Storytelling and Puppets! Yes, Please.

Sneak Preview

--as in an unedited, unspliced and unfancied up version of our new project -- a storytelling channel!

 

A telling of Jory John's book Quit Calling Me a Monster (OPL Link) as told by Floyd 

(aka: Dressing the Naked Hand's Kevin the Monster), and Mark Pulham at the Orem Public Library.

The Cozy Chair Storytelling Channel

Check it out!

We've just discovered

The Cozy Chair

a Reading Channel for Kids

Wonderful books told in delightful way

Since it's October, we suggest you start with an appropriately scary story,:

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzai

A Visitors guide to a Scare-orrific Tour of your Local Library

SCAry THinGs

that aren't really all that scary

Librarians do tours. There is nothing I like more than to spend an hour with a school group. This is one such booktalk, book care discussion, and storytelling as told to a group of second-graders.

October Tour Ideas
Some books to Share others to Read

Who's afraid of spiders? Anyone?


Aaaarrgghh Spider by Lydia Monks
OPL Link

You are all much too big to be afraid of those teeny tiny itsy bitsy spiders, aren't you? You aren't afraid. Right? 
Right.




Aha, but a fly, now a fly has every right to be afraid of a spider

Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt / illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi 
OPL Link



Or, maybe it's BUGS you are afraid of? No? Maybe?

Not Beetle McGrady, she's not afraid of bugs. She EATS bugs.


Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs! by Jane Manning
OPL Link

As a matter of fact, the library has cookbooks that have RECIPES for eating bugs.






Oh, but Charlotte from Charlotte's Web certainly isn't afraid of bugs. I know they make Wilbur a little ill. But then, pig slop makes ME feel ill.

Or, even the

Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
OPL Link


He certainly loves bugs. No need to be afraid there.




What else do people think are scary?

The dark?

There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

OPL Link

  


Alfie Is Not Afraid by Patricia Carlin
OPL Link

Scary Times?

What about the first day of Kindergarten?

 

Mom, It's My First Day of Kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum

...author of 

I Broke My Butt! The Cheeky Sequel to the International Bestseller I Need a New Butt!

OPL Link

or

My Brave Year of Firsts by Jamie Lee Curtis
OPL Link 

Storms?

Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

p.s. there's a recipe in the back to bake as the storm approaches

OPL Link

Scary Stories?

Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
OPL Link 

Bunnicula by James Howe

OPL Link 

Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp by Mercer Mayer
OPL Link





 


shhhhhh
or the super super scary . . .  

 

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

OPL Link 

Maybe just being different can be a little scary


Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester
A story of a Rat who can't say his R's and is teased.
OPL Link 

Ugly by Donna Jo Napoli

The story of the Ugly Duckling

OPL Link

Babe the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith
Do you kids know why Babe was different? What did he want to be? That's right, a SHEEPpig, a pig that herds sheep like a sheepdog. 
OPL Link

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

a monster who can't scare anyone

OPL Link

... ah, but our friends help us through.
Friends like






Elephant and Piggie, My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems
OPL Link 


 

Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

OPL Link  

BabyMouse: Our Hero by Jennifer Holm
OPL Link 








 

Brave Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby

OPL Link

  



Jumpy Jack and Googily by Meg Rosoff

OPL Link




  





Bertie was a Watchdog by Rick Walton
OPL Link 





Maybe you have a favorite stuffed animal that gets you through tough times



Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
OPL Link




A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
OPL Link









But, of all the scary things out there, the scariest thing I was ever scared of as a kids was . . .
THE LIBRARIAN!

Yes. The Librarian.

I knew she knew I had a fine and she, in her all-knowing way she had, she also knew I didn't have a single penny to pay that .10 cent fine and because of that fine, I would not be allowed to check out a book. Not a single solitary book. . .  anyway . . .

Speaking of scary Librarians, the children at Sunrise Elementary School also had a problem,


The Library Dragon by Carmen Deedy
OPL Link

Whew, I'm so glad she turned out to be nice after all. I'm sure my librarian might have been nice after all, but I was too scared to ever find out.

That is why I, as a librarian, am determined to never ever be a scary librarian!






Now, there are a few things that do scare us librarians - - - 

DAMAGED BOOKS

(refer to the Rules as posted in Miss Lotty's New Kid Friendly Library)

Now that all of you kids know how to take care of your library books, and you also know how to check hurt books into the book hospital--I can trust you with the most fragile of all of our books--


POP-UP books like this one we saw earlier . . .



Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
(at this point the kids need a movement break--add actions, repetitive phrases and the like to this telling) OPL Link

mmm, do I trust you all yet? Maybe? Maybe not ;) 

(Let them opt for the flannel story, or the pop up, or even a telling with the puppets)

Once again, those flies need to really watch out, don't they? Not just for spiders, but frogs too!

