One Love
Adapted by Cedella Marley, based on the song by Bob Marley, illustrated by Vanessa Newton
Published 2011 by Chronicle Books
This is a wonderful adaptation of one of my favorite songs (confession: I have a tattoo of some of the lyrics). I think the book represents the song's message beautifully and I really love the illustrations. I think this would be a great book to share in a storytime about love and perhaps you could even play the song for kids. I really like this one.
Hattie and the Wild Waves
By Barbara Cooney
Published 1993 by Puffin Books
Miss Rumphius is pretty much one of my favorite picture books ever so when I recently realized that I hadn't actually ever read this one, I immediately picked it up. My first thoughts were "this book is so wordy! Is this really for children?" I almost don't think it is, but at the same time, I think there is something about this book that would appeal to a precocious child. I love Cooney's art so much that I could probably forgive her anything, but this is an interesting story, just perhaps better suited for an older crowd.
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy's Parade
By Melissa Sweet
Published 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
This book caught my attention when it was first published but I didn't have a chance to pick it up until after it won the Sibert Award. My actual notes after reading this book being with "so brilliant". I completely adored this book; everything about it feels like fun. The illustrations are whimsical and evoke Sarg's work beautifully. The story is interesting and, if a kid discovers this book, I don't think they could be disappointed. Included at the end of the book is a nice author's note and bibliography. This is a book to treasure.
Cat Secrets
By Jef Czekaj
Published 2011 by Balzer + Bray
I want to have a cat storytime just so I can use this book - seriously, this book is basically written for the storytime setting. It's not really a story in that there isn't a plot to speak of, but it's a very cute and interactive book that I think kids would really love. I love this book and I need to recommend it to my friend Sarah if she doesn't already know about it (she's a cat fanatic).
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Program: Family Storytime
My second foray into Family Storytime occurred on St. Patrick's Day; fittingly, our theme for the week was green. As I began to choose books for the session, I got increasingly frustrated - all the St. Patrick's Day or leprechaun books owned by our library were way too long for storytime. My session was taking place on St. Patrick's Day itself so I really wanted to include something relevant. Eventually, I came across something that worked. Here's what we did.
Opening: Welcome, reminders (no food, please participate, stay out of the blinds), and introduce our theme.
This would be the point where I complete forgot to do "Open Shut Them," but I did have it written in my plan.
Book: Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox - this is a classic but very fun. I was surprised by how much the kids really loved it.
Flannel: "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" - I had planned on finding a recording of this and including it but then I discovered we had a flannel version. I did end up singing the rhyme and, thankfully, some parents knew it as well and sang along.
Book: Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold - they seemed a little on the fence about this one, and I don't think they really got the ending but they did laugh at Wilma's desperate fly-catching antics.
Song: "The Hokey Pokey" - I showed them the book Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long and then told them we were going to stand up and get our wiggles out by doing the human version. This went much better than my failed attempts at "The Chicken Dance."
Book: Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley - I was surprised because they did not seem into this at all. I thought for sure this would be a hit but they seemed pretty ambivalent about it.
Song: "And the Green Grass Grows All Around" - allegedly, we have a flannel of this somewhere but I couldn't find it in the week and a half I spent preparing before storytime, so I just ended up singing the song, having the kids repeat after me, and miming the parts. They seemed to enjoy this.
Book: The Curious Garden by Peter Brown - I knew this was a risky choice because it's a little on the long side but I love it so much that I stubbornly included it anyway. They were not so into it in the first part but once they saw the garden starting to spread and explore, they seemed more interested.
Draw a story: "Draw a Leprechaun" - like I said, I really wanted to include something related to St. Patrick's in my storytime, so when I found this really simple drawing rhyme, I was sold. The kids absolutely loved it.
Goodbye rhyme: "Wave Goodbye" by Rob Reid - I'm making this my default goodbye rhyme. Everyone seems to really love it and I've gotten a good laugh at the "wave your derriere" part every time.
And that was my green family storytime! What would you have done?
