I read this book, and the second one in the series called Sunwing, over and over again as a kid. I loved the way the author wrote about sound and how the bats in this story view the world in a silvery echo of the echolocation they use to see at night. I loved how the hero of the story, a young bat named Shade, discovers his own unique talent for using sound on his journey to reunite with his colony after being separated from them in a storm, and sets in motion events that will forever change the way the bats are forced to live.
Howliday Inn by James Howe
This book is actually the second book in the series called Bunnicula, but I read this book before I read the first one. The author of these stories claims the dog named Harold drops these manuscripts off to him, after each of these interesting and disturbing events has occurred. I love how the story is told, from Harold’s point of view of course. Harold lives with the Monroe family and shares their affections with a cat named Chester, who he considers a friend, and as you discover in the first book, a bunny named Bunnicula. In Howliday Inn, Harold and Chester spend some time in a place called Chateau Bow-Wow while their human family go on vacation. It takes no time at all for Chester and Harold to get wrapped up in a mystery, when the strange howling starts the night they arrive.
I loved the pictures in the this book! I loved how cute Stellaluna is with her big eyes and cupped ears. Stellaluna is a story of a baby bat who becomes separated from her mom and falls into a bird’s nest. She is raised by the mama bird and told to behave like a bird, even though she is a bat. It is just a great story about being different and finding your place, but still loving those that are different from you.
Good morning, and welcome to story time! I’m Miss Kris, and I’m glad you’re here for some fun with polar bears! The books we’re reading today are stories about polar bears, but we also have lots of nonfiction books with facts about polar bears at the library. Let’s get started with our opening song.
Song: Clap and Sing Hello!
We clap and sing hello.
We clap and sing hello.
With our friends at story time.
We clap and sing hello!
(Wave and sing hello; stomp and sing hello.)
Encourage your child to draw and write by allowing access to pencils, crayons, markers, chalk, and a variety of paper. Activities to develop the muscle strength needed to be able to write successfully include: playing with play dough, tearing and crumpling paper, scooping and pouring, using Lego blocks, sticking stickers, and using tongs. Help your child send a letter or write an important list.
What kid doesn’t love learning about volcanoes? Sure, some may think it’s kind of scary to imagine a volcano going off near them, but a lot of kids still find it exciting to learn about explosions and magma coming from inside the Earth. We have tons of books available that will help you teach children about the science behind volcanoes as well as related topics like geology and natural disasters. If you’re having trouble getting your child or student interested in non-fiction, try starting them off with a story like Journey to the Volcano Palace from Tony Abbott’s Secrets of Droon series. Whether they just want to see cool pictures of lava flying everywhere or need to do research for a school project, kids will have a blast with these books:
Science Project Idea: You can make a pretend volcano at home using baking soda and vinegar. Use Play-Doh or papier-mâché to decorate the outside of a small cup so it looks like a volcano, making sure to keep a hole open at the top. Put 3 tablespoons of baking soda in the cup, then slowly pour in ¾ cup of distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to set off your volcanic eruption. Try adding a little food coloring and dish soap inside to make the “lava” colorful and extra foamy.
Good morning, and welcome to story time! Since Thanksgiving is next week, we going to read books about pie today! Let’s get started with our hello song.
Song: Clap and Sing Hello!
We clap and sing hello.
We clap and sing hello.
With our friends at story time.
We clap and sing hello!
(Wave and sing hello; stomp and sing hello.)
Written by Alison Murray and published by Hyperion Books.
Flannel Board: I Can’t Wait for Pumpkin Pie
5 little pumpkins on a vine, (hold up 5 fingers)
5 little pumpkins that are mine! (point to self)
I pull one off and then I sigh, (dramatically pull one off)
“I can’t wait for pumpkin pie!” (dramatically sigh)
Written by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev, and published by Candlewick Press.
Flannel Board: Yummy Pies
Tune: “Three Blind Mice”
Pies, pies, pies,
Pies, pies, pies.
Yummy pies,
yummy pies.
Strawberry, blueberry, and cherry, too.
Apple and Key lime to name a few.
Chocolate, lemon, how about you?
I love pie!
That’s no lie!
Written by Corinne Demas & Artemis Roehrig, illustrated by David Catrow, and read with the permission of Orchard Books.
Song: If You’re a Pirate and You Know It
(to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It)
If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)
If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)
If you’re a pirate and you know it, then you’ll hear the sea winds blowin’.
If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)
next rounds:
the plank (stomp, stomp)
look for treasures (look through spyglass)
say ahoy Ahoy! (with arm movement)
Written by Claire Freedman, illustrated by Ben Cort, and read with the permission of Aladdin.
Craft: Pirate Scene Fun
Your kit includes assorted fun foam pieces and a foam background to make your very own pirate scene! Kits are available from the Youth Services Department and the drive-up window while supplies last.