Oh, dear. We haven't talked about the scariest of the scary yet . . .

MONSTERS!

Monsters lurking under the bed,

Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis
OPL Link 

Junie B Jones has a Monster Under her Bed by Barbara Park

OPL Link

or . . . maybe, maybe...


Monster Mama by Liz Rosenberg
( I know I turn into a Monster Mama after a certain time late at night!)
OPL Link







Ah, but those are just stories. Right?

I mean, as one of my favorite storytellers Bill Harley says, there are a lot of kids that think they have a monster that lives under their bed. But, really, it's just their imagination. 

 . . . except for Alicia, now Alicia really had a monster that lived under her bed . . .

Alicia and the Little Monster by Bill Harley
(as told on the CD One More Time)  
OPL Link

And last, but not least--

I know what scares Monster and Moms. Truly terrifies them . . .

it's, it's . . .

BLACK SOCKS!

(and sing it!) 

OPL Link to Bill Harley's Play it Again CD

Black socks, they never get dirty, the longer you wear them the stronger they get!

 
Now run on home, check under your bed, make sure there are no monsters, no hairy heebly jeebly creatures, and most importantly, no dirty socks left to rot under your bed--for you never know, you might just get a stinky sock-loving creepy crawly or two that happen to love BLACK SOCKS!

 Goodbye everybody and remember to check out lots of books!

Introducing . . . Amy's Hula Hoop Stories!

It was a perfect storm . . .

First, inspiration came via Susan M. Dailey's Boa Constrictor, then as I was working with a new children's staff employee, they got one of my exuberant tellings of how fun it is to do Laptimes and Storytimes --then (as my pre-teen daughter would aptly illustrate with a hip thrust, a snap, and a verbal 'Boom!')

I got it!

I could create my own

Hula Hoop Stories
to go with my favorite Action Plays

First came the idea for the Rocket Ship

I sketched out the ideas, made a supply list --based on a 67" hula hoop




Then went on a shopping trip



...and the project began, laying out, cutting, and a bit of applique

FIVE


-Trace out the pattern on the back side of the fabric, then cut

FOUR



-Cut the 'window' and start stitching on the pieces. I did a hand-stitched applique--the fabric is mighty slick and I found that doing it by hand was less stressful!

THREE



-For the clouds of steam, I stitched the perimeter, tucking the raw edges in as I went. the puffs are just manipulated folds of fabric held in place with individual stitches.

TWO
 







The flames were cut, machine sewn, then turned right-side out. Hand stitch to the rocket

 
-I hand stitched the blue background fabric up and over the silver to create a nice border, then using that seam as a guide, machine sewed the plastic window in. Tip: Cut the plastic down AFTER sewing, much easier and less hassle.

-Sew a 'back half' of the circle to the Rocket Ship 'front'
-Sew a pocket for the hula hoop -- if using a pre-made hula hoop, then sew the hoop inside the pocket as you go.
-If you make your own hoop (using sprinkler hose and a connector) you can sew the pocket, leaving a hole to thread the hose into the pocket. Connect with the hose connector and hand stitch the opening shut.

ONE -- and
BLASTOFF!
 


If You Want to Take a Trip
Start with the hula hoop ship in a bunch on the floor, keep the center open and clear of fabric.

If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship!
     Step into the ring of fabric
Five Four Three Two One
     Crouch down lower and lower as you count down
Blast-off!
     Grab the hula hoop and lift up as you jump

After showing the kids, or even without doing it with yourself as the 'inside man', let a few kids take a turn being the astronaut.

Now we just need a reason to take a trip to Mars! What a blast it would be to have a gaggle of little Martian Munchkins running around for Storytime :) :)

---


I'll still add some  'rivets' (Silver Half Ball Cover Buttons), along with some stitched 'metal plate' lines, a USA and a Flag.

AND -- HERE IS THE BEST IDEA TO GO WITH IT - -

On the INSIDE of the hoop, behind the Rocket Ship, the next step is a WASHING MACHINE--it's a perfect match for the rocket's window :)



We are Clothes in the Washing Machine
- thanks Allison!

We are clothes in the washing machine
    -have a child or two step inside the hula hoop 'machine'
We wiggle and giggle until we are clean
     -wiggle and giggle away . . .
 Then our mama shakes us out to dry
    -there is a 'clothesline' inside the hoop --you unobtrusively direct the kids hold the rope when they are 'inside'
And hangs us on a clothesline high
    -LOWER the washing machine, instruct the kids to hold the rope up over their heads :)



AND -- I'm not done yet

There are TWO MORE SIDES!!!

Three Men in a Tub
and
A Witch's Cauldron

Just think of the ideas you could do with this, make the ocean look a bit like a rug, and you could pull in almost any bathtub adventure story. And the uses for a Witch's Cauldron ---are you kidding me? The ideas are simply . . . LIMITLESS!