17
Oct
Fall Storytime
Fall is here! A week ago for Sunday’s library storytime we celebrated Fall’s arrival with Fall Storytime. We read books about fall and had a blast crafting little Fall Friends from toilet paper tubes and leaves. Children’s author L.M. Montgomary said it best, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Tis my favorite time of year!
Fall Storytime Line-up:
Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall, illustrated by Shari Halpern
A very basic and fun intro to the season of fall and the fun it has in store.
Sneeze, Big Bear, Sneeze! by Maureen Wright, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
Bear thinks his sneezing is the reason the leaves fall from the trees and many other fall happenings. Wind teaches him who’s really behind it all.
Johnny Mable-Leaf by Alvin Tresselt
Our library has a wonderful, old flannel board that goes to the classic tale of Johnny Maple-Leaf. I abbreviated the story when I told it with a flannel since it’s on the long side and it turned our really well. Here’s an even more abbreviated telling of the story…
The story starts in spring with Johnny Maple-Leaf (bright green leaf) who has bloomed to find lots of other leaves on the trees growing around him, flowers on the ground, and animals around. He decides that this is the best place in the world for him to be.
It goes on into summertime and what going on in and around the tree during the summer and decides that is the best place in the whole world for him to be.
And then the story transitions to autumn and Johnny Maple-Leaf turns bright red and the leaves around him are also turning different colors. He also observes what animals are around, what they’re doing, and the changes in weather.
At the very end, Johnny Mable-Leaf is the last leaf on the tree and when he finally lets go and falls to the ground. He learns that it’s warm there with the other fallen leaves around him, the snow starts to gently fall and he declares that this is the best place in the world for him to be and goes to sleep.
Such a sweet story, right?
Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell
It’s not fall without the mention of pumpkins. I used this story last year for Pumpkin Storytime and couldn’t resist using it again this year. I also used a prop made by a co-worker using this guide.
Each time the book mentions the mystery vine, you pull the “vine” from the pot, prompting it to grow…
…and grow
…until the mystery vine reveals it’s pumpkins! It’s a fun surprise every time!
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Last but not least, I read the ever popular Leaf Man. A fall favorite.
Fall Friends Craft:
For the post-storytime craft we made Fall Friends which were completely inspired by this this craft featured on Make and Takes.
Materials needed: leaves, toilet paper tubes, colored paper, scissors, tape, glue, buttons, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, exacto knife (optional).
To start, I cut autumn colored paper the size of the toilet paper tubes and wrapped tubes in them securing the paper with tape. This was all done pre-storytime.
I collected all different types of leaves in different colors which was fun to match to the colored tubes.
Once you’ve found a leaf and you like, glue it to the top of the tube. It helps if you hold it there for 3 hippopotamuses.
After the leaf is secure decorate!
Another thing I did Pre-strotyime was I punched small holes where the arms would go into all the TP tubes using an exacto knife.
Puncturing small holes before storytime made it easy for the kids to add arms. All they had to do is bend the arm on the end and slide it into the hole.
And that’s it!
This was a smaller storytime than usual, so most of the kids were able to make a couple Fall Friends to take home with them.
They also mad for fun finger puppets.
But look the best when you have a variety! Friendly little fall dudes always enjoy the company of others!
For other Fall Storytime theme ideas, be sure to check out last year’s Squirrel Storytime, Apple Pie Storytime, Falling Leaves Storytime, & Pumpkin Storytime!
15
Oct
Read Across Lawrence for Kids Recap
The crickets were a chirpin’ over here at Sturdy for Common Things over the past month. Not much posting going on, but it was a necessary sacrifice– I promise! I’m back and would like to share with you one of the main reasons blogging took a backseat…
For the month of September, I spearheaded the launch of a community-wide reading program for young readers called Read Across Lawrence for Kids (I mentioned it here back in August) at the Lawrence Public Library. Area readers 8 & up “got on the same page” by reading the same book at the same time, and also by participating in exciting events themed around the book. The featured title was the critically acclaimed middle grade bohemian fantasy, The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski. While I wrote a more thoughtful and heartfelt recap for the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Blog (a huge honor!) highlighting this program to be posted later this month, I thought a fun alternative to outlining this massive program would to put together a photo montage. Because who doesn’t love a good montage! And even better… I embedded a special song for you to play while you look through the images. And no I haven’t tired of listening to it… yet. And I have a feeling you haven’t either. Enjoy!
