Baby & Toddler Storytimes

  Books Silly Faces See Me...Go!  This dopey board book has a big opening in the middle so that as I turn the pages (Flying on a plane is fun! I can fly high in the sky!) I can hold it up to toddler faces for a little audience participation.  Beep Beep  by Petr Horacek The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz.  The babies on the bus bounced, cried, slept and waved goodbye! Usually I don't vary the favorites with this group because the babies love repetition so much more than originality or a challenge, but Karen Katz, as usual, was right on target. Toot Toot Beep Beep   by Emma Garcia. Sounds + types of vehicles + colors = perfect storytime starter.  This year I used it at the end of the book, rolling different colored cars down a ramp I made from a half sheet of foam board. Moo! by David Larochelle.  Even though this is my all time favorite, and everyone listens, I don't think the babies get the irony.    Diggers Go  by Steve Light. ...

B o o k s Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly Let's Play  by Herve Tullet.  Let's see -- a big yellow pom pom and a piece of string?  They really liked this, it was so interactive.  We did it without the pom pom, and even the runners got involved . White Rabbits Shape Book by Alan Baker.  Couldn't find the book but I had taped the whole thing onto the lid of the BIG SQUARE GREEN BOX.  The babies love this -- taking out the white cylinder, blowing up the round balloons, letting them go and spiral around wildly in the air.  A big show. Ticklemonster by Manceau.  Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald.  A bit like Big Green Monster, i.e., aDORable.  But don't forget to hide the cover!!! And don't forget the intro: this is a guessing game, and it's being read by the brachiosaurus, so be a brachiosaurus! Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh.  A flannelboard must.

Books: Quiet, Loud by Leslie Patricelli. I love ALL Patricelli's books and this one is perfect for showing quiet and LOUD! Snappy Sounds , one of those noisy board books by Harwood, I introduced: "Now we will be quiet again and read a book. Reading books is such a nice, quiet thing to do." The moms really did get quiet at that point -- so that you could almost hear the barking and meowing and cheeping noises that came from this silly book -- except since when do bunnies go B-o-i-n-g? I skipped that page. The text is cute and rhymy. Gooble Gooble Mooooo Tractor Book by Jez Alborough.  Might need to shorten a bit for the very young ones, but Alzborough's created a perfect amalgamation here of animal sounds and machine sounds. Peek-a-Boo by Marie Torres Cimarusti.  This is a very nice peekaboo book about simple, unscary Halloween creatures: an unscary witch, an unscary skeleton, an unscary ghost, etc.   Songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with my little pitch pipe is...

B o o k s   I Am Small by Emma Dodd .  This books isn't really about penguins, but opposites.  Opposites are always great to do with babies, so this will work out fine. Waddle! Waddle! by Jame Proimos. Props: horn, mirror.  I looked around the room in the middle of this and the babies were actually listening!  One year olds listening to a story!  So this is definitely a keeper. (The penguin looks into the mirror at himself -- not sure if the babies will get that, use the puppet. Penguins by Cynthia Rylant.  Doesn't really work with the babies.  It seems like it's so short that it will hold them, but it doesn't... Use I Like It When or Busy Penguins instead. Book:   I Like It When...  by Mary Murphy. Board book. This book isn't really about penguins either, it's about being two years old. Perfectimundo for baby storyhour. Simple line illustrations on brightly colored pages and text easy to act out. "I like it when you tickle me." "I li...

  Books: Round Balls, Round Balls (Round)  Fairly goofy big: try just pitching the creatues up in the air, the ball, the bunny, the bear, the kitty, and the elephant.  That should amuse the babies! Where's My Teddy by Jez Alborough.  An all time favorite.  Don't forget to bring the bears, and then sing "This is Little". Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. Babies might not get the gist of this exercise in imagination, but they will certainly get the concept of having a good time with a box. Songs: By all means collect all the noisemaking baby toys and pass them out for a grand finale:  Rattle up high, rattle down low,  rattle fast, and rattle slow.  Rattle all around -- don't stop! -- don't quit!  Rattle till you're tired and ready to quit. Game: Have them count while you throw the beanbags into the box.  Get the parents to join in.

  Puppet: Our turtle puppet made his bow, since he lives in a house -- his shell. As usual, I circled the audience and said the Vachel Lindsay poem: There was a little turtle, he lived in a box. He swam in the paddles, he climbed on the rocks. He snapped at the mosquitoes, he snapped at the fleas, He snapped at the minnows, he snapped at me! He caught the mosquitoes, he caught those fleas, He caught those minnows, but he didn't catch me! The kids love being snapped at and gobbled  while I circle the room. Books: Guess What I Am  by Anni Axworthy.  I had the matching puppets in a big bag, and the kids (a bit older today) liked watching me take them out.  I swapped out the animals in the book for puppets I actually had.   The Napping House  by Audrey Wood. I do this with a xylophone, hitting a note for each new character element. Bling Blang  by Woody Guthrie. This book has nice hammering and sawing actions to go along with the bright rhymes. Songs...

What will I do without my babies for a week?