Look What I Can Do! by Nancy Viau

In the forest, baby animals are growing. Trying new things and learning new skills aren't always easy, but they press on.

What I thought: A lovely book about growing up. I love the illustrations. It's hard to pick a favorite. Kids will enjoy identifying the animals in the story.

Storytime Theme: Baby Animals

(Illus. Anna Vojteeh. Abrams, 2013)

Dream Friends by You Byun

One little girl has fantastic, magical dreams of a friend. What adventures they have...but only in her dreams!

What I thought: A fantastic book, fresh and new. Would pair well with Clara & Asha and Red Knit Cap Girl. I love the illustrations. So imaginative and vibrant. They remind me of the anime film My Friend Totoro. My favorite illustrations are hide & seek and in the forest (mushrooms).

Storytime Themes: Dreams, Friends, Imagination 

(Nancy Paulsen Books, 2013)

Flannel Friday Roundup for June 27, 2014

Here's your Flannel Friday Roundup for June 27. We only have 5 contributions this week. I assume everyone is in the throes of summer reading. I know I am...I had 18 events and saw 419 people this week!

Inspired by Flannel Friday Posts:

• Madigan with Baby Faces inspired by Melissa
• Mollie with Five Little Fireworks inspired by Tara
• Me with a Ladybug inspired by Lisa

Original Posts:

• Katie with a Red, White, & Blue Sensory Bin for Babies (I found this post interesting in light of my upcoming 5 Senses storytime later this summer.)
• Kathryn with Butterflies

There won't be a roundup on July 4. Happy Independence Day! Please save contributions for the July 11 roundup. Katie has the July 11 roundup.



Important Links:
Flannel Friday Blog
Flannel Friday on Pinterest
Flannel Friday on Facebook
Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the hashtag #flannelstorytime.
Our May/June Flannel Friday Fairy Godmother is Anna (@opinionsbyanna).
Our July/August Flannel Friday Fairy Godmother is Lisa (@lmulvenna).

Flannel Friday: Ladybug

This week's post is yet another inspired by post. My inspiration this week was Lisa of Libraryland. She posted her Little Red Bug last June and I thought it was adorable.

I used shapes in Microsoft Word for patterns. Big wiggle eyes complete the set. The six black spots are removable.

Mollie and Katie have both made ladybugs as well and I love the rhyme they use.

I'm your host this week.

There won't be a roundup on July 4. Happy Independence Day! Please save contributions for the July 11 roundup

To find out who has the roundup on July 11, please visit the "This Week" section of the Flannel Friday blog.

Important Links:
Flannel Friday Blog
Flannel Friday on Pinterest
Flannel Friday on Facebook
Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the hashtag #flannelstorytime.
Our May/June Flannel Friday Fairy Godmother is Anna (@opinionsbyanna).
Our July/August Flannel Friday Fairy Godmother is Lisa (@lmulvenna).

Hug a Bull: An Ode to Animal Dads & I Love Ewe: An Ode to Animal Moms by Aaron Zenz

The author and illustrator of Chuckling Ducklings & Baby Animal Friends is back! This time he's educating us about animal dads from geese to bulls and animals moms from cows to sheep.

What I thought: I can't say how much I love Aaron Zenz. His art, his stories, and the sneaky way he educates us on animal names be they baby, mom, or dad. I'm in awe of skill with colored pencils. I like all the illustrations in both books, but I'm especially fond of the last pages that review the animals the mom or dad names.

I like Aaron Zenz so much I put him on my fall storytime schedule as a theme. Check it out here. 

Storytime Themes: Animals, Moms, Dads

(Walker Books, 2013)

Divergent Party for Teens

I hosted a Divergent Party to celebrate the release of the movie.

Teens took a faction quiz as they arrived. (This was partly for fun and partly to sort them into teams for a later game.)

I plated Veronica Roth's Divergent Playlist during the party.

From here on, I had an activity for each faction.

For Abnegation, we talked about our volunteer experiences.a

For Erudite, we played Divergent Trivia (Jeopardy style).

For Dauntless, we gave each other temporary tattoos. Teens really liked this...helped them get ready to attend the movie premiere the next day.
 

For Amity, we made Faction Duct Tape Bracelets. 

For Candor, we played Would You Rather...? and Truth or Dare. I found suggestions for both games via Pinterest.

And of course, what party would be complete without Faction Refreshments. Here's what I served:

• Gummy worms & animal crackers (Amity)  
  Oreos (Candor) 
•  Dark Chocolate Kisses (Erudite) 
• Spicy Nacho Doritos, Cheddar Jalapeño Crunchy Cheetos, & Cherry Sours (Dauntless)
• cheese & crackers (Abnegation)

 
And for reference, here's my Pinterest Board for this event. 

Flannel Friday: The Lonely Bus Driver

This is an inspired by Flannel Friday post. My inspiration was Shawn of Read, Rhyme, Sing. Back in September, she posted her version of The Lonely Bus Driver. I loved it and and the post inspired me to plan a bus themed storytime for the spring.

I used clker to find templates for the faces. The bus was a coloring sheet I adapted. Puff paint details as usual.

Hannah has the roundup this week.

Important Links:
Flannel Friday Blog
Flannel Friday on Pinterest
Flannel Friday on Facebook
Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the hashtag #flannelstorytime.
Our Flannel Friday Fairy Godmother is Anna (@opinionsbyanna).  

Teen Pinterest Crafts

My teens were the ones who voted for this event. I was all for it...I love Pinterest. The hardest part of planning was finding projects that could be completed within 2 hours.

I had 4 crafts planned:
Button Bracelets

 
Paperclip Bookmarks

 
Marble Magnets 

 
Crayon & Sandpaper T-shirts


We ended up shelving the crayon and sandpaper t-shirts. We're doing those this month as part of our DIY T-Shirt Workshop.

