Rain, Rain...Good for Storytime, Bad for Everyone Else

[nyquil_baby]

Maybe the only positive thing about today's weather is that it was the day of my last preschool storytime of the season--on rain and rainbows! It was the perfect weather for that, and the worst weather for pretty much anything else

Comments

[oh_embarrassing]

oh my gosh, my preschoolers used to skip right over David Shannon books, nobody ever wanted to have me read them out loud and that was fine by me

*shudders*

[oh_embarrassing]

ps why do his depictions of small kids have to have pointy demon teeth?

Pointy Teeth

[nyquil_baby]

Ha! That was my main problem with his books. I first became familiar with them shelving the books in the kids' dept. at Sulzer, and when I saw "No, David!" with his pointy teeth, I thought "Oh my God, what kid would actually pick up and enjoy this book? Terrifying." I think this is one of those disconnects between what adults & kids can think, because at least at our branch, we can't keep the David books on the shelf, and I once had a mother come in looking for books like David Shannon's because her pre-schooler had read them all. I guess your pre-schoolers had the same reaction we do, though =)

[bee_sandwich]

aww, that sounds like so much fun!!

[stargazzy]

That's so great that you're getting into the storytime groove. And it's so funny -- last week, I did a rainy day storytime theme, and we read Move Over, Rover!, sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", and did The Red Umbrella flannelboard! :-) I'll have to ask you more about how the Move Over, Rover! with puppets went; that sounds like fun!

[nyquil_baby]

Wow.. I guess that makes sense with spring on its way, but I swear this time I didn't even peek at your storytime blog, so we must have been on a similar wavelength. Yep, it was The Red Umbrella flannelboard I did, too (I got the patterns for the pieces from 52 Programs for Preschoolers, and thought they were too cute). And I think I told you this, but I pretty much lifted the garbage storytime from your blog wholesale, and it was a lot of fun. I also recommended your blog to a co-worker at another branch who just started doing storytime and she loves it

[thecurvedpath]

I love The Rain Came Down and use it in my rainy day storytimes, too! I could take or leave Shannon's other stuff, and I haven't had success with his David, Alice, or Fergus books in read-alouds. I think they're best for one-on-one where a kid can really examine the illustrations (which I agree are scary, but in a way that appeals to me, personally).

Have you seen Karen Beaumont's picture book "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More"? I find it HILARIOUS, and it's great in storytimes (especially with older kids) because you can sing the entire thing to the tune of "It ain't gonna rain no more." Kids usually know the tune, so they can join in on the chorus, and they also seem to like guessing which body part the main character will paint next (it rhymes, so they always guess right!). Plus the illustrations are so colorful and eye-grabbing. Check it out!

Loved reading about your storytime successes. Can you say more about rainbow-building activity? (If not here, then maybe send me an email or Facebook msg describing it?) Thanks!

[nyquil_baby]

I love "Ain't Gonna Paint No More"! I actually got a cute poster with the cover art at a book presentation I went to during an early childhood conference, and other people were envying it all day =). Interesting, I usually think of it as more of a little-ones book (since I observed it being used in a few lapsit storytimes), but the point you've made about preschoolers singing along is encouraging, so maybe I'll try it sometime.

I will send you more info. about the rainbow activity soon =).

[thecurvedpath]

Yeah, I should've clarified "older kids" - definitely no older than kindergarten. :) Preschool is exactly the right age for the sing-along, and they get the humor of certain parts (like where she almost rhymes BUTT, but substitutes WHAT instead).

Meanwhile, I never considered using it in lapsit, but now I can totally see how it would work - and I will definitely be doing that in the future! So fun to trade ideas. :)