn out (the caregivers helped with this part).

One woman was so into the process that she and her toddler made five or six yarn paintings. I noticed that she was reusing the paint-covered yarn instead of putting the drops of paint inside the folded paper. That worked better and was less messy. So, for Family Storytime, I put out a paper plate with big blobs of each paint color, along with a spoon. I showed the kids how to use the spoon to dip their piece of yarn in the paint. Then they put their paint-covered yarn in the middle of their unfolded paper before squishing it closed and pulling the yarn out. The finished yarn paintings were kind of astounding.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter Y? Or any other storytime themes you’re interested in exploring? Please share them in the comments below.

Early Literacy Tip: Play the alphabet game, either while you’re out in the world, or reading books together. Challenge your child to find a particular letter, or look for each letter of the alphabet in order.

This week we reached the letter I have been dreading ever since I started my storytime journey through the alphabet: X! There are so few words that start with the letter X, and even fewer picture books that feature those words. So instead, we focused on words with X in them.

As usual, we started by drawing an upper and lower-case letter X in the air together, and then talking about words that started with that letter. The caregivers mostly supplied the few we came up with (X-ray and xylophone, although one little boy suggested expert). I pulled a few items out of a paper bag: a xylophone, a candle (made of wax), and a box.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken by Douglas Rees; illustrated by Jed Henry

This book had one little boy in my Family Storytime literally cackling, and he quickly snatched it up to check it out after storytime. Very cute story about a T.Rex who bullies all of the other dinosaurs, until he meets a chicken who stands up to him. Warning: the chicken does get eaten, but only very briefly!

Tea Rex by Molly Idle

A cute, funny picture book depicting a little girl’s attempts to host a giant T. Rex at her fancy tea party. I read this one for Outdoor Musical Storytime, since it’s a less violent T. Rex title than Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken, and that crowd tends to skew younger.

The Mixed Up Truck by Stephen Savage

This book was a big hit at both storytimes (I can still hear one of the preschoolers at Family Storytime whispering “There’s an excavator!” reverently to his Mom, while pointing at one of the trucks in the illustrations). It’s a funny, simple story about a cement mixer who keeps mixing the wrong white powder with water, and ends up making a giant cake with frosting instead of cement for a building. In the end, he mixes up a bunch of soap for a giant bubble bath.

Mix It Up by Hervé Tullet

My Family Storytime is in the evening, and tends to draw a smaller crowd. The kids there loved playing along with this interactive picture book, which asks you to “mix” different colors together by rubbing one colored spot and then another, to see what color it makes on the next page.

Grace and Box by Kim Howard; illustrated by Megan Lötter

Very cute story about a little girl named Grace, and a refrigerator box, who transforms into all kinds of things: a rocket ship, a city, a house, etc. When Box starts to sag, Grace doesn’t know what to do, until she figures out how to work with Box’s changes, and keep the imaginative play going.

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

We sang this after reading Tea Rex in Outdoor Musical Storytime and after reading Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna, the Very First Chicken in Family Storytime. Always a hit!

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food on the [Dm] ground.
[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food, and [Dm] then we march [A] around.

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest at the end of the [Dm] day.
[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest, and [Dm] then you’ll hear us [A] say…

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[A] And then we RO-AR-OAR!
[A] Because [Dm] we [C] are the [Dm]dino-[D]saurs!

Can You See the Color Red?

We sang this after reading Mix It Up. The kids always love pointing out different colored objects all around the room.

 To the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Can you [C] see the color yellow,
The [F] color yellow, the [G7] color yellow?
Can you [C] see the color yellow,
[F] Right here [G7] in this [C] room?

Can you see the color blue… etc.

We’re Making Veggie Stew

Similar to a song I came up with for letter V a few weeks ago. This time I wanted to incorporate the word “mix,” so I adjusted it a little. We threw plush veggies on the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and shook the chute in time with the song.

To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell:

We’re making veggie stew!
We’re making veggie stew!
Throw veggies in and mix them in,
We’re making veggie stew!

A carrot’s in the stew!
A carrot’s in the stew!
We’ll throw it in, and mix it in,
A carrot’s in the stew!

Some peas are in the stew…etc.

X Marks the Spot

I was having trouble finding a good letter X song, so I wrote this one. I actually ended up just singing the first verse and repeating the chorus several times. Each time, I asked the kids what “treasures” they would like to find in the chest, and we replaced the “chocolate coins” with their suggestions. They came up with apples and diamonds.

