storytime extras

I went to a workshop today. The presenter was Rob Reid. It was a great workshop. Lots of fun, and a bit inspiring. So, here are a few things I wrote down to share. I wrote these ditties.

Every time we do the Hokey Pokey at storytime, I tell the kids we need to stretch first. Then we do this chant with motions. I think the motions are pretty self explanatory.

Hokey Pokey Warm up

Stretch up high
Stretch down low and touch your toes
Stretch out to the sides
And we’re ready to go!

I want to try this for an opening song. I plan to use it at my family storytime program on June 18. I wrote it at the workshop today.

Storytime is Here

(tune of Farmer in the Dell)

Storytime is here
Storytime is here
Grab your friends to join the fun
Because storytime is here

It’s time to sing some songs
It’s time to sing some songs
Grab your friends to join the fun
It’s time to sing some songs

It’s time to dance around
It’s time to dance around
Grab your friends to join the fun
It’s time to dance around

It’s time to read our books
It’s time to read our books
Grab your friends to join the fun
It’s time to read our books

It’s time to sit and listen
It’s time to sit and listen
Storytime is here again
It’s time to sit and listen

And lastly, I wrote this on my way home. (Note to self, I really need a mini recorder.) Our Summer Reading Club theme is Catch the Reading Bug! and my family June storytime theme is Get Buggy with Books.

A Bug Story

(Cadence of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?)

House Fly, House Fly, what do you see?
I see a fly swatter swatting at me

Black Ant, Black Ant, what do you see?
I see a tennis shoe stomping on me

Butterfly, Butterfly, what do you see?
I see a net coming at me

Mosquito, Mosquito, what do you see?
I see a hand slapping at me

Bookworm, Bookworm, what do you see?
I see a story closing on me.

book update

I’m in a reading funk. Although I have three books that I’ve started, I’m just not into any of them.

I loved one of the stories in Prom Nights from Hell. I can’t seem to finish the last one in the book, though.

I’ve also been reading Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library. *yawn* I’m barely amused at best. Mostly, I’m bored.

Lastly, I started another book club choice for May/June – Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen . I’ve read a few pages, and it is due back tomorrow. I just can’t be bothered to read more. Maybe I’ll put it on hold again. Maybe.

Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale by Donna Jo Napoli

Set in the 900s, this is the tale of 16-year-old Melkorka, an Irish princess. When she and her younger sister are sent into hiding, they are captured before reaching their destination. Taken aboard a slave ship, the two girls struggle to survive in one piece throughout the journey. After her younger sister escapes into the icy waters, Melkorka falls into despair. More captives are taken…and sold as slaves, as the ship travels through Russia. Eventually, even Melkorka is sold, and makes the trip to Iceland.
This story is based on a mentioning in an Icelandic Saga of a real Irish princess named Melkorka who was enslaved and taken to Iceland.

I very much enjoyed this story, and only wish that the author would have continued it a bit more. It goes on the “Looking for something to read? Try this book.” list.

Library League themes - Animals, continued

Mice

• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Anatole by Eve Titus

Craft: Mice Magnets – using a heart shaped punch (size approximately 2 inches), punch hearts from cardstock (I used white, tan, grey and brown). Using a small heart hole puncher, punch several hearts in pink cardstock.

Large hearts are the face. Small hearts are the noses. If desired, small heart stickers can be used instead of the tiny hearts. Stickers work best for younger children.

Draw faces and whiskers on the large heart. Glue nose on the point of the large heart.

Use ribbon or yarn for the tail. These can be fastened with glue dots or with the sticky side of a magnet strip.

Horses

• Magnus at the Fire by Jennifer Armstrong
• When Wishes Were Horses by Sharon Hart Addy

Craft: As this was the Friday before Mother’s Day, we made Mother’s Day cards.

One of the regular attendees loves horses. This is why I choose the themes. C was excited when I told her the upcoming theme, and offered to bring in some of her models. She brought 3 model horses to the program, and told the group about each breed. This made the program even more exciting!

Insects

• The Very Ugly Bug by Liz Pichon
• Big Bug Surprise by Julia Gran

Craft: This is the last LL program until fall. As our Summer Reading Club theme this year is bugs (Catch the Reading Bug!), I asked the attendees to help make bulletin board background paper. We decorated the precut background paper with assorted bugs. Using paint, markers, dot art daubers and glitter glue, we made spiders, caterpillars, ants, butterflies, bees, ladybugs and more!

Photos of the backgrounds to come as soon as I take photos of the boards!

Drift House by Dale Peck

The story is set just after September 11. Three siblings are taken from NYC to Canada, where their Uncle Farley live in a large, odd shaped home called Drift House. Susan, the oldest and only girl, Charles, the middle child and science/technology fanatic, and Murray, the youngest of the clan, are sad to see their mother leave, but excited about the adventure. They don’t expect the sort of adventure it becomes!

Drift House is not a regular house. It is an actual ship – a fact that is realized once the children wake up the second day and see what they assume to be flood waters. As Drift House moves along the Sea of Time, and since Uncle Farley isn’t forthcoming with information, the children try to figure out what is happening. Through the course of the story, they encounter mermaids, time pirates, a dodo, a butterfrog, and many more unusual things!

