For storytime, a trio of "school" themed books featuring music or noisemaking. For the summer reading program, a visit from Miss Frizzle, who also read Max Found Two Sticks during her fantastic science-filled program.
Storytime:
Violet's Music
Angela Johnson, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
ISBN: 0803727402
Violet lives breathes dances walks sings and exudes music - which is fine, and generally satisfying, but there's no one else at school who really understands her passion. They all have their own different passions. So Violet starts to look for her people, and when she finds some others who REALLY dig music, they all validate her previous passion and vague loneliness, and then happily start up a band.
Music Class Today!
David Weinstone, illustrated by Vin Vogel
ISBN: 9780374341311
A boisterous music class is kept on a gentle schedule by a bearded teacher, while a shy/introverted/sensitive child hovers around the edges, unsure about all this noise and commotion, until they gather their courage and happily join in the fun. Very short, but very inclusive and positive look at a classroom setting.
Ruby Sings the Blues
Niki Daly
ISBN: 1582349959
I've used this one before, because I love Ruby, with her volume control permanently set to HIGH. She's just excited and happy and wants to be heard, which drives everyone at school and home absolutely bonkers, until someone suggests music lessons, and Ruby discovers Jazz and Blues, and puts her BIG voice to excellent (and finally appreciated) use.
Showing posts with label Laura Huliska-Beith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laura Huliska-Beith. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Tuesday Storytime: Counting Concepts
One Giant Splash: A counting book about the ocean
Michael Dahl, illustrated by Todd Ouren
ISBN: 9781404805774
Textured collages and hidden images in bright saturated colors.
All of these are on the short side, to be totally honest - it's hard to get a long sustaining narrative going in counting or math-concept form. I'm impressed with books like One White Wishing Stone or Molly Bang's Ten Nine Eight because they manage a narrative flow so deftly, but even then it's hard to sustain. So, despite being short, I like this one for quite a few reasons: 1) it's a counting-down book (starting from 12) instead of counting up. 2) so colorful and vibrant. 3) the language is STELLAR. I love it. There are slant-rhymes and wordplay and alliteration and consonance and it's just fabulous to read. Delightful. 4) there's a decided mystery at play, because our first page is the Giant Splash, but we don't see who it is until the very end. 5) the pace of the "mystery" picks up as we move from languid spreads to hurried frantic pages to the last reveal page. Absolutely a winner.
Ten Little Ladybugs
Melanie Gerth, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
ISBN: 9781581170917
Concept book with textured plastic ladybugs on board-book pages
Our rhyme counts inexorably down to zero as our ladybugs vanish after various encounters, but what's happening to the missing bugs? Surely they can't be getting eaten, but as the encounters range from big grasshoppers to even more dangerous frogs and birds, the kids start looking more and more concerned. Of course they're all safe at the end (this is a toddler storytime after all) drawn traditionally on the last page to preserve the happy surprise.
One, Two, Cockatoo!
Sarah Garson
ISBN: 9781842709443
Lovely orange and yellows suffuse this bright cheery book with rainstorms and happy birds.
Again with the unavoidable shortness, but we had a distracted and young-skewing group today, so it worked out nicely. This one starts off as a combined counting and math-concept book at the beginning, but it quickly drops that to move to just counting upwards to ten as the birds frolic in the trees before, during, and after a rainstorm (with a bonus bird at the end!). I like this book mainly for the colors and the brightness of the cheery friendly birds dancing and playing with each other. Something about the illustrations just makes me feel quite happy and content, and I hope that feeling gets transferred to the kids.
Michael Dahl, illustrated by Todd Ouren
ISBN: 9781404805774
Textured collages and hidden images in bright saturated colors.
All of these are on the short side, to be totally honest - it's hard to get a long sustaining narrative going in counting or math-concept form. I'm impressed with books like One White Wishing Stone or Molly Bang's Ten Nine Eight because they manage a narrative flow so deftly, but even then it's hard to sustain. So, despite being short, I like this one for quite a few reasons: 1) it's a counting-down book (starting from 12) instead of counting up. 2) so colorful and vibrant. 3) the language is STELLAR. I love it. There are slant-rhymes and wordplay and alliteration and consonance and it's just fabulous to read. Delightful. 4) there's a decided mystery at play, because our first page is the Giant Splash, but we don't see who it is until the very end. 5) the pace of the "mystery" picks up as we move from languid spreads to hurried frantic pages to the last reveal page. Absolutely a winner.
Ten Little Ladybugs
Melanie Gerth, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
ISBN: 9781581170917
Concept book with textured plastic ladybugs on board-book pages
Our rhyme counts inexorably down to zero as our ladybugs vanish after various encounters, but what's happening to the missing bugs? Surely they can't be getting eaten, but as the encounters range from big grasshoppers to even more dangerous frogs and birds, the kids start looking more and more concerned. Of course they're all safe at the end (this is a toddler storytime after all) drawn traditionally on the last page to preserve the happy surprise.
