Storytime Share: Dragons

I’ve done dragon-themed storytimes many times over the years.  It’s a great theme that appeals to both boys and girls and can be done with a wide age of ranges as well.  It’s also a great way to explore stories from different places around the world since many cultures have dragon tales in their folklore.  This past summer I used dragon stories with school-age groups I read to both in the library and at outreach locations around town.  Below is a sampling of books I used with these groups as well as an activity idea.

Books:

Behold the Dragons! by Gail Gibbons

Great overview of various types of dragons found in myths and legends around the world.  I used the first few pages as an introduction to my dragon storytimes.  Early Elementary, Older Elementary

Brave Martha and the Dragon by Susan L. Roth; illustrated by the author

Based on the legend of St. Martha, who saved the village of Tarascon, France from a deadly dragon.  The collage illustrations in this book really appealed to my audiences.  Older Elementary

The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash; illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

One of my perennial storytime favorites – Ogden Nash’s clever story of cowardly pet dragon Custard who overcomes his fears to thwart a pirate who invades his home.  Preschool, Early Elementary, Older Elementary

The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker; illustrated by Grace Lin

Each sister in this story must use her own unique talent to rescue the youngest from a dragon that kidnaps her for his tasty dinner.  Preschool, Early Elementary

Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale by Laurence Yep; illustrated by Kam Mak

In order to save her father from the wrath of a dragon, a young maiden offers herself in his place and together she and her dragon prince learn the true meaning of beauty.  Older Elementary

Activity:

“Going on a Dragon Hunt”

This is an activity I found in a book or magazine years ago that I use all the time.  It’s a lot like the well-known “Going on a Bear Hunt” story, but with a dragon instead.  I tell the story of a brave knight who leaves his castle to fight a dragon that’s been terrorizing the nearby village.  Along the way the knight has to cross a bridge, walk through a forest, swim through a creek, etc.   As the knight is walking, have the children pat their hands on their laps.  When crossing the bridge, make the thumping sound by patting fists on chest.   Act out a swimming motion when crossing the creek, then shake yourself to “dry” off.  Add other motions that come to mind as well.  He stops a couple of times along the way to take a look around, but doesn’t find the dragon.  When he gets to a clearing in the forest he looks around again and sees the dragon.  Instead of fighting the dragon though, he turns and runs back to the castle instead.  When the knight runs back to the castle, reverse all the motions and do them faster!

Storytime Share: Names

As a department manager, I don’t have the opportunity to do as much programming as I did when I was a children’s library paraprofessional and children’s librarian.  However, when summer rolls around, I’m able to dust off my programming skills and share stories with groups that visit the library and groups at daycares and summer school programs around town.  I always try to incorporate the summer reading theme, especially for school-age kids.  This summer’s Collaborative Summer Library Program theme is “One World, Many Stories.”  It’s a fun theme with lots of options.  For my first round of  school-age programs this summer, I chose to share a few stories from different parts of the world having to do with names.  I think it’s turned out to be a fun program, and the kids seem to enjoy these stories.  Here’s the rundown of what I’ve been doing in these programs.

Books:

A Perfect Name by Charlene Costanzo; illustrated by LeUyen Pham

As the naming ceremony for their baby daughter approaches Mama and Papa Hippopotamus search to find the perfect name for her.  Preschool; Early Elementary

Man Gave Names to All the Animals by Bob Dylan; illustrated by Scott Menchin

Based on the song by Bob Dylan, I chose to use this shorter version illustrated by Menchin.  There is also a gorgeous version illustrated by Jim Arnosky that is a bit lengthier.  Several versions of the song are available as well, including one by Tim O’Brien on the Sing Along with Putumayo CD.  Preschool; Early Elementary; Older Elementary

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes; illustrated by the author

Chrysanthemum loves the beautiful name her parents have given her until she starts school and other kids make fun of it.  Preschool; Early Elementary

Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel; illustrated by Blair Lent

The origins of this folktale have been debated, but the story centers on a little Chinese boy whose extremely long name puts his life in danger when he falls into a well and his brother has to spend so much time just saying the name when he runs to seek help.  Always a crowd-pleaser, the children were chanting the name along with me by the end.  Early Elementary; Older Elementary

