Thanksgiving Storytime

Last Thursday, I held a Thanksgiving storytime for a class from SRVS. I read Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano, illustrated by Lee Harper, followed by One is a Feast for Mouse by Judy Cox, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler.

Turkey Trouble reminded me a lot of Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise, except instead of disguising himself to catch dinner like Owl, Turkey is disguising himself so he won't become dinner!

One is a Feast for Mouse reminded me of the song "The Green Grass Grew All Around" because Mouse makes a huge stack of food morsel upon food morsel, and the stack is repeated each time something new is added. It's extra fun to point at the illustrations and have everyone say the item along with you. Spoiler alert: you will be out of breath by the end!

After reading those two books, we made turkeys using toilet paper rolls and construction paper feathers. To save time, I pre-cut the feathers, so each individual got ten and glued them to the back of their toilet paper roll. Then they used crayons to draw eyes and a beak on their turkeys!

I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

Hoot Owl Storytime

A project for my LS5343 Youth Programs class was to design a storytime program. I picked one of my son's favorite books, Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor. Check out my program ideas on Glogster to see the song and craft, too!

Halloween Storytime

Yesterday I held a Halloween storytime for two classes from SRVS. I know, I know - it's only the beginning of October! But for now, this program is only held once a month, so I had to share these excellent books while I could!


See the setup in a better light here.
I read:
- Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex
- Little Shop of Monsters by R.L. Stine and Marc Brown
- a few poems from Your Skeleton is Showing: Rhymes of Blunder from Six Feet Under by Kurt
   Cyrus, illustrated by Crab Scrambly
- Monster Mash by David Catrow

I encouraged the group to speak/sing along as I read Monster Mash; we also listened to the song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and danced. Then I turned off all the lights and asked for volunteers to tell ghost stories.

It was a fun program, but several of the individuals asked if we were making monster crafts. I had substituted the ghost stories section for craft time, since we have a little less than an hour for the whole program, and I pay for supplies out of pocket. For future Halloween programs, I'll definitely have a fun monster craft planned. Lesson learned!


I reviewed the first three books on the read-aloud list as "Best Books for
Halloween" and made a short video, so check it out for more on those titles.
I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

The Day the Crayons Storytime

Today was my second time holding a library program for adults with disabilities! Two classes from SRVS came for a colorful storytime! I read The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.

I made the books a little more interactive by letting the individuals call out what color was writing the letter based on the illustrations. In the second book, they had fun trying to remember what color crayon had renamed himself "Esteban"!

For the craft, individuals colored their own bookmarks with an assortment of crayons, trying to use them all equally so none would get mad and quit! Check out these beautiful bookmarks!

I've also written about previous library programs for adults with disabilities.

My First Storytime with SRVS!

The backstory behind my library program for adults with disabilities is explained here.
Two weeks ago today, on August 13, 2015, I held my first library program for two classes of adults with disabilities from SRVS! I was pretty nervous because my experience of reading aloud is limited to my one-year-old. I picked two books I really loved because I knew I'd be comfortable reading them aloud. Bonus: both books are really funny, so I knew my audience would be laughing!

I started with The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers, then read Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien. The craft was to make Hoot Owl pencil toppers out of construction paper. I pre-cut all the pieces for the owl because we have a little less than an hour for this program. The individuals glued them together, then taped the owl to their pencil. A SRVS teacher and I took requests from the individuals and we made disguises for each owl! See the super cool spy glasses pictured above.

This program was so much fun to lead, and I'm excited to continue it every month. I can't wait to see how it grows and develops into more!

The Pout-Pout Fish

This book grabbed our attention at the library because some of us are a little grumpy
in the morning. (It may or may not be me.) Therefore, anything portraying that
crankiness in a different light is something we gravitate towards!


Plot Summary
Pout-Pout Fish is always frowning as he swims around the ocean. He frowns when he encounters his fellow ocean-dwellers, who all try to cheer him up to no avail. Will Pout-Pout Fish ever learn to smile?

Critical Analysis
This book is a great read-aloud choice! Kids will love the refrain “I’m a pout-pout fish / With a pout-pout face, / So I spread the dreary-wearies / All over the place.” This creates a call and response for storytime, with “Blub, Bluuub, Bluuuuuuub” following right behind the catchy verse. My seven-month-old even learned the rhythm of the words and would lean back to watch me blue along with Pout-Pout Fish!
     The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous; the jellyfish page took my breath away! The images are bright and vividly colored, sure to draw in young readers. One ocean friend is introduced per page spread, but there’s an added game of looking for and identifying all of the other critters that inhabit the pages.

Personal Response
This book is already a favorite at our house! My fiancé read it for the first time to his five-year-old son and our seven-month-old son, and both boys loved it. The five-year-old loved the rhyming stanzas (as did I!) and the seven-month-old loved the pictures. His room is decorated in an ocean theme, so I like to think he felt right at home underwater with Pout-Pout Fish and friends! When I re-read it to the baby, as I mentioned above, he learned to recognize certain sections of the text and look at me as I read them. He loved grabbing at the fish in the pictures as well. He smiles any time he sees Pout-Pout Fish now, so we’re eager to add these books to our library… and we’ve caught (pun intended!) word that there is a plush Pout-Pout Fish out there too…

Reviews & Awards
Pout-Pout Fish is a New York Times Bestseller and the 2009 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year. Times Record News says "Diesen's clever rhymes are playful and fun and are sure to keep children's imaginations swimming from page to page.”

Connections & Activities
There is a whole series of Pout-Pout Fish books - with more still coming out! This first one is so enjoyable, I know we’re going to read and love them all.

Read it for yourself!
Diesen, Deborah. 2008. The Pout-Pout Fish. Ill. by Dan Hanna. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374360962

Read Aloud 101

One of my favorite sites, The Bookworm Club, recently shared a helpful
infographic with tips on how to make storytimes rich for children.


I think I've mentioned before that I had next to no experience with kids before having my own baby, and while I've loved reading my whole life, I only read for myself. Even reading my own work aloud for classmates in my creative writing MFA programs was a little difficult.

Now I read aloud to my son almost every day, and I've learned a lot about how to do that. Though he's too young to ask questions or interrupt the story, over time I've found myself stopping to point out things in the pictures, or ask "What's going to happen?" as I struggle to turn the page while hanging on to his wiggly self.

My 5-year-old stepson has gotten more interested in books with each visit to our house, and I love picking books I think he'd like. After going to the zoo, for example, I picked Put Me In the Zoo by Robert Lopshire. It was one of my favorites as a girl, and I loved seeing my stepson hop around and show off what he could do with his spots. When I recently read Knuffle Bunny to him, he spoke like baby Trixie for days afterwards as he played.

I love seeing how a simple story can influence children! I look forward to reading with my son as he grows, because my stepson was so eager to help turn pages and point out things in the illustrations and ask questions and make guesses about what would happen next. When reading to children, you're actually sharing the stories because you're presenting it to them, interacting with them as they understand what's being read to them, and get to see them delight in the book's world.

But I digress! The Bookworm Club's guide to reading aloud is fantastic and I felt like it needed to be shared, so I'm posting the image here (with permission). Please also check out their post about the tips, and take some time to peruse their excellent site!


Read Aloud 101