One, Two, Cockatoo!
Sarah Garson
ISBN: 9781842709443
Lovely orange and yellows suffuse this bright cheery book with rainstorms and happy birds.
Again with the unavoidable shortness, but we had a distracted and young-skewing group today, so it worked out nicely. This one starts off as a combined counting and math-concept book at the beginning, but it quickly drops that to move to just counting upwards to ten as the birds frolic in the trees before, during, and after a rainstorm (with a bonus bird at the end!). I like this book mainly for the colors and the brightness of the cheery friendly birds dancing and playing with each other. Something about the illustrations just makes me feel quite happy and content, and I hope that feeling gets transferred to the kids.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: Dragons!
This is my last free storytime before the Summer Reading Program starts. I decided last year that I was going to have my storytimes for the little kids match up with the programs for the big kids in the Summer Reading Program, and I don't regret that - I love all the books and crafts that I've chosen - but I do feel a twinge that it will be AUGUST before I get to choose another personal, only at this library storytime theme (and before you ask, yes, I have already chosen them and picked out the books: swimming, going to the beach, and back to school).
So for the last storytime before we get to exult in science: Dragons!
(As a bonus, ALL THREE of the books I read this time got taken home by patrons - I LOVE when that happens!)
Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
Bright red comically-exaggerated non-threatening dragon, and a mundane kid and environment
Some kids want puppies, some goldfish, but this kid - he wants a dragon! He adopts a nice fire-breathing red variety from the pet store, gives it a place to sleep (a cardboard castle with a drawbridge) and teaches it how to fly (pushing it off a cliff) and takes it to obedience school, settling down to enjoy life together. This could also very easily go into a Pet Ownership theme with Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy and Shirley Hughes' Dogger.
Waking Dragons
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Derek Anderson
ISBN: 9781416990321
Soft-edged pudgy oversized dragons are woken up and taken through their morning routine by a diminutive knight.
So little text to this story, but it's very sweet, and lots of fun. The only weird issue I have with it is that in my accent, "syrup" and "cheer up" are nowhere close to a rhyme, and that always makes my brain hurt a little bit. This is like the platonic ideal of a middle of storytime read - interesting pictures, minimal text, short or no plot, and no big drama.
Hiding Hoover
Elise Broach, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
ISBN: 9780803727069
Thin, spiky, exaggeratedly elongated characters in a brightly colored world.
Daddy says "No pets!" so when the duo finds Hoover (a thin, spiky, elongated, green flappy dragon) in the back yard, they know they're going to have to get creative in order to keep him. Hoover is hidden in bed, in the closet, tries on their clothes, ends up as a coat-rack, a stepladder, a chandelier, a vacuum, an armchair, and an umbrella, each time fooling poor Daddy, who never notices a thing. Until the end, when there's a fairly big hint that maybe Daddy has noticed Hoover after all.
So for the last storytime before we get to exult in science: Dragons!
(As a bonus, ALL THREE of the books I read this time got taken home by patrons - I LOVE when that happens!)
Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
Bright red comically-exaggerated non-threatening dragon, and a mundane kid and environment
Some kids want puppies, some goldfish, but this kid - he wants a dragon! He adopts a nice fire-breathing red variety from the pet store, gives it a place to sleep (a cardboard castle with a drawbridge) and teaches it how to fly (pushing it off a cliff) and takes it to obedience school, settling down to enjoy life together. This could also very easily go into a Pet Ownership theme with Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy and Shirley Hughes' Dogger.
Waking Dragons
Jane Yolen, illustrated by Derek Anderson
ISBN: 9781416990321
Soft-edged pudgy oversized dragons are woken up and taken through their morning routine by a diminutive knight.
So little text to this story, but it's very sweet, and lots of fun. The only weird issue I have with it is that in my accent, "syrup" and "cheer up" are nowhere close to a rhyme, and that always makes my brain hurt a little bit. This is like the platonic ideal of a middle of storytime read - interesting pictures, minimal text, short or no plot, and no big drama.
Hiding Hoover
Elise Broach, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
ISBN: 9780803727069
Thin, spiky, exaggeratedly elongated characters in a brightly colored world.
Daddy says "No pets!" so when the duo finds Hoover (a thin, spiky, elongated, green flappy dragon) in the back yard, they know they're going to have to get creative in order to keep him. Hoover is hidden in bed, in the closet, tries on their clothes, ends up as a coat-rack, a stepladder, a chandelier, a vacuum, an armchair, and an umbrella, each time fooling poor Daddy, who never notices a thing. Until the end, when there's a fairly big hint that maybe Daddy has noticed Hoover after all.
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