Eric Carle Storytime

I started planning this storytime because I was feeling "lazy" and Eric Carle books are (almost) always a hit, but lo and behold of course I ended up getting super into it. I think/hope the kids could sense my enjoyment, because this seemed to be one of my best storytimes yet, especially for toddlers!

I started by introducing Eric Carle as the author and illustrator of the books we would read today, and spoke about what that meant.

As always, we start out with my favorite, borrowed from a wise colleague: "If You'd Like to Read a Book, Clap Your Hands!":

If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! (Clap, clap!) If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! (Clap, clap!) If you'd like to read a book, listen up and take a look! If you'd like too read a book, clap your hands! (Clap, clap) ...followed by stomp your feet, sing hooray!

The first book I read was The Very Hungry Caterpillar in the big book format. Normally I find big books particularly awkward and steer clear of using them for that reason, but to see the lovely details in this book, you really need it for a large audience and it worked well. The little buggers get extra excited about big books, even if Miss Cassie looks like a goon trying to turn the pages. I used our butterfly puppet at the end of the book. Some people are puppet people and some people are not. I am definitely one of the former, as I love the way the little ones' faces light up almost every time I engage them with one of my puppets.

To prepare for our next book, Ten Little Rubber Ducks, we practiced counting to ten with my flannel number set. I like to include a flannel visual whenever possible. We have a huge piece of blue felt, almost blanket sized, which I draped over a large Tupperware bin that served as a little ocean backdrop for the telling of this story. In the beginning of the story, a cardboard box of rubber duckies falls out of a boat and the duckies fall into the ocean. Thus, I dumped my cardboard box of duckies into the "ocean" and squeals of delight ensued. To transition to our next book, we sang Five Little Ducks along with its flannel counterparts.

From Head to Toe is one of Eric Carle's best books for a storytime because of its participatory nature. It gets the kids moving and I like letting them move and stretch about midway through the storytime to get those ants out of their pants.  With vivid and brightly colored pictures of animals doing fun movements, we transitioned after this book to a flannel I made called "I Went to the Zoo One Day". When I went about making this flannel, I picked numerous illustrations from a wide selection of Carle's books and glued them to felt. To perform it, I pick the animals out of an envelope so that each one is a surprise, as we sing (to the tune of "London Bridge"):

I went to the zoo one day, zoo one day, zoo one day! I went to the zoo one day, and I saw a _______! (Let the children identify the animal as you put it on the flannel board)

Finally, we read Eric Carle's Have You Seen My Cat? because I can never resist a cat book. Mostly because it allows me to use my fat cat puppet. When the cat is "found" at the end of the story and I surprised the little ones with Mr. Cat who had been hiding behind the flannel board, they were beyond ecstatic at having "helped" me find my cat. As always, we ended with "Skidamarink" (because I love them oh so much, and want to tell them so) and kitty cat kisses on everyone's noses. Puppet nose kisses are something I started doing at the end of each storytime and as time has gone on, even the shyest of the toodles comes up to me for a kiss. It is actually the cutest thing you could probably ever see in your life. Just today I had a little boy get in line five extra times for a kitty cat kiss.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Harry Potter!

On July 31st, 2014, Harry Potter turned 34. Instead of thinking about how old that makes me, I decided to embrace the celebration of his birth (and J.K. Rowling's) along with my co-workers in a department-wide Harry Potter Birthday Party. In Teen Space, my colleagues showed a screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, while making pipe cleaner Harry Potter glasses, giving each other face paint lightning bolt scars, and death eater tattoos. They also enjoyed a delicious birthday cake, of course!

Over in the Children's Room, we made owl paper bag crafts, played "Wizard's Chess", and dressed up for photos in front of my Platform 9 & 3/4 Photo Booth. I did not have enough galleons, knuts, or sickles to afford Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans for all of the attendees, so we served "Muggle Beans" (Jelly Bellys), and I made homemade Honeydukes treat bags for them to take home. The little wizards had a ton of fun posing in front of Platform 9 & 3/4 with their handmade owls, although I think I may have gotten the most involved with my Fleur Delacour/ Beauxbatons costume. One of my favorite parts of the day was when the young wizards started using spells on each other (along with my co-workers and me), who would promptly drop our wands at "EXPELLIARMUS!" and stand perfectly still at "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Another extremely high point of the day was when a co-worker burst into the Children's Room, shouted, "TROLL! In the basement!" and then dramatically fainted. Overall, it was a very well attended and wonderful birthday party. I think even 34-year-old Harry Potter would have enjoyed it.

