Baby & Toddler Storytimes

        S o n g s We sang Wheels on the Bus right after our Hello Song, and I thought I'd set the mood by having my dinosaur t-rex puppet ride the bus with a GRRR but I was a bit overenthusiastic and one usually cheerful puppy burst into tears. So THEN we had the babies on the bus (who usually go peek-a-boo) go waaa waaa waaa and it was pretty darn funny. B o o k s Snappy Little Dinosaurs  -- pop-up book. Just read  How Do Dinosaurs Go Up and Down by Jane Yolen.  There's something a bit off about this book.  Sometimes the text applies to the fold out and sometimes it isn't.  Either read it all through, be quick, or pick a different one.  She has so many. Duck, Duck, Dinosaur  by Kallie George. I always reading a book in different voices, and this simple trick seems to work on the babies too.   I'm a Dirty Dinosaur  by Janeen Brian .   Rhymes AND the dino goes over the names of all his parts of the body! Quite the meg...

B o o k s The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems.  I intro'ed storytime by asking who had a dog.  Emma immediately said she didn't have ANY pets and she REALLY wanted one, which was the perfect set up.  Then I read the title and said, "Huh? A pigeon is a BIRD?  And it wants a DOG?"  Dog's Day by Jane Cabrera.   Her bright illustrations make her books great pix for babies.  Spot's First Walk,  by Eric Hill.  I'm boycotting  Where's Spot . The vocab includes a grandfather clock, a grand piano, a door under a staircase, a mirrored armoire... But  Spot's First Walk , which I actually did at the end, was the only book to work for this group today.  Maybe next year I'll try just doing Spot books.  Lift the flap, simple vocab...  Doggies by Sandra Boynton.  A very fun read aloud, as you repeat with each finger (hold up your fingers as dogs) the different sounds they make. And in the end they all go Awroooooo! together. ...

There was a rumble in the jungle at storytime and no mistake!  After our flying monkey did his things, the babies started LISTENING up. Books The Pop-Up Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae.  Love to turn the pages of this big, colorful pop-up, roar, hiss, clomp and snap the jaws of the book by turns. Good start. ROAR bd bk Litton.  OK. Tiny Little Fly Michael Rosen.  Excellent readaloud, and the kids really liked it. Busy Monkeys board book by Schindel. This series rhyme, has great pictures, and you can act out the motions as you read text which has quite a bit of sense to it.   Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins. I love this book, but choose a couple of pages to read -- not the whole thing.   Songs Five Little Monkeys Teasing Mr. Crocodile Itsy Bitsy Spider (Great Big Mama Tarantula) Wheels on the Bus Through the Jungle Row row row your boat, gently down the stream If you see a crocodile, don't forget to SCREAM! Down in the jungle... played on my Tha...

Books Show Me, a board book by Tom Tracy. Head to Toe  by Eric Carle. This is a classic act-it-out with animals, and it is lot of fun. But they were really young today, and not into the major motions or animal recognition. Here Are My Hands   board book by Bill Martin. This little board book is juuuuust right for babies, short & sweet. I love acting out the motions and had the best luck with it on a rowdy day. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes  by Mem Fox. Good for this group, and with a nice chorus the moms joined in on, but perhaps not the best opener. Not this year. How to Brush Your Teeth with Snappy Croc   board book Clarke. I think this is the cutest of the series. Songs Pizza, Pickle Pumpernickel Clap Your hands This Is the Way We Wash Our Face  (to Mulberry Bush), nose, neck, whatever Dance Your Fingers Up , Dance your fingers down, dance your fingers up and down, all around town.  Dance them on your shoulders, dance them on your head...

Books: Silly Faces...See Me...In the Ocean! The babies were a little wary about being Silly Faces for me. When I modeled the sea creatures, they were OK with it. Don't Splash the Sasquatch by Redeker. The moms were kinda bewildered by this weird book, but the kids listened. The Pop-up Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae. This beautiful big pop has great sea creatures and fun rhymes. Next year:  At the Beach.  A board book The Three Fish and the Big Bad Shark.    Get PPLC shark and three fish. The shark is so big that it MIGHT grab them! Special Songs: We sang the Wheels on the Bus and then did the  Waves on the Sea : Lots of sounds and movement make this fun for this crowd. Next time:  Don't forget to use the scarves for the motions. Slippery Fish 1 little, 2 little, 3 little fishies, 4 little, 5 little, 6 little fishies, 7 little, 8 little, 9 little fishies, ten little fish swimming in the big blue sea. 9 little, 8 little, 7 little fishies, 6 littl...

P l a y s   Bullfrog Puppet from backroom, or Turtle with Vachel Lindsay poem. B o o k s Yummy YUCKY by Leslie Patricelli. This may be the most ingenious of Patricelli's wonderful series about this bald headed baby troublemaker. Certainly the kids enjoyed it -- although a few moms were grossed out by the burger-booger page as well as the egg-earwax page. I don't know why. It's like they don't associate with the babes 24/7. Big Hungry Bear BB Wood.  Great opener. Noisy Breakfast by Ellen Blonder.  Big Book.  Lotsa sounds. Baby Cakes by Karma Wilson.  Sweeet. Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar , a Piggy Toes boardbook by Wang.  Love this book. It's got all the charming rhyme of the jump rope song and all the right characters implicated -- cat, dog, etc., -- so that I can act it out with puppets. How to Feed Your Cheeky Monkey   board book Clarke. OK  S o n g s 1 potato, 2 potato chant Pizza, pickle, pumpernickel Pat a cake Mashed Potatoes...

Enter with umbrella! Bring rainstick! B o o k s Rain by Manya Stojic.  This has everything: animals, sounds, and senses: "hear, see, smell," etc. Bring your lion puppet! Very well received. Duckie's Rainbow  by Frances Barry.  This book might amaze me more than the kids, as the beautiful rainbow unfolds in the end. To get a little more interaction, ask them what color is going to be on the next page and then shout it out when you turn the page. The almost twos will get it. Ducks Like to Swim by Agnes Verboven.  Again, a book that gives you plenty of opportunity to quack like a duck, moo like a cow, and bray like a donkey. Plus, it gives you a lead in to all those great duck songs and books we love so much. I pulled each puppet out and had the kids (and moms) by turns moo and meow etc. and then handed them off to them. S o n g s The Rain  (to Frere Jacques) I hear thunder, (stomp floor) I hear thunder, Hear it CRASH. Hear it CRASH. But I don’t fear the thunder ...