6 Children's Novels About Math

	The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies Jessie and her brother Evan establish competing lemonade stands after a fight drives them apart just before the start of school.
	Fractions = Trouble by Claudia Mills Wilson is embarrassed about needing a math tutor, so he goes to great lengths to keep it from his friends.
	Babymouse: Dragonslayer by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm After failing a math test, Babymouse joins the math team to get some extra credit and improve her arithmetic skills.
	The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine When he is sent to spend the summer with distant relatives, Mike, who has discalculia, tries to prove himself to his math genius dad.
	The Clueless Girl's Guide to Being a Genius  by Janice Repka Thirteen-year-old genius Aphrodite Wigglesmith becomes an eighth grade math teacher in an effort to prove that anyone can learn math with the correct educational approach.
	Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes by Jarrett J. Krosoczka When the Breakfast Bunch is forced to join the math team as punishment for behaving badly during a field trip, Lunch Lady discovers they will be competing against a team of mutants posing as students.

Baby/Toddler Story Time, 5/15/12

Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers 

Book: Monster Musical Chairs by Stuart J. Murphy (2000)
This is a beginner's book about the concept of subtraction, but it turns out also to be a rhythmic, repetitive, and highly appealing story time book for toddlers. I doubt the kids understood what they were being taught, but they definitely understand monsters!

Song: One Little Monster
I love hearing little kids pretend to roar.

Song: Head and Shoulders 

Book: Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (1999)
This book has a great refrain, and it also focuses on a subject that many kids at my library currently love - garbage trucks!  Each time the text asked if the truck was full yet, I shook my head to cue the adults to say "no" along with me, and that was a great way to get them involved.

Song: Tommy Thumb
There was one dad at this story time who seemed completely shocked - in an amused away, not an angry one - that I would hold up two middle fingers and dance them around. 

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Book: Faster! Faster!  by Leslie Patricelli (2012)
I went back and forth about whether to read this one, since there are so few words, and many of them are the same word over and over again. But I went with it anyway, and what a great choice it wound up being! One family even checked the book out at the end of story time, which is a rarity with this crowd. I think what made it work was that I named the animals and gave some verbal cues about what was happening in the pictures. By the end, all the adults were saying, "Faster! Faster!" right along with me.

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: Chickadee

Song: ABC Song

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Baby/Toddler Lap Time, 5/11/12

Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers

Book: Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack (1968)
This is a much longer book than I've ever read to this group, but the ending was well worth the time it took to get there. This was a big hit!  

Song: Five Little Monkeys
I haven't done this song in a loooong time, but I'll be reintroducing it full time this summer  since it goes so well with the theme. So singing it Tuesday was a good refresher!  

Flannel Board: Five Little Flowers (Mother's Day Edition)
Just like the Tuesday groups, they loved this one. The Mother's Day twist at the end gets them every time! 

Song: Shake My Sillies Out  

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Book: More, More, More said the Baby by Vera B. Williams (1990)
This is another long one, and I probably could have read just one portion and satisfied the group. Still, it's one of those that pleases adults and has a nice rhythm for reading aloud. 

Rhyme: The Baby in the Cradle 

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

 

Book: Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (2007)
This book is always a success at story time. This time, I liked that the adults shouted out the names of the animals for me. 

Song: Put Your Finger in the Air 

Song: ABC Song 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

After School Read-Aloud and Craft: Names, May 10, 2012

I really had trouble deciding what to read last week week, and I think what I came up with in the end was actually kind of a dud. The theme was names, and the craft, which I found on Pinterest, focused on the kids' first initials. The craft was a huge hit, but the books... maybe not so much.

The Read-Alouds: Books About Names and Nicknames

Book One: Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (1991)
I love this book, and enjoyed having a good excuse to share it. My group was mostly too young to really relate to the school experiences, but all of them said they liked the story.

Book Two: Matthew A.B.C. by Peter Catalanotto (2002)
I think the humor in this would have gone over really well with five- and six-year-olds, but it was too sophisticated for threes and fours.

Book Three: Nosy Rosie by Holly Keller (2006)
This book was one too many for this crowd. It's a cute story, but not a great read-aloud.

The Craft: Initial Posters 

This image, and the craft idea, came from Pinterest.

I. Supplies 

• Masking tape 
• White paper 
• Crayons

II. Prep
A coworker made one example, where she actually colored around her tape and then removed it to create the outline of her letter in white. I chose colored tape for mine and chose not to remove it. Both examples were presented to the kids.

III. Process
This was a huge hit, with kids from age 2 right on up to about 7. Some kids did all one color, others turned their letters into fancy designs. No two were at all alike, and I actually had to give them a clean-up time to make sure they were out by closing!

The Display: More Naming Books

• My Name is Elizabeth! by Annika Dunklee
• Man Gave Names to All the Animals by Bob Dylan and Jim Arnosky
• The Two Tyrones by Wade Hudson
• Max & Mo's First Day at School by Patricia Lakin
• Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name by Tedd Arnold

I will definitely repeat this craft, and I might even go so far as to look the kids' names up next time, to find out their meanings. I might go with alphabet-themed books next time, though, such as Sue MacDonald Had a Book and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.