Sing-a-Song Storytime: I'm Dirty

 With the pandemic closing the library and all large gatherings, my library took its time deciding how to get back into the storytime groove.  I created this video storytime series along with a coworker, who is a talented musician, to get young children moving around and singing.  It is filled with lots of favorite storytime songs and rhymes, and of course a book!  I really wanted the grown-ups watching along with the kiddos to learn the songs, so I used a split screen technique on the videos to display the words to the songs/rhymes while I am singing and acting them out.  

Opening song - Skinnamarink (https://youtu.be/95JkQfANW9M) 

Action song - If You're Happy and You Know It (traditional action song)

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it then your face will truly show it,
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet.
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet.
If you're happy and you know it then your face will truly show it,
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet.

If you're happy and you know it, shout hooray!
If you're happy and you know it, shout hooray!
If you're happy and you know it then your face will truly show it,
If you're happy and you know it, shout hooray!

If you're happy and you know it, do all three.
If you're happy and you know it, do all three.
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will truly show it,
If you're happy and you know it, do all three.

Transition sit down song - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

 

Book - I'm Dirty by Kate and Jim McMullan (read with permission by HarperCollins Children's Books)  

 

Action song - Stomping Through the Mud Today (action song to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" written by Carol Hopkins)

Stomping through the mud today, mud today, mud today.

Stomping through the mud today,

Let's have some fun!

Grabbing handfuls of mud today, mud today, mud today.

Grabbing handfuls of mud mud today,

Let's have some fun!

(repeat with more action words such as sliding, spinning, sitting, etc.)

Action song - This Is the Way We Wash (action song to the tune of "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" that I adapted)

This is the way we wash our hands,
Wash our hands, wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands,
When we get all dirty.

This is the way we scrub our face...
This is the way we rub our ears...
This is the way we rinse our hair...
This is the way we sponge our tummies...

Closing song - excerpt from the Carpenter's song "Sing a Song" (also a classic Sesame Street song https://youtu.be/-nI7IfwLoBI)

Sing-a-Song Storytime: Monsters Love Colors

 With the pandemic closing the library and all large gatherings, my library took its time deciding how to get back into the storytime groove.  I created this video storytime series along with a coworker, who is a talented musician, to get young children moving around and singing.  It is filled with lots of favorite storytime songs and rhymes, and of course a book!  I really wanted the grown-ups watching along with the kiddos to learn the songs, so I used a split screen technique on the videos to display the words to the songs/rhymes while I am singing and acting them out.  

Opening song - Skinnamarink (https://youtu.be/95JkQfANW9M) 

Action song - Bumpin' Up and Down in my Little Red Wagon (bouncing song)

Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Won't you be my darling

One wheel's off and the axle's broken
One wheel's off and the axle's broken
One wheel's off and the axle's broken
Won't you be my darling

Johnny's gonna fix it with his hammer
Johnny's gonna fix it with his hammer
Johnny's gonna fix it with his hammer
Won't you be my darling

Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Won't you be my darling

Transition sit down song - Come A' Look A' See (fingerplay song I first picked up at a workshop conducted by Jane Cobb but can also be found on the music CD The Baby Record by Bob McGrath)

Come a'look a'see,
Here's my mama, (point to thumb)
Come a'look a'see,
Here's my papa, (point to index finger)
Come a'look a'see,
My brother tall, (point to tall finger)
Sister, baby, (point to ring, then baby finger) 
I love them all. (kiss the fingertips of your finger family) 

 

Book - Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin (read with permission by HarperCollins Children's Books)  

 

Action song - I'm a Little Monster (action song to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little monster hear me growl

Here are my big ears

Here are my claws

When I get all sneaky, I tip toe up

I jump in the air and give a big ROAR!

Action song - Twinkle, Twinkle Colored Star (scarf song to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")

Twinkle, twinkle yellow star

How I wonder where you are?

Let's go looking here and there,

Let's go looking everywhere.

Twinkle, twinkle yellow star

How I wonder where you are?

Twinkle, twinkle blue star

How I wonder where you are?

Let's go looking here and there,

Let's go looking everywhere.

Twinkle, twinkle blue star

How I wonder where you are?

Twinkle, twinkle red star

How I wonder where you are?

Let's go looking here and there,

Let's go looking everywhere.

Twinkle, twinkle red star

How I wonder where you are?

Closing song - excerpt from the Carpenter's song "Sing a Song" (also a classic Sesame Street song https://youtu.be/-nI7IfwLoBI)

***The video for this storytime will remain up through 12/31/20 on my library's YouTube channel.  

MISS CAROL’S FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOK FINDS OF 2020

 Every year I spend the last few weeks of the year compiling my favorite book finds of the year.  They are not always new books.  Just books I discovered for the first time and really, really liked.  Things were a little different this year, but I still managed to find time to read books!  