Opening: Welcome, reminders (no food, please participate, stay out of the blinds), and introduce our theme.
This would be the point where I complete forgot to do "Open Shut Them," but I did have it written in my plan.
Book: Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox - this is a classic but very fun. I was surprised by how much the kids really loved it.
Flannel: "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" - I had planned on finding a recording of this and including it but then I discovered we had a flannel version. I did end up singing the rhyme and, thankfully, some parents knew it as well and sang along.
Book: Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold - they seemed a little on the fence about this one, and I don't think they really got the ending but they did laugh at Wilma's desperate fly-catching antics.
Song: "The Hokey Pokey" - I showed them the book Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long and then told them we were going to stand up and get our wiggles out by doing the human version. This went much better than my failed attempts at "The Chicken Dance."
Book: Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley - I was surprised because they did not seem into this at all. I thought for sure this would be a hit but they seemed pretty ambivalent about it.
Song: "And the Green Grass Grows All Around" - allegedly, we have a flannel of this somewhere but I couldn't find it in the week and a half I spent preparing before storytime, so I just ended up singing the song, having the kids repeat after me, and miming the parts. They seemed to enjoy this.
Book: The Curious Garden by Peter Brown - I knew this was a risky choice because it's a little on the long side but I love it so much that I stubbornly included it anyway. They were not so into it in the first part but once they saw the garden starting to spread and explore, they seemed more interested.
Draw a story: "Draw a Leprechaun" - like I said, I really wanted to include something related to St. Patrick's in my storytime, so when I found this really simple drawing rhyme, I was sold. The kids absolutely loved it.
Goodbye rhyme: "Wave Goodbye" by Rob Reid - I'm making this my default goodbye rhyme. Everyone seems to really love it and I've gotten a good laugh at the "wave your derriere" part every time.
And that was my green family storytime! What would you have done?
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Program: Chocolate Party
For my second spring break program this year, I decided to take a program I'd seen listed at a number of other libraries and have my own chocolate party for the tweens at my library. Plus, I love chocolate. As expected, it was very fun planning this program and I think the kids had a great time during the program (except for one minor snafu), so to me, this was a great success. Here's how my chocolate party went.
- When the kids came in, I gave them a chocolate word scramble, a recipe for fudge, and a blank answer sheet. The word scramble was just for them to work on while they waited for the program to start, the fudge recipe was theirs to take home and then blank answer sheet was for our first game.
- We played "Name That Candy Bar": using photos of candy bars cut in half (minus their wrappers, of course), the kids had to name as many as they could. A few kids complained that this was too hard and, admittedly, there were a couple of lesser-known candies in there (does anyone still eat Rollos?), but all in all they had fun trying to figure out what in the heck that candy bar was supposed to be. There were 12 in all; 3 kids ended up getting 8 correct (I tried to get them to pass their papers to the person next to them so they wouldn't be correcting their own, but this ended up mostly creating a confused mess of children, so I'd probably do that differently next time). I put their sheets in a bucket and draw one out to win a goodie bag (a giant Hershey's bar, two chocolate rubber ducks and a pair of chocolate bunny erasers).
- We then tested our chocolate knowledge with "Chocolate Trivia": I was a little worried that the kids wouldn't be that into this because I wasn't offering a prize for this portion. I wanted this part to be more informal, so I just had them raise their hands for which answer they thought was correct. There were some grumbles initially when I announced that there wouldn't be a prize but by the second question, they were completely into this. They actually seemed to enjoy learning some new things about chocolate, though it was hard to keep them quiet.
- Now it was time to get up for a bit and try our "Hershey Kiss Relay": if I had to pick one thing, this was probably the least successful. I thought this was a brilliant idea when I found it in another librarian's chocolate party plan: in teams, the kids had to race to unwrap Hershey's Kisses while wearing oven mitts. I split them up into 6 teams (another thing that proved to be unnecessarily confusing for them), got them to line up in front of the tables (where the Kisses were already set out for them), put on their mitts and then let them go. One team quickly pulled out in the lead, but they all struggled with it. Two boys got so frustrated that they were close to tears. I guess this game is better suited to teens (who might have an easier time laughing at themselves when they get frustrated). The winning team members each got a goodie bag with lots of Hershey's Kisses, rubber ducks and erasers.
