All posts by Children's Staff
Baby Storytime, Friday, December 18
Today was the last Baby Storytime until the end of January. We had a wonderful time hearing about the babies’ most recent adventures including sleeping through the night, turning one, trying a new food and smiling for the first time, just to name a few. We talked about the benefits of reading daily to the babies. Remember, the Children’s Room offers lots of different board books for you to borrow.
On this last day of storytime for a while, we all read one of my favorites from when one of my own children was a baby. It has a really cute ending and always puts a smile on my face!
Remember, on January 22, we will be offering a special program for babies and their caregivers, teaching you about Baby Sign Language. It runs from 10-10:45 am. No need to sign up.
Gift ideas for chapter books
The first book in the Harry Potter series is in a new edition with fabulous illustrations. As soon as I saw them, I was drawn back into the story. I checked the book out of the library, went home and reread it. It is a bold undertaking to illustrate a book after it has been a popular movie. Jim Kay added so much to this book, that the publisher is calling it the “First illustrated edition” because there are illustrations on most pages. It is expensive at more than $40, but the quality is outstanding.
Rick Riordan has a new series. This time it involves Norse mythology, and it takes place in Boston!
The first in the new series is out now.
This was one of my favorite books this year. The main character’s story is heartbreaking and brave and ultimately triumphant. It is especially inspiring to those who have dyslexia.
I can’t wait to see what the Newbery Medal winner is this year. The award for the most distinguished children’s book will be announced on Monday, January 11.
~Maureen
Some more favorite chapter books…
Give a book to a young child
When a relative/friend asks what your child
would like for a gift, suggest a book.
We have a list of our favorite picture books this year, but many of them are for school age children. The following are some of our favorites for young children:
A wordless book of a child’s journey home. Look carefully at all the “treasures” she finds and shares.
Such a soft, gentle and deceptively simple book….
Great for bedtime.
This book has a limited vocabulary.
On its surface, it teaches opposites.
But each opposite has such interesting illustrations, that stories can be imagined on every page.
I hope that it is not a spoiler to tell you that this is a great book about brothers.
The Napping House was published in 1984! It’s been a great favorite every since. This year brought a sequel to settle down a restless household at night.
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, December 16 and Friday, December 18
For our final storytimes of 2015, we revisited some favorite books from storytimes throughout the year.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, December 15
Many winter holidays emphasize kindness and giving. With that in mind we first read the well-known tale of a certain busy red hen. This version has large, expressive illustrations:
Then we read an old fairy tale about some generous elves that takes place at Christmastime. Again, beautifully painted illustrations practically tell the story by themselves.
After our stories, we made calendar chains. We made lots of paper loops that we linked together; each loop stands for a day, and each day you remove one link. That’s how you know how many days are left before an event you might be waiting for. For instance, there are 10 days until Christmas…..and 42 days until our next storytime! Everyone really enjoyed the simple repetition of looping the paper and taping it closed.
We hope you enjoy whichever winter holidays you celebrate, and Happy New Year to all!
Books for Preschoolers on Monday, December 14
We had more preschool children than toddlers this week, which is a good thing. This storytime is designed for children ages 2.5 to 5 years old, but very often young siblings are in the room. If the attention span of too many of the children is very limited, I don’t read the books I had planned.
This week I read long stories.
The dinosaurs were familiar after reading about their behavior at Chanukah last week. I am happy to report they are still on their best behavior.
I read the Night Before Christmas – perhaps for the parents and grandparents. I’m not sure young children enjoy this poem, but as you grow older if brings back great memories. I think it bridges many generations.
What Can I Give Him? is based on a poem by Christina Rossetti. Each 2 page spread shows a contemporary family and a family from 2000 years ago. We cross the 2 millennia when we respond to that question.
Finally we follow a very matter-of-fact boy named Kevin. “Hi, I am Kevin. We have a tree at my house. But it is not outside; it is inside the house.” Kevin narrates his days leading up to Christmas.
We will not meet for storytimes on Mondays until January 25! I hope to see many of you during your visits to the library before then. We will offer Dance Parties on Tuesday January 5, 12 and 19 at 10:00 am. Come to sing and dance to traditional songs like the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Pokey.
Happy New Year to all those I will not see again before January.
~Maureen
Book for Toddlers on Monday, December 14
Last week I read about dinosaurs celebrating Chanukah, so this week I read about how they celebrate Christmas. Of course, it follows the same formula. It appears that the dinosaurs may be naughty, but they turn out to be very good indeed at the end.
It was difficult for me to tell the large group on Monday that this is the last week of storytimes until the end of January. One person booed – which made me laugh. When I reminded them at the end of the storytime, I told them they were allowed to boo that decision – and they did.
Traditionally attendance has dropped way off on the days leading up to Christmas. We never have storytime during school vacation weeks. We will take off the first 2 Mondays of January, and then the next Monday is a holiday, so we won’t start again until January 25.
Please come to the library often during this storytime break. We will offer Dance Parties for very young children on Tuesday January 5, 12 and 19. The music begins at 10:00 am.
There will be a Pajama Jam on Wednesday, January 13 at 6:30 pm. Bernadette Baird will be here to lead us in song, stories and dancing. This is most appropriate for preschool children.
~Maureen
Toddler Time, Friday, December 11, 2015
Thank you so much to everyone for being so flexible on the second Friday of each month when we need to hold Friday storytime in the children’s room. I realize that it is crowded, with lots of distractions, but I noticed today that so many kids were focused and interested in the songs and rhymes. Each week more and more children are joining in to sing the different words and do the different hand movements. It is fun to see them grow and develop!
We had such fun last week meeting and reading about Pete the Cat that today we read another Pete the Cat book. The message in the story is to not let the little things bring you down but to just keep on singing! And singing we did!
Baby Storytime, Friday, December 11, 2015
Today’s baby time offered much happiness and joy. It was fun today to hear about some of the milestones of the babies, including things like starting to walk, sleeping for 8 hours, trying new foods, moving to a different bed, teething, smiling and just being a great baby, to name a few!
We are offering a special Baby Signing program on January 22, 2016 at 10am. A woman from Baby Kneads will come to the library to introduce some ideas about signing with your baby and will teach you and your babies some signs.
Today we read this cute little story.
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, December 9
This Wednesday’s storytimes featured books and songs about making messes and cleaning up. You can click on each cover below to find these books in the library catalog.
We began with Dog’s Colorful Day. Dog is a white dog with a black spot on one ear. But in the course of a day he gets new spots of all different colors all over his white coat: a red splotch of jam, a gray splash of mud, a blue dab of paint, and more. A bath in the evening brings his coat back to its usual bright white.
Mucky Duck loves to get dirty! She cooks up a storm and gets covered in flour, then gets splattered with mud while she stars on the soccer field. She doesn’t love getting clean again, but that’s okay because she never stays that way for long.
The Hempels are a messy family, and most of the time that’s just fine. But when they want to bake a cake and can’t find the whisk, they have no choice but to clean their kitchen. The book invites readers to decide where various objects should go as the Hempels clean their house and put everything away. Will they find the whisk in the midst of all the mess?
A hungry mouse prowls around the kitchen for a snack while everyone else in the house is sleeping. He finds plenty of delicious things to eat, but leaves an enormous mess behind him.