[C] We found an ancient [Am] treasure map
[F] Inside a hollow [G] tree.
[C] Showing landmarks [Am] far away
[F] In a land across the [G] sea.
[F] We climbed aboard our trusty [C] ship
[F] Our sails high and [C] unfurled,
[C] Sailing towards that [Am] letter X
[F] On the [G] far side of the [C] world.

CHORUS:
X marks the [G] spot
Where we’ll [F] find what we have [C] sought.
Don’t [G] know what riches there may be
But I [F] hope that it’s a [G] lot!
[F] Perhaps we’ll find some [C] chocolate coins (replace with treasures of your choice!)
And [F] gold and [G] emeralds too,
But the [C] greatest treasure [G] I have found
[F] Is the [G] time I’ve spent with [C] you.

We’ll [C] sail through wild and [Am] stormy seas
Where [F] dragons prowl the [G] deep,
Where [C] waves roll high
And [Am] mermaid songs will [F] lull us all to [C] sleep.
At [F] last we’ll find the [C] desert isle
And [F] dig until we’ve [C] found
That [C] shiny golden [Am] pirate chest
Of [G] treasure under- [C]ground.

CHORUS:

Crayon resist is one of my favorite process art activities. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put out white construction paper, watercolor palettes, cups of water, paintbrushes, and white crayons.

For Family Storytime, I actually decided to put out waterbrush brush pens (leftover from a Chinese calligraphy program years ago) instead of regular brushes. They are brushes with a built-in compartment that you can fill with water, so it comes out when you squeeze it. The kids LOVED the brush pens, and they ended up being a lot less messy than cups of water that often end up spilling.

I initially suggested that the kids or their caregivers could write a letter X or a word or drawing on the paper with the white crayon, and then paint over it with the watercolor paints to see it magically appear. A lot of the caregivers ended up writing their child’s name. It always takes kids a few minutes to learn how to wet the paint first when working with watercolor, but once they start painting, they are always very engaged.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter X? Please share them in the comments below.

Early Literacy Tip: Point out any sound effects or animal sounds written in the books you read together (the book Animals Go Vroom! has a lot), and have fun saying them with your child. Onomatopoeia (words meant to represent sounds) are wonderful for helping kids learn the sounds that letters make.

This week we celebrated the letter V in storytime. It’s not the easiest letter to work with, but we still had a lot of fun.

As usual, we started by writing an upper- and lower case letter V in the air together, and then talking about words that started with V. The kids suggested violin and vase. I also pulled some items out of a paper bag: a toy vehicle, a toy van (actually a Mystery Machine!), and a bottle of vanilla, which I carried around for the kids to smell.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman

This book was too small for Outdoor Musical Storytime, but the kids at Family Storytime thought it was hilarious! It features a variety of vegetables wearing different types of underwear, with rhyming text. The kids enjoyed naming the veggies.

Animals Go Vroom! by Abi Cushman

This was a fun, simple picture book featuring different animals driving a variety of vehicles. Small cut-outs reveal the animal on the next page, and a sound that relates to them, but really refers to something happening to the vehicle on the next page. For example, the HISS on the page with the cutout showing the snake turns out to be a flat tire on the next page. The kids enjoyed calling out the different animal names.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

This one caused a stir at Outdoor Musical Storytime, because so many of the kids recognized it. It’s the classic story of a caterpillar who eats through different foods every day, until he finally transforms into a butterfly. I like to pause every time I say, “But he was still…” and let the kids say the word “HUNGRY!”

Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon

I love this sweet story about a penguin who gets tired of the snow and decides to go on vacation on a tropical island. At first, he doesn’t know what to do on the sand, but then he meets a friendly crab who shows him how to have fun at the beach. When he returns to his icy home, the crab tags along, and the two friends enjoy playing in the snow together until the crab has to return home. The illustrations are adorable.

This Old Van by Kim Norman; illustrated by Carolyn Conahan

I handed out the egg shakers before I read this one, and the kids played along as I read/sang. It’s a cute, colorful adaptation of This Old Man, about a charming old van that encounters lots of different types of vehicles on the way to a derby.

If All the Raindrops

I sang this song after reading Vegetables in Underwear, because it’s my go-to food song. I always ask the kids to suggest different foods they would like to fall from the sky, and we make up our own verses for those.

