Monday, July 23, 2018

Tuesday Storytime (and Summer Reading): Musical People

This one was given by my cohort, and was their first Summer Reading Program - they were quite nervous, but realized once they were in there that it really isn't much different.

For Storytime, we have younger kids and an easier craft (and sometimes easier books).

Tito Puente: Mambo King (bilingual, Spanish/English)
Monica Brown, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
ISBN: 9780061227837


Drum Dream Girl
Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
ISBN: 9780544102293

Ella Queen of Jazz
Helen Hancocks
ISBN: 9781847809186

And then for the older kids we try to add in some more conceptual or free-flowing books:

Bird and Diz
(this is an accordion-fold book, folds out to about 5 feet, then the reader has to reverse and read back through the other side)
Gary Golio, illustrated by Ed Young
ISBN: 9780763666606

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Tuesday Storytime: 4th of July interlude, and The Dance of the Violin

There was a program break over the week of July 4th, but parents/caregivers are notoriously creatures of habit, so we always pull aside a few books just in case enough someones come by and we just do an ad-hoc program on the fly. Last Tuesday, it was given by my coworker, who used one of our pre-selected Summer Reading titles, and two more general "music and noise" books she selected.

The Happy Hedgehog Band
Martin Waddell, illustrated by Jill Barton
ISBN: 1564020118
The hedgehog band all plays drums, and they're so good that the other forest creatures want to join the band too, but they don't have any instruments at all!

Barnyard Banter
Denise Fleming
ISBN: 080501957x
There's a ruckus going on in the barnyard that requires the reader to put forth some serious farm animal noises.

Jazz Baby
Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
ISBN: 9780152025229
Jazz baby's AA family is all about the music and love, and the illustrations are quirky and sinuous.


Back into the swing of official programming, we're on our first week of reading programs instead of performer programs. I'm expecting a slightly smaller turnout, but it's always hard to know for sure. We've got two weeks of reading programs before our final Dance Party and then it's back to the normal selection of themes and titles for the rest of the year. These were the books read for BOTH the storytime and the Summer Reading Program.

The Bear and the Piano
David Lichfield
ISBN: 9780544674547
A bear discovers a thing in the woods that makes very interesting, and eventually, very beautiful, noises. He goes on to become a renowned concert pianist, but his fond memories of his friends and homeland eventually bring him back full circle.

Music Is...
Brandon Stosuy, illustrated by Amy Martin
ISBN: 9781481477024
A boardbook with a basic contrasting content structure for the first 7/8ths, then blossoms into a nearly free-verse experience at the very end. Really good illustrations, and just right for a young age to think about music. Be prepared to explain things like cassette tapes and LPs tho.

The Dance of the Violin
Kathy Stinson, illustrateby DuĊĦan Petricic
ISBN: 9781554519002
About violinist Joshua Bell, who at age 12 entered a music contest and nearly wiped out, but gave it another try and performed beautifully. The art is lovely, but doesn't really align with the way that the "visuals" are described in the book. I think this may just be me being too literal, but when the text is talking about dancers and bears and shipwrecks, I do wish that the art was a LITTLE more representational.