You would want to participate after seeing this poster too, right?! A poster from an assortment of fabulous marketing materials created for Read Across Lawrence for Kids (RAL Kids)!
Due to the fantastic support of the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library, we gave out over 600 free copies of The Cabinet of Wonders to young readers and local educators within the first few days!
A majority of the books were given out at the Read Across Lawrence Kids Pizza Party Kick-Off, the first opportunity for kids to pick up a free copy of the book. I briefly gave a rundown of the month’s worth of RAL Kids programs offered, we watched The Cabinet of Wonders official book trailer, and then enjoyed delicious pizza donated from Wheat State Pizza.
A few days after the kick-off was the adult kick-off and Lawrence Book Night. The adult Read Across Lawrence title, Winter’s Bone, and The Cabinet of Wonders were given out around town to lucky individuals staff members happened to stubble upon.
A local artist drew this awesome chalk drawing to promote the month of events.
The cover art of The Cabinet of Wonders looks very similar to cut-paper art, so we hosted local cut-paper artist, Angie Pickman, for the RAL Kids cut-paper workshop.
The kids created cut-paper using elements found in The Cabinet of Wonders. This was such a fun and unique program. If I hadn’t worked it I would have attended. It was awesome. Read the artist’s recap here.
At the RAL Kids Kick-Off, after I showed the official book trailer, I challenged the kids to create an even better trailer using the popular stop-motion technique of claymation at the RAL Kids Book Trailer Workshop.
The attendees of this workshop were responsible for creating the characters, the sets, and shooting the scenes. It was a blast! And they did a great job! The trailer premiered at the RAL Kids Virtual Author Talk Finale.
Pretty awesome, right? Make sure you watch the *entire* clip.
One of the ongoing activities was a Downtown Geocaching Scavenger Hunt where families could rent a simple, pre-programmed GPS device and use clues from the book to find secret container all in a walkable distance from the library.
Here is an example of one of the hidden boxes. Contents include a clue to the location of the next hidden item, a finder’s log, pen, an item or items relevant to the book, disposable camera to take your picture, and a note about the program.
Another one of the the ongoing events included was our library’s Cabinet of Wonders Instillation. Kids of all-ages could bring in their own artifacts to be put on display in a community cabinet of wonders collection throughout the entire RAL Kids month.
In honor of RAL Kids, The Cabinet of Wonders was the September selection for the monthly book club for tweens at the library.
One of my favorite programs offered was a Tour of Lawrence’s Own Cabinet of Wonders at Watkins Community Museum of History, an exclusive tour for kids wanting to explore the very top floor of the museum, which looks very much like a cabinet of wonders.
Adults attended this event as well to learn about the secret artifacts and a few of the secrets the city keeps in the museum’s attic. The education coordinator of Watkins, Abby Pierron, did an awesome job with this event!
For the older tweenage crowd, we hosted a raffle for advanced reader’s copies of The Cabinet of Wonders author Marie Rutkoski’s new book The Shadow Society. Along with the books, we also raffled off awesome swag as well! A handful of the RAL Kids readers were older, so this was a neat side element of the program.
The very last event of the month was the RAL Kids Virtual Author Talk Finale, where we hosted author Marie Rutkoski in a virtual skype chat with the kids at our library. She talked about her inspiration behind the books, what it’s like being a writer, and what she’s currently working on. And did I mention she’s living in Paris for the year? We skyped with her from grand ol’ Paris! Gotta love technology today!
Afterwards we premiered The Cabinet of Wonders book trailer, raffled away a few copies of The Celestial Globe, the sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders, and also enjoyed juice and donuts donated by Checkers Foods. The picture above is of attendees signing a RAL Kids poster as a thank you to Marie for visiting with us.
The adventures in reading didn’t stop with September! My colleague, Molly Wetta, who works in the Teen Zone made this awesome infograph of read alikes for The Cabinet of Wonders.
If you’d like to read more about this program, please check out the ALSC Blog after October 30th!
And if you’d like to listen to “Call Me Maybe” again… just scroll up and hit play.
You know you want to.
4
Oct
Pages to Projects
I’d like to take a moment to direct your attention over to “Pages to Projects”, a new series I’m honored to be guest blogging for over at Library as Incubator Project. The sole intention of the series is how to incorporate elements of art education and appreciation into the ever-popular, timeless children’s program– storytime!
The very first post, “Pages to Projects: Outside the Box”, went live this morning! Please head over there for a looksie!!
