Tuesday Storytime: Fishies

I'm sick of cold and winter and snow, and it's supposed to rain cats and dogs later this weekend, so FISH!

Poor Little Guy
Elanna Allen
ISBN: 9780525428251
Pufferfish revenge is pro revenge.

Mister Seahorse
Eric Carle
ISBN: 0399242694
Fish daddies are super cool!

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story
Kelly Bennett, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones
Fish are boring pets, and this kid definitely doesn't want... well maybe... ok fine goldfish are awesome.

Tuesday Storytime: Only One More (Storytime) til Christmas!

With apologies to the Muppet Christmas Carol, there was only one more storytime til Christmas, so it's the final opportunity to showcase some really sweet Christmas stories. Every year at this time we have a lot of returning storytimers who have "graduated" into school attendance - they're all off on their winter breaks, and it's lovely to have a chance to see them all again in storytime. It also makes for a difficult balancing act between their older and more mature tastes and concentration levels, and the needs of the still very young infants and tiny toddlers who are just barely holding on for a full storytime as it is.

The Night Before Christmas
Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Kathy Wilburn (Little Golden Book)
ISBN: 03070475501
I used to read this book at Christmastime at my Grandmother's house, and I have very fond memories of the illustrations. The book itself is on the small side, but we all scrunched up close and managed anyway. The kids loved it, and I'm glad I put it first while attention and interest was strong enough to make it through.

Dream Snow
Eric Carle
ISBN: 0399235795
A humble farmer dreams of snow blanketing himself and his handful of farm animals (named One through Five) and his single farm tree (named Tree) and the kids have a blast guessing the identities of the farm animals based on their white-draped shapes before I pull away the transparency to reveal them one by one. The end of the book has the farmer in his suspiciously-red winter warm clothes tramping outside with a sack of toys and shiny things to decorate Tree for the Christmas season. A big hit because of the interaction.

Bear Stays Up For Christmas
Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman
ISBN: 0689852789
I love these books so much. Bear is normally asleep at this time of year (hibernation, you know) but his friends are determined that he'll be awake for Christmas at least once. So they plan a full day and night of activities, and the sleepy Bear manages, until all the friends fall asleep themselves from exhaustion. A delighted tricksy Bear spends the night creating presents and decorating for them while they sleep, and they all enjoy a lovely Christmas morning together. So cute. 

Tuesday Storytime: Builders and Construction

Back to non-thematic storytimes this week.  No holidays, no National Month of whatever, just me and whatever quirky theme my strange mind has dredged up in the last few weeks.  I do love picking out picture books to present to kids.  It's a fun mix of curating content and balancing ages and lengths and art styles and how complex or difficult the wording is... so much to think about.  When I choose badly, and the storytime goes poorly, it's quite frustrating, but when they flow nicely, that half hour is just a delightful flow of narrative and story from me to the families.

Fix-It Duck
Jez Alborough
ISBN: 0060006994
Spunky but accident-prone Duck tries to "fix-it" with problems that are usually his own fault.

It's raining outside, so when a DRIP falls PLOP into Duck's tea, he immediately thinks the roof is leaking.  This is a job for Fix-It Duck!  But he can't reach the roof.  So he goes to borrow Sheep's ladder, and in the process, notices the camper's skylight is broken.  Fix-It Duck is on the case - but he breaks the window.  Now Sheep's house is leaking too!  Fix-It Duck can fix it, by towing Sheep's camper under Goat's shed.  But Fix-It Duck has left tools and nails and broken glass lying around, and Sheep's Jeep gets a flat!  No worries for Fix-It Duck, who offers his own truck - which can't hitch to Sheep's camper.  A creative re-use of the ladder fixes that, until a wild swerve around a curve (because Duck is a bad driver, obvs) spirals the situation beyond even what the optimistic and ever-hopeful Duck can manage to fix.  Poor Sheep.


My Apron
Eric Carle
ISBN: 0399226850
True story from Carle's childhood, where he helped his uncle plaster a building for a day.

Uncle Adam is a plasterer, and he has a snazzy white apron with a pocket, and works on buildings all day, coating them with protective and beautiful white plaster.  The boy Carle gets an apron made by his aunt, and spends the day as a proud and effective helper in this very short and sweet story.


