Retold by BG Hennessy, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov A classic Aesop’s fable about honesty. Some of the younger children don’t truly grasp the whole meaning behind this story, but they do understand that he is not telling the truth. The colorful, funny illustrations keep them engaged. Looking for those wolves: And then the wolves –… More The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Or happy Lunar New Year. At our school we celebrate Chinese New Year (but many other Asian countries celebrate this holiday). It is the year of the Ox! We started the week off with a spectacular parade. The transitional kindergarten class made some wonderful dragons. We had music, drums and made lots of noise. Short… More Gung Hay Fat Choy -Happy Chinese New Year!
Queen Library: I used the first part of this music for my “entrance” into each classroom (A very royal book entrance – you can find a video on my Instagram): The children loved this book. It is entertaining, funny and has colorful and expressive drawings. Truly terrible..scribbling in books? NO!! Tamed by a story!! Now… More DRAGON WAS TERRIBLE by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
You gladly accept it and read TACKY THE PENGUIN by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. I mean – why not? As you can probably guess, the children were delighted. We learn that Tacky is an “odd bird”, but sometimes that is not a bad thing! (Right? Clearly Miss Library is an odd bird!) After… More When Someone Gives You a Penguin Costume…
By Caralyn Buehner, pictures by Mark Buehner Who knew how busy snowmen could be at night? They have some great winter adventures. The children love finding the “pickle nose” snowman in this book. When they see him, they scream at the top of their lungs: “PICKLE NOSE” and fall over laughing. The snowmen are having… More Snowmen at Night aka “Pickle Nose”!
Is there anything better than to wake up to find crisp clean snow everywhere? This book is so simple, and really captures the joy of Peter’s adventures in the snow. Fingers crossed that we get some snow this year, so the children can have their own adventures. Until then, we use our imaginations to make… More THE SNOWY DAY by Ezra Jack Keats
By Jan Brett I am a huge fan of Jan Brett. I think her books are just beautiful. I also love the clues she leaves for her readers. The children are learning about foreshadowing in literature. 🙂 Print mittens and animals to color and cut out from here: https://www.janbrett.com/put_the_animals_in_the_mitten.htm During non-covid times we would normally… More The Mitten
Mrs. Claus, Miss Library’s sister, was at school this week to read to the children! It gave Miss Library some much needed time to Christmas shop. Mrs. Claus read a book based on a true story. The book was Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene, illustrated by Henry Cole. Mrs. Claus said it really did… More Mrs. Claus!
By David Shannon It seems the Coronavirus is a little like the Grinch, and we are Whoville. You will NOT take our Christmas away. It feels busy – gift buying (ok mostly online), Christmas cards, small gatherings outside to see friends and family surrounded by Christmas lights. And a Christmas program at school, via video.… More It’s Christmas, David!
You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man! Why do I love this book so much? Well to start with, it is just fun and engaging, and the children love it. There are also so many teachable components that can come out of this book. The first one is repeating and memorizing phrases. This is… More RUN, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
By Diane Mayr, illustrated by Laura Rader. We have had a lot of turkey fun this week! Starting with a visit from a real turkey. His name is Tom. He belongs to a friend, so I decided to borrow him. He was so great with the children, showing off for every class! When the kids… More Run, Turkey, Run!
Please say Please! Penguin’s Guide to Manners by Margery Cuyler, Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. What better time to talk about manners than right before we all sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner? I like this book, because not only is it funny, but it gives the children a chance to participate. I usually change out… More Please Pass the Bananas!!
By Jules Feiffer I like to read this story because…well it is just silly. And silly stories seem to catch the attention of our children! They are never expecting George to say “meow” after his mother asks him to bark. The illustrations in this book are fantastic. The mother just makes me giggle. From this… More Bark, George
A “terrifying parody”! How smart are our children – comparative literature in preschool!? This story is a clever Halloween version of the classic Goodnight Moon. The illustrations in this book are funny and it follows the same cadence as Goodnight Moon. Spooky enough, but silly enough that it is not too scary. A book that… More Goodnight Moon… I mean Goon…
Some of the building blocks for language and literacy are repetition and sequencing. Add a little bit of spookiness and some fun and you have the perfect Halloween book! Yes – let’s make learning fun! If I can, I will try to bring more dimensions to a book that I am reading. Sound, touch, smell,… More The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything…
Tis’ the season of monsters, goblins, ghosts and witches. For some children this can be a scary time, which is why I like these two stories: GO AWAY BIG GREEN MONSTER by Ed Emberley and LEONARDO THE TERRIBLE MONSTER by Mo Willems. Go Away Green Monster gives children the feeling of some control over the… More Who is Scared of Monsters?
