7 Novels About Growing Up for Girls

	Only Girls Allowed by Debra Moffitt Three girls are tapped by the mysterious Pink Locker Society to help other girls understand the PBBs (periods, bras, and boys.)
	Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Margaret questions God and waits for her period in this famous book about puberty. Newer editions have been updated to reflect the changes in feminine hygiene products since the book's first publication.
	Lovingly, Alice  by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor This entire series deals with important adolescent issues for girls, but this book in particular focuses on all the curious discussions fifth grade girls have about their bodies.
	Love and Other Four-Letter Words by Carolyn Mackler Sammie deals with her parents' divorce, and changes in her friendships as her feelings and body begin to mature.
	Twelve by Lauren Myracle Winnie starts middle school wondering if she will be able to keep her friends, manage stress, and survive shopping for her first bra.
	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashare Four best girlfriends, separated for the summer, share one pair of jeans, which somehow manages to fit each of them perfectly.
	Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison British teen Georgia Nicolson writes a diary about the angst and indignities of teenage life.

Baby/Toddler Story Time, 3/6/12

Before story time started this morning, a mom told me that her daughter refers to me as "I'm a Little Teapot" at home, as though that is my name. If I ever needed a new story time persona, I could probably do worse than being called Miss Teapot. (Or Miss Pot, as my coworkers suggested.)

In any case, here is this week's a cappella baby/toddler story time.

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Book: Sleepy Kittens by Jill and Martin Leman (1994)
I don't know what was wrong with this book, but neither group loved it. I don't think it was the book's fault, though. A group more willing to pay attention might have gotten more out of it. 

Rhyme: Two Little Kittens

Rhyme: Clap, Slap, Tap, Lap 
I accidentally skipped this rhyme during my second session. Oops!

Book: Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek (2007)
The surprise pop-up at the end of this book gets the best reaction every time. Every adult who is otherwise not paying attention, suddenly jumps to life, and they all want the kids to see the butterfly. And of course, we always follow it up with a butterfly song using a puppet.

Song with Puppet: Flutter, Flutter Butterfly
The last time I sang this song, it was summertime, so the lyrics reflected that. Today, though, we sang "bright blue sky" instead of "summer sky." 

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
I think this is a bigger hit than I expected. And it's a good example of why not using a recording is working so well for me. I can banter a little bit between verses without feeling rushed, and with older kids, I'll be able to ask them to choose the motions they want to do. 

• clap, clap, clap your hands
• stomp, stomp, stomp your feet
• flap, flap, flap your arms 
• jump, jump, jump around
• turn, turn, turn around

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

• wheels... round and round
• door... open and shut 
• wipers... swish swish swish
• horn... beep beep beep
• driver... move on back
• people... bumpity bump
• babies... waa waa waa
• grown-ups... shh shh shh 
• wheels... round and round (very fast)

Flannel Board Song: All the Pigs Say Oink, Oink, Oink 
I changed the words to eliminate "little" because it was too many syllables for the Mary Had a Little Lamb tune. Everybody picked it up super-quick, and I think it was a lot more enjoyable to sing than the sometimes long, drawn-out renditions of Old MacDonald we have done in the past.

Rhyme: Wiggle Your Fingers and Toes 
I highly recommend Welcome, Baby! Baby Rhymes for Baby Times by Stephanie Calmenson, which is where I got this excellent rhyme. I was amazed when I looked up and saw several little toddlers doing the motions the very first time through. That is magic! 

Song: Put Your Finger in the Air 

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
The most rewarding moment of the day was when I looked in the back of the room and saw one of my former baby lap time kids - now almost two years old - making a spider with his fingers. 

Song: You Are My Sunshine
The first time through, I sang with the puppet. The second time I had everybody make a sun over their head and sing along with me. I was excited to see one adult also signing along with the song during the first session.

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Baby/Toddler Lap Time, 3/2/12

Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Book: Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins (2005)
This book is huge, which is great when facing a crowd of over 100! The story is a bit lengthier than I would like for this age group, but there are very few words on each page. 

Song: Three Little Fish
This was not very good at all. I might not have presented it well, but I suspect my dislike and discomfort came through as well. We won't revisit this one. 

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun
I retired this song after using it many times during the Fall Baby Lap Time series. But I'm not sick of it anymore, so it's back with a vengeance for Spring! 