Back to School Display

However you would like to refer to him; Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg, Rosetta Stone, or Theodor Seuss Geisel, the beloved author had quite a way with words.  This specific quote is overdone in schools and libraries in my opinion, but that didn't stop me from using it for our back to school display: one, because it is a great quote, and two, it is long enough to fill our seemingly fifty-foot long bulletin board (I didn't measure it, this may be a gross under or over estimation... and one day I will figure the panoramic feature on my camera phone to post a more accurate picture).  Anyways, I had fun with this one.  I cannot take credit for the beautiful rendering of Donald Crews' Schoolbus, which was made in the past by one of our teen employees.  But I had loads of fun picking out some of my favorite characters to fly around in hot air balloons.  Not pictured are: Rosemary Wells' Yoko, Donald Crews' Peter('s Chair), J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline, Don Freeman's Corduroy, and Eric Carle's Friends.  Pictured below are E.B. White's/ Garth Williams' Fern and Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, Maurice Sendak's Max and Wild Thing from Where the Wild Things Are, Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum, and finally H.A. Rey's Curious George.

Urban Safari Storytime

Albert Paley's work on display at the Corcoran Galleries, July 2014

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to facilitate a storytime at the Corcoran Gallery of Art during a family event they held called "The Ultimate Urban Safari", based on their summer exhibition, American Metal: The Art of Albert Paley.  Paley is perhaps best known for creating the portal gates to the St. Louis Zoo, Animals Always (2006).

The Ultimate Urban Safari involved activities about animals of all types so it was easy to come up with a theme for the event's storytime.  Since this was a family program and I was expecting a variety of ages in my audience, I picked out two selections to choose from during the storytime (for a total of four books) for each storytime.  By having this variety, I was able to tailor and adapt each storytime best to the needs of my audience, along with the all-ages-friendly songs and rhymes I chose to use.

• Opening Song: If You’d Like to Read a Book, Clap Your Hands! 
• (If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! If you'd like to read a book, listen up and take a look!  If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands!- Repeat with "stomp your feet, sing hooray!")
• Count the Monkeys  by Mac Barnett OR Way Far Away on a Wild Safari  by Jan Peck 
• Flannel: Five Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed)
• If I Were a Jungle Animal  by Tom and Amanda Ellery OR Little Mouse  by Allison Murray
• Flannel and Song: I Went to the Jungle One Day (London Bridge)
• How to Wash a Wooly Mammoth  by Michelle Robinson OR My Rhinoceros  by Jon Agee 
• Finger play: I Had a Little Turtle
• The Baby BeeBee Bird  by Diane Massie OR Birds  by Kevin Henkes 
• Ending Book and Song: If You’re Happy And You Know It  by Jane Cabrera
• Closing Rhyme: Our Hands Say Thank You 
• (...with a clap clap clap, our feet say thank you with a tap tap tap.  Clap clap clap, tap tap tap. And we roooolllllll our hands to say, "Goodbye!")

Of course I wore a safari hat.

Overall, this was a very successful outreach event.  I was able to connect with many families who were otherwise unfamiliar with either our library's location or programming, and even have had one little girl and her mother visit us almost every week since the storytime (this was over a month ago, I know, I am behind on blogging)!  It is also a great experience to be able to adapt your storytime for an all-ages audience.  Frequently, even if I have planned a storytime for Preschoolers and all babies show up, I need to quickly adapt anyways- and this is an important skill for any librarian to have.  And the setting was not too bad either... I believe I was in the Director's Office! The Corcoran is a beautiful building that houses even more beautiful art to see- this outreach was definitely worthwhile in many ways.

STEAM Team: Nature Hide and Seek with the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Peacock in the Woods, Abbott Handerson Thayer, 1907

Science and Art intersected in last week's STEAM Team program for children aged 6-12. Experts from the Smithsonian American Art Museum came to the Library to talk to attendees about Abbott Handerson Thayer and his artwork.

Here are some Thayer's paintings that we discussed.  Thayer is credited by many to be the "Father of Camouflage", in the way he painted animals whose colors adapted to their natural surroundings so that they would be hidden, or camouflaged from predators. We learned about countershading, disruptive patterning, and other ways of camouflaging through art.

According to Richard Meryman from Smithsonian Magazine, "Thayer contended that even brilliantly plumaged birds like the peacock can blend into, and thus be camouflaged by, their habitats." Thayer created the above painting, Peacock in the Woods, to illustrate this theory. Thayer was often criticized for his theories on camouflage, even by Theodore Roosevelt himself, but that never stopped him from rallying for its use as a military strategy during World War I. He thought that a wartime boat could be camouflaged in water the same way an animal camouflages itself in nature, another theory we will be discussing during STEAM Team.

Angel, Abbot Handerson Thayer, 1887

After our discussion about Abbott Handerson Thayer and his artwork, participants of STEAM Team got the chance to create their own piece of art of a camouflaged animal, using collage materials such as magazines, patterned paper, glue, feathers, and more!

