Storytime: Books and Libraries!

Last week was National Library Week, and we did a Books & Libraries theme in storytime.  I have a confession to make, though.  It was a funny random happenstance that I assigned the Books and Libraries theme to National Library Week.  I just really wanted to do the theme and I assigned it to a random week that just happened to be National Library Week.  But, shhh!  Don’t tell anyone.

Opening Song:  Open, Shut Them

Book #1:  How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

I read this book for a Kingergarten class that came in for a tour/storytime, and they really enjoyed it.  My normal Tuesday storytime crowd, however, were having bad days (one little boy told me after storytime that he was having a sad day), so they listened to the story, but didn’t show any signs of enjoying it other than singing the alphabet along with me.  And my Wednesday crowd ended up skewing to the young side (most of them were under 2), so we left this book out completely due to it being a bit long.

Activity #1:  BINGO

After reading about a puppy who learns how to read, I decided it would be nice to sing about a puppy!  So I asked the kids if they knew what B I N G O spelled, and of course they knew it spelled BINGO!  We sang the song and, instead of clapping when we dropped a letter, we said ‘woof’ like a dog.  This one was a hit for both storytimes, though the younger crowd on Wednesday didn’t quite understand the woofing part, so they just kept singing B I N G O over and over.  Which was fine with me.

Book #2:  Dinosaur VS the Library by Bob Shea

Oh my goodness, did the kids love this one!  Even the sad kids in the Tuesday storytime perked up and roared along with Dinosaur (and the 2-year-olds loved roaring too!).  This book also leads to a great discussion about our inside roars and being quiet when someone’s reading during storytime.

Activity #2:  Read Starts with R

I got the letter puzzle idea from Storytime Katie.  I passed out jingle bells to each child, then we talked about the R sound.  After I was fairly certain that the kids knew what sound the letter R made, I showed the the various clip art, and if it started with the R sound, they rang their jingle bells.  It wasn’t long before one little girl realized that the puzzle made the letter R.  This one worked well with my older crowd on Tuesday, but I ditched it with the young ones on Wednesday and opted for some finger plays instead.  (P.S. Yes, I made myself a cheat sheet for the puzzle.)

Book #3:  How Do You Read to a Rabbit by Andrea Wayne von Konigslow

This book talked about how you might read to various animals (upside down for bats, very fast for cheetahs, etc).  It was short enough for both crowds, and I’d definitely use it again in storytime, though the kids didn’t appear overly enthused over it.

Book #4:  Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

Another story about a dog and books!  The kids really liked this one, and it can lead to a good discussion about why we love books!

Closing Song:  Children, Children, Turn Around