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
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, July 23, 2018
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, illustrated by 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.
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, illustrated by 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.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Tuesday Storytime: Zingy Blingy Rhythm
The Ring Went Zing! a story that ends with a kiss
Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jill Barton
ISBN: 9780803733114
Scratchy colored-pencil and watercolor anthropomorphic animals chase a ring, in growing numbers.
I Got the Rhythm
Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison
ISBN: 9781619631786
A delightful AA child beat-bops through a park associating rhythms with different senses and sounds.
Dancing Feet!
Lindsay Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
ISBN: 9780375861819
A series of animal-feet-based "who does this" pages get kids involved, and then a splash page at the end has children and animals all dancing together.
Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jill Barton
ISBN: 9780803733114
Scratchy colored-pencil and watercolor anthropomorphic animals chase a ring, in growing numbers.
I Got the Rhythm
Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison
ISBN: 9781619631786
A delightful AA child beat-bops through a park associating rhythms with different senses and sounds.
Dancing Feet!
Lindsay Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
ISBN: 9780375861819
A series of animal-feet-based "who does this" pages get kids involved, and then a splash page at the end has children and animals all dancing together.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Tuesday Storytime: Banjo Granny special program (on Monday)
We're closed today, so our "Storytime" was on Monday instead, with a special local guest banjo player. The program was sponsored by a grant from the county, gotten by a local music-appreciation and education society. They selected the main book, and I chose the others to fit the theme, and we had a nice musical interlude in our regular storytime program.
Here Comes Grandma!
Janet Lord, illustrated by Julie Paschkis
ISBN: 0805076662
Vibrant exaggerated environments and an old-fashioned paisley folk-tale grandmother.
I purposefully picked VERY short stories to go along with our feature book this week, because the program involved stopping for a song several times through the book, and that makes it right on the cusp of too long for my tiny kids. This story shares the same plotline and vibrant feeling, but is very short, very snappy, and gets the idea of the storytime across quickly while the late-comers are still filing in.
Banjo Granny
Sara Martin Busse & Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Barry Root
ISBN: 9780618336036
Sweet homespun watercolors contrast Granny's epic trek with Owen's idyllic life at home.
Banjo Granny has heard she has a new bluegrass loving banjo desiring grandson, and she packs up her trusty banjo and heads over to see him, across a river, over a mountain, and through a desert. The story begins with "Owen's Song" which we actually sang and learned the end as a group, and then Granny uses the song to soothe the rough turbulent river, to settle the high steep mountain, and tame the wild hot desert - so we sang the song three more times for each of those scenarios - and each time we flip back to little Owen who is impatiently waiting on Granny to arrive. Once she does, we got one more repeat of the song, and then the story concludes pretty quickly after that. I did a coloring sheet with a picture of a banjo and some basic history and construction/playing information, and we called it a success!
Our last story was again a quick one, just to get the kids back into the usual routine after the oddness of having a musical book (and such a very long one) in the middle of the program.
Nana in the City
Lauren Castillo
ISBN: 9780544104433
Blocky wood-print-ish looking scenes full of color and weight show a city in two different lights.
Our narrator is visiting the "busy and loud and scary" city where his Nana lives, and he is not pleased. Nanas should not be in scary places like that. But Nana assures him that the city is extraordinary instead of scary, and he dons a cape (knitted by Nana overnight) and ventures out for her to show him the lovely city she knows. A really good story, and an excellent difference to most which show grandparents in suburbs or country settings, or have all of the characters as city natives. A good simple reminder that visits go both ways, and that people live happily in all sorts of places. Also, very very short, and very clear and easy to read.
Here Comes Grandma!
Janet Lord, illustrated by Julie Paschkis
ISBN: 0805076662
Vibrant exaggerated environments and an old-fashioned paisley folk-tale grandmother.
I purposefully picked VERY short stories to go along with our feature book this week, because the program involved stopping for a song several times through the book, and that makes it right on the cusp of too long for my tiny kids. This story shares the same plotline and vibrant feeling, but is very short, very snappy, and gets the idea of the storytime across quickly while the late-comers are still filing in.
Banjo Granny
Sara Martin Busse & Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Barry Root
ISBN: 9780618336036
Sweet homespun watercolors contrast Granny's epic trek with Owen's idyllic life at home.
Banjo Granny has heard she has a new bluegrass loving banjo desiring grandson, and she packs up her trusty banjo and heads over to see him, across a river, over a mountain, and through a desert. The story begins with "Owen's Song" which we actually sang and learned the end as a group, and then Granny uses the song to soothe the rough turbulent river, to settle the high steep mountain, and tame the wild hot desert - so we sang the song three more times for each of those scenarios - and each time we flip back to little Owen who is impatiently waiting on Granny to arrive. Once she does, we got one more repeat of the song, and then the story concludes pretty quickly after that. I did a coloring sheet with a picture of a banjo and some basic history and construction/playing information, and we called it a success!
Our last story was again a quick one, just to get the kids back into the usual routine after the oddness of having a musical book (and such a very long one) in the middle of the program.
Nana in the City
Lauren Castillo
ISBN: 9780544104433
Blocky wood-print-ish looking scenes full of color and weight show a city in two different lights.
Our narrator is visiting the "busy and loud and scary" city where his Nana lives, and he is not pleased. Nanas should not be in scary places like that. But Nana assures him that the city is extraordinary instead of scary, and he dons a cape (knitted by Nana overnight) and ventures out for her to show him the lovely city she knows. A really good story, and an excellent difference to most which show grandparents in suburbs or country settings, or have all of the characters as city natives. A good simple reminder that visits go both ways, and that people live happily in all sorts of places. Also, very very short, and very clear and easy to read.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Motivational Biography: The Art of Asking, by Amanda Palmer
The Art of Asking
Amanda Palmer
ISBN: 9781455581085
Read November 10, 2014
Basically everything I want to say about this book was said better and faster by Cory Doctorow in his article/review/philosophical musings hosted by The New Statesman, published November 11, 2014. Because I like to link to people rather than organizations as much as possible, you're headed over to his blog, where there's a short snippet and a click-through to the article itself.