- We sat back down and played "Chocolate Bingo": probably the easiest part of the program and the biggest hit. I gave them BINGO cards with chocolate-themed words and plain M&Ms for markers. We ended up playing two rounds and they probably would have played all day if I let them.
- The end arrived and it was time for the most important part: eating chocolate. I used white, milk, and dark chocolate chips. I portioned out spoonfuls in mini-candy liners and then passed one of each flavor out to the kids. Of course, they loved this part.
I said goodbye to them after that and asked them if they had fun; they all shouted "YES!" I felt a little bad releasing them into the library immediately after feeding them chocolate, but I think the program was a success!
- When the kids came in, I gave them a chocolate word scramble, a recipe for fudge, and a blank answer sheet. The word scramble was just for them to work on while they waited for the program to start, the fudge recipe was theirs to take home and then blank answer sheet was for our first game.
- We played "Name That Candy Bar": using photos of candy bars cut in half (minus their wrappers, of course), the kids had to name as many as they could. A few kids complained that this was too hard and, admittedly, there were a couple of lesser-known candies in there (does anyone still eat Rollos?), but all in all they had fun trying to figure out what in the heck that candy bar was supposed to be. There were 12 in all; 3 kids ended up getting 8 correct (I tried to get them to pass their papers to the person next to them so they wouldn't be correcting their own, but this ended up mostly creating a confused mess of children, so I'd probably do that differently next time). I put their sheets in a bucket and draw one out to win a goodie bag (a giant Hershey's bar, two chocolate rubber ducks and a pair of chocolate bunny erasers).
- We then tested our chocolate knowledge with "Chocolate Trivia": I was a little worried that the kids wouldn't be that into this because I wasn't offering a prize for this portion. I wanted this part to be more informal, so I just had them raise their hands for which answer they thought was correct. There were some grumbles initially when I announced that there wouldn't be a prize but by the second question, they were completely into this. They actually seemed to enjoy learning some new things about chocolate, though it was hard to keep them quiet.
- Now it was time to get up for a bit and try our "Hershey Kiss Relay": if I had to pick one thing, this was probably the least successful. I thought this was a brilliant idea when I found it in another librarian's chocolate party plan: in teams, the kids had to race to unwrap Hershey's Kisses while wearing oven mitts. I split them up into 6 teams (another thing that proved to be unnecessarily confusing for them), got them to line up in front of the tables (where the Kisses were already set out for them), put on their mitts and then let them go. One team quickly pulled out in the lead, but they all struggled with it. Two boys got so frustrated that they were close to tears. I guess this game is better suited to teens (who might have an easier time laughing at themselves when they get frustrated). The winning team members each got a goodie bag with lots of Hershey's Kisses, rubber ducks and erasers.
- We sat back down and played "Chocolate Bingo": probably the easiest part of the program and the biggest hit. I gave them BINGO cards with chocolate-themed words and plain M&Ms for markers. We ended up playing two rounds and they probably would have played all day if I let them.
- The end arrived and it was time for the most important part: eating chocolate. I used white, milk, and dark chocolate chips. I portioned out spoonfuls in mini-candy liners and then passed one of each flavor out to the kids. Of course, they loved this part.
I said goodbye to them after that and asked them if they had fun; they all shouted "YES!" I felt a little bad releasing them into the library immediately after feeding them chocolate, but I think the program was a success!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Picture Book Saturday (10)
A My Name is Alice
By Jane Bayer, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Published 1992 by Puffin Books
This one caught my eye on the shelves and I couldn't resist. The rhyme (or game) should be familiar to many children but this book provides excellent vocabulary in its choice of animals represented, as well as providing geographical information when we find out where they come from. The illustrations are classic Kellogg - fun and interesting with lots of details for kids to discover. This could be a great book to introduce some non-fiction about various animals or geography.