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.
[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,
[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”
[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be.

If all the raindrops were cookies and ice cream…

Dinosaurs in Cars by Nancy Stewart

We sang this after reading Animals Go Vroom. I learned it from a librarian in San Francisco who covered storytimes for me long ago. It’s such a cute, catchy song!

[C] There were five dinosaurs, [F] driving in cars,
[C] Having a really good [G7] time.
They said, [C] “We’ll step on the gas, and [F] go really fast!”
And they [C] did…until one [G7] had a flat [C] tire.
Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk!
She said, “Go on without me!”

Then there were four dinosaurs…

Repeat, until the last dinosaur has a flat tire, then say,

“She said, ‘I know! I’ll fix the tire! and then I’ll pick up all my friends!”

Then there were five dinosaurs,
Riding in a car, having a really good time.
They said, “Step on the gas, and go really fast!”
And they did, and down the road they went flying.

ROAR!

Playscarf Snowball Fight

After reading Penguin on Vacation at Family Storytime, we had a “snowball” fight with the play scarves. I let the kids each take several scarves, and then we all bundled them up into balls and threw them at each other for a few seconds. The kids mostly threw them at me, and occasionally at their caregivers.

Veggies in the Pot

I came up with this one to sing with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. We have a few random plush vegetables (carrots, corn, and peas) that I threw onto the parachute each time. You could also print out pictures of different vegetables or cut them out of felt.

(To the tune of The Noble Duke of York)

Veggies in the pot!
Veggies in the pot!
They’re in the pot
And nice and hot.
Veggies in the pot!

Carrots in the pot!
Carrots in the pot!
They’re in the pot
And nice and hot.
Carrots in the pot!

Corn in the pot…etc.

Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. The lines in parenthesis are meant to be echoed by the audience, but with my younger kiddos, I just sang the song without them. It’s a really fun song.

[C] Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
[G7] Ate a burrito with Tabasco.
[C] They put it on their rice, they put it on their beans,
[G7] On their rutabagas and on their collard [C]greens.

CHORUS:
[C] Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] Hey, Freddie! (Hey, Freddie!)
Let’s eat some (Let’s eat some)
[C] Spaghetti! (Spaghetti!)
Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] I’m ready (I’m ready)
To eat some spaghetti with [C] Freddie!

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
Moved from El Cerrito all the way to Alaska.
Oh, they ate their rice, they ate their beans,
They ate their rutabagas and they ate their collard greens.

CHORUS

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
They like to eat slow, they never eat fast.
Oh, they ate their rice, they ate their beans,
They ate their rutabagas and they ate their collard greens.

CHORUS

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco
They like to eat fast, they never eat slow.
Oh, they ate their rice, they ate their beans.
They ate their rutabagas and they ate their collard greens.

CHORUS

[C] Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] Hey, Freddie! (Hey, Freddie!)
Let’s eat some (Let’s eat some)
[C] Spaghetti! (Spaghetti!)
Hey, Victor! (Hey, Victor!)
[G7] I’m ready (I’m ready)
To eat some spaghetti with [C] you!

Before we did this craft, I talked about vibrations and showed the kids how the strings of my ukulele vibrate when I strum them to make the sound.

For the Stay & Play, I put out paper cups, markers, a variety of rubber bands, and a wide selection of washi tape. The kids decorated the cups with the markers. Their caregivers helped them stretch the rubber bands around the cup, and together they put different colored pieces of washi tape around the bottom to hold the rubber bands in place. They enjoyed plucking the rubber bands to make different sounds.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter V?

Early Literacy Tip: Before you read a book together, ask your child what they think will happen in the story. For example, for the book You Don’t Want a Unicorn? you could ask if they would like a unicorn, and why it might not be a good idea to have one. Making predictions about a text is an important skill for building reading comprehension, and also a great way to engage kids in the story, to see if their predictions come true.

This week we had fun celebrating underpants and unicorns in our Letter U Storytime.

As usual, we started by writing an upper and lower-case U in the air together, and then talking about the different sounds that the letter U makes. When I asked the kids if they could think of any letter U words, they suggested us, up, and usually. I also pulled a few things out of a paper bag: a toy unicorn, a utensil (spoon), and a paper drink umbrella.

