Ages 5-11
Blog Post
An ode to Raina!
by manz
Okay, you love Raina Telgemeir’s books as much as we do. You met her at A2CAF, and she was great, and now you want to read more of her books. You can’t get enough and need more ASAP, but you’ve already read Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts. And you just can't read any more Baby-Sitters Club. What to do?
Here are some graphic novels NOT by Raina that are readalikes you might also enjoy, nicely compiled on a list for your browsing and placing-holds pleasure!
Here are a few to get you started:
In Roller Girl we have friends who may or may not be growing apart when they find different interests. (The book won a Newbery Honor award in 2016.)
In Awkward we learn how one girl copes with surviving middle school.
Give ‘em a shot! And check out the full list to keep your SUMMER READING going on all summer long. (Some books are better suited for 6th graders vs. 2nd graders and vice versa. You decide!)
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "M" is for Messy MUD
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel did Mud Stories in Storytime this week.
Ms. Rachel opened a PET WASH to "get the pets clean".
MOUSE SOUP has a story about "The Bees and The Mud", but Mouse solves the problem. Here it is in Spanish SOPA De RATON =-)
You can do more mud if you find these books:
Dirt Boy by Erik Slangerup.
Piggy In The Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz.... And the same story on DVD in "Books And Stories" section under "R" for Reading Rainbow.
I'm Dirty by Kate McMullan.
Bubba And Beau Best Friends by Kathi Appelt.
This Is The Van That Dad Cleaned.
Big Smelly Bear by Britta Tekentrup.
The MUD BOOK: How To Make Pies And Cakes.
BEARS IN The BATH ... DIY book to get 4 muddy little bears cleaned up.
Have soap and water ready for when your done with Mud!
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "N" is for NEIGHBORHOOD
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel told neighborhood stories in Preschool Storytime.
The BIG ORANGE SPLOT is a classic by Daniel Pinkwater about how folks feel about their houses.
GOLLY GUMP SWALLOWED A FLY by Joanna Cole must be borrowed through MelCat. It is a silly fantastical story about a rural boy who keeps swallowing things in his neighborhood, which is his farm.
A similar story is I KNOW AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY. Then there is the song “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” which is sung on the
DVD The WHEELS ON The BUS: And More Singalong favorites and on the
CD TOM GLAZER SINGS HONK-HISS-TWEET-GGGGGG and Other Children’s Favorites.
For clapping action and rhyme we did “Dr. Knickerbocker” and got the rhythm going in different parts of the body. You can find versions of this rhyme on the
CD SINGING ALL The WAY HOME and the
CD LITTLE PEOPLE COUNTING SONGS.
For more NEIGHBORHOOD stories try these favorites:
SUGAR HILL: Harlem’s Historic Neighborhood … an historic neighborhood.
MAYBE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL: How Art Transformed A Neighborhood
A GOOD NIGHT WALK … around the neighborhood at dusk.
KNUFFLE BUNNY: A Cautionary Tale … of loss and reunion.
SOMETHING ABOUT HENSLEY’S … the neighborhood shop.
GREEN IS A CHILI PEPPER: A Book Of Colors ... through an hispanic neighborhood.
CHESTER’S WAY … a story about old friends and new friends in the neighborhood.
Blog Post
Kids’ Summer Reading Lists!
by manz
Summertime is here! The last day of school is upon us. The SUMMER GAME starts tomorrow! It’s time to grab some books to fill all your summer adventures.
Here are some 2017 summer reading lists that were compiled by Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) that cover a variety of ages and genres. Below are AADL public lists of them to make for easy browsing within our collection. Be sure to check out some of these great titles, everything from board books, picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels!!
Birth–Preschool Summer Reading List
Grades K–2 Summer Reading List
Grades 3–5 Summer Reading List
Grades 6–8 Summer Reading List
What's on the top of your reading list this summer?
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "F" is for Foolish FROGGIES
by ryanikoglu
It's time to feature froggy stories! Froggies are funny. They are fun to hear and watch. First-frogs-of-the-season time is near. We will soon hear spring peepers and croakers.
Ms. Rachel introduced GREEN FROGS thru MelCat loan. It is a Korean Folktale that explains why little children in Korea may be called "green frogs". Hint: It has something to do with "unruly".
We sang "5 Green And Speckled Frogs" ... a classic "counting and singing song" you can find on the CD LITTLE PEOPLE: Songs & Games For The Road.
The "Fireflies" song can be heard on the CD HAPPY AS CLAMS by Lena.
We discovered WHY The FROG HAS BIG EYES ... a "beginning Reader" folktale.
You may be able to read this one yourself if you have learned to read some words already.
For more froggy tales try these favorites:
Arnold Lobel Classic Readers ... with Frog & Toad
999 FROGS WAKE UP … in the springtime.
TOO MANY FROGS … at bedtime.
QUENTIN BLAKE’S TEN FROGS = DIEZ RANAS … counting in Spanish.
QUENTIN BLAKE’S TEN FROGS = DIS GRENOUILLE … counting in French.
I DON’T WANT TO BE A FROG … being green gets old.
The CROAKY POKEY … dance your froggy parts to Hokey Pokey!
TUESDAY … a frog fantasy that won the Caldecott Award for illustrations in 1992.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "Q" is for quiet
by ryanikoglu
There is “quiet” and there is “LOUD”.
Can you tell the difference and make yourself proud?
You can practice with the book Quiet LOUD.
“Quiet” is a delicate concept.
Ms. Rachel brought “quiet” and “loud” to Storytime.
Ms. Betsy and Ms. Rachel led the action song “We're Floating Down The River” which has a quiet part and a loud part!