2
Oct
Treasure Hunt
Like I mentioned earlier, the Lawrence Public Library’s annual book sale was a couple weekends ago. They have THE BEST finds for cheap. If you’re library has a book sale, go! You won’t regret it. Here are a few of my found treasures…
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Inga Moore
Finger Plays for Nursery and Kindergarten by Emilie Poulsson
Perrault’s Fairy Tales with thirty-four full-page illustrations by Gustave Dore
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Yaroslava
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
Whopping Grand Total: $8
2
Oct
Not A Box Storytime
Our library recently had their big annual books sale which meant afterward there were tons and tons of boxes that once housed books. I grabbed 40 from the pile and planned a storytime and craft inspired by Antoinette Portis‘ picture book, Not A Box, and a few others books that inspire using one’s imagination by thinking outside the box. For the craft we made playhouses by decorating the outside and inside of the boxes, magically turning them into… well… not a box!
Storytime Line-Up:
Not A Box by Antoinette Portis
A fun and simple book about a bunny and the different ways he imagines his box is not a box.
Sitting in my Box by Dee Lillegard, illustrated by Jon Agee
A boy starts out alone in his box until animal after animal keeps making an appearance wanting to get in the box with him. You can imagine soon enough it gets quite crowded. Oh the things that happen when sitting alone in a box with a book…
Chloe by Peter McCarty
A favorite in our house (seen here). We’ve read it so much we own it. Chloe loves family fun time after dinner, but when a new television disrupts that time she has to create a few distractions of her own to get it back.
Magic Box: A Magical Story by Katie Cleminson
I’ve gushed over Katie Cleminson before here. When planning this storytime I learned about her out-of-print book, Magic Box, and immediately interlibrary-loaned it. It’s awesome! Colorful and fun! The kids loved it.
Not A Box Craft:
Like I said earlier, the library had tons and tons of boxes left over from the library sale, so I thought I would put them to good use for the craft after storytime. I made a playhouse out of my “not a box” example, but encouraged the kids to do whatever they’d like with their boxes. The majority made playhouses, but a few made cars and one made a custom “not a box” chair.
Materials used: Pre-cut squares and rectangles out of colorful cardstock from a few previous crafts (including this one from a few weeks back), pages from home magazines, markers, glue, and scissors. Also, I want to mention that I cut all the tops off the boxes before storytime so the kids wouldn’t have to hassle with them.
All the materials were laid out on a large table. To the side of each table were stacks of boxes. The kids went through the boxes and picked out the one they wanted to use. They sat on the floor and cut and glued and colored, turning their box into anything they wanted.
For this box, I colored different shapes with a marker, and then glued them on with a glue stick.
I also cut out flowers from a magazine and made window planters.
For the inside of the box, I taped cardstock to the bottom. Glue also works.
For decorating the inside, I tore out pictures from bunches and bunches of home magazines and let the kids cut out from then what they liked. Some pasted the whole page on the inside. Others cut out specific objects and pasted them in whichever fashion they preferred.
I did a little of both.
After they finished, they took their “not a boxes” home to play.
We made this craft over a week ago and L still wakes up every morning and plays with it.
18
Sep
Pirate Storytime
Yo, ho, ho ya scurvy dogs! International Talk Like a Pirate Day is tomorrow, September 19th! To celebrate, the Sunday Storytime was everything pirates! We talked like pirates, read books about pirates, sang pirate sea shantys, and dressed up like pirates– eye patch and all! ARRR!!!!
Pirate Storytime Line-Up:
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon
A favorite book among children and pirates alike! It was also a great introduction into how to talk like a pirate. After the story was over I introduced a few phrases listed below and we practiced aloud as a group. All phrases and definitions were found and modified from Talk Like A Pirate.
Avast!– Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise.
Aye– “Why yes, I agree most heartly with everything you just said or did.”
Aye, aye!– “I’ll get right on that sir!”
Arrr!– Can mean, variously, “yes”, “I agree”, “I’m happy”, “My team is going to win it all”, “I enjoy reading this book”, and “That was a clever remark you or I just made”.
Jolly Roger– a pirate’s flag including white skull and crossbones over a black field
Seadog– old pirate or sailor
Thar she blows!– whale sighting
Yo, Ho, Ho!– cheerful exhortation to demand attention
Port Side Pirates by Debbie Harter, illustrated by Oscar Seaworthy
I thought I would try to sing a couple pirate sea shanties with the kids, but when I started to look a few up they were… er… not quite appropriate for storytime. Even this Disney version– yikes! But this book sung to the tune above work out extremely well.