Can You Guess My Name?: Traditional Tales around the World selected and retold by Judy Sierra; illustrated by Stefano Vitale

I read the story “How Ijapa the Tortoise Tricked the Hippopotamus” from this great collection.  In this story from Nigeria the hippopotamus is a king who refuses to share his great feast with the other animals unless they can guess his name, and the tortoise sets out to do just that.  Older Elementary

Rumpelstiltskin retold by Paul Zelinsky; illustrated by the author

The traditional Grimm Brothers story of the strange little man who helps a young woman spin straw into gold, retold and beautifully illustrated by Zelinsky.  Early Elementary; Older Elementary

Songs: 

“My Bonnie”

See this previous post for tips on using this song.

“Ram Sam Sam” from Crazy Gibberish and Other Story Hour Stretches (from a Storyteller’s Bag of Tricks) by Naomi Baltuck; illustrated by Doug Cushman

Even though this song isn’t specifically about someone’s name, I thought the nonsense lyrics fit well with the unusual names in Rumpelstiltskin and Tikki Tikki Tembo.  The kids enjoyed doing the motions that go along with the song and the challenge of singing the song faster with each repetition.

Storytime Share: Transportation

Transportation is a common theme for preschool storytimes.  Here is just a sample of some books and songs that can be done in a transportation-themed storytime.

Books:

My Car by Byron Barton; illustrated by the author

Sam describes how he takes care of his car and all the places he drives to in it.  Baby, Toddler, Preschool

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

A shark and a train challenge each other in a series of competitions, each with a different winner depending on the situation.  Preschool, Early Elementary

The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom

Tess and her brother wait for the school bus as various other vehicles pass by.  Toddler, Preschool

Peek-a-Choo-Choo by Marie Torres Cimarusti; illustrated by Stephanie Peterson

Vehicles and their various sounds are explored in this lift-the-flap guessing game book.  Toddler, Preschool

Who Is Driving? by Leo Timmers; illustrated by the author

Readers are encouraged to guess which animal is driving the different automobiles seen throughout the book.  Toddler, Preschool

Bunnies on the Go: Getting from Place to Place by Rick Walton; illustrated by Paige Miglio

A family of bunnies takes a vacation using every mode of tranportation imaginable in this rhyming picture book.  Preschool, Early Elementary

Songs:

“There’s a Little Wheel A-Turnin’ in My Heart” by Laurie Berkner (Buzz Buzz)

“Drivin’ in My Car” by Ralph Covert (Ralph’s World)

“The Wheels on the Bus” by Music for Little People (Playtime Favorites)

Storytime Share: Emergency Storytime Kits

While my library system has quite a few branches, some of those branches are staffed by as few as two people.  Many of the branches have only one person on staff responsible for providing children’s programming.  I think this is the case for many public library branches out there.  With only one children’s programmer at a branch, the occasion sometimes arises when that person is unexpectedly absent, leaving remaining non-children’s staff to present a storytime.  In our system, we came up with a plan for these instances – provide each branch with an “Emergency Storytime Kit.”  These kits would be aimed at a preschool-aged audience and would contain classic picture books, no-fail children’s music, and a traditional flannel story.  It was also requested that step-by-step instructions for a sample program or two be provided for those who REALLY don’t feel experienced in doing a storytime.  Being the manager of the downtown library’s Children’s Room, I have the most children’s services staff, so I volunteered my department to take on the task of designing the kits.

The first step was finding several classic picture book titles for the kit.  We started with a list of about a dozen titles, which was quickly whittled down to six based on the number of copies of each title available from our vendor.  We needed to provide a kit to each of the fifteen branches in our system that present weekly children’s programs, so we needed fifteen copies of each title.  Next we looked for two CD titles that each contained multiple songs that would work for a preschool storytime.  Then, we searched for an easy-to-tell, ready-made flannel story (because having to make fifteen flannel stories out of felt ourselves would have been quite time-consuming).