I also tried out a recipe from Pinterest for the event: Trix Krispies. They were a hit. 

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Event

In the spring, I hosted my third American Girl event. Kit Kittredge was the focus. This was an interesting event for me to plan as my own grandma and Kit would have been the same age.

The first thing girls did when they entered the room was use a Hobo Name Generator to get their own hobo names. Mine was Mississippi Fry-pan Drew.

I talked a little about the 1930s and the Great Depression. Fun stuff that the girls would find interesting: games invented, at the movies, and the fact that TV didn't exist in the 1930s. I also used Christene's Quick Facts of the 1930s to illustrate what life would have been like then.

I had several game options:

• Alphabet Traveling
• Japanese Fan Race 
• Clothespin Drop
• Drop the Handkerchief
• Hopscotch

The girls chose to play Japanese Fan Race, Drop the Handkerchief, and Hopscotch.

For the craft we used dice drawing sheets from Expressive Monkey. This was a nod to Kit's friend Stirling who was quite a good artist.

The refreshments were authentic to the 1930s: Ritz Cracker Bits, 3 Musketeers, Tootsie Pops, and lemonade.

I displayed books about and from the 1930s (with a book list) as well as other American Girl books.

The girls took home 2 pages from the Kit Kittredge event kit (Penny-Pincher Puzzle & Make Your Own Hobo Code) as well as a Drawing Fortune Teller from Expressive Monkey.

Resources for planning this event included:
Kit Kittredge movie website
A query to PUBYAC
Judicious use of Google and Pinterest

My next American Girl event will be Kaya in November in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

Hands Off My Honey! by Jane Chapman

Bear has a big pot of honey and doesn't plan to share. Mouse, Mole, and the Rabbit Brother disagree. They hatch a plan to secure some honey for themselves.

What I thought: Loved it! The ending was so unexpected. I can't wait to pair Hands Off My Honey! with One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler. The illustrations are nice. I like the detail and the mix of layouts. My favorite illustration is drip on his arm.

Storytime Themes: Forest Animals, Bears, Games, Unexpected Endings

(Illus. Tim Warnes. Tiger Tales, 2013)

Hugless Douglas & the Big Sleepover by David Melling

Douglas is excited about Rabbit's sleepover. He just knows Rabbit will read s story. But before the sleepover, Douglas gets lost, finds his way, and brings ten extra guests with him.

What I thought: I love Hugless Douglas! I'm glad to see a new book. This will be a great addition to my bedtime storytime as well as Stuffed Animal Sleepovers. The sheep are so cute. Overall, the illustrations are wonderful--colorful and appealing. My favorite is the bedtime story. I love the what would you pack for a sleepover two-page spread. Great for discussion and using the early literacy practice of talking.

Storytime Themes: Bedtime, Bears

(Tiger Tales, 2013)

Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira

A pig who sounds like a frog has the whole forest stumped. What can it mean?

What I thought: Great book...I love the ending. I wasn't expecting the wise old beetle's answer. Great illustrations--colorful and the lack of outlines gives them a soft feel. My favorite is the last page.

Storytime Themes: Animals Sounds (The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say Moo by Jonathan Allen, The Cow Who Clucked by Denise Fleming, & Bark, George by Jules Feiffer), Friendship

(Illus. Poly Bernatene. Knopf, 2012)

Rabbityness by Jo Empson

Rabbit is versatile. He likes doing rabbity things, but he also enjoys un-rabbity pastimes like painting and music. The other rabbits are in awe of him. Rabbit disappears, but he leaves a little of himself behind for his friends.

What I thought:  A great book to add to my rabbit storytime list. I like that Rabbit is black...a nice contrast to all the white rabbits you see. The illustrations are great. I like the illustrations where Rabbit is painting best--so colorful. Pair with City Dog, County Frog by Mo Willems for a storytime about loss and gifts.

Storytime Themes: Rabbits, Friendship, the Arts

(Child's Play, 2012)

Flannel Friday: Fairy Tale Princesses

August 2017 Update: Continually Creative is no longer an active site and the templates are not available anymore. 

Through Pinterest, I found great templates from Nicole at Continually Creative. She used these to make a duvet. I used them to make figures for the flannel board.

I made Tiana, Rapunzel, Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Mulan, Aurora, & Jasmine. I decided not to make Merida or Sofia because I wanted to make fairy tale princesses. I wonder if I need to come up with patterns for Elsa and Anna now. These are primarily felt with only small touches of puff paint to add a little glitter to the crowns.

I can see myself using this set for a fairy tale program or a Fancy Nancy Party.

Katie has the roundup this week.

Important Links:
Flannel Friday Blog
Flannel Friday on Pinterest
Flannel Friday on Facebook
Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the hashtag #flannelstorytime.
Our Flannel Friday Fairy Godmother is Anna (@opinionsbyanna).  


Nelly May Has Her Say by Cynthia DeFelice

To help her family, Nelly May gets a job as housekeeper and cook. The only problem is her new boss has a special language he expects her to learn.

What I thought: Hilarious! I can't wait to share this with the 2nd graders I visit once a month. The word play is terrific. Henry Cole's illustrations suit the story perfectly.

(Illus. Henry Cole. Margaret Ferguson Books, 2013)

Red Hat by Lita Judge

 A red hat hangs temptingly on a clothesline. The bear cub can't resist borrowing it. What fun he and his friends have with that hat.

What I thought: Delightful! I love that this almost wordless book only contains onomatopoeia words. Pair with Don't Worry, Douglas! by David Melling and/or Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett. Gorgeous illustrations.

Storytime Themes: Wordless, Spring, Hats, Knitting, Animals

(Atheneum, 2013)