Secret Words: At the end of storytime, I had the kids pick a slip of paper with a “secret word.” They included: up, underwear, unicorn, and umbrella.

Polar Bear’s Underwear by tupera tupera

This is a cute, funny book featuring a polar bear and his friend mouse who are trying to find polar bear’s missing underwear. They find many different types of underwear, but they all belong to different animals. Finally, polar bear realizes that he’s already wearing his underwear. He just can’t see them because they are white. The kids at Family Storytime enjoyed trying to guess the animal who owned each pair of underwear.

Those Are Not My Underpants by Melissa Martin; illustrated by Troy Cummings

I read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime in place of Polar Bear’s Underwear (mostly because the outdoor group is so large and spread out, and this book relies slightly less on the illustrations). In this story, a baby bear is trying to find the owner of a pair of underpants that was hanging on a tree. He asks lots of different animals, who each explain why it couldn’t be their underpants (it’s not smelly enough for Skunk; Snake only wears long underwear, etc.). In the end, his mother points out that they are HIS underpants. The kids laughed at several of the animals in underwear.

Upside Down Animals by Danielle McLean and Matt Hunt

I don’t usually read board books, but this one worked well for Family Storytime. Each page features an animal that appears to be doing one thing until you flip the book upside down. The sleeping cat turns into a leaping one; the swimming duck appears to be diving, etc. The kids enjoyed naming the animals on each page.

You Don’t Want a Unicorn by Ame Dyckman; illustrated by Liz Climo

I love Ame Dyckman! In this story, the narrator warns a boy dropping a coin into a wishing well that he shouldn’t wish for a unicorn. When he wishes for one anyway, he finds out for himself that they shed, scratch the furniture, and poop cupcakes everywhere. Worst of all, they get lonely and invite all of their friends to a unicorn party. The kids at both storytimes really enjoyed this one.

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates & Juniper Bates

I read this book years ago for a Welcoming Week Storytime. It’s a lovely allegory about an umbrella that welcomes literally everyone, and always has room for more. The illustrations are quirky and sweet.

A Hunting We Will Go

We sang this at Family Storytime after reading Polar Bear’s Underwear. I asked the kids to suggest different animals we could catch (I always put out animal puppets at that storytime, so they mostly named those), and we brainstormed rhymes for each one: we’ll catch a mouse and put it in a house; we’ll catch a cat and put it in a hat, etc.

Oh, [C] a-hunting we will go!
A-[F]hunting we will go!
We’ll [G7] catch a fox and put it in a box,
And then we’ll let it [C] go!

Repeat with other animals…

Merry-Go-Round

This is one I used to use a lot when I was leading baby storytimes, because it’s a fun lapsit song. For Family Storytime, I had the kids each choose one of our storytime puppets to lift up and down.

(To the tune of This Old Man)

Merry Go Round (lift stuffed animal up and down, or stand up and squat down)
Merry Go Round
We all ride on the merry-go-round
Now we’re UP
And now we’re DOWN!
We all ride on the merry-go-round.

Down to town, down to town
We go riding down to town
Better be careful you don’t fall DOWN (lower stuffed animal to the floor or pretend to fall down)
We go riding down to town.

Rain is Falling

I made up this song to use with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime. It’s to the tune of Are You Sleeping, Brother John?

Rain is falling, (shake the parachute in time to the song)
Rain is falling,
From the sky,
From the sky.
Get under the umbrella, (lift up the parachute and have the kids run under)
Get under the umbrella,
Where it’s dry!
Where it’s dry!

Under a Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end of both storytimes.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the breeze blow by?
Can you [C] feel it on your face?
This is our [F] special [G7] place.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the soft cool grass?
Can you [C] feel it with your toes?
We can [F] sit here while it [G7] grows.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

If you want to [G7] close your eyes,
And [C] sleep beneath the tree,
You can [F] rest your head on [G7] me.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

There are a lot of variations of this craft online. Before storytime, I had one of our interns cut out a pie-wedge shape out of white paper, and cut a selection of pipe cleaners in half.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white construction paper, the cut-paper shapes, the cut pipe cleaners, glue sticks, tape (to tape the pipe cleaner down), and markers. The kids had fun decorating their paper umbrellas and drawing the rain and other details around them.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter U? Please share them in the comments below.

