Program (Child) - Turkey Time

You may have noticed that I fell behind on my Picture Book a Day in November...well...I have a valid excuse for that. I got married on November 11th, followed by an 11-night honeymoon (didn't even plan it that way!). 


Anyway, I came back to work today for a program that I planned before I realized exactly when my honeymoon was ending and the Thanksgiving holiday started (everyone has been asking me why I didn't just take today off too). May I present to you : Turkey Time!

The program was advertised for 45 minutes (it ran a little over) for ages 4-7 (for two reasons: the kids needed to write for the crafts and I've never seen a child younger than 4 sit still for a non-fiction book in storytime). It was a very small group, but surprisingly more people showed up than were signed up (that's not generally the case for my library).


Program Put Simply:


1. Read:
~ Turkey Trouble (Silvano)
~ This Is the Turkey (Levine)
~ Happy Thanksgiving (Mercer)


2. Make:
~ Give Thanks Turkey Paper Craft
~ Fall-Colored Paper Chain


3. Play:
~ Thanksgiving Matching/Memory Game


Detailed Program:
We started out reading the book Turkey Trouble - the kids laughed at all of the Turkey's costumes and agreed that he never looked anything like the animal he was trying to disguise himself as. Next, we played a Thanksgiving version of a matching game. I just Googled "Thanksgiving" clip art and found 9 pictures to duplicate and hide behind the numbers 1-18. I was surprised at how difficult it was to get the kids just to try picking two numbers at first, but after someone finally volunteered (or was volunteered, I don't remember) they loosened up a bit and seemed to enjoy the game - especially when they got a match. We then read the book This is the Turkey, followed by the turkey craft mentioned above. I rarely read non-fiction books to the kids because they seem very disinterested, but I decided to read selections from the book Happy Thanksgiving (Mercer). On the page that talks about all the different foods, I had the kids raise their hands for the different foods they like (including pumpkin pie); I told them very briefly about the first Thanksgiving; we also briefly discussed football and the Macy's parade. I then surprised them with a real pumpkin pie and cool whip, which they all got to try and most of them seemed to like. (I do wish I had advertised Thanksgiving treats as part of the program - I probably would have gotten more people that way - they always seem to come for food.) After directing them all to the sink in the back of the room to rinse off any sticky hands, they got to do their last craft (which is basically one I came up with just prior to the program when I thought I had lost the turkey craft) - essentially all I did was give them strips of red, yellow, orange, and brown paper and told them they could write or draw anything Fall/Thanksgiving-related on them, then we turned them into paper chains so they could have Thanksgiving decorations at home. On their way out, they got our "Happy Thanksreading" bookmarks.

Random Note: I had planned on using two songs in this program - beginning with the Dragon Tales "Hello Song", and doing some sort of warm-up exercise-y song in reference to working off all that Thanksgiving weight! - but my iPod died. I also had the book "Thanksgiving Rules" (Friedman) on hand to read, but we ran out of time.

Review (Book) - Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier

The concept of this book is similar to The Loud Book (reviewed here), only children learn about various forms of dots, as opposed to loud noises.


While I feel like this is a book I could have illustrated using Windows' good old "Paint" program, it's very colorful (so it should be eye-catching to the kids), yet simple, and I think the premise is great. 


This book would be excellent for kids learning their shapes. I personally can't wait to use it in a storytime, as I see an excellent opportunity to not only ask the children what shape they're looking at (circles, obviously), but also what the circle is a part of (i.e. peas in a peapod, petals on a flower, etc.).


Sorry for the short review, I seem to be very scatterbrained today. If you have read this book, now would be an excellent time to share your own opinions to fill in my blank spaces.


I cannot find an age recommendation on Amazon, but I would not personally hesitate using this book for anyone age 2-5. In fact, I just had a co-worker use this book in her shapes program for ages 2-5 last week.


My rating:

Review (Book) - Best Buds by Maxwell Eaton III

I read this book as an eBook on my iPhone (first off, I do not recommend this - it made everything very small, even for me) while my fiance drove his best man and I to Orlando last weekend, so there was no summary on a non-existent jacket. So, I will do my best to sum it up - 


This book in the "Adventures of Max and Pinky" series concentrates on how Max and Pinky are best buds. Max is a boy who looks very much like Charlie Brown; Pinky is a pig who is obsessed with marshmallows. They do everything together, until one day when Pinky does not show up for "Adventure Day"...