In the story PLAYTIME? … Little Gorilla needs to quiet down and take a nap.
If you want to read more "quiet" ( and “noisy”) favorites try the following:
The SQUEAKY DOOR by Laura Simms … a different telling with different pictures.
The QUIET BOOK … and The LOUD BOOK both by Deborah Underwood … wonderful lap books to observe and ponder. Truly favorites of Ms. Rachel!
TOO MUCH NOISE … a classic.
CLICK CLACK MOO … a case of farmland civil disobedience.
QUIET In The GARDEN ... amazing things to see when you are quiet and still.
QUIET ! ... a not so "quiet" lion story and BE QUIET MIKE ! a not so quiet monkey story.
THIS QUIET LADY ... a story of waiting.
TIPTOE JOE ... 'nuf said !
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "B" is for BUGS
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought Bug Stories to Storytime.
We counted bugs and sounds from the NOISY COUNTING BOOK.
We played “Eensy Weensy Spider” … you can singalong at home with CDs EENSY WEENSY CD Of LITTLE FINGERPLAYS and NURSERY RHYME TIME.
We danced Fast and Slow to the song "Fireflies". You can hear and learn the song from the CD HAPPY AS CLAMS by Lena.
Once there was a Bug who had a bowl of SOUP For ONE ... until more Bugs arrived!
For more favorite books with bugs in them try these:
MAMA LOOK! … Baby creatures and their mothers.
DU IZ TAK? … Learn how to speak in “Bug” language.
BUG BEAR … When a bug won’t leave you alone.
FLY! … Worm can wiggle. Ant can march. What can Fly?
SOME BUGS … Backyard bug behavior in rhyming text.
BUG IN A VACUUM … Oh my! A different view!
STEP GENTLY OUT … Magnified photos of bugs, and poetic text to describe the insect world.
1001 BUGS To SPOT … A picture puzzle book.
The ANT And The GRASSHOPPER … A fable.
BUGS 7 stories about bugs all in one bag … A set from the Stories To Go Collection.
BZzzzzz ... and away we GO !
Blog Post
Stellar New Children’s Books
by manz
These are two of my favorite new oversized picture books, both in content and in illustration.
The Blue Hour by Isabelle Simler has the most beautiful etchings you’ll find in a story and is an absolute work of art in every respect. The words are sweet and quiet. The pages and the animals featured are all shades of blue. Pale blue, ocean blue, royal blue, slate blue, and so many more blues you never noticed. It is a treat for the eyes as the animals in the page go throughout their day until the blue hour sets in.
In contrast, Big Dogs, Little Dogs: A Visual Guide to the World’s Dogs by Jim Medway has no story and very little words. What it does have is oodles of illustrations of a variety of dogs! Just about every breed you could think of, from toy dogs to sporting dogs, is included. But the best part is the page with the mixed-breed dogs, which invites the reader to guess what breeds make up each dog. The book is a delight, and features a dandy appendix that lists the breeds with info about them.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "G" is for Growing GARDENS
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel, Banjo Betsy, and Ms. Allison brought garden stories to Preschool Storytime.
“The Garden” is a story within FROG & TOAD TOGETHER …Toad finds out that growing one IS hard WORK !
We danced to “Puddles” with Charlotte Diamond's song from her CD MY BEAR GRUFF.
INCH BY INCH … an inchworm meets a robin and the rest is taking measurements.
For more favorite Garden stories try the following:
INCH BY INCH: The Garden Song … the text is the classic folksong, accompanied by lovely pictures on every page. You can sing as you read.
“The Garden Song” is a classic folk song recorded with favorite performers on any of these CDs for children:
SING With FRED by Fred Penner; PICKIN’ & GRINNIN’: Great Folk Songs For Kids with Maria Muldaur and many more artists; PETER, PAUL And MOMMY, TOO with Peter, Paul and Mary; and OWL SINGALONG with Raffi.
MY BUSY GREEN GARDEN … a tribute to bugs, bees, and birds.
PANDORA … Pandora nurses a young bird back to health and notices how the bird changes her landscape.
THERE’S A TIGER In The GARDEN … the power of imagination.
DU IZ TAK? … a Caldecott Honor Book 2017 that teaches you how to speak in “Bug” language. There are fabulous illustrations too.
UP In The GARDEN And DOWN In The DIRT … especially fun for what goes on down-in-the-dirt.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "W" is for WEATHER
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel, Ms. Allison, and Banjo Betsy presented stories and songs to go with WEATHER this week at Storytime.
“The Wind and the Clothes” and “Spring Showers” were both bunny stories from WAITING-For-SPRING STORIES by Bethany Roberts. This book is out-of-print and lives on in other library collections. You can borrow it through MelCat … the Michigan Electronic Library Catalog.
For more stories about WEATHER try these favorites:
Stories-To-Go: WEATHER … a set of weather stories, and an activity folder with ideas to expand the theme at home. Check it all out at once!
WATERSONG … Fox’s journey to take shelter from the rain …
The STORM … a little boy watches a storm coming. Will he still get to go to the beach the next day?
THUNDERCAKE … Let’s bake one!
PUDDLE … a bored child. A rainy day. A clever Mother. More to say.
TOAD WEATHER … a lovely picture book about true phenomenon.
A BOY ASKED The WIND … the world's most celebrated winds, starting with the Chinooks. Build your wind vocabulary.
PITTER And PATTER … two squirrels and introduction to the hydrologic cycle of weather.
WHOSE HAT IS THAT? … I don’t know but it looks good on YOU!
KITE DAY: A Bear And Mole Story … two friends make a kite.