Early Literacy Tip: Point out that letters can make different sounds when combined with other letters (for example, Tr), and can change one word into another. For example: tee becomes tree, tail becomes trail, and tap becomes trap. Make a game out of having your child cover up the letter r with their finger and then uncover it, while you say each word. How fast can you switch back and forth between the words?

This week, we celebrated the letter T, which allowed me to share some of my favorite picture books. As usual, we started by drawing an upper and lower-case T in the air together, and then came up with words that started with the letter T. The kids suggested turkey, tree, and toothbrush. I also pulled some items out of my paper bag: a troll doll, a tambourine, and a triangle (the kids enjoyed playing the tambourine and triangle at the end of storytime).

Secret Words: As usual, I gave out slips of paper with a “secret word” on them at the end. Our words this time were: tiger, train, tree and turtle.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

This book has been a favorite of several of my storytime regulars, and it’s a lot of fun to read aloud. The reader is invited along on a story adventure that begins in the jungle where the monkeys swing from vine to vine. But everywhere you go, there’s a tiger hiding there! RUN! The book features lots of fun twists, including a boat captain with a tail, and a treasure chest with two glowing eyes peering out. Luckily, the tiger just wants a belly rub.

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

I love performing this book, which is so perfectly executed, hilarious, and sweet. Leonardo is a terrible monster. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t scare anyone. Until one day, he sneaks up on Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole wide world, and makes him cry. But when he finds out the long list of reasons why Sam is sad, he decides to stop being a terrible monster and become a wonderful friend instead. The page with all of the reasons why Sam is sad is so much fun to read. I always try to get through the whole thing in one breath.

Towed by Toad by Jashar Awan

Cute story about a toad who drives a tow truck, helping all kinds of animals all day long. But when his tow truck breaks down, he learns that even he needs help himself every now and then. My vehicle-obsessed storytime kiddos loved this one.

I Like Trains by Daisy Hirst

Sweet book about a dog who loves trains and train rides, especially when they involve a trip to see Grandma. The large format and illustrations, and simple language make this a great book for toddlers.

Brush Your Teeth by Raffi

This Raffi song is an old standby of mine, and always goes over well with toddlers and preschoolers. I usually start by telling the kids to imagine their finger is a toothbrush. Then we all mime squeezing our imaginary toothpaste onto our fingers (I often ask them to share their favorite flavor of toothpaste).

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to one,
And you want to have a little fun,
You brush your teeth,
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
You brush your teeth,
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to two,
And you just can’t think of something to do,
You brush your teeth…

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to three,
And your mind starts humming,
“Fiddle-dee-dee,”…

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to four,
And you think you hear a knock on the door,
You get a little scared,
And then you brush your teeth…

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to five,
And you just can’t wait to come alive!…

Going on a Tiger Hunt

Instead of the usual bear hunt, we went on a tiger hunt after reading It’s a Tiger.  I like to ham it up by pretending to get a grasshopper stuck in my shirt, wiping the mud off my feet, and shaking myself dry from the lake.  There are lots of variations, but this the script I use, with the kids repeating every line:

We’re going on a tiger hunt!
(We’re going on a tiger hunt!)
It’s a beautiful day!
(It’s a beautiful day!)
We’re not scared!
(We’re not scared!)

We’re coming to some grass.
(We’re coming to some grass).
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to go through it.
(Have to go through it.)
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! (Rubbing hands together)

We’re coming to some mud.
(We’re coming to some mud.)
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to go through it.
(Have to go through it).
Squilch! Squelch! Squilch! Squelch! (Clapping hands together).

We’re coming to a lake.
(We’re coming to a lake.)
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to swim across it.
(Have to swim across it.)
Splish! Splash! Splish! Splash!

We’re coming to a cave.
(We’re coming to a cave.)
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to go inside.
(Have to go inside.)
Tiptoe…tiptoe…tiptoe…tiptoe…
It’s dark in here…
(It’s dark in here…)
It’s cold in here…
(It’s cold in here…)
Two yellow eyes…it’s a tiger!

Run!
Swim across the lake!
Run through the mud!
Run through the grass!
Into the house!
Slam the door!
Lock it!
We’re never going on a tiger hunt again!

We Wave Our Scarves Together

We sang this with the play scarves at Family Storytime. It’s a fun, versatile song that you can extend by adding a verse about any other actions you can think to do with the scarves. It’s to the tune of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow. Jbrary does a nice job of demonstrating it in the video below.