My favorite part of the program?  The moment an extremely eager eight year old boy excitedly interrupted the Smithsonian's presentation to announce that Thayer's Angel painting "LOOKS JUST LIKE MISS CASSIE."

Art Attack: Googly Eyed Goons

I picked up an Art Attack (our craft program for teens, 13-19) on short notice and had to come up with something quickly.  If anything, I typically put too much effort and planning into my programs, so this was actually a good exercise for me.  Librarians should be able to come up with craft and program ideas on the fly.

So obviously, I went straight for my favorite craft material: GOOGLY EYES.  Then I glanced at the pictured Seventeen magazine with Miley Cyrus on the cover and it just came to me: she would look so amazing with googly eyes.  So I had teens go through our old magazines and cut out pictures of movie stars, heartthrobs, and the like, and put googly eyes on them.  Very simple and very fun.  I took the one I made of Jonah Hill and passed it to every teen and said "Just try not to laugh. I dare you."  Everyone laughed.  I'd like to think it was at my pun, but I think it was more the image of Jonah Hill with googly eyes.  They just make everything better.

STEAM Team: Oobleck! Dr. Seuss and Science

Literature and/or reading is not a component of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), but must I mention how much it is a part of LIBRARIES? Didn't think so!  This week's STEAM Team focused on science and literature.

Inspired by Dr. Seuss' Bartholomew and The Oobleck, we conducted a science experiment by creating the mysterious green substance known as Oobleck, which has both solid and liquid properties! That is, if you pour it or dip your fingers in it, it acts like a liquid. But if you squeeze it, push it, or otherwise apply pressure to the mixture, it acts like a solid! Want to "walk on water"? Make enough Oobleck to cover your floor! (Disclaimer: this is not recommended, as clean-up may require a visit from the Cat in the Hat.)

This program was met with much excitement and enthusiasm, which I think is to be expected for anything involving "green slime".  I began the program by book talking Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and then read the Royal Magicians' magic spell aloud (paragraph 32):

Oh, snow and rain are not enough!
Oh, we must make some brand-new stuff!
So feed the fire with wet mouse hair,
Burn an onion. Burn a chair.
Burn a whisker from your chin
And burn a long sour lizard skin.
Burn yellow twigs and burn red rust
And burn a stocking full of dust.
Make magic smoke, green, thick and hot!
(It sure smells dreadful, does it not?)
That means the smoke is now just right
So, quick! Before the day gets light,
Go, magic smoke! Go high! Go high!
Go rise into the kingdom’s sky!
Go make the oobleck tumble down
On every street, in every town!
Go make the wondrous oobleck fall!
Oh, bring down oobleck on us all!

I mixed up a batch of Oobleck myself, explaining the ingredients and measurements as I went along. As I poured a bit in each child's plastic cup, I asked them if they thought it was liquid or solid.  Most of them guessed liquid.  Then I asked them to pick up some of the Oobleck and try to roll it into a ball.  "Is it still liquid?" I asked.  They got very excited when they realized that it was both a liquid AND a solid- the scientific term for which is "non-Newtonian".  Lots of experimenting ensued.

I was glad I did not allow each child to mix up his/her own batch- it actually takes a bit of trial and error to get the exact right consistency; and the mess I was left with after the experiment was plenty.  It looked much worse than it actually was, however.  Since Oobleck is just cornstarch and water, I waited until it dried and vacuumed it right up out of the carpet.  Tables and chairs needed a simple Clorox wipe.

I sent each child home with a handout including the following recipe and and experiment ideas, along with this coloring sheet from Seussville, one of my favorite websites on the interwebs.  The coloring sheet was also a nice supplement for toddling little brothers and sisters who were too young to participate in the experiment (intended for children ages 6-12).

Oobleck Recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1.5 - 2 cups cornstarch
• Green food coloring 

Directions:
Mix water, cornstarch, and food coloring in a bowl. Start with water and add cornstarch slowly until your Oobleck is the right consistency: it should feel a little but like honey and tear a little if you drag your fingers over it.

Experiments:

• Form Oobleck into a ball, then let go, letting the mixture run between your fingers. 
• Pour Oobleck onto a plate and slap it with your hand. 
• Try to form Oobleck into a shape. Can you make it stay that way? 
• Drop different items into Oobleck (pennies, paperclips, popsicle sticks) – do they float or sink? 
• Poke the Oobleck quickly. What happens? How does it feel? 

Continue Experimenting at Home:

• What happens when you put Oobleck in the Freezer? 
• What happens when warm up Oobleck in the sun? 
• Put Oobleck in both a sealed and an unsealed container on the window sill. What happens over time? Draw illustrations of the results. 
• Make Oobleck with different variations of ingredients: hot water, cold water, more water, less water, more cornstarch, less cornstarch, etc. Are the new mixtures’ properties any different?