This book was really cute. The pictures are very simple and resemble a comic strip. The story is simple as well and can either be read to younger kids by reading only the main text on the page, and to older children by incorporating the thought and/or speech bubbles found on most pages. Adults as well will enjoy the side notes in the dialogue balloons (at least I did). The author is hilariously random - a polar bear in the middle of the lake? Whose butt resembles a giant marshmallow? LOVE IT! I can't wait to read the rest of the series.


Amazon recommends this book for ages 5 and up, but I can easily see myself using this book for our 3-5 year-old storytime.


My rating:

Review (Book) - Who Has These Feet? by Laura Hulbert

"Find out why these feet, and those of eight other animals are perfectly adapted to their habitat.
With brightly detailed paintings and a simple, informative text, this fun guessing game will have children looking at feet in a whole new way!" (inside jacket cover)


While the inside jacket flap pretty much describes the entire book, I will go on a mini-rant about how much I love this book! I can't wait to read it to a group of kids - I love playing guessing games with them.


The illustrations are beautiful. Each page has the text "Who has these feet?" (obviously accompanied by an illustration of an animal's feet) in a large, fun, kid-friendly font, followed by a two page spread of the entire animal and a short, one-sentence explanation of why the animal has feet like that. This more educational sentence can be omitted for the very young so that this book can be read to a wide span of ages.


Amazon recommends this book for ages 3 and up, but as I just mentioned, I think this book can be easily adapted to appeal even to 2-year-olds.


My rating:

Review (Book) - The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice by Kristen Balouch

"In this vibrantly illustrated book, one loud little girl searches high and low for a friend to play with, but her BIG voice scares all of the animals! One by one, an elephant, a snake, and a crocodile run away from her. She finally finds the perfect playmate-one who doesn't mind her "roaring" voice." (inside jacket cover)


One thing's for sure - this definitely is a vibrantly illustrated book. Yet, I still don't really care for the pictures, because they are drawn in such a way that I'm not sure the kids would even know what they were supposed to be. For instance, on the first page with the picture of the elephant, I think the elephant more resembles a dachshund with a trunk for a nose who is missing his front legs.


Still (especially for our "Noise" week coming up), I would like to try reading this book to the kids. It will be interesting to see if they can determine from the pictures that the little, little girl is scaring away all of the animals with her voice, as there are no noise sounds written on the page (i.e. ARRRRRGH!, EEEEEK!, etc.). This also makes me wonder if I should go ahead and make these strange/loud noises to make the kids laugh, or if I should wait and see if they catch on themselves.


I couldn't find an age recommendation for this book on Amazon, but the publishing company (judging by the inside jacket cover) seems to think this book would be best for ages 2-5.


My rating:

.5

Random note: I love that she "comes upon a snake swinging in the tree" - can you say Sally the Swinging Snake? 

Review (Book) - The Hole in the Middle by Paul Budnitz

"This is a story about music, picnics, cake, loneliness and togetherness.
It's about a boy who felt empty, and how he became a good friend and made himself whole again." (inside jacket cover)


This book had very colorful pictures with an Oriental vibe, and there are lots of little things to see on each page (my favorite being the badminton game taking place through the main character's hole).


While children would probably see this book simply enough to fit in nicely to a friendship-themed storytime, I personally am confused about what exactly this book was about (as if the summary given on the jacket flap wasn't random enough). Is this book about a boy who fills the emptiness inside him with a good friend or by being a good friend? Is this book a children's book about adult themes such as finding a soul mate to fill the emptiness inside you? And if any of these are true, how many religious fanatics will this book upset over the fact that a "higher power" is not what fills the emptiness inside a person? Or, is this book supposed to be a legend about where belly buttons came from? (Read the book, you'll see what I mean.) 


I guess overall this book would be cute for kids, (a good story on how to be a good friend) but I'm your stereotypical female who overthinks things, and I think I'm just in an overthinking mood tonight.