We wave our scarves together,
We wave our scarves together,
We wave our scarves together,
Because it’s fun to do.

We hug our scarves together…

We wear our scarves together…

We peek-a-boo together…

We throw our scarves together…

Ducks are on the Trampoline (Parachute Song)

I made this one up, using the tune to The Wheels on the Bus. I have lots of little animals that came with some Monkey Mitt sets and I threw different ones on the parachute each time we sang it. The kids loved watching them bounce up and down.

Ducks are on the trampoline, trampoline, trampoline,
Ducks are on the trampoline, bouncing up and down.

Dogs are on the trampoline… etc.

Freight Train

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. It’s one of my all-time favorite songs, and it has an incredible back-story. The original version by Elizabeth Cotten is beautiful, but sad, so I use this kid-friendly version by Elizabeth Mitchell. I ask the kids for different destinations for each verse.

[C] Freight train, Freight train [G7] going so fast.
[G7] Freight train, Freight train, [C] going so fast.
[E7] Please don’t tell what [F] plane I’m on,
So they [C] won’t know [G7] where I’ve [C] gone.

Going to Hawaii, going so fast!
Going to Hawaii, going so fast!
Please don’t tell what train I’m on,
So they won’t know where I’ve gone.

Going to the park, going so fast! etc…

I love this simple process art activity. For the Stay & Play, I brought a box of colored tissue paper cut into small pieces, some white construction paper, and some small atomizers filled with water.

The kids had a great time arranging the tissue paper pieces on the construction paper and then spraying them with water. One nice aspect of this project is that as the tissue paper dries, you can peel it off and see the imprint it’s left behind on the paper, so the kids get to enjoy a second version of their artwork a few hours later.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter T? Please share them in the comments below.

Early Literacy Tip: Talk about the sounds that individual letters make, and make a game out of coming up with words that start with that sound. Paying attention to the sounds that make up words is a critical part of phonemic awareness, an important skill for learning to read later on.

This week, we focused on the Letter R in storytime. As usual, we started by drawing an upper- and lower-case letter R in the air together (I also wrote it on my whiteboard). I talked about the sound the letter makes (we said it together), and asked the kids if they knew any words that started with R. They had several suggestions: rain, run, rabbit, rat, and rhinoceros. I also pulled some items out of my paper bag: a ruler, a ribbon wand, and some rosemary (I broke off pieces to hand out to the kids so they could smell it).

For our secret words at the end, I handed out slips of paper with some basic letter R words written on them, including robot, rose, rabbit, raspberry, and rocket. This has been a fun addition to storytime, and the kids seem to enjoy the surprise of seeing what word they will get. It’s always nice when someone has a particular connection to the word, like “Oh, raspberries are your favorite fruit!”

Here’s the rest of what we did:

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

I love this sweet story that conveys the power of simply sitting with someone who is having a hard time, instead of trying to fix their problems. When Taylor’s block tower gets knocked over by a flock of crows, different animals stop to offer advice, telling him he should shout, or laugh, or ruin someone else’s tower. None of their advice makes Taylor feel any better, until the Rabbit comes and sits beside him, taking the time to listen to all of his feelings.

Rainbow Hat by Hong Hai

Cute, colorful story about a bear whose rainbow hat blows away. It lands on a turtle, and then a duck, and then a frog, and finally gets carried off by a large bird, who drops it right back on Bear’s head.

My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee

I love this book, especially because the author lives in the Bay Area, and has visited some of our local schools. When a boy buys a pet rhinoceros, he is disappointed to learn that rhinoceroses only do two things: pop balloons and poke holes in kites. Neither of those seem particularly useful, until the boy comes across two robbers escaping in a balloon and a kite. When his rhinoceros helps the police catch the robbers, the boy discovers his rhinoceros can also fly! The page with the flying rhinoceros always gets delighted gasps and giggles.

Singing in the Rain by Tim Hopgood (based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown)

I gave out the egg shakers before I read this book, and we sang the song together at the end of both Family and Outdoor Musical Storytime. I also pulled out my thunder stick (which makes a loud rumbling sound) and shook it whenever we got to the line about the stormy clouds. The illustrations are colorful and charming.

