Toddler Storytime: November 27& 29, 2012

We do storytime twice a week every Tuesday and Thursday at my library. We also rotate storytellers and it was my week for storytime the last week in November. We have now expanded to two toddler storytimes because our attendance was getting so large. So we have one storytime at 9:30 and the other following at 10:00.

Opening Song

Hands Are Clapping

(Skip to my Lou)

Hands are clapping. . Clap, clap, clap

Hands are clapping . . Clap, clap, clap

Hands are clapping. . .Clap, clap, clap

Clap your hands, my darling

Toes are tapping. . . Tap, tap, tap

Fingers are wiggling...wiggle,

wiggle, wiggle

Tongues are clicking. . 

Click, click, click

Eyes are hiding peek-a-boo..

Book 1

Whose Nose? by Jeannette Rowe

This book is wonderful for kids to practice their animal sounds and to guess what animals are in the illustrations.

Song
 

Roly PolyRoly Poly, Roly Poly,

Up, Up, Up!

Roly Poly, Roly Poly,

Down, Down, Down!

Roly Poly, Roly Poly,

Clap, Clap, Clap!

Roly Poly, Roly Poly,

Lap, Lap, Lap!

 This song is a hit in storytime because it combines rhythm and movement. The toddlers like it so much that we usually do it two-three times.

Book 2

Tip Tip, Dig Dig by Emma Garcia

 Can I just tell you that this is my favorite toddler storytime book? I just love it! The book goes over colors and you can easily add movements for every action that the trucks do. Toddlers love it too and some seem to have even memorized the book.

 

Song

Where is Thumbkin?

Where is Thumbkin,

Where is Thumbkin? 

(hold up thumbs)

Here I am, here I am!

How are you today, sir?

(bend thumb to other)

Very well, I thank you!

Run away, run away!

(hide behind back)

This song always seems to calm everyone down during storytime, and I always do it twice because repetition is important.

Book 3

We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin

 This was my first time reading this book in storytime. I accidentally told the story instead of reading it and following the author's pacing. It wasn't the worst thing I could have done, but I want to do better next time. The book was still wonderful because it focused on body parts and following directions.

Song 

Three Little Monkeys

 Swinging in the Tree

Three little monkeys

swinging in the tree 

teasing Mr. Alligator

"Can't Catch me!"

along came Mr. Alligator

as quiet as can be  

and snapped

that monkey out that tree 

Two little monkeys. . 1

You probably know this song as Five Little Monkeys. I just sing it with three monkeys in toddler storytime so that it is not very long. I always count our monkeys each verse.

Book 4

Who Said Moo? by Harriet Ziefert

 I always seem to choose books with animal sounds because they're so wonderful and this book is no exception to the that rule. In the book, Rooster is trying to figure out who said moo, so he goes around to different farm animals to hear what they say. It mixes animal sounds and guessing. What could be better?

Song

The Itsy Bitsy Spider 

The itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up the waterspout

Down came the rain And washed the spider out.

Out came the sun And dried up all the rain

So the itsy-bitsy spider Climbed up the spout again!

I did this song twice, but we had a great, big spider climb up the waterspout for the second time.

Book 5

Teddy Bears, Teddy Bears by William Winburn

 I always like to end with this book because the teddy bears "say goodbye," which is a good segue into our closing song because "we have to say goodbye too." It's a good spin on the traditional rhyme and the toddlers love the movement it provides.

Closing Song

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom

(clap hands rhythmically)

We’re going to the moon

Zoom, zoom, zoom

We’ll be there very soon

In 5…4…3…2…1…blast off!

(jump up and blast off)

This is always an exciting song. We all have to see how high we can jump to blast off to the moon!

Additional Books:

Where's My Mommy? by Carol Roth

 I read this book in one of my stortyimes, but it was a little long. I would try to shorten the story if I do it another time. This book is great because of its use of animal sounds.

Expand Your Horizons

Nonfiction does not get enough attention in our library and I'm sure that is similar to most other libraries. Children are focused on chapter books and picture books. They don't even think about reading nonfiction if they don't have to. So I have taken it upon myself to read more nonfiction to be able to recommend more amazing titles to our patrons.

Lately I have been browsing our new nonfiction section and have found some gems. My favorite is Presidential Pets. This book is full of wacky facts about our 44 Presidents. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson had two pet bear cubs that lived on the White House lawn? Or that John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator that lived in a bathroom? I know I didn't. I love quirky trivia, especially about U.S. history. I was enthralled with this book and I learned a lot of valuable information that will hopefully come in handy one day.

I also found Mrs. Harkness and the Panda to be a hit. Mrs. Harkness scoured the wilderness of China to find and bring the first  panda to the U.S. in the 1930's after her husband passed away during his expedition to do the same thing. She felt obligated to finish what he began. She single-handedly transformed American attitudes towards wildlife by introducing Su Lin to the country. This book has beautiful illustrations, is very informative, and is perfect for children of all ages.

The Boy Who Bit Picasso offers us an inside view into a snippet of Picasso's life and provides information about his artwork. The author's parents were great friends with Picasso so he would come and stay in their English house. On one visit, Tony, the author, bit Picasso and Picasso bit him right back! The book includes photographs and pieces of Picasso's artwork that are sure to impress readers.