I came across this flannel board from the blog In The Children’s Room and was so happy I did! It was the perfect addition to Sunday’s Pirate Storytime! It goes like this…
Pirate Song (Sung to “This Old Man”) via Work of Heart
This old pirate, has a hat Where a skull and crossbones sat. With an Ar, Ar, Ar, and an Ay Matey! This old pirate sailed the sea. This old pirate had a patch Sailed the sea without a scratch. With an Ar, Ar, Ar and an Ay Matey! This old pirate sailed the sea.Additonal Verses:
This old pirate has a hook, uses it to hold a book. This old pirate has a map, keeps it handy in his lap. This old pirate has a bird, barely knows a single word. This old pirate has a ship, travels the world in a single trip. This old pirate looking for treasure, more than anyone can measure!
Started out with this old pirate decorated with only a few mere pirate accessories…
…And then continued to add on items with each verse.
This flannel was so fun. It was stressful creating it at the last minute (Sunday morning), but it all came together in the end. All of these flannel pieces are my own except the ship. I used this ship template from Rovingfiddlehead Kid Lit.
Pajama Pirates by Andrew Kramer, illustrated by Leslie Lammle
For our last Pirate Storytime book, I read a new picture book with lovely illustrations about three siblings and their fantastic pre-bedtime pirate adventure.
Pirate Craft: EYE PATCHES AND PARROTS! ARRR!
You ain’t a pirate if you don’t have an eye patch and a trusty parrot!
I pre-made eyepatches for each storytimer to tie around their head after storytime and then they made their very own parrots to perch on their shoulders.
Materials used: Black foam sheets, black yarn, colored cardstock, feathers, glue, scissors, googly eyes, and tape.
For the eye patch, I used these instructions found on About.com as a general guideline. Since I wanted a slightly larger patch, I drew one free hand on the foam, cut it out, and then used that as a stencil for the remaining eye patches.
Cut out your patch/patches. After they are cut, carefully using scissors or an exacto knife, make small slits on each side.
Cut a piece of black yarn slightly bigger than the eye patch wearer’s head. For the storytime kids, I cut 16 in. strands.
Thread the strand through the slit.
So that it looks like so.
Fit by placing the patch on the eye and then tying the ends to the back of the wearer’s head.
AVAST! Now… for the parrot!
Using this template I found on Family Fun, I printed out parrot figures on red and green cardstock.
And cut them out. That was all the prep. ARRR!
After storytime and after the kids afixed their eye patches to their faces, they went on to decorating their very own pirate parrot using crayons…
…Googley eyes
…and feathers. Lots of feathers!
“Polly wanna cracker?”
Bend the tab on the line marked “A” and tape to child’s shoulder.
Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! It’s a pirate’s life for ME!
11
Sep
Miss Becca’s Storytime Mixer
I’ve been waiting for a few books to come in that I’ve inter-library loaned specifically for storytime, so I decided this week would be a good time to have another storytime mixer. A storytime mixer is when I read some of my favorite books and also a few brand new books that I think the storytime kids would enjoy. It has also been a very busy couple weeks with the start of Read Across Lawrence for Kids, so a mixer and a simple craft were the perfect remedy.
Miss Becca’s Storytime Mixer:
My No, No, No Day! by Rebecca Patterson
I decided to share a recent favorite in our house. The kids and parents were rolling with laughter.
King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood
I remember this book being read to me in grade school. It’s rhythmic tone and hilarious pictures continue to capture the imagination of kids today.
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer
Love me some Olivia! Other than the first Olivia book, this newest addition to the series is by far my favorite to date!
Press Here by Herve Tullet
After writing about Press Here here, I made a note that it might make a nice read for a future storytime. Press Here is an interactive book that encourages children to be apart of the story by pressing, rubbing, tapping, shaking, and blowing on the book. I stood up to read aloud and had all the kids sitting close to me help with the prompts. I’ve added pictures of the first few pages, so you’d get the idea. It was a hit!
Press Here Book Craft:
I came across this wonderful dot collage idea inspired from the Press Here book featured on Share & Remember and thought it was so creative! Using Stacy’s idea of a dot collage with color coding labels, the storytime kids made their very own mini interactive dot books.
Materials used: colored cardstock/construction paper, white printing paper, color coding labels, scissors, stapler, and a sharpie.
