Tuesday Storytime: More Creepy Fun

These were picked out by my coworker for a morning of spooky sillyness.

Click, Clack, Boo!
Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
The book sticks to the classic format, but here we're substituting creepy and silly halloween sounds into the mix. Funny and light.

Me and My Dragon: Scared of Halloween
David Biedrzycki
The irrepressible boy and his bright red pet dragon (who may or may not be imaginary) navigate the sometimes scary rituals and proceedings of a traditional American-style Halloween, and discover the fun behind the scary costumes and dark nights out.

Little Blue Truck's Halloween
Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
A cute "lift-the-flap" book features Little Blue Truck and friends as they head into a cozy Halloween night. Very good for kids hesitant about the whole deal, or parents trying to navigate the line between religion and culture.

Tuesday Storytime: Scaly Shenanigans

A fun trio of books featuring alligators, dragons, and dinosaurs, selected by my coworker.

Gator Dad
Brian Lies
Celebrates an anthropomorphic gator dad and his kids having a delightful summery "do nothing" sort of day, where somehow an awful lot of things get done, and memories get made. Really suprisingly sweet and innocent and wholesome-hearted.

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
A boy and his dragon go to the beach, where lots of things get all messed up, and of course it is always the dragon's fault. The shame-faced dragon reforms when things go a little bit too far, and peace is restored... or is it?

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur
Linda Bailey, illustrated by Colin Jack
This is a very helpful how-to book on what you can do to keep your particular type of dragon happy and employed, or at least occupied, in a manner that suits both the dragon and you. There are dragons that like to blow leaves around, and ones who love to vaccuum, and ones who will scare away the neighborhood bullies, or conveniently eat your homework for you! Cute and tongue firmly in cheek.

Tuesday Storytime: Christmas is Coming

It always seems strange to have Christmas so soon after it finally gets cold. I feel like we were solidly in fall territory last week, and Christmas is only two weeks away! Wild. These books were selected by my coworker.

Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight?
Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9780439853699
Any story that seriously questions the type of animals best suited to pull Santa's sleigh is a winner for me.


The Christmas Kitten
Mary Packard, illustrated by Jenny Williams
ISBN: 0516053647
A frisky homeless kitten ends up in Santa's Workshop causing chaos until Christmas when Santa heads out on his sleigh with the kitten in tow, destined for a happy (non-elf-filled-workshop) home.


Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho!
Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
ISBN: 9781442496736
The well-intentioned but clutzy farm animals from Click, Clack, Moo! are trying to make sure that their farmer has a Merry Christmas, but they're all stuck in the chimney now. (It's always Duck's fault.) Who can save both them and Christmas?

Tuesday Storytime: October Already!

The month of October is a happy time for my storytime selecting; as it becomes essentially a month-long celebration of Halloween and all things spooky. This is my partner's first October, and she's off to a great start:

Me and My Dragon: Afraid of Halloween
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580896580
The boy and his adorable bright red dragon confront the frights and startlements of Halloween, and decide it's not that bad after all.

Penguin and Pumpkin
Salina Yoon
ISBN: 9780802737335
A little longer than it seems like it should be: Penguin heads out away from the ice with a pack of friends to see what "fall" is like, but baby brother Pumpkin has to stay home, as he's not quite big enough. (Serious questions about given names in this world remain unanswered) When Penguin and crew come back with fall leaves and pumpkins for all, they do what they can to give baby Pumpkin a chance to experience fall himself.

Crankenstein
Samantha Berger, illustrated by Dan Santat
ISBN: 9780316126564
Crankenstein is a very scary monster. Have you seen it? Check around when there are annoying or disappointing situations, or when life just doesn't go quite right. Crank will vanish sometimes, but it will always be back. A funny sideways view of childhood fits and grumps works perfectly for this time of year.

Tuesday Storytime: Scaly Friends

This is the second set of picks from our trainee, and these are all very cute. They acknowledged that they'd possibly do better to split them up into different themes for each type of scaly friend (we have alligators, dragons, and dinosaurs represented) but that they liked them and liked the thought of doing two of their own sets of picks in a row. These DID end up a little on the long side all matched together, but not insurmountably so, and they noticed that as well, so a good training experience all around.