Fannie in the Kitchen
By Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Published 2001 by Atheneum
Non-fiction picture books - I cannot resist them. This one I discovered in the 600s. It details the story of Fannie Farmer and how she revolutionized cooking by introducing precise measurements and recipes. It's an easy read and a cute story with suitable illustrations. I enjoyed it because I'm a big fan of cooking and I think this will appeal to a certain population of kids.
Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo
By Ayun Halliday, illustrated by Dan Santat
Published 2009 by Hyperion Books
I've recently become enamored with Dan Santat's illustration style, so this one jumped out at me from the shelves one day. This is a book about butts - do I really have to say anymore to convince kids to read it? It's a fun book with witty text that is absolutely fabulous for vocabulary. We get interesting animals and a plethora of synonyms for your rear end. The illustrations are, of course, fantastic. I think this would be immensely enjoyed in a storytime if you can manage to keep the riotous laughter under control!
11 Experiments that Failed
By Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter
Published 2011 by Random House Children's Books
This is a cute story about trying new things and exploring. While the outcome of some of the experiments seems clear from the start, I think kids would have a good time with this book. They might even learn about the scientific process and be inspired to conduct some experiments of their own, though hopefully nothing too similar to the ones outlined here. This could be used in a storytime to introduce science and experimentation and could possibly pair with some non-fiction, though it might be a little too silly.
By Jane Bayer, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Published 1992 by Puffin Books
This one caught my eye on the shelves and I couldn't resist. The rhyme (or game) should be familiar to many children but this book provides excellent vocabulary in its choice of animals represented, as well as providing geographical information when we find out where they come from. The illustrations are classic Kellogg - fun and interesting with lots of details for kids to discover. This could be a great book to introduce some non-fiction about various animals or geography.
Fannie in the Kitchen
By Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Published 2001 by Atheneum
Non-fiction picture books - I cannot resist them. This one I discovered in the 600s. It details the story of Fannie Farmer and how she revolutionized cooking by introducing precise measurements and recipes. It's an easy read and a cute story with suitable illustrations. I enjoyed it because I'm a big fan of cooking and I think this will appeal to a certain population of kids.
Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo
By Ayun Halliday, illustrated by Dan Santat
Published 2009 by Hyperion Books
I've recently become enamored with Dan Santat's illustration style, so this one jumped out at me from the shelves one day. This is a book about butts - do I really have to say anymore to convince kids to read it? It's a fun book with witty text that is absolutely fabulous for vocabulary. We get interesting animals and a plethora of synonyms for your rear end. The illustrations are, of course, fantastic. I think this would be immensely enjoyed in a storytime if you can manage to keep the riotous laughter under control!
11 Experiments that Failed
By Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter
Published 2011 by Random House Children's Books
This is a cute story about trying new things and exploring. While the outcome of some of the experiments seems clear from the start, I think kids would have a good time with this book. They might even learn about the scientific process and be inspired to conduct some experiments of their own, though hopefully nothing too similar to the ones outlined here. This could be used in a storytime to introduce science and experimentation and could possibly pair with some non-fiction, though it might be a little too silly.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Program: Design a Duck
During spring break this year, I was tasked with coming up with two programs for tweens. They were supposed to be suitable for larger-than-average crowds and designed to appeal to the greatest number of kids. I confess, this first program was not exactly my idea. My boss was cruising around Oriental Trading one day, searching for supplies for other upcoming programs, when she stumbled upon plain, white rubber ducks. She immediately came to me and suggested we host a "design your own duck" program for the tweens. And voila! Instant programming.