Amazon recommends this book for ages 3 and up.


My rating:

.5

(Still in need of a picture of a half-crown)

Review (Book) - I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal

"When Willy woke up, there was TROUBLE. Where was Bobo? Willy loves Bobo. Willy NEEDS Bobo. But Earl loves Bobo too." (inside jacket cover)


BEWARE, this review will have spoilers -


So, Willy is a young boy who has a monkey stuffed animal named Bobo for a "security blanket". Since Bobo is such a multi-functional animal, helping Willy with everything from being brave to identifying bugs...well, you can see why Willy NEEDS Bobo. The problem is that Willy's cat Earl also loves to cuddle with Bobo.


I originally picked this book up to read because of the title. My soon-to-be (in just two days!) sister-in-law calls outrageously stupid situations "bobo", so I just had to see who MUST HAVE something so stupid. But alas, the book was not stupid at all. I thought it was delightfully cute. (I may even have to buy this book for her for Christmas).


The illustrations are very simple. They remind me of a cross between Harold and the Purple Crayon (but with more colors) and Mo Willems's "Pigeon" books. The story is adorable - I love how Willy speaks to and through Bobo, and I love how Earl is always stealing Bobo away to cuddle with him. I even love how in the end, in true stuck-up cat fashion, Earl wins.


I would love to read this book to a school group of 4-5-year-olds and see if they can find Bobo, and if they answer the questions that Willy asks Bobo and Earl. Do you have any experiences reading this book to kids?


I couldn't find an age range on Amazon, but the publishing company (according to the inside jacket cover) appears to recommend the book for ages 3-6.


My rating:

Review (Book) - A Mango in the Hand by Antonio Sacre

"Today is a special day for Francisco. It is his saint day, which means it's time to celebrate with a feast! Francisco is most excited about dessert - delicious mangos, right from the tree. And he is finally old enough to go pick the mangos all by himself. 
But getting the mangos back home is not easy. There are lots of bees, and family members with whom to share. When it's finally time for the feast, Francisco has no mangos to offer! But as his papá assures him, "Mijo, no hay mal que por bien no venga. Nothing bad happens that good doesn't come of it."
This humorous, warm story filled with inspirational and universal proverbs will remind readers that "Es mejor dar que recibir. Sometimes, it's better to give than to recieve." (inside jacket cover)


Just in case you couldn't tell from the description above, this is a very lengthy book - definitely not for storytime (unless your attendees are Stepford children). However, if you have an older and/or patient child, this book may be worth looking into.


The story was lovely and taught good character, focusing especially on sharing and bravery. Though, while it is supposed to be "a story told through proverbs", some of the proverbs themselves were difficult for me to understand, let alone younger children. The story also makes me want to learn more about Cuban culture - for instance, I had always thought young children drinking café con leche was a stereotypical myth.


While the pictures were also cartoon-y cute, my favorite part of the book was how the author used Spanish words and phrases used to make the book somewhat bilingual. In case you can't figure it out (most of the sentences are repeated in English immediately after the Spanish), there is a "Glossary of Spanish words and phrases" at the end of the book.


Amazon recommends this book for 4 and up, but as I mentioned earlier, it would have to be a very patient 4-year-old.


My rating:

Review (Book) - ABC Kids by Simon Basher

I have enjoyed using ABC books in my storytimes (ABCDisney and ABCDrive have been two of my favorites) because it gives me a chance to interact with the kids by having them "help" me figure out what the next letter will be. Maybe I've been looking through the wrong ABC books, but I've never seen one quite as thorough as this.


This book can almost be read two separate ways for two entirely different age groups. Children at the "learning my ABCs" stage may find all of the pages on the right useful - there is one word beginning with the appropriate letter of the alphabet, accompanied by a picture and a letter line to show where in the alphabet the letter is located. Children who already know their ABCs but are beginning to learn how to read (or who just need to practice letter sounds) may find all of the pages on the left useful - there is a capital and lowercase version of the letter, as well as a sentence - each word beginning with the appropriate letter. 


I found the choice of illustrations interesting - they all remind me of Japanese (?) manga. I wasn't aware that was popular among readers this young.