Closing Song: The More We Get Together
The more we get together, together, together,
the more we get together, the happier we’ll be.
‘Cause your friends are my friends,
and my friends are your friends,
the more we get together the happier we’ll be!
This month I’ll be showing how to make your own exposed spine bullet journal! Bullet journaling is a type of shorthand journaling, designed to help set intentions and increase mindfulness and creativity. There is a lot of information out there about bullet journaling, so I am not going to go into very much of it here. I have included some examples of bullet journal templates provided by plannerloveandprintables.com.
The pages I have included in this kit are dot pages. Whether you want to bullet journal or not, these pages are really useful for things like working on your handwriting, drawing up new designs, or creating your own spreads for your journal. Just follow these instructions and you’ll have created your own bullet journal. This activity is best suited for kids ages 8+. Kits are available from the Youth Services Department or the drive-up window while supplies last.
Included materials:
32 pieces of dot paper
2 yards of colored string
3 ribbons 10” long
1 cardstock punching template
1 plastic needle
2 pieces of cardstock (cover)
Materials NOT included:
Push pin (for punching holes)
Ruler
Scissors
Instructions:
Put 8 sheets of dot paper together and fold in half.
Do that 3 more times, so you have 4 sets of folded paper.
Fold the template in half, so the fold runs through the hole punches.
Open 1 set of pages to the center, place template in center.
Use a push pin (NOT included) to punch 6 holes into the crease of the pages.
Punch holes in the 3 remaining sets of paper.
Thread needle with the string
Open first set of papers to center, pull needle through bottom hole from inside to the outside.
Leave a small tail, thread needle through the next hole from outside to inside.
Continue until the thread is through all the holes.
Place the next set of papers next to first set.
The thread is coming out of the middle of the papers, so you will loop the thread over the tops of the two sets of papers, then from the inside of the top hole, thread the needle to the outside.
Thread needle through each hole just like in the first set of papers.
Loop thread over the bottom pages of the second and third set of pages, like in step 12.
Do this for the third and last set of papers.
Thread should be coming out of the bottom from the first set and the last set of papers and spine should have three sets of threads visible, where the ribbons will go.
Slide each ribbon through the exposed threads until the center of each ribbon is under the threads.
Take the cardstock covers, align the template so the holes are a ¼ inch away from the edge and punch a hole through the top two and bottom two holes. There should be four holes in your covers.
Line one of the covers up to the fourth set of papers.
Pick up your needle and thread, loop over the pages, under the cover and bring needle through the bottom hole, from the inside to the outside.
Pass the needle back through the same hole, creating a loop coming out of the bottom hole of the cover. (you will need to hold onto the loop)
Loop the needle under the first set of stitches in the closest set of pages, pulling up towards the cover.
Thread the needle through the loop and pull tight. (Be careful not to rip the cardstock.)
Loop the thread back under the first stitch and pull tight, through the loop from the remaining thread.
Loop the thread under the next stitch in the second set of pages the same way.
Repeat for the third and fourth set of pages.
Take the other cover and place it on the fourth set of pages, aligning the holes.
From under the cover, pull the needle through the bottom hole.
Create a loop and thread needle back through the same hole.
Go over and under the stitching, pulling needle back up through the loop you created above the cover.
Pull tight.
Go over and under the first stitch again, then thread the needle through the hole in the cover, next to the hole you just attached.
Create the loop and pull tight, just like the first two loops.
Work your way back to the first cover just as you did in steps 24 – 26.
Create the loop the same way as the first three.
Now take the needle up towards the closest hole in the cover, loop over the stitch and up to the hole in the cover.
Create the loop as before.
Continue by following steps 24-35.
Once you have attached the last loop to the pages, tie a knot at both ends.
Tie each ribbon into a knot or a bow to finish tightening the spine.
Getting your first pair of glasses can be rough. Some kids may be embarrassed by how glasses make them look or uncomfortable with how they feel on their face, but hearing about other people’s experiences, even if they’re fictional, can help kids realize that it’s really not so bad. There are lots of books that explain why glasses are an important health tool, and there are also books that just make them look fun. We’ve picked out a few classics and new favorites for you to share with any kid who’s struggling to get used to wearing glasses. Check them out below:
Hi, everyone! My name is Miss Haley, and I’m so happy you’re joining me for story time today. This story time will be bilingual, which means in more than one language. So that means today I’ll be reading and singing songs in both English and Spanish.
Today’s story time is all about animals that live in water for most of their lives, like fish, whales, and turtles. For our first story, I’m going to need your help to count all the fish swimming around in the book, and along the way we’ll get to learn some new words that will help us describe the fish by size, shape, and more. Our second book is an Elephant & Piggie book where we discover that a big swimmer has taken Piggie’s ball away! Do you think Gerald the elephant is big enough to get the ball back for his friend? We’ll have to read and find out!