This was an insanely simple program that I think the kids absolutely loved (actually, I think the staff may have enjoyed it even more than the kids). We simply ordered large quantities of the white rubber ducks, set out multi-colored sharpies, glue, fabric, feathers, stickers, and assorted other art supplies, and let the kids create their own designer ducks. Each kid made at least two; some made 3 or 4. In the weeks leading up to the program, we had distributed some ducks to staff members throughout the library and asked them to create some examples so kids could see that possibilities were basically endless. It was amazing to see just how different every one's ducks turned out to be. I crafted a Cheshire Duck and a Spiderduck (Cheshire Cat and Spiderman); we had a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Ducks, a Duck Tape, a Mardi Gras duck, and even a Thing 1. We set our example ducks in a glass display case near the children's desk about a week before the program and I think this made a big impact on our final numbers.
The program ran incredibly well; each kid just did his or her own thing. They all behaved well and most stayed creating ducks until the very last minute. I didn't get to see all the ducks that were made but I did see a couple different versions of Thing 1, some more Teenage Mutant Ninja Ducks, a leprechaun duck (complete with pot of gold), Superduck, and even a zombie duck. This was an easy and very successful program that everyone had fun with. I would love to do it again!
This was an insanely simple program that I think the kids absolutely loved (actually, I think the staff may have enjoyed it even more than the kids). We simply ordered large quantities of the white rubber ducks, set out multi-colored sharpies, glue, fabric, feathers, stickers, and assorted other art supplies, and let the kids create their own designer ducks. Each kid made at least two; some made 3 or 4. In the weeks leading up to the program, we had distributed some ducks to staff members throughout the library and asked them to create some examples so kids could see that possibilities were basically endless. It was amazing to see just how different every one's ducks turned out to be. I crafted a Cheshire Duck and a Spiderduck (Cheshire Cat and Spiderman); we had a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Ducks, a Duck Tape, a Mardi Gras duck, and even a Thing 1. We set our example ducks in a glass display case near the children's desk about a week before the program and I think this made a big impact on our final numbers.
The program ran incredibly well; each kid just did his or her own thing. They all behaved well and most stayed creating ducks until the very last minute. I didn't get to see all the ducks that were made but I did see a couple different versions of Thing 1, some more Teenage Mutant Ninja Ducks, a leprechaun duck (complete with pot of gold), Superduck, and even a zombie duck. This was an easy and very successful program that everyone had fun with. I would love to do it again!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Review: Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
By Julie Sternberg, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Published 2011 by Harry N. Abrams
This is one of the titles on the 2012-13 Bluebonnet List. When I found out it was written in verse, I couldn't resist picking it up for a quick read. Eleanor is devastated when her babysitter, Bibi, has to move away. It is the worst thing. And she absolutely does not want another sitter - Bibi has been her sitter her whole life. Will Eleanor be able to figure out how life works without Bibi?
This is a very short, quick, but very touching read. It's written in verse, in very short chapters, so this book should fly by for the majority of readers. But this book is also dealing with a bit of a tough topic in a very sensitive and sweet way. I don't know that I've seen too many books dealing with the babysitter/child relationship, even though most kids have babysitters in their lives. Eleanor's situation may be more unique than the typical scenario nowadays - I don't know if there are still kids who only have one babysitter their whole lives - but I think this book is incredibly easy to relate to. Ultimately, it's just a story about a friend having to move away and how that makes the person left behind feel. Eleanor is a spirited character and I think this book should appeal to many kids. I found it incredibly charming. The illustrations are a nice addition to the text, making it feel even more as if the book was written by Eleanor herself. Very sweet book.
By Julie Sternberg, illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Published 2011 by Harry N. Abrams
This is one of the titles on the 2012-13 Bluebonnet List. When I found out it was written in verse, I couldn't resist picking it up for a quick read. Eleanor is devastated when her babysitter, Bibi, has to move away. It is the worst thing. And she absolutely does not want another sitter - Bibi has been her sitter her whole life. Will Eleanor be able to figure out how life works without Bibi?