The Sleeping Bunnies Song

For some reason, toddlers and preschoolers love songs where you sink down to the ground, and then jump up. This is one of my all-time favorites (I stole it from a local daycare provider years ago). There are lots of different versions, but the one I use is closest to the one in this Little Baby Bum video:

See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch down and pretend to sleep)
‘Till it’s nearly noon.
Come, let us wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies! (jump up)
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (jump up and down)
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!

Rainbow ‘Round Me by Ruth Pelham

I don’t remember where I first learned this song, but I love it because it gives kids a chance to suggest things that they might see outside their window. We sang this with the ribbon wands at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I told the kids to wave the wands back and forth on the verses, and then spin around in a circle during the chorus. They suggested a red cat, a white garbage truck, and a green duck.

When I [C] look outside my [G7] window,
There’s a world of color I [C] see.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
There’s a [G7] world of color I [C] see.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 

And the [C] cat outside my [G7] window,
Is as red as red can [C] be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
It’s as [G7] red as red can [C] be.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me.

And the [C] garbage truck outside my [G7] window,
Is as white as white can [C] be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
It’s as [G7] white as white can [C] be.
And the cat is as [G7] red as red can [C] be.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me.  

And the duck outside my window…etc.

Roll the Ball to You

I used to work at a library that hosted a weekly Kindermusik class. The teacher would always sing this song in a really operatic style, which always struck me as funny. It is a really simple, catchy song though, and it stuck with me. For Family Storytime, we sang it while rolling a plush ball back and forth between me and each of the kids. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put a plush ball on the parachute and we rolled it around together (I wish I had brought a lighter ball though, because the plush one didn’t roll very well on the parachute).

I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.
I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.
I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.
I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.

Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I had the kids crouch down and jump up during each countdown.

[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Sun,
[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Sun,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be spinning everywhere.
[C]Spinning [G7] round the [F] Sun.

[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Moon,
[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Moon,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be dancing through the air,
[C]Dancing [G7] on the [F] Moon.

[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] stars,
[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] stars,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be jumping everywhere,
[C]Dancing [G7] from star to [F] star.[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Earth,
[C]Leave me [G7] on the [F] ground,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be [C] home.

[Am] 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

[C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run

I got this idea from BuggyandBuddy.com, which also provided the rocket templates. Before storytime, I had our summer intern cut out the paper rocket templates.

For the Stay and Play, I put out the paper rocket templates, along with markers, tape, paper straws, and small pieces of larger plastic straws (our county has a policy of not purchasing disposable plastics if possible, so I cleaned a few used regular sized drinking straws and cut them into 2″ pieces. You can also roll up squares of paper and tape them into tubes instead, but there’s a little more friction, which makes it harder for the kids to blow the rocket off of the paper straw).

The kids enjoyed coloring their rockets with the markers. Then we helped them tape a piece of plastic straw to the back, making sure that the tape fully covered the hole at the top of the straw. When they inserted the paper straw into the plastic one, and blew, their rocket launched into the air.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter R? Please share them in the comments below.

Early Literacy Tip: Write simple action words on small pieces of paper (run, clap, jump, etc.), and put them in a bag (or attach them to a die that you throw, or a board game spinner that you spin). Have your child pick out one of the papers, and then do the action together (or have your child direct you to do it). This is a simple, fun way to build print awareness.

This week we celebrated the Letter Q! As usual, we started by writing an upper and lower case letter Q in the air together, and then brainstormed words that started with Q. The kids suggested queen and quack. I also pulled some other items from my paper bag: a quarter, and a picture of quail and a quokka.

I had written three q words on pieces of paper, and I told the kids that there were special motions we would do for each one. For the word quack, we would quack like a duck and make duck bills with our hands. For the word quiet, we would put one finger over our lips and say, “Shhhh!” And for the word quick, we would clap our hands really fast. I spent a couple of minutes, pulling out the pieces of paper and reading the words, and we did the actions together.

HOME EXTENSION: I’ve been trying to add a “secret word” component each week, to help build excitement around printed words, and give the kids something to share with their caregivers after storytime. This week, I let them pick one of the “q” words from the activity above, and told them they could tell their grown-ups they had to do the motion (quacking, shushing, or clapping).

Quick Little Monkey by Sarah L. Thomson; illustrated by Lita Judge

A beautifully illustrated book about a pygmy marmoset who accidentally slips to the forest floor, and has to flee a giant snake before reuniting with his father. This was an exciting story that held the kids’ attention.

