All posts by Children's Staff
Books for Toddlers on Wednesday, February 10
We had fun in toddler storytime today with the call and response format of I Went Walking, by Sue Williams. With its colorful animals, this book reminded many of us of Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
For our second book, the entire group went walking (and running, and jumping!) around the room as we read Walk the Dog, by Bob Barner. Everyone enjoyed this book so much that we may read it again next time!
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, February 10
Roses are red,
Kids like to play.
We read mail-themed stories
for Valentine’s Day!
Hi is the story of Margarita’s trip to the post office. She has a cheerful greeting for everyone she sees, but they’re all too busy to notice. All Margarita wants is for someone to say “Hi!” back to her.
The postman’s work takes him all over town. From the workers at a construction site to the kids at the local pool, he knows everyone in the community and greets them all with a smile.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, February 9
Valentine’s Day is almost here! Today we read story about a cranky cat and his adventures with a new neighbor. Can they be friends? Read the story and find out.
Nice, new, fluffy snow fell yesterday, so next we read a story about some toys who really wanted to go out and play in the snow. Beautiful paintings and just-right text combine in a memorable adventure. Which toy is your favorite?
Last, we read a new Eric Carle story that features a certain hungry caterpillar familiar to most of us. This little book is truly short and sweet. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
Books for toddlers and preschoolers on Monday, February 8
Today we celebrated the Spring Festival. Rather than call it Chinese New Year, I prefer to call it the Spring Festival, since many countries celebrate at this time of year. This year is the Year of the Monkey!
I read Monkey and Me to both the toddler and preschool group today. A little girl plays with her monkey pretending to be other animals. We read it twice to give everyone a chance to pretend to act like the animals.
We had 10 families for our toddler storytime today, since it was not snowing yet. It was snowing before the preschool storytime began, so we only had 1 child. These are the stories we read together at the preschool session:
~Maureen
Books for Toddlers on Wednesday, February 3
Along with many rhymes and songs, we read two books in toddler storytime this morning. We started with Do Cows Meow, by Salina Yoon. This lift-the-flap book has bold, bright illustrations that are perfect for toddlers. The library certainly has no shortage of books about animal sounds, but I particularly like this one because it approaches the concept in an unusual way. Toddlers are accustomed to the question, “What does a cow say?” but the final page of Do Cows Meow? turns the question around by asking who says “moo,” “quack,” “baa,” etc. The difference is subtle, but it gets young children thinking about a familiar concept from a new angle. If you enjoyed this book, you should check out the sequel, Do Crocs Kiss? (Spoiler alert: they don’t.)
We also read My Nose, Your Nose, by Melanie Walsh. This book is an interactive exploration of different parts of the body. It also introduces the concept of diversity to young children: “Daisy’s skin is brown. Agnes’s skin is white. But they both have cheeky pink tongues!” The storytime crowd enjoyed sticking out their tongues, kicking their legs, and pretending to wash their hair along with the children in the book.
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, February 3
The theme of today’s preschool storytime was “Up and Down.” We read books about things in the sky, things underground, and a few things in between. You can click on each book cover to find these titles in our catalog.
Over and Under the Snow follows a girl’s ski adventure with her father. They see several animals on their journey, and they discuss the variety of species hiding underground in the winter.
“We go down/To go uptown.” So begins Subway, the story of a girl’s uptown ride on a subway deep underground. This rhyming book has a rhythm that mimics the bump and sway of a subway train.
I Love Planes! isn’t just about planes. It includes hot air balloons, helicopters, rockets, and several of the other vehicles humans use to soar through the sky.
This innovative book follows a family’s long car trip from their home, through the countryside, to a big city. Then they turn around and drive home again. When the family turns around, the reader must turn the book upside down and read it again from back to front. Each of the illustrations looks like something new when the book is inverted. If you enjoyed this clever book in storytime, You may also enjoy Reflections, a book by the same author which features the same concept.
“Sometimes it looked like spilt milk. But it wasn’t spilt milk…” Sometimes it looked like a lot of other things. But what was it really? Everyone in storytime had fun shouting out what “it” looked like in the illustrations, and guessing what “it” would be in the end. Check out this book to find out for yourself.
Write With Your Child!
Have your child draw a 
picture and then dictate the story to you while you write out the words.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, February 2
We moved on to the topic of the day— bananas! When we had our bubble dance parties in January, Miss Maureen taught me a rhyme called “Bananas Unite!” We had a lot of fun “peeling” and “eating” and going bananas! Our stories had to do with this yummy, ubiquitous yellow fruit:
Toddler book on Monday, February 1
I chose a book about dinosaurs today. I love the author of this book, Byron Barton. He tells simple stories with bold illustrations.
This story starts, “A long time ago there were dinosaurs.” The explanations are general enough to stand the test of time. “There were dinosaurs with horns and dinosaurs with spikes.”
Dinosaur books in the library need to be updated frequently. I’m old enough to remember when the most popular dinosaur was the brontosaurus – until we learned there was no such thing. Just when you think your child knows everything about T-Rex, scientists unearth more fossil evidence, and assumptions change.
Dinosaur books with real information can be found in our non-fiction section. The Dewey Decimal number is 567.9 We also have books in our non-fiction Easy Reader section with the same Dewey number.
We used to have hard, plastic dinosaurs in the children’s room. I am sorry to say that they were not well behaved. We put them away and only take them out for Stay and Play on Tuesday mornings at 10:00. That program is perfect for toddlers.
~Maureen
Preschool books on Monday, February 1
Kevin Henkes is a wonderful author and illustrator. He won Newbery honor awards for 2 of his chapter books. He won the Caldecott Medal for the illustrations in Kitten’s First Full Moon, and this year he won a Caldecott honor and a Geisel honor for the book Waiting.
This gentle book has a calming influence on me, and I assume on children as well. Children were relaxed and attentive as I read it. It speaks to a valuable skill – learning to be patient while waiting. These toys are always waiting to see something outside. I think it is a terrific springboard to go outside when it is nighttime, windy, raining, snowing – or just to look at clouds.
My other books were silly this week. Duddle Puck: the puddle duck is a new book by Karma Wilson – best known for The Bear Snores On series of books.Duddle loves to waddle around making animal noises, but he never Quacks. The other animals want him to Quack, and finally they get together and quack very loudly to teach him. He has a silly reply and then a surprise at the end.
Finders Keepers begins with a squirrel hiding an acorn. Ordinarily I would read this book in the fall, but I decided the weather is so mild – with no snow on the ground – that children may see squirrels digging around for acorns. The squirrel in this story puts his red hat on the ground to mark where the acorn is buried. Other animals find it, so it makes its way all over, only to return to where it began.
We ended with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Everyone loves the pigeon, and they were very good this day in stopping the pigeon from driving the bus.
~Maureen