Book: Blue Sky by Audrey Wood
I love this book already, and I think, with the Tuesday group, which is generally not as boisterous as the Friday group, it will go over well. This group just talked and cried through it. 

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
I was desperate for a new action song, so I borrowed this one from King County Library System's Rhymes and Songs website. It's a particularly nice song to have in my repertoire because the actions can be customized to suit different age groups' physical capabilities. I think this group was a little thrown off by the lack of recorded music and the fact that for the first time in recorded history, we didn't sing I'm a Little Teapot, but I hope they'll come around. 

Flannel Board Rhymes: Color Rhymes (Birds) & Five Little Birds

This is probably the first real flannel board I have done with  this group since before Christmas. This particular one didn't go over that well, but I really believe the problem was the mood of this particular story time, not a flaw in the flannel activity itself.

To make the Color Rhymes part more interactive, I looked up the calls of each of the birds,  and asked the group to make those sounds as each bird went onto the board. Not every adult was a willing participant, and some of the nannies who did participate did so mockingly, which shook my confidence. Still, I think the concept is good, and I plan to try it again - maybe on a class visit.

Here are the bird calls we did:

• Robin: Cheerio
• Goldfinch:  Per-chick-o-ree
• Sparrow: Tay-shree (or something like that. I can't find the exact phonetic spelling right now.)
• Bluejay: Jay jay jay
• Pigeon: Coo

Once I had all five birds on the flannel bird, I then used my five little birds rhyme to say goodbye to them as they were removed from the board.

Song: Put Your Finger in the Air
Another new one.  I'm using it in place of One Little Finger.

Song: Rum Sum Sum

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Where is Big Toe?

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Little Pig, Little Pig: A National Pig Day After School Story Time, 3/1/12

This was the last after school program on my Winter schedule. I will continue offering a Thursday afternoon activity, but from now on, it will be marketed as a read-aloud and craft for school-age kids rather than a story time. I learned rather late that none of  the Winter after school programs were properly promoted on the library's website, which might explain why my attendance has been so sparse and skewed so young. Yesterday's group consisted of five kids under the age of 4. Though the group was young, I still used the same format as my Presidents' Day story time two weeks ago.

The Craft: Three Little Pigs Stick Puppets

I. Supplies

• Puppet template from Fingertale Puppets
• Three Little Pigs play from Primary Concepts
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Glue
• Popsicle sticks

 II. Prep

To prepare for the craft, I set out a puppet sheet at each available spot at each table. I also set out a pile of colored popsicle sticks, a bottle of glue, a bowl of crayons, and several pairs of scissors at each table. I didn't create an example, but I did explain to every child that they could turn their pigs into puppets. I kept the copies of the play to the side and handed them out at the end as an extra take-home activity.

III. Process
Because the kids were a lot smaller than I'd really planned for, the craft process required a lot of parental involvement. Toddlers aren't particularly great at sitting still or paying attention, so my reading distracted them from the craft and vice versa. The parents said they had fun, but quite honestly, they seemed highly stressed by the whole experience and far too worried about the kids hurting themselves with scissors or making a mess.

The Read-Alouds: Books About Pigs

Book 1: Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems (2011)
I thought it was a great idea to read this on National Pig Day. The kids really seemed to like it, and one of the moms admitted that she didn't know these books were a series, while another didn't know Mo Willems had written anything after Knuffle Bunny. This is what I love about story time. You never know when something you're presenting is a new discovery for a child and/or his family.

   

Book 2: A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes (2011)
Michael Ian Black is the only celebrity who has my complete permission to continue writing children's books. This book is hilarious, and with the right age group - kindergartners and first-graders, in particular - I really think it would have been a huge hit. As it is, a toddler boy got very excited when the pig's snout got all messy and he called out, "Yucky yuck!" It was worth reading for that reaction alone.

Book 3: If You Give A Pig A Party by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (1998)
A third book was really pushing it,  but one little boy came late, and I wanted him to have at least one story. Most of the kids recognized the story as one they'd heard before, and I breezed through it pretty quickly since hardly anyone was paying attention.

The Book Display: More Piggish Books

Only two kids really took an interest in the books I put out on display, but here is the list of pig books I selected: 

• The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone
• Emmett's Pig by Mary Stolz
• Small Pig by Arnold Lovel 
• Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes by Kate DiCamillo
• Get Up and Go! by Nancy Carlson
• Oomph! by Colin McNaughton
• Bumble-Ardy by Maurice Sendak
• Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini