Roar-Choo! by Charlotte Cheng

Dragons are supposed to be fierce, but what do you do when your roar ends with a sneeze? 

Thoughts: Such a treat to see such a fierce animal come down with a cold. Sneezing books are always a hit in storytime. I also love the backstory information about the dragon and the phoenix. The illustrations are colorful and filled with emotion and movement. It's hard to pick a favorite, but he phoenix pouring tea is great. Pair with The Sniffles for Bear by Bonny Becker, Out Cold by Ryan T. Higgins, and Pigs Make Me Sneeze! by Mo Willems.

Download activities on the author's website here. 

Themes: Dragons, Illness

(Illustrated by Dan Santat. Rocky Pond Books, 2024.)

A Unicorn, a Dinosaur, and a Shark Were Riding a Bicycle by Jonathan Fenske

sequel to A Unicorn, a Dinosaur, and A Shark Walk into a Book

Have you ever tried to make anyone do something that they didn't want to do? Well, the characters in this book do not want to ride a bicycle. 

Thoughts: Just as funny as the first. I love how the unicorn, dinosaur, and shark all talk back to the narrator and refuse to ride the bicycle. The illustrations are colorful and expressive. I love the use of speech bubbles for everyone including the narrator. 

Themes: Intrusive Narrators, Unicorns, Dinosaurs, Sharks, Humorous Books

(Penguin Workshop, 2024.)

Princess in Black Party

The Princess in Black series (PIB) is quite popular at my libraries so I decided to host a party in February. I took a deep dive into the books and a couple of parties other libraries had hosted to plan mine. 

Upon arrival guests were invited to find their Princess or Prince name by drawing a flower name out of a basket and then writing it on a name tag. I used the calling cards from Flower Power Bingo from Drag Drop Learning Games on Teachers Pay Teachers for the names. (I had previously purchased the game for another event.)

Then we immediately started crafting so the guests would be ready for all the games and activities. I had three different crafts: 

• Make Your Own Tiara: this idea was from the PIB Event Kit. The crown template was from First Palette. I provided jewel stickers from Dollar Tree to decorate the tiaras. 
• Make Your Own Wand: this idea as from Katherine's party post of the YSS Blog. I provided dowels, stickers, laser cut wooden shapes, and jewel stickers. I also had hot glue for assembling. 
• Make Your Own Glitter-Stone Ring: this idea was from the PIB Event Kit. I used leftover kits from my past Fancy Nancy Parties. The kits contain two buttons and a piece of pipe cleaner. Once that was assembled, the guests could add a jewel sticker to their rings. 

For the games we had the following:

• Monster Battle and Goat Rescuing: this idea was also from Katherine's party post of the YSS Blog. Six monsters and six goats were hidden around the room for the guests to battle and rescue. 
• Crepe Paper Races: This was my own idea. We used a theme of Princesses vs. Heroes and used pink crepe paper for the Princess team and black crepe paper for the Heroes team. The first team to wrap their designated person from head to toe in crepe paper was the winner. 
• Princess in Black Heroes Scavenger Hunt: Another idea that was my own. I used illustrations from the books and created a scavenger hunt that included all the characters as heroes. This was fifteen so many a few too many for a party that was about an hour. 

I had the following activities for the guests to take home:

• Coloring Page (My First Book Club)
• Make Your Own Monster (PIB Event Kit)
• Superhero Identity (PIB Event Kit)

For more ideas you can also download a party kit from the PIB website or a teacher's guide from the publisher's website. 

Alice in a Winter Wonderland by Jan Brett

What if Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was set in Alaska? What would that story look like? 

Thoughts: So much fun! I love the setting and addition of all the native Alaskan animals to the story of Alice. The illustrations are so detailed that you just want to keep looking. I think Jan did a tremendous job of retelling Alice's story in a mere 40 pages. This would be a fun addition to a Mad Hatter Tea Party. Read Alice in a Winter Wonderland and then compare it to the original story. 

Themes: Alice, Alaska, Winter

(G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2024.)

a bear, a fish, and a fishy wish by Daniel Bernstrom

The bear just wants to eat. The fish just wants to go home. Can two different wishes come true at the same time? 

Thoughts: Such a fun book. I love the minimal text and the detailed illustrations. Pair with Max and Bird by Ed Vere, Chez Bob by Bob Shea, and Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf by Sam Wedelich. I look forward to adding this book to my bears storytime in the fall. 

Activity sheets available on the publisher's website here. 

Themes: Fish, Bears, Forest, Predator & Prey 

(Illustrated by Brandon James Scott. Hippo Park, 2024.)

Mouse & Friends Party

I hosted this event at all my libraries last summer as our final event of the season before I took a much needed break. 

The event started with a storytime. Here's that outline: 

• Listening Song: “If You Want to Hear a Story”
• Book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
• Flannel Board Activity: If You Give…
• Book: If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff
• Activity: Animal Movement Cards (Juni Printables on Teachers Pay Teachers)
• Book: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
• Flannel Board: Ice Cream
• Activity: Dinosaur Movement Cards (Cassie @ 3Dinosaurs.com)
• Book: If You Give a Mouse a Brownie by Laura Numeroff

After storytime there were games and a craft.

We made Party Pigs. This idea was inspired by Pinterest, but I couldn't find a resource link.

We played Keep It Up with balloons. 

We went on a Mouse and Friends Scavenger Hunt. 

Finally, I sent the kids home with lots of activities. They are listed below. 

• Sweet Stories (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)
• What’s a Party without Cake? (If You Give a Pig a Party)
• Color Cat’s Cupcakes (If You Give a Cat a Cupcake)
• Make Your Own Sweet Story (If You Give a Dog a Donut)
• Beyond the Brownie (If You Give a Mouse a Brownie)
• All the above are from https://mousecookiebooks.com/.
• Suggest a Title… (Created by me)
• Why Does Mouse Get to Go Everywhere? (Created by me)

154 people attended my four parties. Of the 154, 94 were children. A very successful event that I will definitely repeat in the future. If you're interested I previously blogged about this event back in 2013. 

Five Bears by Catherine Rayner

One bear out for a walk meets another bear and so the story goes on. 

Thoughts: A lovely story about bears and friendship. I like that five bear species are together in one book. I look forward to adding this to my bears storytime. The illustrations are just what I've come to expect from Catherine Rayner. I like that each bear while drawn in her style has a unique appearance and personality. 

From the Author's Website

• How to Draw Five Bears
• Activity Sheets for Five Bears

Themes: Bears

(Boxer Books, 2022.)