Before storytime, I halved a stack of white printing paper. Enough for 4 sheets per book for 35 kids.
I halved red, green, yellow, and blue cardstock and construction paper for the covers.
If you want to write on the covers with sharpie, I recommend you do so before you staple them together so that the sharpie doesn’t bleed through. I ended up not writing on them and leaving the covers blank.
Take two halves of colored paper and sandwich four halves of white paper.
Staple together to make books! That was the extent of my prep for storytime. 10 minutes tops! Love a quick craft prep.
Using colored label dots we already had on hand from our library’s craft supplies, the kids used the sticker dots to make their own interactive Press Here book. If you’d like to do this craft at home or in your library or classroom, you can purchase color coded labels here or at your local office supply store.
Below is the example I made for the kids… Of course they did a much better job than I was able to do.
Since September 19th is “Talk Like a Pirate Day”, next week is Pirate Storytime! Aye aye!
29
Aug
Read Across Lawrence for Kids
After months and months of preparation, I’m so excited to share with you a community-wide reading event with the goal of getting kids “on the same page”.
For 10 years, the Lawrence Public Library has been hosting a city project, Read Across Lawrence, where everyone reads the same book at the same time. This year will be the very first year we also have a parallel program for kids, Read Across Lawrence for Kids, featuring the highly acclaimed, bohemian fantasy, The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski.
Yesterday, over 200 kids attended our Read Across Lawrence Pizza Party Kick-Off to enjoy delicious Wheat State Pizza, pick up a FREE copy of the book, watch the offical book trailer, and learn about the variety of events offered throughout the month of September. Lots and lots of events!
- Cover Art Workshop: Local cut-paper artist Angie Pickman will be hosting an art workshop inspired by the cover art of The Cabinet of Wonders.
- Book Trailer Workshop: Kids will learn how to make a stop-motion claymation movie and create a book trailer for The Cabinet of Wonders to premiere at the Read Across Lawrence for Kids Author Talk Finale
- Tour of the City’s Own Cabinet of Wonders: Watkins Museum in Downtown Lawrence is going to grant access to library patrons to explore their attic, which looks like a cabinet of wonders. There will also be a short book discussion and craft activity following the tour.
- Cabinet of Wonders Scavenger Hunt: Using pre-programed GPS devices and clues based on the book, kids can navigate downtown Lawrence in search of hidden treasures.
- Cabinet of Wonders Installation: The library is creating it’s own community Cabinet of Wonders!
- Book Club: Our monthly children’s book club, The Secret Book Club, will be reading and discussing The Cabinet of Wonders for their September meeting.
- Teens Read it First: Drawing in the Teen Zone for advanced readers copies of Marie Rutkoski’s YA novel, The Shadow Society, due out this October.
- Read Across Lawrence for Kids Author Talk Finale: Kids will have the opportunity to virtually meet The Cabinet of Wonders author Marie Rutkoski. The book trailer for The Cabinet of Wonders made by the kids of Lawrence will also premiere. Attendees also have a chance to win a copy of the next book in The Kronos Chronicle Series, The Celestial Globe.
The whole month is chock full of activities that take the reading experience one step further.
Along with promoting the events in the library with displays and word-of-mouth, the local teachers and school librarians have been the BIGGEST advocates. Twenty classrooms ranging from 3rd-7th grade have either already started or soon will start reading the book as a part of their language arts curriculum. School librarians have been encouraging their students to read the book and continuously keep them updated on upcoming events. They’ve been a dream to work with! Gotta love teachers and librarians!
With the kids program underway and the adult Read Across Lawrence program kicking off later this week, I feel confident in saying it’s going to be a great month of reading here in Lawrence, Kansas.
Stay tuned…
27
Aug
On The Road Storytime
Hello Sunday Storytime readers! Yesterday’s storytime theme is a tried and true favorite… Cars, Buses, Trucks, and all things that go on the road!
I have to admit… I was completely uninspired for this weekend’s storytime. But when that happens, I’m so very lucky to have my “storytime gurus”, a couple co-workers who have been doing storytimes for decades, to turn to. With a few of their suggestions, and combining two of their crafts ideas into one, On The Road Storytime was a hit!
On The Road Storytime Line-up:
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Being kind and having friends gets you far, especially when you need a helping hand.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
Whatever you do, don’t let the pigeon drive the bus! The Sunday storytimers never tire of Mo Willems. Who could?
