Otto is a book bear. Normally, you'd find him in the pages of his book. But when you're not looking, he steps out and goes exploring. Left behind in a move, Otto searches and searches until he finds a home that's just right for him--the library.
What I thought: Otto the Book Bear is a cute book. I find it very imaginative as it sort of build on the mythology of Winnie-the-Pooh where Christopher Robin's stuffed animals live and play in the Hundred Acre Wood. I love the nod to libraries. I'm using Otto the Book Bear during the Stuffed Animal Sleepovers I'm hosting as part of the Summer Reading Program. The illustrations are lovely. They remind me of Kady MacDonald's from the Bear and Mouse books. My favorites are leaving the page and another book bear.
Story Time Themes: Books, Bears, Libraries
(Disney Hyperion, 2012)
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Campbell Batoletti
Naamah is Noah's wife. Each night on the ark, she sings to the animals and lulls them to sleep.
What I thought: A lovely story with beautiful illustrations. I'd never given Noah's wife much thought, but I'm glad Bartoletti did. The story she created is lyrical. I love the illustrations. Cut paper collage is becoming one of my favorite illustration techniques. My favorite illustrations from the book are lions & tigers and moon & stars.
(Illus. Holly Meade. Candlewick, 2012)
What I thought: A lovely story with beautiful illustrations. I'd never given Noah's wife much thought, but I'm glad Bartoletti did. The story she created is lyrical. I love the illustrations. Cut paper collage is becoming one of my favorite illustration techniques. My favorite illustrations from the book are lions & tigers and moon & stars.
(Illus. Holly Meade. Candlewick, 2012)
Monday, July 9, 2012
SRP Week 3 Reflection
As I predicted, this week was slower because 3 of the 4 day camps were on vacation and I had no programs on July 4th. I presented 15 programs with an attendance of 198.
Here are the links to my program plans for this week:
The preschool story times (all four of them) went well. I struggled a little with book selections. I used When Moon Fell Down by Linda Smith with my first group and it fell flat. It may have something to do with the large attendance (I've had 57, 41, & 47 including adults). I'm actually considering having 2 story time sessions at that branch next year capping attendance at 25-30 kids per session. The next time, I tried The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson. It did a little better, but didn't get the reaction or attention I hoped for. I finally used Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes to start the story time. It worked well with the kids enthralled by the story and laughing at the kitten's antics. The second book I used was Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith. It's a new book (published 2012) and I love it. The kids didn't really like the butter imagery, but they did like naming and counting the animals on each page. The transition to dancing wasn't planned but worked so well with the rabbit dancing at the end of the story. My felt version of "Hey Diddle Diddle" worked well. The majority of the kids knew the rhyme and enjoyed repeating it as I pointed to the figures.
I was quite pleased with how the school age event turned out. Aliens Are Coming was a great read-aloud for elementary age kids. Both the craft (make your own alien) and the game (planetary tag) were hits. I hope the other programs for this age goes as smoothly.
This was also the week that I present the first of 4 Stuffed Animal Sleepovers. The attendance wasn't great, but I think the kids enjoyed it. As you can see from my program plan, I had a hard time deciding on which books to read. Before it's all over, I'm sure I'll change it again and again. I first tried this event in February and liked how it turned out. Also, if you're interested, here's a link to the photos from the 1st Summer Reading Program Stuffed Animal Sleepover.
The fourth week will be busy much like the 1st and 2nd weeks with community groups, 3 day camp groups, and a tween event.
Here are the links to my program plans for this week:
The preschool story times (all four of them) went well. I struggled a little with book selections. I used When Moon Fell Down by Linda Smith with my first group and it fell flat. It may have something to do with the large attendance (I've had 57, 41, & 47 including adults). I'm actually considering having 2 story time sessions at that branch next year capping attendance at 25-30 kids per session. The next time, I tried The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson. It did a little better, but didn't get the reaction or attention I hoped for. I finally used Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes to start the story time. It worked well with the kids enthralled by the story and laughing at the kitten's antics. The second book I used was Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith. It's a new book (published 2012) and I love it. The kids didn't really like the butter imagery, but they did like naming and counting the animals on each page. The transition to dancing wasn't planned but worked so well with the rabbit dancing at the end of the story. My felt version of "Hey Diddle Diddle" worked well. The majority of the kids knew the rhyme and enjoyed repeating it as I pointed to the figures.
I was quite pleased with how the school age event turned out. Aliens Are Coming was a great read-aloud for elementary age kids. Both the craft (make your own alien) and the game (planetary tag) were hits. I hope the other programs for this age goes as smoothly.
This was also the week that I present the first of 4 Stuffed Animal Sleepovers. The attendance wasn't great, but I think the kids enjoyed it. As you can see from my program plan, I had a hard time deciding on which books to read. Before it's all over, I'm sure I'll change it again and again. I first tried this event in February and liked how it turned out. Also, if you're interested, here's a link to the photos from the 1st Summer Reading Program Stuffed Animal Sleepover.
The fourth week will be busy much like the 1st and 2nd weeks with community groups, 3 day camp groups, and a tween event.
Friday, July 6, 2012
#FlannelFriday: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
I needed a felt set (or 2) to go along with my Stars preschool story time during the Dream Big Summer Reading Program. The most obvious song/story/rhyme to turn into a felt set was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." I used clipart and autoshapes for patterns and outlined each figure with puff paint. I'll be using this set with the first verse of the song. Next week, look for my felt version of "Star Light, Star Bright."