Building a House
Byron Barton
ISBN: 0688842917
Barton's trademark blocky colors and thick outlines are joined by rare humanistic people.

We start with a green hill (that color blocking!) and follow in quick succession the steps of house-building, from digging out the ground, foundation and flooring, walls, rafters, roof, plumbing and wiring, finishing, and painting.  The house is built (and garishly colored) in the end, ready for the final step of building a house: standing ready as a family moves in.  Simple words and clear illustrations, but everything is accurate and straightforward and realistic.

Tuesday Storytime: First Snow (Happy 2016!)

Can you believe it's freaking 2016 already?  It's just unreal.  I'm still not certain when I'm actually going to feel like a grown-up, let alone this weird middle-age development.

Anyway, over the weekend it finally realized that in winter it is supposed to be cold, so we're into proper winter weather, for a proper winter storytime.

First Snow
Kim Lewis
ISBN: 1564021947
Atmospheric colored pencils of windswept wintry landscapes and expressive faces.

Sara, Sara's teddy, and Mommy are up early and out into the fields to feed the sheep before the first winter snow.  This is a slow-moving atmospheric story, focusing on the feel of the land and the air as a snowfall approaches, and on the earthy rhythms of farm life, close to animals and nature.  The astute or experienced storytimer will recognize that Sara's teddy is brought along to provide a bit of narrative drama, but it is gentle and quickly solved, even by picture book standards.  Sweet and gentle, just like a first snow.


Dream Snow
Eric Carle
ISBN: 9780399235795 (with battery-operated sounds and lights on the final page/endpaper)
Carle's signature collage pastiche and bright colors in a dreamlike not-quite Santa Claus story.

I had pulled this book a while ago, and was tempted to use it for my Christmas storytime, but the farmer in the story is never actually identified as Santa, even though just about every child will make that connection based on the illustrations.  Our farmer has a simple life; animals named One through Five, a single tree (named Tree) and simple tastes.  He dreams of snow covering the animals (achieved in the book by a series of clear overleafs with white "blankets" turned to reveal what animals One through Five actually are) and when he wakes, the snow has truly fallen.  He realizes that he's forgotten something, and dons coat and hat and gloves and boots (and here is where the Santa reference materializes) grabs boxes and a sack and rushes outside to put presents under Tree.  At this point, if you like, you can press the battery-button and the stars "twinkle" and a short chiming mysterious melody plays.


Winter is the Warmest Season
Lauren Stringer (Red Rubber Boot Day)
ISBN: 0152049673
Exuberant acrylic paints vibrantly reveal the warm heart of winter.

You may think that Summer is the warmest season, but Ms Stringer will have you convinced by the end of this lovely book that you were quite wrong.  Her lyrical and evocative text (in large letters, and not much of it per page) draws attention to all the warm delights that winter brings: grilled-cheese sandwiches, roaring radiators and fires, warm cats and glowing candles, cozy blankets and cozier snuggles.  This is one of my favorite reads, and the language just flows beautifully along with the bright and cheerful page-spreads, just busy enough to reward close attention without losing focus or attractive composition.  I think I read this at least once a year, and I'm happy to do so.

Tuesday Storytime: Cats

A sweet trio of cat stories today.

Little Spotted Cat

Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illustrated by Dan Andreasen

ISBN: 0803726929

Soft-edged watercolors and a big-headed kitten - think a sedate Skippyjon.

"It's time for your nap, you Little Spotted Cat" says Mama Cat, but kitten has other plans, and creates chaos (as kittens are wont to do) through the yard before Mama finally physically intervenes and forces a general cleaning up of messes before naptime is enforced.  Sweet, repetitive, and adorable illustrations.

Have You Seen my Cat?

Eric Carle

ISBN: 22960000748425

Eric Carle's illustration style isn't amazingly served by this slight travelogue, but the cats are fun.

A boy goes through the world and asks various people (of various cultures, somewhat stereotypically presented) if they have seen his cat, and all respond with a cat of their geographical area.  We start with a bang with a lion in a zoo, then wander through bobcats and mountain lions and florida jaguars before crossing the ocean and getting into the serious wild-cats of the world, then end up with a persian on a blue rug before finally getting home to a collage of multi-colored house-cats.  I think the ending would have been better served by having a single individual cat as the finale, but even so, it's a fun short romp through cat varieties.