Bunnies on the Go by Rick Walton, illustrated by Paige Miglio
A rhyming read-aloud about different modes of transportation.
Green Says GO! Flannel Board
I had all the kids stand up and march in place for the different traffic light commands for this interactive flannel board.
Green Says GO! Green Says, “Go!” (march fast in place) Go! Go! Go! Yellow says, “Slow.” (march slow) Slow… slow… slow… And Red says, “Stop!” (freeze stop) GO! GO! GO! (march fast) Slow… slow… slow (march slow) STOP!!! (stop)
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia
Love Emma Garcia’s books. I like them so much, the craft was inspired by this book.
On The Road Collage Craft:
Our library will be re-locating for a renovation in the very near future. To prepare for the move there has been a cleaning (and purging) of our craft supplies. This craft was inspired by two separate crafts we had leftover supplies from.
It was also inspired by Emma Garcia’s collage work in her book Toot Toot Beep Beep.
The materials used for this craft include leftover dye-cut cars, traffic signs, and roads, scraps from the Piet Mondrian craft, wood peices, cardboard scraps, magazine clippings, large sheets of bright blue paper, glue sticks, and scissors. To recreate at home, all you need is some construction paper, magazines, glue and scissors.
First, they kids glued the road down. If you don’t have an accucut machine handy, cutting strips of black paper works just as well.
After the road was laid down, various rectangle magazine cut-outs, colored construction paper, and cardboard pieces were glued to the paper to act as a cityscape. These were cut out before storytime, so the younger kids wouldn’t have to use scissors.
Paper street signs and cars were also glued on as roadside additions.
Or not.
The majority of the kids chose to not glue their paper car on so that they could move it up and down along the road. In the future, I would love to get a huge sheet of butcher paper some time and assemble a city with the kids. Hmmmm….. I think I see a “Big City Storytime” in the near future…
20
Aug
Dragon Storytime
With our medieval armor and trusty steeds, the Sunday storytimers and I journeyed into the mountainous terrain of of books only to come face to face with fire-breathing (and taco eating) DRAGONS!
That’s right! Yesterday’s storytime theme was DRAGONS! (I feel the word DRAGON should always be in caps, don’t you agree?) We read some of my favorite dragon picture books and then made our very own fierce fire-breathers.
Dragon Storytime Line-up:
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
What?! You didn’t know dragons love tacos? Well, they do.. they like them a lot. What don’t dragons like? Spicy salsa. The kids loved listening to this new picture book hit.
The Sunflower Sword by Mark Sperring, illustrated by Miriam Latimer
A personal favorite, this picture book is about what happens when you replace fighting with friendship.
The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama
After one boy’s mother constantly rejects the idea of getting a dog, she agrees to adopting a dragon. It’s only a mater of time when they both soon find out that dragons make terrible pets.
King Arthur’s Very Great Grandson by Kenneth Kraegel
This story about a 6-year-old boy, the very great great great great great great great grandson of King Arthur, takes off in search of adventure on his donkey, Knuckles. The dialogue in this book is hilarious.
Fire-Breathing Dragon Craft:
This fun and fiery dragon craft idea come from KangarooBoo Blog! What you don’t see from this image is a hole in the back of the dragon head. Blow into the hole and make the dragon’s flames flicker and spark.
Materials needed: Paper cups, pom-pom balls, googly eyes, crepe paper, construction paper, stickers, liquid school glue, tape, pen, and scissors.
First, punch a hole in the bottom of the cup. I did this to all the cups pre-storytime.
Cut the crepe paper into 5-10 inch strips and tape to the inside lip of the cup.
You are going to want to tape the strips to the top part of the dragons mouth for maximum fire-breathing effects.
To decorate the dragon’s face, glue two pom-pom balls where you’d like the eyes to be.
Count to 20 and then glue the googly eyes on top of each pom.
This example dragon was also decorated with construction paper and stickers. I cut the paper into small triangles and folded them at the base. Then I glued them on using school glue. Since I ran out of prep-time for this particular craft, the kids didn’t use construction paper triangls. Instead they used the foam shape stickers left over from last week. We also used left over star stickers from Olympic Storytime.
Final product: Fire-breathing DRAGONS!
Here L demonstrates how to wreak havoc.
A lot of kids loved this craft and a lot of them found it difficult. The little ones needed extra help and I ran out of supplies. But everyone had fun listening to stories and was able to take a dragon home with them. Quest completed.