This is the 1st in the series.

I liked the story well enough, but don’t plan to read the 2nd book.

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

Maggie's parents – throwbacks to the flower child era – are migrants, travelling throughout the United States and experiencing what life has to offer. This is how Maggie's life has always been. Having established a close group of friends – and acquired a boyfriend, Maggie is less than thrilled when her family moves from Portland, Oregon to Austin, Texas. In order to save her heart, Maggie decides to go against her norm and to try her hardest to not make friends. She does this by keeping to herself, wearing outrageous outfits, taking water aerobics with the retired set, and joining the least popular club at school. Will she succeed in her plan or will she find true friendship in the outcasts of popularity?

Finally! A book that didn't make me want to slit my wrists. It seems that lately I've been reading books that are downright depressing. I was glad when my book group listened to my request for something lighthearted and fun. This book pretty much fit the bill. It was a decent story and written fairly well. There were parts that had me laughing out loud. I wouldn't go and buy it for my personal collection, but I'll pass along the suggestion to others as a book to check out.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (audiobook)

This is the third book in the series.

We join Gemma Doyle again at Spence Academy. Spring is in the air, and the restoration of the east wing is underway. The oldest of the Spence girls are preparing for their debuts into high society (and before the Queen). Gemma has not been able to enter the realms since bounding the magic to her. When she, Ann and Felicity find another, more physical entrance into the realms, the three girls find Pippa and the factory girls have made a home in a dilapidated castle in the Borderlands.

Although the Winterlands creatures have not been seen, all is not well in the realms. Gemma is pressured by the clans to share the magic and by her friends to keep the magic and use it to change the paths their lives are following.

Meanwhile, Gemma’s visions return. A silent woman dressed in a lavender gown tells her (through written words) that the Tree of All Souls lives. This sparks Gemma to search for information about this tree…and for the tree itself.

Gemma’s life is a whirlwind of activity – both in the realms and out. In both worlds she is being hunted and hounded. She must decide what to do with the magic and how to keep both worlds safe for the inhabitants.

I really enjoyed this series. I don’t think another one is being written, but I really hope Libba Bray decides that Gemma’s story is not complete. I do think the last chapter or two dragged on a bit, but that is partially due to the climax of the story and trying to wrap up a few loose ends.

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught

Jamie Carcaterra isn’t just a big girl. She is Fat Girl. In hopes of winning a college scholarship, Jamie writes a column for her high school newspaper. The dedicated topic is life as a Fat Girl. Fat Girls are more than women who weigh a lot. They have feelings, desires, and needs. They have boyfriends, best friends, and a life that doesn’t revolve around food and being fat.

When Jamie’s boyfriend Burke (a.k.a. Fat Boy) decides to undergo gastric bypass surgery, she must no only deal with her opinions of this type of surgery, but also the changes to Burke (both mental and physical) and their relationship. Add to this all the normal stress of senior year (ACTs, friends, family, college applications, scholarship applications) and Jamie’s extracurricular activities (the school paper and acting in the high school’s musical), and Jamie’s stress levels are raising through the roof. When the Fat Girl column begins to receive media attention – both local and national – Jamie must learn what exactly about being Fat Girl means to her.

This book was suggested to me by my good friend (and fellow librarian/bookie) Robyn. I did enjoy the story – and will admit, I relate to some of Jamie’s weight dilemmas. I thought that there were a few spots that seemed rushed, and that the end was a little far fetched (support from others) without being a fairy tale ending.

I wouldn’t say skip this one, but there isn’t a need to run to the library to check it out. It’s a quick read…I finished it in two days, with only reading at night after work/book club.

I’ve read one other book by Susan Vaught – Trigger. That is an excellent book, and one that I highly recommend.

Bookmarkers -Narnia – Week Four

It shouldn’t be surprising to hear that after Monday’s program, my voice was more than a bit shaky. Monday evening was the final night of the Narnia program. There were 6 children attending. Three had attended each week. One had attended the first week. The other two were first timers.

I read the final chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, taking about an hour and 15 minutes to finish the book. Afterwards we discussed the book a little – forgoing again the formal questions I had listed. Then we worked on our craft – crowns.

Materials used for the craft: gold and silver bulletin board trimmer, assorted gems, feathers, hole punches, ribbons, etc.

Some photos for your viewing pleasure.

This is how I set up for each week.

My sample crown.

Saturday we will show the movie. I’m not sure how many to expect. I’ve purchased popcorn (from GFS), assorted candy (tootsie rolls, laffy taffy, sixlets, etc.) and juice boxes. We will also have pizza (donated by Inner Circle – Belmont Ave., Liberty).

bookie

I've been living up to the bookie nickname...in the past few days I've finished three books, and I'm nearly finished with another! As a note to myself, here are the books I need to write about:

• Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught
• The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (audiobook)

I'm currently reading a collection of short stories by various authors (Prom Nights from Hell), and listening to Drift House.