I moved...and Bubbles?

I started a new job on Monday and while I can't tell you the name of the library (County policy) I will say I'm very excited about the system and I no longer live in California. However, the name of the blog will remain the same, cause I'm always a so-Cal girl at heart.

This week I have had the opportunity to observe a number of storytimes and every one of the librarians used bubbles. I was so surprised, who knew bubbles were the rage?

 Each librarian had a version of a hello/goodbye bubble song which was nice. But I'm wondering if I could do more with the bubbles, because I really like my own hello/goodbye routine. Thoughts? Suggestions? What do you do with bubbles during storytime?

The Way We Fall Giveaway

When I was a teenager I never dreamed of being a librarian. I wanted to be...an epidemiologist! I was captivated by Richard Preston's The Hot Zone and wanted to be on the front lines fighting ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers. Then I realized I'd actually rather READ about those adventures when the biosafety level 4 suits tear than actually experience them.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the trailer for Megan Crewe's new teen book The Way We Fall, which will be published January 24, 2012. Take a look!





To celebrate the release, Megan is giving away 5 prize packs which include a signed hardcover of The Way We Fall, a journal and pen, a bottle of hand sanitizer (to keep away pesky germs), a magnet, and a bookmark.

Visit Megan's blog for full details on how to enter the giveaway, but hurry...the deadline is January 11, 2012.

Sail Away

I was hanging with my friend Patrick Sweeney a few weeks ago at the CLA/CSLA conference and since he owns a boat our conversation naturally turned to boats and sailing. When I got back to work I felt inspired to plan a Sail Away storytime. I selected four titles that worked, but before I could grab them from the shelves one of the books went missing. I sent out a plea on twitter and resident blogger Lalitha came through with a plethora of titles. Since I do "preschool" storytimes two times a week, and I now had more than enough titles I thought, "why not pick different books for the different storytimes?" I'm doing the storytimes next week and everyone is going to get a rubber ducky to take home! Here is my plan:

@ Central (ages 2, 3, 4)

PARENT PATTER: Children learn language and other pre-reading skills by listening to their parents and others talk around them. When we talk about (and participate in storytimes about) the world around them, your child is building their vocabulary by learning the names of things. This larger vocabulary also helps your child understand what they see, hear, and read.

OPENING SONG: "Hello Song" (Dragon Tales)

OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them

BOOK: I Love Boats by Flora McDonnell

SONG: Row Row Row Your Boat

PARENT PATTER: Since we live in a beach city, chances are good that you and your child will see a boat or ship sometime as you are out. Respond when your child points one out next time, and extend the conversation. Something like: “yes that is a ship. It’s called an Amphibious Assault Ship" (clearly my parents are retired military)

FLANNEL SONG: My Big Blue Boat (found at Mel's Desk)

BOOK:  Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw

FLANNEL SONG: Five Little Fishes

ACTION RHYME: This is Big Big Big (also from Mel's Desk)

SONG: "Clap Your Hands" (They Might be Giants)

BOOK: Tugga Tugga Tugboat by Kevin Lewis

ACTION SONG: “Peanut Butter and Jelly” 

SONG:  “ABC SONG”

PROP SONG: "Water Wind and World" (Johnette Downing using SCARVES)

ENDING RHYME: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

PARENT PATTER: Keep the conversation going about boats! In the sink, bathtub, or pool, try floating different objects and talk to your child about which ones make the best boats and why. Everyone gets a rubber ducky to take home, so try floating during your next bath time adventure.

SONG: "Reach for the Ceiling" (Carol Totsky Hammett)

Here are the books for storytime @ St. Vinny's Shelter Preschool (ages 3, 4, 5) :

Boats: Speeding! Sailing! Cruising!  by Patricia Hubbell

Sail Away by Donald Crews

The Little Boat by Thomas Docherty

Brownie & Pearl

Can I just say how much I love the Brownie and Pearl series written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Brian Biggs? Seriously. Brownie and Pearl Step Out was perfect for my birthday storytimes last month and the response from the kids, parents, and teachers was enough to catapult the book to my favorites list immediately.

The simple storyline made it perfect for toddler storytime at the library and it also worked for my preschool storytime at the homeless shelter. For my storytimes at the shelter, selecting books can be kind of tricky because many of the kids I work with are developmentally behind. Funny joke books go over the their heads, longer more involved stories are confusing and require too much sitting still, and the books that feature or focus on traditional living situations and routines are a hard sell. Due to the stressful experience the kids are currently facing the preschool at the shelter is focused on emotional and social development (which makes complete sense if you think about it) so I in turn focus on building and mastering early literacy skills at a lower level than I would with a traditional preschool storytime crowd.  The Brownie and Pearl series is not "too baby" for them, but the limited text allows for interaction with the book that is meaningful. I also appreciate that there are no adults in the books--I know that might sound strange but for some of the kids I work with at the shelter adults aren't always the loving, supportive, wonderful people featured in many picture books.

Currently, I have  this one on my desk and I can't wait to start planning a "Goodnight" storytime around it.