chrisholliman

Children's Librarian

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  • Best Toddler Read a Louds for Library Storytime

    Last week I did a post on the best preschool read a louds.   Below is a companion post on what I consider to be the best books for toddler storytime.  I have always found storytime for the 2 year old crowd to be a bit more challenging.  At our library, toddler time is 10 minutes shorter than preschool, but it can feel much more challenging.  A toddler has a shorter attention span and what thrills a preschooler is completely lost on a younger child.  When doing a storytime for the 2’s, I typically keep it high energy and KEEP IT MOVING.  I incorporate puppets, music, my guitar, bubbles, and anything else that I think may capture their attention.  As such, I choose books that are shorter, have far less text, and big bold pictures.  Also, many of these books are in the question-and-answer format; toddlers seems to enjoy the surprise of turning a page and discovering the answer.

     

    1)  Where’s Spot? by Hill.  This may be my favorite toddler read a loud of all time.  The simple search for Spot introduces us to lots of colorful friends.

     

     

     

    2)  I Kissed the Baby by Murphy.  I love the ebullient mood of this book!  The animals seems so manic in their excitement over the baby.  I can’t help but smile when I read it.

     

     

     

     

    3)  Where is the Green Sheep? by Fox.  A few months ago, I inquired of Mem Fox  as to where exactly the green sheep is.  She still hasn’t gotten back to me.

     

     

     

     

     

    4)  I Went Walking by Sue Williams.  A great book for learning colors and the basic farm animals.

     

     

     

     

    5) Flappy, Waggy, Wiggly by Leslie.  A whimsical question and answer book that shows part of the

     

     

     

     

    6) Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Carle and Martin.  This and it’s Polar Bear, Polar Bear companion book are children’s classics.

     

     

     

     

    7)  I Dream of An Elephant by Rubinger.  Rubinger’s toddler books feature basic rhymes, simple text, and promotes color, letter, and number learning.

     

     

    8)  Seals on the Bus by Hort.  This bus gets a little crazy and crowded as geese, vipers, and even skunks get on board.  It’s a great book if you’re feeling like making some animal sounds.

     

     

     

     

    9)  It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Shaw.  A black/blue and white book that incorporates repetition and in which children can guess the shape.  You may have to shorten for toddlers.

     

     

     

    10)  Under My Hood I Have A Hat by Kushkin.  A great, fun book for winter.  A little girl overdresses for the snow and finds that she can’t move.

     

  • Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

    Because_of_mr_teruptThe Plot in 5 Sentences Or Less:  Each of the fifth graders in Mr. Terupt’s class at Snow Hill School has a story.  Jessica, for instance, just moved across country with her mother to get away from her dad, while Alexia is intent upon spreading gossip throughout the class in order to start a war among the girls.  As the year progresses, tensions among the students rise.  But Mr. Terupt is an extraordinary teacher, capable of challenging his students with creative projects that point to deeper lessons.  When a tragic event unfolds, Mr. Terupt’s lessons of kindness and forgiveness will be put to the test.

    My Take:   Because of Mr. Terupt reminded me of the book Wonder by Palacio because of the revolving first person narrator style and the emphasis on young people working out how to treat each other.  Much credit should be given to Buyea for revisiting the “inspiring teacher” trope and not writing a stale rehash from this familiar territory.  The choice to have the plot revolve around the tragic event in the middle of the book provides a great deal of momentum to the narrative.  I did find the ending a little too nicely wrapped up for my cynical tastes, but this is nonetheless a wonderful read about forgiveness and the power of a teacher to inspire.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  On his website, Rob Buyea confesses that he wasn’t much of reader growing up, but he did enjoy My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.

  • Best Preschool Read A Louds for Library Storytime

    We all have our storytime favorites.  After 8 years as a children’s librarian, I have a selection that I return to again and again that always work in front of a preschool crowd.

     

     

    1)  Let’s Play in the Forest While the Wolf is Not Around by Rueda The animals in the forest are scared of the wolf until they find out what he is really hungry for: pancakes!

     

     

    2)  Bark, George by Jules Feiffer.  I can’t stand any of Feiffer’s other children’s books (Daddy Mountain is especially awful to me), but Bark, George may be the best preschool read a loud ever written.

     

     

    3)  Rattletrap Car by Root.  This is a longer book than I typically use for storytime, but my interpretation of the sputtering and stuttering sounds of the broken down car trying to make it to the lake always makes people smile.  A perfect book for summer.

     

     

     

     

     

    4)  Hi Pizza Man!  by Walter.  Ok, the lady dressed in furs is a little weird, but the downward spiraling ridiculousness of this book always makes an audience laugh.  Meow meow, pizza kitty!

     

     

     

    5)  There’s A Shark In the Park! by Sharratt.   Featuring awesome rhymes, repetition, and a dad with 1950’s hair, this book works every time.

     

     

     

     

    6)  Go Away Big Green Monster! by Emberley.  Message of the book:  you can defeat your monster.  I would read this every week for storytime if it wasn’t already so super popular among the parents.

