Pre-K Class Visit, 7/7

This group had about 12 kids from the school, and a few others who wandered in and helped themselves about halfway through. I felt like I didn't do a very good job today, but I think it was really just that these kids didn't click with these specific books. Better luck when they visit next month, I guess!



Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Book: Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman, illustrated by Nick Maland (2005)
This book was chosen by the camp teachers as part of their summer reading initiative, and I agreed to incorporate it into my story time. I wasn't crazy about it in the beginning, but it really grew on me as I was reading it to prepare for today.  I love the repetition of "Were the children scared? You bet they were!" and the changing perspective as the alligator comes closer, and closer, and finally too close. I would probably do this with slightly younger kids - twos and threes - if I had my way, but it was okay for this class, too.

Song: Rum Sum Sum

Book: Tony Baloney by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
This book is too confusing to read aloud. It's perfectly fine 90% of  the time, but when it comes to the dialogue between Tony and his stuffed animal, no one in the audience can follow what's going on. It just doesn't translate well when read out loud. So as much as I love the look of this book, I think it's retiring from my story time stash. Sad.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out 

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (in English and Italian)
I repeated this from the 10:00 Tales for Fours and Fives session. The cassette doesn't look like it will last long, but it was nice to have something a little bit different that still fit the summer theme.

Book: Wink, The Ninja Who Wanted to Nap by J.C. Phillips
Today's group was on the young side for Pre-K, and the sense of humor in this book was just over their heads. They liked that there was a ninja, though!

Song: Chickadee

Song: Skinnamarink

Tales for Fours and Fives, 7/7

Only 5 kids today! I guess there isn't as high a demand for this age group as I expected. But it was a nice, calm session. I wish I could learn to talk more to the kids, but it doesn't happen naturally for me, and I get nervous when I try to force it. Oddly enough, I'm more comfortable when the crowd is bigger!

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Book: Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban, pictures by Lillian Hoban (1969)
This book is so long. And there is so much dialogue. I love it, and one little girl in the front row loved it, but it was really not a good choice for a read-aloud. I still love the story, though, just as I did as a child!

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Book: Never Take a Shark to the Dentist: and other things not do by Judi Barrett, illustrated by John Nickle (2008)
This small, shy group didn't want to talk much, so I wound up pointing out the reasons why you should never take a shark to the dentist, give a moose a hat, or sit near a porcupine on the subway. One family loved it enough to check it out, but I'll want to read it again at a Family Story Time sometime - it's a good one for a mixed age group, I think. It definitely made the adults laugh, if not the kids!

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (in English and Italian)
I found an old, yellowing cassette tape in a pile of stuff that came with us here from the interim library, and on it, there was an Italian version of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. The music and movements are the same, so we did about four rounds of that - the tape played the song about 8 times, but I cut it short because it was getting old.

Book: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young (1995)
I love the illustrations in this book. I'm not sure if it was a spoiler to announce from the start of the book that mice were dealing with an elephant,  but a little girl did, and it didn't seem to matter. The colors alone draw everyone's eyes into this book, and though I'm not sure they understood the moral, the kids seem to like the resolution of the story. 

Song: Chickadee
One little boy absolutely loved flapping his arms to this song. It was worth singing just to see that!

Song: Skinnamarink

6 Board Books About Food

Hola, Jalapeño!
by Amy Wilson Sanger
2002 | 20 pages | Babies & Toddlers

A celebration of Mexican food for little ones. The vibrant and unique illustrations are the best thing about this book.

Yum Yum Dim Sum
by Amy Wilson Sanger
2003 | 16 pages | Babies & Toddlers

This book features all kinds of Chinese food. I love that the different unfamiliar words are defined on the back cover.

I Like Vegetables
by Lorena Siminovch
2011 | 10 pages | Babies & Toddlers

A veggie-themed book of opposites with wonderful patterns, textures, and colors. Here's a sample spread:

Baby Food
Saxton Freymann & Joost Elffers
2006 | 24 pages | Babies & Toddlers

Baby animals made out of food. Sometimes the illustrations in these books give me the creeps, but this one is mostly cute.

Yummy Yucky
by Leslie Patricelli
2004 | 26 pages | Babies & Toddlers

I haven't read this one yet, but I love Patricelli's expressive and funny illustrations. Here's a sample page:

I Like Fruit
by Lorena Siminovich
2010 | 10 pages | Babies & Toddlers

This book teaches colors using fruit. I really love the textures in this one, and the fact that the cover looks like a wooden cutting board!

Baby Food
by Margaret Miller
2000 | 14 pages | Babies & Toddlers

I haven't read this specific title, but I love Margaret Miller's books, which always feature close-up photographs of diverse baby faces. There's nothing better for a baby story time!