Cat Secrets

Jef Czekaj

ISBN: 22960000417930

A trio of computer-graphic-style cats questions whether the readers are cats, worthy of reading their Secret book.

I don't do interactive books very often, because this age-group is a little young for the concept to really work well.  The parents enjoy them immensely, so I do throw one in if I think the other qualities of the book can carry it for the little ones.  This one fits the bill perfectly.  The illustrations are punchy and the expressions are clear.  In addition to breaking the fourth wall, the book also asks for audience participation, so the kids can meow, purr, and stretch like cats, even if they don't quite understand why.  The sub-story (unmentioned by the dialogue) with the mouse is adorable, easy to point out and follow, and has a lovely payoff at the end.  I would love to do this with a group of kindies or 1st graders, but parents will have to do.  

Tuesday Storytime: Friendship

Two new ones, and one that I read somewhat recently, but I like it, and it's short, so I read it again.

Very Special Friends
Jane Chapman  (I'm Not Sleepy, Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip, Bear Feels Sick)
ISBN: 9781561486
Soft-edged woodland creatures in a sweet whimsical gentle woodland world.

Jane Chapman is a gifted illustrator, and her stand-alone books show that she has sweet whimsical stories in her repertoire as well.  She nearly always centers in on the emotional world of children where emotions are primal and happy times seem to last forever, and friendships are the linchpin of the world.  This one is no exception: Mouse heads to the riverbank to wait for her special friends, and is joined in her vigil by Rabbit, Frog, and Turtle.  At the end of a lovely day of visiting and waiting, Mouse announces that she's heading home, and her companions demur, saying that she should keep waiting for her friends.  Mouse answers that she's been with her special friends all day!  Just a smidge on the saccharine side for me to truly adore, but it's sweet and the illustrations are so gentle and happy.


The Story of Fish and Snail
Deborah Freedman
ISBN: 9780670784899
Reviewed here.

Still love this cute story of friends working through their differences (and a nice rip-roarer of an argument) and compromising and growing in order to stay together.  As a thought, it would go very well with Brigitte Weninger & Eve Tharlet's similarly conflict-resolving book, Why Are You Fighting, Davy?


The Very Lonely Firefly
Eric Carle (Mister Seahorse, )
ISBN: 0399227741
Carle's signature illustrations follow a firefly through the night - the last page has battery-operated lights inside a swarm of fireflies.

Carle is always fun.  Here we have a lonesome firefly, just born, seeking out the lights in the night for companionship.  There are all sorts of lights that are NOT fireflies first; porchlights, candles, flashlights, headlights, animal eyes gleaming, fireworks (no lightning tho) before the persistent little creature finds the company they've been searching for.  I never noticed until this reading that the firefly is never gendered during the story, which is always a nice touch.

Mister Seahorse, Eric Carle

Mister Seahorse, Eric Carle
ISBN: 0399242694Read November 20, 2013

Picture Book: nonfiction-esque meet-and-greet following Mr Seahorse as he encounters other daddy sea creatures while he parents his own offspring.


I really like this book.  Not as much as his classics like The Grouchy Ladybug, but this one is really nice.  Why?  It focuses on FATHERS.  Do you know how hard it is to find a good fatherhood book that isn't maudlin or sappy or trite or tired or actually an "issues" book in disguise (meaning "this book is about fatherhood BUT REALLY it's about divorce and adjusting to a single parent household" or "this book is about fatherhood BUT REALLY it's about the importance of fathers even if they are currently in jail" type books).

This one is just what it purports to be: a seahorse father, and a whole passel of other sea creature fathers, all keeping their children (mostly in egg form) in various odd ways.

One niggle: one of the fishies refers to watching over his own children as "babysitting" which is really a hot button phrase these days, so if that bugs you, either avoid or expect to rephrase.  

For themed use (read: Storytimes) I'm going to pair this one up with Teri Sloat's I'm a Duck! which avoids being trite or maudlin through beautiful expressive use of language, and sweet but not too cutesy rough-edged illustrations that follow the life-cycle of a mallard from hatching to parenthood.