Tuesday Storytime: Happy Holidays!

Yesterday was our last storytime of the year - amazing how quickly it all goes. It's ALSO the last storytime before Christmas, so I felt like I ought to do at least one specifically "christmassy" book.

The Snowy Day
Ezra Jack Keats
ISBN: 9780670012701  (50th anniversary edition)
This is a MUCH bigger edition than the original, which makes it much more suited for traditional storytime, instead of a lap-sit or child-held book. I love that the original was small and suited for tiny hands and arms, but it does make it more enjoyable for the pictures to be bigger this time around. There's a lovely section at the end talking about Keats and his work on this book and his dream of having "Peter" representing all the children who never got to see someone who looked like them.

Click, Clack, Ho Ho Ho
Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
ISBN: 9781442496736
This cute story follows Duck and all the other farm animals through an ill-fated attempt to bring Farmer Brown some Christmas Cheer, and unfortunately ending up all stuck in the chimney. Thankfully, the real Santa arrives to put things to rights (or at least shove everyone down the chimney into the living room) and the party gets to happen after all.

Bear Snores On
Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman
ISBN: 06898780238
The classic story that started the whole thing. I like this one as a low-key holiday party book because there's no indication of them celebrating anything specific at all, just having a nice party with friends. With society as multi-cultural as it is now, it's really lovely to have a book that focuses on the important things: it's cold, it's dreary, and everyone needs an excuse to hang out with the people they love.

Tuesday Storytime: Winter is Coming

It's finally starting to get a little chilly, so my coworker has picked out a very good set of "fall turns into winter" books to get us transitioned over, just in time for Christmas!

Every Autumn Comes the Bear

Jim Arnosky

ISBN: 0399225080

Lyrical text with powerful, almost frightening oversized illustrations of a territorial bear arriving before his winter's hibernation. 

Penguin and Pumpkin

Salina Yoon

ISBN: 9780802737335

A nice tone shift back to the light-hearted, Yoon gives us another cute story of Antarctic penguins traveling to see the world of fall colors and plants (we'll skip over the geographic improbability that entails with the whole southern hemisphere being in late spring), and Penguin brings back a crate of pumpkins and fall leaves for his fledgling sibling.

Shelter

Celine Claire, illustrated by Qin Leng

ISBN: 9781771389273

Sweet and (for adults at least) somewhat pointed story about offering shelter to the needy in the cold hard winter, set with forest animals, and not an overt hint of the Christmas story to be found, similarities notwithstanding (and probably intentional). Sweet for the kids, and hopefully hard-hitting for the adults. 

Tuesday Storytime: School Daze

It's chronologically well past time to start the winter-themed storytimes, but it hasn't gotten cold enough yet to really feel like it, so I'm putting them off at least another few weeks with a school-days storytime.

Marco Goes to School
Roz Chast
ISBN: 9781416984757
Marco is a parrot (?) and he's just starting to get bored with his home and room when his mom suggests he start school! He's easily distracted and concerned about how things like lunch will go, but he gets a grand plan to head to the moon, and ropes all his classmates into helping with his ambitious scheme. When everything all falls apart (literally) the teacher and his classmates help him see that there are other worthy goals to aim for in the meantime.

School Bus
Donald Crews
ISBN: 068802808X (Greenwillow Library Ed.)     
Vibrant, but nearly-wordless books are Crews' signature, and this one is no exception. It's bright and pop-arty and full of rows of busses or children or gridlines of streets. Not a lot goes on, but it's straightforward and factual and clear as a bell, all of which is reassuring for little kids who have a whole school career of bus travel in their futures.

Late for School
Stephanie Calmenson, illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa
ISBN: 9781575059358
Teacher is late for school, and he uses some pretty forced rhymes to incorporate a lot of varied travel options into his frantic scramble to get in the door by opening bell. It's cute and funny and lets the kids have a chance to anticipate and call out what the next travel choice will be, and the lesson at the end is sweet and helpful.

Tuesday Storytime: Fall Colors

These were selected by my co-worker.

How Big Could your Pumpkin Grow?
Wendell Minor
ISBN: 9780399246845
Strange illustrations highlight the oddities of even stranger pumpkins, growing wildly and grandiosely out of control and overwhelming their landscapes.


Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
Lois Ehlert
ISBN: 9780152661977
One of Ehlert's classic collage and found-item celebrations, this time of the colors and impressions of fall.

Leaves in Fall 
Martha E. H. Rustad, consulting editor Gail Saunders
ISBN: 9781429600248
Beautiful photography and nature-facts approach make this a lovely nonfiction storytime addition.