What are your favorite ABC books?


Amazon recommends this book for ages 3 and up.


My rating:

Review (Book) - The LOUD Book! by Deborah Underwood

"BANG!

CRACKLE!

BOO!

Just as there are different kinds of quiet, there are also different kinds of loud:

Good louds (HOORAY!).

And bad louds (CRASH!)

And accidental louds that make you the center of attention (BURP!).

The Loud Book presents all of these kid-friendly noises in a way that is sure to make readers CHEER!" (inside jacket cover)

The only qualm I have with this book is the ending - there really isn't one. While the book opens with "there are lots of louds", then begins to describe (in list format) different kinds of loud noises, there is no conclusion. It just ends in the middle of the list. For all the reader knows, the last half of the book could have just been ripped out.

We are doing a week-long storytime theme of "Noise" come spring, and I can't wait to try this book. This book would be excellent for outgoing storytellers who can do good impressions of...well...loud noises. The pictures are cute, (slightly Suzy Spafford-ish, I think) the sentences are simple, and I think kids will get a kick out of listening to the imitations of LOUD sounds from slurping to burping (sure to get a combination of "eww gross!" and laughs) in the quiet library. I also plan on asking the children to make some of the noises with me.

Do you have your own experiences of telling this story? Please share!

Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 and up. Because of the interactive potential, I think this age could be slightly younger.

My rating:

Review (Book) - Wow! Ocean! by Robert Neubecker

I will start out admitting that this may be a biased review - before I started reading the book, I noticed it was published by Disney·Hyperion.


I was wary at first with the cover art - the whale led me to believe that the illustrations in this book would be a little too...artsy (sorry, I've just seen too many kids neglect those kinds of books). But boy was I wrong. I thought this book was amazing. Other than the first page, which does an excellent job at providing the introduction to the story (her mountain-based family takes a trip to the ocean) in rhyme, it is very simple. There are always two words to a page, one of them always being "WOW!" (great for word-recognition).

What I liked best about this book is that it can be used for a very wide age-range. For instance, with a toddler group, the pictures are very colorful to hold attention and the words very short ("Wow! Fish!"). For an older group, almost every page has details of what the pictures are (instead of just "Wow! Fish!", they have labeled the tuna, the sailfish, the swordfish, etc.) so you can interact with them and see how much they know about sea creatures. Also, Izzy and Jo (the sisters/main characters of the book) are hidden on each 2-page spread (a couple open further, poster-style), so it may also be fun to turn the situation into one similar to "Where's Waldo?" and let them find the kids on each page.


I am very excited to use this and (now that I know what the WOW! books are like) other Neubecker books in my storytimes! Do you have any stories to share about these books?


Amazon recommends this book for ages 3 and up.


My rating:

Review (Book) - Cookiebot! by Katie Van Camp

"The Problem: Harry and Horsie want cookies, but the jar is way out of reach.
The Solution: Build CookieBot - the most amazing cookie-grabbing robot ever!
What could go wrong?" (inside jacket cover)


To otherwise summarize this book, I would suggest thinking Frankenstein + King Kong, but over cookies instead of Fay Wray. 


The illustrations of this book were probably the best part. It is very graphic novel/comic book-esque (it reminded me personally of Calvin and Hobbes). The pictures alone (as if the subject of cookies wasn't enough) should draw in reluctant young readers.


I can't really explain why, but I did not personally care for the telling of the story (I did enjoy the ending), though I can see boys (again, especially the reluctant readers) enjoying this book. 


Amazon recommends this book for ages 3 and up.


My rating: 

.5 

(I should probably get a half-crown picture)

Random Note: Other than the illustrations, my favorite part of the book was the "SUGAR CRASH!" (second to last page)

Review (Book) Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party by Melanie Watt

"Here's the story, in a nutshell:
I NEVER have big birthday parties. It's way too risky. I could be surprised by ponies or flying confetti.
So I take control of things by planning a small birthday celebration and putting on my finest suit. Then I suddenly have a change of heart and decide to add a special someone to my guest list.
Organizing a successful party for 2 requires attention to detail. But when it's party time - SURPRISE! - all my plans are thrown up in the air!
Will I survive this ordeal? Will I face the music? Will I party until I can't party any more?" (inside jacket flap)


If you have not yet read a Scaredy Squirrel book, (yes, he has his own series) you're missing out. Scaredy Squirrel books are always fun to read - the star character being a cute squirrel who is afraid of everything.