So, these are the final contents of our kits:

Books:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle; illustrated by the author

Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley; illustrated by the author

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer; illustrated by the author

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; illustrated by Lois Ehlert

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Mark Teague

Even though there’s not a clear theme with these books, these are favorite titles that ALWAYS work with preschoolers.

CDs:

The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band - The Laurie Berkner Band

Car Songs: Songs to Sing Anywhere - Dennis Buck

These two titles both contain multiple songs that work well with preschoolers.  They provide a good balance of traditional songs and more contemporary songs.  They also contain good movement songs that don’t require props or instruments, which was important because not all of our branches have musical instruments for the children to use.

Flannel Story:

“Five Little Monkeys” (from School Specialty)

We figured this is a flannel based on a song/chant that most library staff would already know and with which most children and caregivers would readily join in.  Even better, this song is included on the Car Songs CD, making it even easier for staff.

All that remained once we had all the items for our kit was to put together a couple of step-by-step plans for the staff to follow.  We came up with two plans that each used three book titles matched with appropriate songs.  We also included the flannel story in both plans and provided a couple of generic fingerplays that could be mixed and matched as needed.  And voila!  Emergency Storytime Kits!

Storytime Share: A Visit to the Library

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am finally sharing my library-themed storytime for the preschool set.

I’ve done this storytime for groups taking a field trip to the library and as an outreach visit.  Depending on the books used, it can be done with toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary students.

Books:

Wolf! by Becky Bloom; illustrated by Pascal Biet

When a hungry wolf stops by a farm to prey on the barnyard animals, he is impressed by their reading skills and decides to learn how to read himself.  Preschool, Elementary

I Love My Little Storybook by Anita Jeram; illustrated by the author

A little bunny describes the magical world she visits when she reads her favorite book.  Preschool

Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn; illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

Lola and her mother visit the library every Tuesday for storytime and to check out more great books.  Toddler, Preschool

Beatrice Doesn’t Want To by Laura Numeroff; illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

Beatrice is reluctant to visit the library with her brother Henry until she discovers storytime.  Preschool, Elementary

Read It, Don’t Eat It! by Ian Schoenherr; illustrated by the author

A group of not-so-conscientious animals demonstrates how NOT to take care of a library book.  Preschool, Elementary

Wild about Books by Judy Sierra; illustrated by Marc Brown

When a bookmobile stops at the zoo by mistake, the librarian turns all the animals into eager readers.  Preschool, Elementary

But Excuse Me That Is My Book by Lauren Child; illustrated by the author

Brother and sister pair Charlie and Lola visit the library, where Lola is a little perturbed that her favorite book, which she always checks out, has been chosen by someone else.  Preschool, Elementary

Songs:

“The Library Song” by Tom Chapin (Just for Kids)

“The Books I Like to Read” by Frances England (Fascinating Creatures)

“I Love My Library” by Lunch Money (Dizzy)

Fingerplay:

“Here Is My Book”

Here is my book (hold hands out in front of you with palms together)

I open it wide (open hands like opening a book)

To read all the stories (look at hands to “read” them)

That are inside

Flannel story:

“Book Bear”

This flannel story is similar to the “Little Mouse” flannel that can be found in multiple resources.  In that flannel, you hide a mouse behind houses of various colors and have the children guess where the mouse is hiding.  In this version, I hide a bear, which I call “Book Bear”, behind one of eight book-shaped flannel pieces and have the children find him.  We’re fortunate enough to have a die cut machine at my library, so I used our book shape die cut to make eight book pieces, each a different color.

Before I begin the flannel with the children I explain to them how it works, hiding the bear behind one of the books as I talk.  Then I place the books on the flannel one at a time, being careful not to let them see which one has the bear behind it.  After the books are all on the board, I go through the colors with the kids and then let them start guessing.  With each guess, I point to the particular book, and ask them, “Is Book Bear behind the (insert color) book?”  Then we chant together, “Book Bear, Book Bear, are you under there?”  Then I pull the book off to reveal either a blank space or Book Bear.  I usually try to finagle the game so that Book Bear is under the last book I remove.  This flannel story (and its many variations) is ALWAYS a hit, and kids of all ages love it.