     

     

     

     

    7)  The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Wood.  Share the strawberry or you’ll get eaten by a bear!  A great message for kids!

     

     

     

     

    8) Little Pea by Rosenthal.  About a pea that detests eating candy for dinner (“plech!”).  A very a-pea-ling book!

     

     

     

    9)  What? Cried Granny by Lum.  This may be my favorite read a loud of all time.  The industrious, indefatigable, Granny is determined for Patrick to go to bed!   Really punch those “Whaaaaat?”s to put the book over the top.

     

     

     

     

    10)  Whose Mouse Are You?  by Kraus.  Over 30 years later and this book is still kicking.  Every time I read it, the audience goes “Awwww” at the end.  Very sweet!

     

  • “How to Catch a Bogle” by Catherine Jinks

    The Plot in 5 Sentences or Less:  Alfred Bunce and his apprentice Birdie work in Victorian era London as boglers, a kind of early ghostbusters that traps and kills nasty monsters and demons that haunt the dark places in cities and eat children.  Their boggling business runs smoothly enough until the high class folklorist Miss Eames begins following them on their appointments and makes the recommendation that Birdie, for her safety, should not be used as bogle bait.  Also, the local pick pocket madam Sarah Pickles importunes Alfred to investigate the cause of some of her boys going missing.  Helping Sarah will take Alfred, Birdie, and Miss Eames on the most dangerous bogling mission yet.

    My Take:  This was an excellent read, not so much for the page turning action, but rather for the evocation of Victorian era England.  Jinks has a knack for picking up the dialect of high and low class society and bringing them all to life.  Readers will learn about lusherys, mudlarks, and a dozen other things that are foreign to 21st century America.  Any teen interested in reading about catching nasty beasties on the dark streets of bygone London should read this book.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  On her website, Catherine says that she became a writer because she like reading so much.  A sequel to “How To Catch A Bogle” is due out next year!

  • “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio

    wonderThe Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  Auggie Pullman was born with a severe craniofacial difference that has set him apart from others since birth.  He has endured over a dozen surgeries to cosmetically craft his face and make his eating and speech easier.  Home schooled all of his life, this year he is entering Middle School and must mix with the general population of children his own age.  As he begins the school year, Auggie fortunately makes friends with Summer and Jack Will, but a clique of popular kids set their sights on torturing him.  Will Auggie make it through the school year and survive the cruel social nightmare of Middle School?

    My Take:   Believe the hype.  This book was so good and it lived up to its acclaim.  I was relieved because I had just finished reading Divergent by Veronia Roth, another very popular book, and I could barely get through it.  But Wonder kept its promise.  What struck me as excellent was Palacio’s ear for convincing dialogue and details.    The mean notes slipped into lockers, the fickle friendships, the lunchroom social cliques– all of these details impress upon the reader the cruelty of Middle School.  As Auggie endures the searing trial of  making it through 5th grade, we as readers are right along with him and hoping that he can survive the year.  Goosebumps on my arm at the end told me that this book is special, that it is a book that needs to read by as many people as possible, to remind us all, without saccharine sentimentality, that a little extra kindness is a wonderful thing.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  R. J. Palacio decided to write this book after she and her sons had an uncomfortable encounter with a girl with a severe craniofacial difference outside of an ice cream shop.

     

     

  • “Doll Bones” by Holly Black

    dollbonesThe Plot In 5 Sentences or Less:  Zach, Poppy, and Alice are friends that enjoy playing an imaginary game filled with pirates, mermaids, and treasure.  One of the most important parts of the game is “The Queen,”  an old porcelain doll that sits in Polly’s cupboard, whose real origins are unknown.  As the kids are now 12,  all 3 feel ambivalent about continuing to play this imaginary game in the face of criticism from their peers.  Their determination is rekindled, however, when a ghost visits Polly in her dreams, claiming that she was killed, turned into the china doll, and now longs only to be buried properly in her grave.  The 3 friends set out on a journey to bury the doll and put the ghost’s spirit to rest.

    My Take:  Doll Bones novel is really about coming of age, facing the challenges of growing up, and grieving the loss of childhood.  Black captures the confusion and awkwardness of turning 12 and being unsure about what to leave behind as childish things.  I appreciated that the characters were clearly from underprivileged or blue collar families and that Black does not drive the point home too finely.  All 3 of the children have unsettled home lives, giving the reader the sense that the children’s quest is not just to bury the doll, but to help restore some sense of wholeness to their respective households.   Finally, I liked that the setting is in the industrial area of western Pennsylvania.  It lends context to the idea that these children really are journeying a through a blighted landscape.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  Holly Black is also the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles.  Find out more about her at her website.

