Ages 2-5.
Blog Post
Baby Bits - Books and Music for fun with Babies
by ryanikoglu
People ask where we find our songs that we use in programs. Here you can View All Public Lists on the AADL website.
Here are some lists created especially for enjoyment between Babies and Caregivers.
Ms Rachel's Favorite CDs for Preschool Songs and Music
The CD artists and titles on this list have been personal favorites for many years.
Choose something to calm you ... something to rev you up ... something with a different beat ... and something great for background sound during play.
Ms Rachel's Favorite Books to Read to Babies
The artists and authors on this list have also been special favorites.
Choose something to talk about ... choose something to laugh about ... choose something of interest ... choose something to make you feel good.
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 - "W" is for WORK
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought tools for WORKING in Storytime this week.
Tools were introduced in OLD MacDONALD HAD A WOODSHOP by Lisa Schulman. Do you know what was built?
We used our hammers to work with Johnny in the song "Johnny Hammers".
You can find a version of this action song in the CD CIRCLE TIME SONGS & GAMES.
During THREE LITTLE PIGS "a participation musical" we worked with tools to build the houses ... and tools to make the soup ... that feeds the Big Bad Wolf.
"WHO's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf ?"
Not ME! Just feed the poor thing !
"Tra-La-La-la-LAH!"
For MORE WORKING stories ... try the following titles:
WORK: An Occupational ABC ... look for the tools each occupation works with.
DREW The SCREW ... they all have work to do ... except Drew!
TOOLS RULE! ... they work together to make a shed.
The HANDIEST THINGS IN The WORLD ... working hands!
TOOLS ... identify who works with each set of tools.
MONKEY WITH A TOOL BELT And The NOISY PROBLEM ... Monkey works to fix a problem?
DOES A WOODPECKER USE A HAMMER? Think About How Everyone Uses Tools.
Richard Scarry's BEST NURSERY TALES collection of story classics including the THREE LITTLE PIGS.
The TRUE STORY OF The 3 LITTLE PIGS ... by Jon Scieszka. Wolf tells the story from his point of view in this up-cycle of the traditional story.
It is especially fun for multiple age groups, because it teases the imagination of older kids too.
... ONward singing "E-I-E-I-Oh" all the way !!
Blog Post
Storytimes: F is for Food!
by eapearce
Last week at storytimes, Elizabeth told stories all about food! Yum!
We heard about Gregory, the goat who is a picky eater in Gregory, the Terrible Eater and counted 15 different flavors of ice cream from Rob Reid’s 15 Scoop Ice Cream Cone. We read the classic The Wolf’s Chicken Stew and clapped along to the rhymes of Linda-Sue Park’s Bee-bim Bop! And of course, a food-themed storytime wouldn’t be complete without a “5 cupcakes” rhyme.
Visit our special Jump page for parents and teachers to see a list of storytimes at all locations.
Blog Post
Gender Identity for Kids
by evelyn
Do you know a little one who is starting to learn about the big, fun, sometimes messy world of gender and gender identity? We’ve got books for that!
Introducing Teddy is an adorable new picture book about a boy and his best friend and teddy, who wishes that she was a girl instead of a boy. Teddy is afraid to share her feelings with her friend, but when she does, she’s very glad she did! This is a wonderful book about both gender and unconditional love.
Who Are You?: The Kids’ Guide to Gender Identity is a new nonfiction book by Brook Pessin-Whedbee that teaches children about gender identity with simple language and bright, engaging pictures.
Flamingo Rampant Press is a new publisher offering picture books about gender and sexual orientation. The stories in these books are imaginative, diverse, fun, and feature all kinds of kids.
If you want more information on supporting kids in their gender exploration, take a look at The Gender Creative Child by Dr. Diane Ehrensaft. This title offers lots of information on supporting children as they grow and discover who they are. Included is information on how to talk with children about gender expression, how to make sure all of a child’s needs are getting met, how to navigate schools and other environments, and when to research medical options like hormone therapy. Raising the Transgender Child is a great resource for parents of transgender children and offers lots of detailed, science-backed, information.
For more great books on gender for kids and their grownups, take a look at this list!
Blog Post
Storytimes: D is for Dog!
by eapearce
Elizabeth shared Dog stories this week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate! We heard about the adorable, yet misbehaving dog who wouldn’t drop the shoe in Drop It, Rocket … until he heard a story, of course! Farm animals had to bravely venture into the scary doghouse to find their missing ball in Jan Thomas’ The Doghouse. Mack the dog ate a cake intended for the farmer in The Cake That Mack Ate, and we met a “talking” dog in Lois Ehlert’s Rrralph! Of course, storytime wouldn’t have been complete without a rousing version of B-I-N-G-O!