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur
Linda Bailey, illustrated by Colin Jack
ISBN: 9781770495685
Very bright dinosaurs in otherwise mundane environments, getting used for all sorts of chores or tasks. The idea is very Flintstones, but the execution is closer to Family Guy. EXCELLENT facial expressions all around, and funny page-spreads of visual jokes.

Gator Dad
Brian Lies
ISBN: 9780544534339
Gator Dad is taking his kids out for a day of adventures. Slightly smaltzy but saved by the protagonists being alligators, and by a series of misadventures along the way. Beautiful artwork, but a little bit on the dark side (visually speaking).

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
I've done this one recently, but it was far enough back that I felt ok with it being used again. Love the ambiguity of the protagonist kid (brownish and with floppy hair) and the mundane chores of pet-ownership filtered through the prism of a baby dragon. Useful lessons in a cute package.

Tuesday Storytime: Halloween Prep

It was a couple of weeks before Halloween, and I was still working my way through my tons of lovely Halloween and monster books.  This time around I focused on fears of Halloween (either parental or kid-centric) and picked a trio of reassuring monster mashes.

Me and My Dragon: Scared of Halloween
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580896597
The cute duo from Me and My Dragon handle big Halloween fears.

This one is more fun if you're familiar with the Me and My Dragon book, but even so, it's pretty obvious that the dragon isn't really the one who's apprehensive about Halloween.  Friends and family are reassuring, and the boy uses psychologically-appropriate positive self-talk to encourage himsel-SCUSE ME, his dragon, and everything turns out to be fun and enjoyable.

Where's My Mummy?
Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by John Manders
ISBN: 9780763631963
A baby mummy starts to play hide-and-shriek with his Mommy mummy, but gets lost.

I think I'll probably be reading (or suggesting) this book for my whole career.  Baby mummy is playing hide-and-shriek before bed, but now he can't find Mommy mummy anywhere.  He wanders the graveyard, swamp, and woods searching for her, and finding creepy (but helpful and caring) grownup neighbors instead, all prepping their own selves for bed in various ways, and eventually ends up in the woods, scared by something truly terrifying - a mouse!  Mommy mummy is instantly there to save the day and provide reassurance and a return to the bedtime routine.  Really really really cute.

Not Very Scary
Carol Brendler, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
ISBN:97803743551470
Melly counts up scary creatures on her walk over to a Halloween party, where she meets them again.

Melly is headed to her cousin's Halloween party, and she's a little bit nervous that it will be too scary for her.  As she heads down the street, the ever-increasing numbers of creepy Halloween creatures in this cumulative counting book make her more and more nervous, until she gets to the party and is reassured to realize they're not very scary after all.

Tuesday Storytime: Knights and Dragons

Yay!  I finally have enough good knights and dragons books to do a storytime!

The Bravest Knight
Mercer Mayer
ISBN: 9780803732063
Mayer's signature art style populates a young boy's vivid imagination of knights and battles.

If we're going for straight favorites, There's an Alligator Under My Bed is my absolute favorite.  However, for the knights and dragons angle, The Bravest Knight is so cute.  We start with a trash can lid-toting boy, as he elucidates the many reasons he would love to live "a thousand years ago" (exaggeration starts early) when there were knights and castles and dragons and trolls.  Until of course his imagination (and the fearsome troll) gets to be a leeeetle bit too much for him, and he's quite happy to be back in the safety of the present day.

King Jack and the Dragon
Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
ISBN: 9780803736986
New Arrival, reviewed here.

Short and sweet, and full of imaginative play and cooperation and all the knights and dragons and beasts any kid could wish for.  Perfect for storytime.

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
Technically no knights, but a sweet story about the logistics of pet dragons.

I've used this one before in pet-oriented storytimes, and it's so cute.  We walk through a boy's fond imaginings of how life would be with a pet dragon, from adoption and vet visits to obedience school and seasonal activities (kite flying probably not a hit, melting snow from neighbors' sidewalks super easy).  The dragon is bright red and expressive, with big eyes and a floppy rounded body, while everything else is drawn in a realistic style.  I also have to say that I'm really happy to see that our narrator is an indeterminate brownish color instead of being white.  A small touch, and never even mentioned, but it's gratifying to see.

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.