  • “Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin” by Liesl Shurtliff

    rumpThe Story in 5 Sentences Or Less:  Rump lives with his Gran in a village in the mountains where people pass their miserable days working the gold mines to receive their weekly food rations from the town Miller.  Rump’s life changes when he salvages a spinning wheel that was once his mothers and soon discovers that he has the power to spin straw into gold.  At first, the greedy Miller demands all of the gold that Rump spins, but soon the King wants his cut too and mistakenly kidnaps the Miller’s daughter, Opal, thinking that she is the one performing the magic alchemy.

    My Take:  I found this book to be an interesting take on the old Grimm’s fairy tale.  Shurtliff presents Rump as an unlikely hero on a journey of adventure and self discovery.  Despite the use of well worn juvenile fantasy elements, (castles, trolls, witches, etc.), I found myself pulled along by the character of Rump.  I was with him all the way as he grappled to control his power and unearthed more secrets about his past.  I would recommend this book for kids grades 3 and above who like fairy tales and fantasy.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to her website, Shurtliff grew up in Utah with 7 brothers and sisters.  The license plate on the family van was “8SGREAT.”

     

     

  • “The Templeton Twins Have An Idea” by Ellis Weiner and Jeremy Homes

    templeton twinsThe Plot in Five Sentences or Less:  John and Abigail are the bright, twin children of professor and inventor John Templeton.  Following the death of their mother, the family moves to Tick Tock University where, during a lecture, their father is accosted by Dean D. Dean, a man claiming that John Templeton stole his idea for the Personal One-Man Helicopter (POMH).   Dean D. Dean, along with his brother, Dan D. Dean, kidnap the Templeton twins and demand that John to sign over the rights to the  POMH.  The twins must use their smarts to escape from the Dean brothers.

    My Take:  This book is a clever and enjoyable read.  The narrator of the story is self aware and inserts amusing parenthetical remarks in the text as if he were arguing with the reader.  For instance, he states “We’re getting off point.  And I blame you.  Please, I urge you to stop interrupting.”  He also inserts “questions for review” at the end of each chapter that are meant to resemble reader’s comprehensive questions, but are simply ridiculous (i.e. “How would the Templeton twins’ lives have been different had they never been born?”).  Too much of this sort of thing would be gimmicky and annoying, but Weiner uses a judicious amount that keeps the reader laughing.  Credit should be given to Home’s schematic illustrations that reinforce the  rational yet ludicrous tone of the book.  Highly recommended for kids ages 8+.

    One Interesting Note About the Author/Illustrator:  Ellis Weiner was an editor of National Lampoon and contributor to many magazines, including The New Yorker and Spy.   He has also written an e-book called “Atlas Slugged Again” which you can buy for $1.99.

  • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

    escapefromlemoncellosThe Plot in Five Sentences or Less:  Kyle Keeley wins an essay writing contest  and gets to spend the night in his town’s brand new public library with 11 of his peers.  The library is a massive, technological marvel built by none other than Luigi Lemoncello, a one time small town boy who has gone on to make a fortune in the board game industry.  When Kyle and his companions awaken the next morning, they find the doors of the library locked.  Mr. Lemoncello has challenged them to a new game: escape from the library using the hidden clues.  Will Kyle and his friends be able to crack the code in time and escape from Lemoncello’s library?

    My Take:  “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” meets “The Westing Game.”  This is a solidly entertaining and clever read that will appeal to both boys and girls ages 9 and above.   Author Chris Grabenstein makes the puzzles challenging, but not ridiculously difficult.  I appreciated the many nods and allusions to library lore and children’s literature.  The characters are not especially fleshed out, but who cares?   The fun is in watching the kids solve the puzzles and make their way out of the library.  Ages 9+

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to his website, Chris Grabenstein used to write for commercials.  One of his earliest bosses was James Patterson, with whom he now writes books!

  • The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin

    ImageThe Plot in Five Sentences Or Less:  In the 1940’s, America was at war, but its military was still segregated.  Against this backdrop, fresh recruits arrive at Port Chicago outside of San Francisco.  They are black men and, because of this, they are given the highly dangerous job of loading ammunition onto the ships with little to no safety training.  On the evening of July 17, 1944 a huge explosion rips through the port, killing over 300 people.  In the weeks following, 50 of the men refuse to load any more ammunition and are therefore put on trial for mutiny.

    My Take:  The Port Chicago 50 is not Steve Sheinkin’s most exciting book, but it is his most poignant.  I found that the narrative slows down some during the trial portion of the story, but the final chapters more than make up for this.  By the end of the book, I found that I had a knot in my throat as I considered the sacrifice that these black sailors made, really until the ends of their lives.  The Port Chicago 50 is another example of Sheinkin’s gift of making history interesting and relevant.  Highly recommended for ages 12+ looking for a non-fiction read concerning civil rights.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  Steve’s brother-in-law Eric Person was the first to bring the story of the Port Chicago 50 to his attention.  Eric mentioned the theory that the first atomic bomb was exploded not in the New Mexico desert in 1945, but rather a year earlier at Port Chicago.  Intrigued, Steve dug deeper and unearthed the story of the Port Chicago 50.