Short version for click-averse or in the wilds of the future where links are broken and chaos reigns:
This is a really great biography of Amanda, and an even greater manifesto to artists and really to people in general to just accept that the majority of people are good and helpful, and to quit feeling like it's an imposition to ask people for help or to contribute. Most people WANT to help, and it's incumbent on us to learn how to ask without being greedy or pompous, but also without needlessly presenting as a terribly guilty shame-faced imposition. Just bloody ask already.
The impetus for the book came from a duo of TED talks focused on the same subject, and here in the book she attempts to find the reasons why it's so hard for her (and for others) to just ask people for help. It's a great social commentary, and a really necessary one for the "business" of the arts right now, as everything is in flux and funding is becoming less and less corporate and businesslike and impersonal.
The book left me excited for the future, and hopeful about humanity, and a little bummed at myself that I don't feel at all brave enough to follow her advice. I hope when/if the time comes, I can summon the courage to Ask.
Amanda Palmer
ISBN: 9781455581085
Read November 10, 2014
Basically everything I want to say about this book was said better and faster by Cory Doctorow in his article/review/philosophical musings hosted by The New Statesman, published November 11, 2014. Because I like to link to people rather than organizations as much as possible, you're headed over to his blog, where there's a short snippet and a click-through to the article itself.
Short version for click-averse or in the wilds of the future where links are broken and chaos reigns:
This is a really great biography of Amanda, and an even greater manifesto to artists and really to people in general to just accept that the majority of people are good and helpful, and to quit feeling like it's an imposition to ask people for help or to contribute. Most people WANT to help, and it's incumbent on us to learn how to ask without being greedy or pompous, but also without needlessly presenting as a terribly guilty shame-faced imposition. Just bloody ask already.
The impetus for the book came from a duo of TED talks focused on the same subject, and here in the book she attempts to find the reasons why it's so hard for her (and for others) to just ask people for help. It's a great social commentary, and a really necessary one for the "business" of the arts right now, as everything is in flux and funding is becoming less and less corporate and businesslike and impersonal.
The book left me excited for the future, and hopeful about humanity, and a little bummed at myself that I don't feel at all brave enough to follow her advice. I hope when/if the time comes, I can summon the courage to Ask.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Storytime Potentials: Tap Tap Boom Boom, Elizabeth Bluemle
Tap Tap Boom Boom
Elizabeth Bluemle, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
sketchy pastel and pencil figures over sepia-toned photograph collages of the city scenery
I'm always in the market for a good book about a rainstorm. I love storms, love thunder and lightning, and I love presenting books that represent them in a way that minimizes their potential as frightening.
This one is delightful. Rhythmic text emphasizes the sounds of the storm - the growing rumbles of thunder and the tap of the rain morphing into the harder louder dance of the growing storm, and then the waning energy revealing the blue sky and fresh air.
However, in addition to that, we're also treated to a very humanistic, very city-based representation of the storm, and for my rural patrons, that's something else that I'm very happy to represent as many times and an as many ways as possible.
Carts pop up to sell umbrellas on the sidewalk. Pedestrians huddle near the buildings to hide from the splashes of passing cars. When the storm picks up, they retreat into a subway terminal, waiting out the storm above in a temporary commune of like-minded and varyingly dry inhabitants. Pizza is shared, umbrellas are offered, smiles exchanged, and then up to the surface again to resume daily life, refreshed after a break from the ordinary.
I'd pair this with city-based rain books for a thunderstorm storytime, or with city-based musical books for a rhythm storytime.
Stormy Books:
Come On Rain, Karen Hesse
Monsoon Afternoon, Kashmira Sheth
Thunder Boomer, Shutta Crum
Rhythm Books:
Ruby Sings the Blues, Niki Daley
Max Found Two Sticks, Brian Pinkney
Elizabeth Bluemle, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
sketchy pastel and pencil figures over sepia-toned photograph collages of the city scenery
I'm always in the market for a good book about a rainstorm. I love storms, love thunder and lightning, and I love presenting books that represent them in a way that minimizes their potential as frightening.
This one is delightful. Rhythmic text emphasizes the sounds of the storm - the growing rumbles of thunder and the tap of the rain morphing into the harder louder dance of the growing storm, and then the waning energy revealing the blue sky and fresh air.
However, in addition to that, we're also treated to a very humanistic, very city-based representation of the storm, and for my rural patrons, that's something else that I'm very happy to represent as many times and an as many ways as possible.
Carts pop up to sell umbrellas on the sidewalk. Pedestrians huddle near the buildings to hide from the splashes of passing cars. When the storm picks up, they retreat into a subway terminal, waiting out the storm above in a temporary commune of like-minded and varyingly dry inhabitants. Pizza is shared, umbrellas are offered, smiles exchanged, and then up to the surface again to resume daily life, refreshed after a break from the ordinary.
I'd pair this with city-based rain books for a thunderstorm storytime, or with city-based musical books for a rhythm storytime.
Stormy Books:
Come On Rain, Karen Hesse
Monsoon Afternoon, Kashmira Sheth
Thunder Boomer, Shutta Crum
Rhythm Books:
Ruby Sings the Blues, Niki Daley
Max Found Two Sticks, Brian Pinkney
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