This is a very short, quick, but very touching read. It's written in verse, in very short chapters, so this book should fly by for the majority of readers. But this book is also dealing with a bit of a tough topic in a very sensitive and sweet way. I don't know that I've seen too many books dealing with the babysitter/child relationship, even though most kids have babysitters in their lives. Eleanor's situation may be more unique than the typical scenario nowadays - I don't know if there are still kids who only have one babysitter their whole lives - but I think this book is incredibly easy to relate to. Ultimately, it's just a story about a friend having to move away and how that makes the person left behind feel. Eleanor is a spirited character and I think this book should appeal to many kids. I found it incredibly charming. The illustrations are a nice addition to the text, making it feel even more as if the book was written by Eleanor herself. Very sweet book.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Review: Dying to Know You
Dying to Know You
By Aidan Chambers
Expected publication April 1, 2012 by Amulet Books
Karl is crazy about Fiorella but he doesn't know how to say it. So when she asks him to answer some questions about himself for her, he does the only thing he can think of - asks Fiorella's favorite author to help him. What follows is a bittersweet tale of love and self-identity.
I don't think this is going to be a very good review. I'm just putting that out here at the top so that nobody is fooled. I'm not sure why this author is familiar to me - I don't think I've read any of his books before, but the name rings a bell. Anyway, this was one of the random books I grabbed at Midwinter. I thought, from reading the blurb, that I'd be reading a comedy of some sort - guy desperate to get his relationship with out of reach girl to work enlists aid of favorite author, hijinks ensue - that sort of thing. This is definitely not that kind of book. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what kind of book this is. I don't know if I can make any sort of sensible review happen so here are the things I've thought about while reading/since finishing this book. Why is the book narrated by the writer? I can see that it's an interesting choice, especially for a young adult novel, but it sort of creates a disconnect from the teenagers who are allegedly the subject of the novel. I'm not sure how readers will take this narrative choice - it may be off-putting and alienating. The title - I don't get it. I mean, I don't think it would be weird for me to say that I expected someone to die. And there may have been some close calls, but by the end of the course, there is no actual death. So what's with the title? I don't love Karl or Fiorella - I understand the idea and why there's conflict. And Karl is a complicated character who I felt like I should have been rooting for, but I just wasn't really. I found him frustrating. And I found the relationship between Karl and the narrator frustrating as well. However, I won't deny that the book is very well-written. It reads beautifully. And I can't say that I didn't enjoy the book - I kept reading and didn't feel like I wanted to quit. But this was a weird book for me.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
By Aidan Chambers
Expected publication April 1, 2012 by Amulet Books
Karl is crazy about Fiorella but he doesn't know how to say it. So when she asks him to answer some questions about himself for her, he does the only thing he can think of - asks Fiorella's favorite author to help him. What follows is a bittersweet tale of love and self-identity.
I don't think this is going to be a very good review. I'm just putting that out here at the top so that nobody is fooled. I'm not sure why this author is familiar to me - I don't think I've read any of his books before, but the name rings a bell. Anyway, this was one of the random books I grabbed at Midwinter. I thought, from reading the blurb, that I'd be reading a comedy of some sort - guy desperate to get his relationship with out of reach girl to work enlists aid of favorite author, hijinks ensue - that sort of thing. This is definitely not that kind of book. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what kind of book this is. I don't know if I can make any sort of sensible review happen so here are the things I've thought about while reading/since finishing this book. Why is the book narrated by the writer? I can see that it's an interesting choice, especially for a young adult novel, but it sort of creates a disconnect from the teenagers who are allegedly the subject of the novel. I'm not sure how readers will take this narrative choice - it may be off-putting and alienating. The title - I don't get it. I mean, I don't think it would be weird for me to say that I expected someone to die. And there may have been some close calls, but by the end of the course, there is no actual death. So what's with the title? I don't love Karl or Fiorella - I understand the idea and why there's conflict. And Karl is a complicated character who I felt like I should have been rooting for, but I just wasn't really. I found him frustrating. And I found the relationship between Karl and the narrator frustrating as well. However, I won't deny that the book is very well-written. It reads beautifully. And I can't say that I didn't enjoy the book - I kept reading and didn't feel like I wanted to quit. But this was a weird book for me.
Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.
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