AADL’s new Westgate storytimes take place three times a week in the program room:
Mondays, from 11:00-11:30am
Wednesdays, from 1:00-1:30pm
Fridays, from 10:00-10:30am
Storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 years. All are welcome and no sign-up or registration is required.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "B" is for BEARS and ... brown, birthdays, bananas, boots, bumble bees ...
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel and Ms. Betsy brought "Bs" to Storytime.
“Happy Birthday” is from DOG And BEAR: TWO Is COMPANY ... a book with three "Dog & Bear" stories together. They are best buddies!
“My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean” … a song about “B”
There is a BROWN BEAR In A BROWN CHAIR ... and nobody sees her sitting there. The problem gets solved "Beautifully!"
You can find more Bears in these books:
BEARS In The BATH and more bear books by Shirley Parenteau
BEAR’S PICTURE … bear likes to create art.
SHHHH! BEARS SLEEPING … a year in the life of bears.
The TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC … a new version with all the words (and pictures) to the song … SING-along!
The BEAR'S SURPRISE ... Bear wakes up and finds ...
MORE BEARS! ... say the kids.
And the classic tale of bears The THREE BEARS by Paul Galdone.
Try the following for traditional versions of the story:
GOLDILOCKS And The THREE BEARS by Jan Brett.
GOLDILOCKS And The THREE BEARS by Jim Aylesworth.
GOLDILOCKS And The THREE BEARS by Susanna Davidson.
The tale in ARABIC Language - Kūldīlūks wa-al-dibabah al-thalāthah by Kate Clynes.
The tale in SPANISH Language - Ricitos de oro y los tres osos by Ana Lomba.
Or try the following for spin-off versions:
GOLDILOCKS And The THREE BEARS by James Marshall.
BELIEVE ME, GOLDILOCKS ROCKS! : the story of the three bears as told by Baby Bear by Nancy Loewen.
Blog Post
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!
by manz
It’s FestiFools weekend in Ann Arbor and today is the BIG robot costume making workshop for tomorrow’s spectacle on Main St.! So of course some of us have robots on the mind around here. You may have heard some wonderful robot stories told at storytimes the past few weeks. Here is a darling new bedtime book that’s a new favorite robot picture book.
In Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep a little boy is trying to get his robots to go to sleep, but they come up with every excuse as to why they can’t. (Sounds a bit like putting kids to bed!) “Three little robots, time for bed, Time to dim your infrared.” The rhyming text, adorable pictures, and ROBOTS will have kids wanting to read this over and over at bedtime. If you're still feelin' the bots the next morning, here is a handy list of even more robot books.
Blog Post
Beyond the Birds and Bees
by evelyn
Do you know kids who are ready to learn about the facts of life, from preschoolers who want to know where their new baby sibling came from, to adolescents dealing with puberty and sex? We have two perfect books for you, both written by sex educator Cory Silverberg and beautifully illustrated by Fiona Smyth! With bright, cheerful illustrations, straightforward text, and true diversity, these books blow other sex and puberty books away.
What Makes a Baby is for younger children who are just learning about where babies come from. The book explains that sperm and an egg are needed to make a baby. What Makes a Baby uses precise language but leaves it up to the reader to explain where their little one came from. This leaves the book open for use by any kind of family- a refreshing change for families that are usually relegated to a footnote. The illustrations boast a wealth of different kinds of families and the book emphasizes the joy that a new baby brings.
When your kids start to wonder about puberty and sex, check out Sex is a Funny Word, which is as bright and cheerful as What Makes a Baby, but longer and more advanced. This book describes sex in completely inclusive language that relates to all orientations, genders, and gender identities. It also pulls in concepts like respect, trust, joy, and justice to explain how sex fits into a bigger picture of the world. Sex is a Funny Word explores puberty, body parts, safe and unsafe touch, crushes, and so much more! The text is completely nonjudgmental and incredibly diverse.
Simply put, these books are spectacular! Go check them out!
Blog Post
Mamas and Babies
by manz
This week at preschool storytime Ms. Amanda told and read stories featuring mamas and babies. The babies were of the pig, kangaroo and human variety.
In Piglet and Mama, little pig strayed a little too far from mama and he spends the story checking in with many animal friends to see if they’ve seen mama, all the while he cries “I want my mama!”
What Shall We Do With the Boohoo Baby? is a silly story where a baby does nothing but cry BOOHOOOO. We changed the baby, fed it, played with it, and the baby still cried. Eventually the baby stopped crying – can you guess how we made that happen? It’s adorable.
In Nighty, Night Cooper a small kangaroo is being put to bed by his mother, but he wants her to sing “one more song.” So she continues to do so. The songs featured in the story are ones that have new lyrics and classic tunes your little ones might recognize. So cute! And by the author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!