Thursday, July 5, 2012
How to Be Friends with a Dragon by Valeri Gorbachev
Simon loves dragons so much that he'd like to make friends. Luckily, Simon's sister Emma knows all the dragon befriending rules.
What I thought: Another good dragon picture book. In the fall, I'll pair How to Be Friends with a Dragon with Dave and Violet and Me and My Dragon for a great preschool story time. The illustrations are nice. I like all the colors. My favorites are dragon sleeping and saying good night.
Story Time Themes: Dragons, Friendship
(Albert Whitman, 2012)
What I thought: Another good dragon picture book. In the fall, I'll pair How to Be Friends with a Dragon with Dave and Violet and Me and My Dragon for a great preschool story time. The illustrations are nice. I like all the colors. My favorites are dragon sleeping and saying good night.
Story Time Themes: Dragons, Friendship
(Albert Whitman, 2012)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo
One simple question--Can I have a penguin?--starts an adventure of unimagined proportions for young Elliot and his new friend Magellan.
What I thought: This is a great book. Elliot is an unusual child (serious and as you know, very proper) and that made his desire for a penguin all the more hilarious. I loved the twist at the end. Throughout the book, you're holding your breath waiting for his dad to find out. I was surprised at his reaction. This will be a grand addition to my penguin story time. Elliot and Magellan's adventure reminded me of the film adaptation of Mr. Popper's Penguins. The illustrations were great. I love the limited color palette. My favorites are Elliot and Magellan skating and the last page (Dad with Captain Cook).
Story Time Themes: Penguins, Friendship
(Illus. David Small. Dial, 2012)
What I thought: This is a great book. Elliot is an unusual child (serious and as you know, very proper) and that made his desire for a penguin all the more hilarious. I loved the twist at the end. Throughout the book, you're holding your breath waiting for his dad to find out. I was surprised at his reaction. This will be a grand addition to my penguin story time. Elliot and Magellan's adventure reminded me of the film adaptation of Mr. Popper's Penguins. The illustrations were great. I love the limited color palette. My favorites are Elliot and Magellan skating and the last page (Dad with Captain Cook).
Story Time Themes: Penguins, Friendship
(Illus. David Small. Dial, 2012)
Monday, July 2, 2012
SRP Week 2 Reflection
Week 2 of the Summer Reading Program went a lot smoother than Week 1. I was less tired and enjoyed the time I spent with the kids. During the second week, I presented 18 programs with a total attendance of 317. The attendance was a little lower this week, but one of my day camps from the schools couldn't come because of a field trip.
In my head, I'm already thinking ahead to next year. One of my four libraries already has separate programs for the community and the day camps. At the other three, the community and day camps are combined. Next year, I'm separating all the programs and changing some times. One of my preschool story times is experiencing very low attendance because of the time. The time was set to accommodate the day camp groups that come after it. This is my second year of summer reading. I'm more prepared this year than I was last. Next year, I hope to be completely prepared before the program starts.
All of the preschool story times went well. Bandits by Johanna Wright didn't end up being a great read-aloud, but I'd like to try it again during the fall or spring with smaller audiences.
The school age event was fun. Overall, I think the kids enjoyed the craft. It was easy to do and I had 100 kits made up before hand and only ran out at the very end. My favorite read-alouds were Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Gooseberry Park. The Night Fairy seemed a little too long (2 chapters) and to really make Poppy work, I should have practiced beforehand.
The Luau Movie Night would have been more fun if we'd had better attendance. Only two teens showed up and we ended up playing Spoons instead of watching a movie. On a side note: I've fell in love with the Gidget movies. I think I've watched them 3 times each already.
The Nocturnal Animals Fest for tweens turned out well, but I would have liked a better attendance. Three girls came and we had a lot of fun. My favorite parts were the Animal Tracks Match Up and making the owl cupcakes.
The upcoming third week will be slower because 3 of the 4 days camps will be on vacation and one day is a national holiday. I think I'll welcome a break.
In my head, I'm already thinking ahead to next year. One of my four libraries already has separate programs for the community and the day camps. At the other three, the community and day camps are combined. Next year, I'm separating all the programs and changing some times. One of my preschool story times is experiencing very low attendance because of the time. The time was set to accommodate the day camp groups that come after it. This is my second year of summer reading. I'm more prepared this year than I was last. Next year, I hope to be completely prepared before the program starts.
All of the preschool story times went well. Bandits by Johanna Wright didn't end up being a great read-aloud, but I'd like to try it again during the fall or spring with smaller audiences.
The school age event was fun. Overall, I think the kids enjoyed the craft. It was easy to do and I had 100 kits made up before hand and only ran out at the very end. My favorite read-alouds were Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Gooseberry Park. The Night Fairy seemed a little too long (2 chapters) and to really make Poppy work, I should have practiced beforehand.
The Luau Movie Night would have been more fun if we'd had better attendance. Only two teens showed up and we ended up playing Spoons instead of watching a movie. On a side note: I've fell in love with the Gidget movies. I think I've watched them 3 times each already.
The Nocturnal Animals Fest for tweens turned out well, but I would have liked a better attendance. Three girls came and we had a lot of fun. My favorite parts were the Animal Tracks Match Up and making the owl cupcakes.
The upcoming third week will be slower because 3 of the 4 days camps will be on vacation and one day is a national holiday. I think I'll welcome a break.
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