“A told B and B told C… I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree”! I think it is the sign of a good book, if I can read it every year and still love and have fun with it (which of course means the children love it too). This is one of… More Let’s Have Some Fun With Letters!
Have you noticed that some people are a little on edge lately? Well, fires, floods, pandemics, politics, and a list of surprises that never seem to end, will put anyone on edge! At a time like this it seems especially important to talk to our children about kindness. So we read A Little Spot of… More Kindness is Always in Style!
Ok, so Moses is an alpaca – but don’t they look like they could be related? How do you make a fun book even more special? By bringing Llama Llama’s cousin Moses to school to interact with the children. I hope it worked! AND perfect for many of the classes who were still on the… More What fun we had this week with baby Moses – Llama Llama’s cousin!
We are back in school! It is the best feeling in the world to be back at school IN PERSON with the children. So what better story to start the school year off with than PETE THE CAT ROCKING IN MY SCHOOL SHOES by Erin Litwin and James Dean!? I love Pete the Cat because… More We are so glad to be rocking in our school shoes! Yay!
I like to garden, and I compost, so I like worms. But who cares about me? It is the children who actually love worms! When I bring them into the library, they love them. Especially if they can pick them up and touch them. Lots of giggling and ewwwwwing! Why not think about digging up… More Worms!
Let’s start the summer with a fun read aloud book! Color these pajamas: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ad/64/78/ad6478dd1c85223aad33ef5c689525d5.jpg Print this door on card stock, (color) and cut it so your children can close the door with a big “squeeeeeeak”! http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/door-clip-art-free I love this: https://www.totschooling.net/2018/03/feed-the-dog-sight-word-activity.html?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Animal+Shadow+Matching+%2B+Sight+Word+Game&utm_campaign=Animal+Shadow+Matching+%2B+Sight+Word+Game Have some pig fun with pink balloons: Print and color this worksheet: Fine more fun… More THE SQUEAKY DOOR by Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma
I like this version by Anna Milbourne (Usborne books) for preschool, it is a short, simple version with colorful pages. (It is missing the harp in the story). The giant can be scary for some children, which is why I usually ask them to be the giant so they feel a little more in control.… More FEE FI FO FUM! Fun with Jack and the Beanstalk
This is one of my favorite stories to read to the children. It is simple, so they can easily act it out (and they love that!). They can also explore their feelings and emotions about the troll. He is not nice, and can be kind of scary to some children. I like to turn him… More “Who’s that trip trapping over my bridge?!” The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Are you ready to do a Peter Rabbit taste test? You can use wheat bread for “brown bread” and sometimes currant buns can be found at your local grocery store, or you can make them: https://www.thespruceeats.com/peter-rabbit-english-currant-buns-4140348?utm_campaign=shareurlbuttons&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest Print the above menu here:https://storieswithmisslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/2020-04-30_151804-1.pdf Beatrix liked the parsley the best! Print out these coloring pages: https://educationalcoloringpages.com/peter_rabbit.html Print these… More Peter Rabbit and Beatrix his cousin…
A few years ago, our school decided to hatch some chicks. Who knew how educational and fun it would be? Our chickens reside near the playground for the children to interact with on a daily basis. I am sad that we can’t have baby chicks for children this year. Luckily, I have a friend who… More Chickens and Baby Chicks…
Did you get a paper plate for your child? I hope they will “drive” all over the house. But what if you send them outside to drive? How about making a whole chalk road and or town for (or with) them? We made one in our neighborhood, and the children loved it. It was big… More Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! And fun with a chalk road…
We are so lucky that we have had such a beautiful spring! It sure helps when you can get outside. I wonder if your life has been a little like mine – interruptions every 10 minutes (what was I doing again?), “Mom, what’s for dinner? When is it going to be ready?”. It seems the… More Get outside!
Have you heard how people are putting bears in their windows for little ones to find as they walk around their neighborhood (of course at least 6 feet apart!)? So cute! https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/03/30/coronavirus-teddy-bear-hunts-challenges-children-safe-walking-activities/2937592001/ We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Micheal Rosen (illustrated by Helen Oxenbury) is probably one of my most requested books. “Miss Library… More We’re Going on a Bear Hunt…
