Story Time Goals for 2014

I've been giving some thought to my goals for library services in this new year. Last year was all about STEAM in so many ways, and I'll continue to spend considerable time on my own STEAM initiatives as well as promoting STEAM at conferences in 2014. What I decided, though, as I reflected on the fact that 2013 birthed the Storytime Underground movement, is that my story time skills could use some expansion.

I gave that general goal some thought, keeping in mind that the heavy majority of the story times I provide happen at large outreach locations and thus have few story time "extras" (i.e., parachute, shakers, bells). What I came up with were two monthly tasks for myself to both spruce up my story times and push my librarian skills, as well as a goal to better use the plethora of resources out there in libraryland.

My 2014 story time goals:

1) Share a new (to me and my kiddos) ukulele song every month. That'll be a total of 12 new songs added to my repertoire by the end of the year. Since I'm the sort of person who needs a chord sheet in front of me in case my mind fizzles out come story time, I'll be putting together simple lyrics-and-chords sheets and sharing them here on the blog (copyright permitting, of course).

2) Create and use a new felt story every month. My personal felt story collection currently consists of a store-bought Little Red Hen. It's an okay, generic set. With plenty of encouragement and tutelage from the fantastic folks at Flannel Friday, however, I am embarking on a journey to create 12 felt story sets that work with the way I tell stories.

3) Pay better attention to the resources being shared by outstanding story time librarians, and go beyond just bookmarking them "for later." I'll keep a close eye on Anne's Instant Professional Development series, for example. And I'm ALWAYS grateful to see the storytime badassery that Cory links to at Storytime Underground.

With some thought and hard work, I'm going to make my 2014 story times even better than their 2013 cousins. If you've got tips to help me achieve these goals, I'd love to hear them in the comments or on Twitter. And love and support to you as you aim still higher for your own library services this year!

More Books with Beat

When I ended up covering a colleague's story time for a local moms group last week, and I opted to replicate a recent successful program: a sort of toddler story-and-dance extravaganza. I used many of the same songs in this program as I did in the previous program; the audiences don't usually overlap, so I wasn't worried about seeming repetitive. I did, however, select some new stories to keep my own enthusiasm as fresh as possible. Here are the three great books with beat I used. They're perfect for story times with a bit more song and dance than your usual offering.

Busy Busy City Street by Cari Meister, illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia

     This story combines simple, rhyming text with lovely illustrations. Whenever I've shared this book, kids are really into the fun images on the pages that correspond with the story itself. The repeated chorus of "Honk! Honk! Beep! Beep! Busy, busy city street" catches the attention of listeners, and by the end of the book they are quick to respond to my honks with beeps of their own.

The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
     This amphibious version of the Hokey Pokey is a lot of fun. Lots of young kids haven't really heard the Hokey Pokey before, so they are excited about discovering a song that is so interactive and silly (you put your backside in!). I sing the text of the book to get things going, and I jump around with my tongue stuck out to catch flies in the appropriate parts of the story.

Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
     This book has so many great applications. It introduces a variety of farm animals and the sounds they make, it includes great sounds for promoting phonological awareness, and it boasts a great, consistent rhythm. Animals in the story cannot sleep because "they've got that beat," and every listener quickly catches the beat, too.

~~*~~

What are some of your favorite books with beat to use in story times?

It's a (story time) party!

Current and former preschoolers
celebrate together.

One of the preschools I visit regularly to provide outreach story times contacted me last month to share some news: they were throwing a party to celebrate their 25th anniversary as a preschool, and I was invited! Woo, a party! Who doesn't love a party? Of course I said I'd be there, and I happily agreed to bring some stories for the activities portion of the day.

There was a lot to capture kids' attention following birthday song and the cutting (and gobbling) of the birthday cake. There was a clown making balloon animals, face painting, a bounce house--the fire department even brought a fire truck to the parking lot for the occasion. With all that stimulation, kids moved from station to station as they pleased. Lots seemed quite happy to have a semi-quiet story time area where they could relax and enjoy some popsicles.

Since kids were moving in and out of my story time area, I had some books propped up in front of me so kids could choose the stories they wanted to hear. Familiarity and silliness seem to be key in choosing stories for an informal story time, as the big hits were Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow, Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and I Am Invited to a Party! by Mo Willems. All these stories make sense to young children even if they arrive in the middle of a telling. They also all boast interactive read-aloud options: kids can use their fingers to tell about those jumping monkeys, and the reader can ask for opinions on what that creature looks like and what kids might wear to various types of parties.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this story time party was my getting to introduce my new story time tool: a ukulele! It arrived in the mail last week, and so far I've mastered "If You're Happy and You Know It"--which, thankfully, can be adapted and stretched out in a myriad of ways. At the party, we sang it the traditional way as well as with animal noises; kids got really involved, as I asked them to supply the names of animals they wanted to sound like in each verse. We were rockin'!

I may not have had kids lined up by my station like the face painters or balloon animal-making clown, but all the kids I did interact with were all smiles. That's what I call a fun party!

Pete the Cat

Pete the Cat is a rock star.

You've met Pete the Cat, right? The uber-cool feline creation of illustrator James Dean and writer/musician Eric Litwin? Since Pete the Cat appeared in Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes in 2010, my oh my has he become a bona fide celebrity.

Example: I visit a daycare/preschool group once a month, and after I first shared Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes with them last November, they have asked me repeatedly if I'll bring the story to read again. Every month they ask if Pete is in my story time bag, and on more than one occasion we've told the story together by heart--words and songs!--without the help of the print book. Kids love Pete the Cat.

Librarians, teachers, and parents love Pete, too, because his books are fun, catchy, and educational. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is all about colors and cause and effect. Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes gives kids the confidence and comfort to go off to school/preschool/etc. And the most recent book in the series, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, tackles counting and losing things with Pete's signature mellow attitude and catchy tune. See the book trailer below to see what I mean--the concept and song are great!



I'm waiting until the school year kicks off and I start making my regular preschool and daycare story time visits to share Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons with library audiences, but I got a copy for my cousin's two-year-old daughter --and all signs indicate she's already hooked. Suffice it to say that Pete the Cat passes pretty much all tests: regardless of age, attention span, language ability, concept knowledge, or anything at all, every kiddo who's met Pete the Cat has loved him.

Grab a Pete the Cat story for a program and, as Pete himself would say: It's all good!