PICTURE BOOKS:

 

Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld 

A child presents ten essential rules of birthday wishes, from planning the right party through having the right dessert--with a light to blow out--to keeping the wish secret.

The Button Book by Sally Nicholls and Bethan Woollvin Follow a group of animal friends as they discover a collection of mysterious buttons, all of which do different things! From a blue singing button to a purple tickle button, from a rude sound button to a mysterious white button, there's only one way to find out what they do: press them all! And thankfully, there's even a sleeping button to lull the animals to sleep after a busy day.

 

Hat Tricks by by Satoshi Kitamura  An amusing peek-a-boo tale for budding magic fans.  

There’s an Alien in Your Book by by Tom Fletcher , illustrated by Greg Abbott  Encourages the reader to shake, tilt, and wiggle the book in an effort to launch the alien back into space, because aliens do not belong on Earth--or maybe they do.

CHAPTER BOOKS:

  

The Bad Guys in the One (Bad Guys series #12) by Aaron Blabey
Seriously, WHAT is going on with Snake?! Terrible powers have been revealed! Evil allies have materialized! Inter-dimensional doors have opened! Shady-looking cloaks have been purchased! What is his deal ?! And that's not all! Why does Agent Fox suddenly have a whole lot more backstory than we'd counted on?! Dang it! We need answers! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?! Wolf and the gang are back. And things are worse than ever. Or badder than ever... 

Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late. 

Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron
A twelve-year-old girl discovers her father is the keeper of the gateway between our world and The Dark, and when he goes missing she'll need to unlock her own powers and fight a horde of spooky creatures set on starting a war.  

NON-FICTION BOOKS

 

Play Like an Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, and Chase by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Mia Powell Dash! Hide! Splash! Ride! Exuberant text celebrates all the different ways animals play, from rhinos taking mud baths and parrots somersaulting through the air to kangaroos boxing and dolphins diving through the surf. Additional text explains how playing benefits animals. 

Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin Most eight-year-olds are about five times as tall as this book . . . but only half as tall as an ostrich, which is half as tall as a giraffe . . . twenty times smaller than a California Redwood! How do they compare to the tallest buildings? To Mt. Everest? To stars, galaxy clusters, and . . . the universe?

Sing-a-Song Storytime: Smashy Town

 With the pandemic closing the library and all large gatherings, my library took its time deciding how to get back into the storytime groove.  I created this video storytime series along with a coworker, who is a talented musician, to get young children moving around and singing.  It is filled with lots of favorite storytime songs and rhymes, and of course a book!  I really wanted the grown-ups watching along with the kiddos to learn the songs, so I used a split screen technique on the videos to display the words to the songs/rhymes while I am singing and acting them out.  

Opening song - Skinnamarink (https://youtu.be/95JkQfANW9M) 

Action song - The Wheels on the Bus (traditional action song)

The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round
Round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town

The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish
Swish, swish, swish
Swish, swish, swish
The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish
All through the town

The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep
The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep
All through the town

The doors on the bus go open and shut
Open and shut
Open and shut
The doors on the bus go open and shut
All through the town

(there are many other versus to this song)

Transition sit down song - Itsy Bitsy Spider (traditional fingerplay song)

The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, 
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

The great big hairy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,

and the great big hairy spider went up the spout again.

 

Book - Smashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino 

 

Action song - I'm a Little Dump Truck (action song written by Carol Hopkins to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot") 

I'm a little dump truck, watch me go
Here is my hopper
Here is my cab
When I get all filled up, to the work site I go
Just tip me over and dump the rocks out

Action song - Peter Hammers  (action song)

Peter hammers with one hammer,
One hammer, one hammer
Peter hammers with one hammer
All day long.
(tap with one hand)

Peter hammers with two hammers
Two hammers, two hammers
Peter hammers with two hammers
All day long.
(tap with two hands)

Peter hammers with three hammers
Three hammers, three hammers
Peter hammers with three hammers
All day long.
(tap with two hands and one foot)

Peter hammers with four hammers
Four hammers, four hammers
Peter hammers with four hammers
All day long.
(tap with two hands and two feet)

Peter hammers with five hammers
Five hammers, five hammers
Peter hammers with five hammers
All day long.
(tap with two hands, two feet and nod your head)

Peter's getting sleepy now,
Sleepy now, sleepy now,
Peter's getting sleepy now,
All night long.
(yawn, pretend to go to sleep)

Closing song - excerpt from the Carpenter's song "Sing a Song" (also a classic Sesame Street song https://youtu.be/-nI7IfwLoBI)

***The video for this storytime will remain up through 12/31/20 on my library's YouTube channel.