Tuesday Storytime: Beary Good Friends

My co-storyteller's picks this time, with two that I've done myself before, or at least considered using.  Really sweet and cute books. We're back to picking very short and very straightforward reads since our audience has shrunk in both size and age with school snatching away all our older ones.

Bird, Balloon, Bear
Il Sung Na
ISBN: 9780399551567
Bird hopes to be friends with Bear, but Bear already has a good friend: a balloon. Bird watches as they play together happily, but eventually all Chekov's balloons must pop, and new friends made.


Good Luck Bear
Greg Foley
ISBN: 9780670062584
Bear is looking for a four-leaf clover, and has no luck at all. He's feeling quite unlucky, in fact, until his friend Mouse returns with a message of friendship and of finding the unexpected.

Bear and Bee: Too Busy
Sergio Ruzzier
ISBN: 9781423159612
Bear and Bee join forces again in this sequel book (Bear and Bee was a quirky story about prejudice and fears) to have a light-hearted discussion about the concept of doing things that you perhaps don't super enjoy yourself, simply because you want to be with the person doing them, and you enjoy helping the person enjoy the activity. Hard concept for kids and adults, and it's a hard slog for the Bear and Bee too, but they make it work out in the end.

Tuesday Storytime: Valentine's Animals

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Our trainee has moved on to different roles in a different location, so I'm back to the primary storytime presenter for now, with the hope of sharing the load evenly with our eventual new person.

For now tho, I had a lovely first day back in the groove with sweet valentine's day books and an actual craft for once (creating valentine's day cards for in-patient children at a nearby hospital).

Thank You Bear
Greg Foley
ISBN: 9780670061655
Bear finds a present for Mouse, but a slew of "friends" aren't very nice about the present. Is it good enough?

I love this because it's very clear and obvious that the friends aren't being friendly, and what impact that has on the poor Bear. In the end, Mouse is delighted with the gift, and the nay-saying others are forgotten or disregarded, as they should be.

Like Likes Like
Chris Raschka
ISBN: 0789481898
Poor cat is alone and lonely in a world of couples and groups. Then he finds a "like" animal to like.

This cat seriously has the saddest facial expressions I've ever seen in my whole life. He's SOOOO SAD! He wanders around lonely, sleeps lonely, and his world, even in a bed of roses, is sad and lonely. Then he finds another like him, and everything springs into happiness. Is it trite and cliche and simplistic and perhaps a bit too cloying at times? Yep. But is all of that par for the course around valentine's day? Absolutely. This one is sweet and happy-hearted, and I love it.

Bear in Love
Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
ISBN: 9780763645694
I have gushed about this one before in person, but I don't think it's been listed here yet.

Bear finds a series of gifts (mostly edible) left outside his cave, and begins to reciprocate for his mysterious admirer friend. Eventually after a long process of exchanging gifts, the two meet and a sweet love story blooms. There is even a bit of subversive subtext as the bear's admirer is a bunny, and we never see any sign of gender.  It's cute, but be aware that the bear "sings songs" nearly on every spread, which for me are sing-song little cutesy things, but might give some storytellers or readers hives, or make them nervous.

Tuesday Storytime: Mice

Found a really cute book while selecting storytime reads called Busy Little Mouse, by Eugenie Fernandes, with clay-sculpt illustrations by Kim Fernandes, and so I decided to pair it with a couple of other cute mouse books for an easy theme.

Busy Little Mouse

Eugenie Fernandes, illustrated by Kim Fernandes

ISBN: 1550747789

Clay-sculpt illustrations, farms, animal sounds.

The story isn't technically about the mouse - it jumps from him pretty quickly over to a page-by-page handover of different barnyard animals.  Each is introduced through interactions with the previous, and each page ends with a "what does the little (insert animal) say?" which is great for a first story, as the kids can be interactive and bouncy and slowly settle into listening mode.  The illustrations however, do have the mouse tagging along with each animal switchover, and the story concludes with him going home to bed after his busy day.

Whose Mouse are You?

Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego

ISBN: 0689840527

1970s Library of Congress and ALA notable book, yellow/orange naive illustrations.

This is one of those "classic" picture books that I feel I ought to like more than I actually do.  Not that I dislike it, but I don't get the cult love that many have for it.  That said, it is a classic, it is a cute little short story, and it fit well here.  Readers get a little mouse "Nobody's mouse" because his mom has been eaten by the cat, his dad is in a trap, his sister far from home, and brother is nonexistent.  Sparked into action, he saves his mother, father, sister, and wishes for a brother, and then the last third shows him happily belonging with each of his relatives, including the teeny tiny newborn brother.

I Miss You Mouse

Greg Foley

ISBN: 9780670012381

Lift-the-flap "search" story.

I love Greg Foley.  His stories are so cute and sweet and simple and nice.  This one is no exception - mouse gets a lovely note from Bear, and goes looking for him, because she has something important to tell him.  Lift-the-flaps hide animals in various environments - leaf piles, rocks, pond - where animals who are not Bear inform the mouse she has to keep searching, until she goes home at the end of the day to find Bear there, and tell him her important news (and give him a sweet lift-the-flap-wrapped present).  

Tuesday Storytime: Funny Friends

Nothing's better than a good friend; someone with whom you can share your hopes and fears (and sometimes your living spaces).  Here's a trio of stories showcasing various excellent friendships.

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy
David Soman and Jacky Davis, illustrated by David Soman
ISBN:  9780803733398
Ladybug Girl is ready for adventure at her favorite playground, but once there, she runs into a spot of difficulty when her friend Sam doesn't want to play her way (and she's not that interested in playing the things he likes either).  What's a superhero to do?  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  I love the Ladybug Girl books because the 'problems' she faces are so simple and human, and she goes through a realistic process of frustration, mistakes, and finally solving the problem on her own.  Really positive messages, but the stories manage to not be too preachy or moralistic along the way.

Good Luck Bear
Greg Foley
ISBN: 9780670062584
I haven't seen the earlier books in this set (Thank You Bear and Don't Worry Bear) but I'll have to look them up, because this one is cute as the dickens.  My storytime kids are tiny, with equally small attention spans, so I try to have at least one "quick" book in each storytime, to let them feel successful at paying attention to a whole entire book.  This is a perfect fit, thematically, story-wise, pictures, and length.  I love it.  Bear is looking for a lucky 4-leaf clover, and a whole parade of "friends" amble by offering criticism, cut-downs, or interference, until Mouse shows what true friendship means.

One Cool Friend
Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small
(Caldecott Honor book)
ISBN: 9780803734135
Elliot is delighted when his father takes him to the Natural Museum, and even more-so when dad says that Elliot can have a penguin!  The set-up is cute and at least on the first read-through, even a shock for adults, but re-reads will show slightly out-of-frame hints and sneaky double-meaning comments throughout.  Really love that it's a father and son, and that the household is obviously quite devoted to scientific pursuits.  The cameo of the library lady (who was helpful and accepting) is a nice bonus.