Before we get started, let’s get ready for story time by singing our welcome song, called “Buenos dias (Good Morning).” This song has some hand movements that go along with it, and I would love if you would do them along with me. Are you ready? Let’s sing it in English first and then in Spanish.
Written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Elliot Kreloff, and read with the permission of Blue Apple Books.
Thanks for helping me count all those fish! We’re getting much better at counting to ten in English and Spanish. And now we know all sorts of words we can use to describe different fish, like short (corto), long (largo), big (grando), small (pequeño), spotted (manchado), and striped (rayado). Caregivers, simple books like this one are great for widening your children’s descriptive vocabulary, which will help them be able to communicate better about the world around them.
Flannel Board: Three Little Fish / Tres pececitos
(Tune: “Three Blind Mice”)
English Lyrics:
Three little fish, three little fish
(hold up three fingers)
See how they swim, see how they swim
(make swimming motion with arms)
Round and round and fast they go,
Ellos van rapidos
(“swim” fast — sing fast)
Now they are going very slow
(“swim” slow — also sing slow)
Three little fish, three little fish
(hold up three fingers again)
Spanish Lyrics:
Tres pececitos, tres pececitos
(levanta tres dedos)
Mira cómo nadan, mira cómo nadan
(finge nadar moviendo los brazos)
Están nadando rápido
(“nadar” rápido — cantar rápido)
Ahora van muy despacio
(“nadar” despacio — también cantar despacio)
Tres pececitos, tres pececitos
(levantar tres dedos de nuevo)
Credit: Miss Meg’s Storytime
Muy bien, great counting! Have you ever wondered how fish can breathe underwater? Humans have lungs that let us breathe air, but fish have special organs called gills that filter air out of the water so they can breathe. Isn’t that crazy? The big guy in our next story is an animal called a whale, and even though he lives in the ocean and looks like a giant fish, he has lungs like a human and has to come up for air to breathe just like we do. Let’s see if we can help Piggie get her ball back from this great, big whale.
Written and illustrated by Mo Willems and read with the permission of The Wernick & Pratt Agency.
Wow, I was really surprised by that ending! The big guy seemed scary at first, but it turns out he just wanted to play with someone! I’m so happy Piggie and Gerald realized they were wrong about the whale being mean and scary and asked him to play.
Caregivers, whenever you’re reading with your kids, it’s a great idea to ask them what they think will happen next in the story. This will help them make meaningful connections while they read, understand the story better, and learn to ask themselves questions when they read other books.
Pick up a craft kit at the library, available in the Youth Services Department or from the drive-up window while supplies last.
Supplies needed at home:
Liquid glue
Scissors
Pencil
Black washable marker
Included in library supply kit:
12 pom-poms
1 googly eye
Green cardstock
Instructions:
Use a pencil to trace the child’s RIGHT hand on the piece of green cardstock.
Cut out the tracing of the hand, and also cut out the outline of the turtle’s head printed on the paper.
Flip the hand cut-out upside down and glue the pom-poms everywhere but the fingers to create the turtle shell.
Glue the neck of the turtle’s head to the back of the turtle shell on the side with the pinky finger.
Glue the googly eye to the turtle’s face.
Use the black marker to draw toes on your turtle’s feet (the four fingers of the hand cut-out are the feet, and the thumb is the tail). You’re all done!
I hope I’ll see you at our next bilingual story time on Thursday, December 3rd. And you can join us next week for another fun story time with Miss Sharon! We’re just about done now, so thank you all for joining me today! Let’s sing one more song together to say goodbye for now. This one is a call and response song, so when I point to you, repeat after me, okay? Here we go! ¡Ahí vamos!
What is This Book About? It’s Mouse’s first Halloween and he decides to creep around outside in the dark. He hears something rustling. What could it be? It’s nothing scary, just leaves! Laura Thompson’s rhyming prose leads mouse to discover many things that aren’t really scary such as flying bats, falling apples, a scarecrow, scampering kittens, and a glowing jack-0-lantern. In the end he meets a couple cute trick-or-treaters all dressed up in costumes. Finally he returns to his parents having had a fun Halloween night.
My Review: This is a great introductory book for preschoolers who are experiencing fall and Halloween for the first time. There are many things in the dark that can be scary to small children and the lesson here is to relax and look a little closer. Maybe things aren’t scary after all. I read this with my son who was terrified of our neighbor’s scarecrow and our jack-o-lantern. I think it helped him feel a little more at ease. Children will enjoy the rhyme, cadence, and repetitive language of this story.
Rating: 4.5/5
Three Words That Describe This Book: Cute, seasonal, discovery
Give This a Try if You Like: Rhyming picture books, books about first holiday experiences, non-scary Halloween reads
Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel
Howliday Inn by James Howe
Mouse’s First Halloween by Lauren Thompson