The pictures are cute; the font again is kid-friendly but legible; the story is predictable, but very comical with a sweet ending.


The only downside to this book is that it has so much detail in it that it takes an adult or very patient, older reader to absorb all the details - from one "DO" and seven "DONT'S" of partying to the one hour (and one minute)-long, 18-step "birthday party schedule". If an effort is put into attention to all these details, the reader will be rewarded with many giggles.


As with Mo Willems's books, I may try using this book in a storytime setting of a kindergarten-aged school group (on average, they tend to be more well-behaved and interactive than public groups in my experiences). Have you read this book to kids before? If so, please let me know what your result was!


Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 and up.


My rating:

Review (Book) - Camille's Team by Stuart Murphy

"Camille loves to build sand forts at the beach. But it's hard to build a big fort alone. See what happens when Camille and her friends make a plan, work together, and share the fun." (inside jacket flap)


I read this book last night and still can't come to a verdict of how I feel about the book as a whole, so I'll break it into three parts.


The illustrations are definitely the best part of this book. From the map of the town on the front endpapers (apparently that's the "official" term for the inside front cover of a book) to the end of the book, the characters are just so cute. If they don't already, they look like they should have their own TV show. 


The text of the book (while in a kid-friendly but still readable font, and arranged in fun ways to wrap around the illustrations) is slightly boring. It also drove me up a wall that there were no commas after the transition words (unless one of the character's names really is "Soon Carlos"), but children aren't going to notice that.


Another one of my favorite parts of this book though (Do I put a comma here? Before the word "though"? Both??? See what this book has done to me?!) was how the author focused on the word "cooperate" and then used several pages to make sure the reader comprehended the definition of the word, while still telling the story. At the end of the book there is a section for "A Closer Look", which is a selection of suggested reading comprehension questions. 


I can't picture using this book for storytime, but I think it would be great to use in a tutor-situation - one-on-one with a young child to work on their reading comprehension. 


Amazon recommends this book for ages 3 and up.


My rating:

Review (Book) - Gray by Patricia Stockland

This book is part of a series based on colors by Patricia Stockland. In it, the reader follows a girl and her grandma throughout their day on a trip around the city - through the subway, to the museum, and eventually back home. On the way the girl and her grandma point out all the gray things they see in their city.


This book almost seems like a Beginning Reader. From the centered page numbers, to the simple sentences. One page has the illustration, the other page has two sentences on it. Also, to help with word recognition, every page has an observation about something in the city that is gray. There is a glossary in the back as well as the lovely addition of how to mix colors to make gray. The pictures are also simple but still cute. At first I didn't think this was something I would use in storytime because of its simplicity, but on second thought decided that this could actually be really cool to use in a color special for toddlers. Even if parents have to help them, the book is repetitive enough where they should be able to fill in the blanks when it comes to all the uses of the word "gray".


Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 and up, but I think this book is simple and short enough to be good for much younger readers.


My Rating:

*Randomn-ness that made me smile during this book: The lights at the subway entrance (pg. 4) totally look like Pokeballs. 

National Picture Book Month

I discovered today that November is National Picture Book Month! I had never heard of this before today, when I stumbled upon this posting at There's A Book. I loved Danielle's idea of reviewing a picture book a day (so I'm going to "steal" it) to get me back into blogging! 

So, I did some research, and it appears that National Picture Book Month was started by some lovely children's book authors in response to the outrage caused by this article from the New York Times. It sounds like people are getting upset with the author of the article, yet, I think the author has very good points. Which leads to my personal conclusion - parents and other people who serve the youth population need to be educated on how important of a step picture books can be in both a child's education and childhood. Unfortunately I have not yet started grad school and learned all the details of childhood development, so I am probably not the best person for that...instead, I intend to spotlight some great picture books that parents may want to read with their children.

And now, on to the reviews!