A Quick Trip to the Store by Sam Wedelich

I really like this funny new picture book about a girl and her mother, who have to take a quick trip to the store to buy bananas. While her mother chats with a group of other Mom’s, the girl decides to go shopping by herself, and accidentally crashes her cart (and herself!) into the bin of bananas. Her Mom agrees to buy all of the bruised bananas, and together they make banana bread for the employees at the store. The main character’s opinions about shopping, and mothers, and banana bread are hilarious.

Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up by Jane Whittingham; illustrated by Emma Pedersen

This is an adorable story that I’ve shared many times. I especially like to read it for Outdoor Musical Storytime, since there are a lot of California quail in the park. Queenie Quail just can’t keep up with her brothers and sisters, because she is too busy looking at bees and caterpillars and shiny stones. But when she spies a cat hiding in the grass, and alerts her family, her parents realize that her dawdling can be helpful. The kids enjoyed joining in on the repeated “bob bob bob,” “tap tap tap” and “hurry hurry hurry” motions throughout the book.

I Quit! by Kristen Tracy; illustrated by Federico Fabiani

Sweet story about a cat who gets adopted. At first, she is thrilled with her new home, but then she learns there are rules like no licking yourself on the table and no chasing the baby. “I quit!” she declares, and makes her escape. But the world outside is dark and scary, and she quickly decides she wants to go home.

Monkey See and Monkey Do

We sang this after reading Quick Little Monkey. It’s a fun, versatile action song, and you can add in any motions that suit your storytime crowd. I always end with “sit back on the ground” to get the kids ready to listen to the next book.

When you clap, clap, clap your hands,
The monkey clap, clap, claps his hands,
Monkey see, and monkey do,
The monkey does the same as you!

When you jump up and down, etc.

Repeat with other motions: when you jump up and down; make a funny face; turn yourself around; and sit back on the ground.

Two Little Quail

We sang this with the play scarves (I gave each child two). A variation of the traditional Two Little Blackbirds song to go along with the book Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up.

Two little quail sitting on a hill, (Hold up both scarves)
One named Jack, and the other named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! (Put one scarf behind your back)
Fly away, Jill! (Put the other scarf behind your back)
Come back, Jack! (Bring the first scarf out in front).
Come back, Jill! (Bring the second scarf out in the front).

Two littlequail sitting on a cloud,
One was quiet, and the other was loud (I make my voice as loud and obnoxious as possible each time I sing the word “Loud!”)
Fly away, Quiet!
Fly away, Loud!
Come back, Quiet!
Come back, Loud!

Two little quail sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little quail sitting on a gate.
One was early, and the other was…late!…

Quick, Quick, Quick

We sang this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I have a bunch of little ducks from a couple of Monkee Mitt sets, and I told the kids to quack each time I threw one on the parachute. Then we sang the song, shaking the parachute quickly and then slowly, and lowering and raising it up. I added a few more ducks each time we sang it.

Quick, quick, quick!
Slow, slow, slow!
Down, down, down!
And up we go!

Letter Q

I wrote this song for my last set of alphabet storytimes, since I couldn’t find a good instrument play-along for letter Q. I had explained to the kids about how the letter Q is almost always followed by U, which is the subject of this song. We sang it at the end with egg shakers.

If you ever need a storytime song for a particular topic, feel free to reach out. I love a challenge!

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

[C] Without U, there is no [F] Question.
[G7] Without U, no qualit-[C]y.
No Quiet walks [F] along the shore,
No [G7] Quests of braver-[C]y.
No Quilts to keep you [F] warm at night,
No [G7] Quick trips to the [C] zoo.
There’s nothing quite as [F] lonesome
As [G7] Q is without [C] U.

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

[C] Q is such a quirky [F] letter.
[G7] It is useless on its [C] own.
Without U it cannot [F] Qualify,
It [G7] cannot stand a-[C]lone.
Q would be in such a [F] Quandary,
Without [G7] you to make it [C] sound.
I Quake to think what [F] Q would be
[G7] Without U [C] around!

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

We have a lot of origami paper left over from past programs, so before storytime this week, I asked our summer intern to cut some of the paper into smaller squares.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white computer paper, glue sticks, and the precut origami squares. The kids enjoyed arranging the different patterns on the page and gluing them down.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter Q? Please share them in the comments below.