My second all-ages summer storytime was this morning, and it was a full house! I didn’t get an exact headcount because people came and went, but the room was full, and I think I put out at least 30 mats, and all were in use. Like last time, I started with a welcome and a reminder to keep doorways clear so people could come and go. I also explained I would be placing the books I read during storytime to the side of my chair and anyone was welcome to check them out afterward.

• Song: “Hello” song with American Sign Language (ASL) from Jbrary. Demonstrated the signs first and invited everyone to do the signs and/or sing along; sang it twice.
• Book: There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by Laurel Molk. This is one of my absolute favorites, and I brought along a stuffed lobster to show every time the line “…there might be lobsters” came up in the story. Some kids began shouting along, which was just what I’d hoped.
• Song cube: I made a song cube with pictures on each of the six sides that correspond to a simple song; the first one was “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” I tried to get a different song to come up each time…sometimes a little manipulation was required.
• Book: Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton. Some of the older kids had good guesses about what George would do.
• Song cube: “I Had A Little Turtle”
• Prop/toy: Hand out colored scarves (the Golden Rule of Storytime: you get what you get and you don’t get upset!). I enlisted three of the older kids to help pass out scarves, which we keep stored in empty tissue boxes.
• Song: “Shake Your Sillies Out” waving scarves around
• Book: Huff & Puff by Claudia Rueda. We “huffed and puffed” or waved the scarves at the appropriate times during the story. All of the kids were super into it! Collected the scarves afterward, with helpers.
• Book: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer – another book about a dog named George!
• Song cube: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” (twice)
• Book: They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel (only fair to read a cat book after two dog books)
• Song cube: “I’m A Little Teapot” (twice)
• Book: Still Stuck by Shinsuke Yoshitake. Most kids can relate to this one, and the grownups appreciated the humor too – I heard a few chuckles.
• Song cube: “Zoom Zoom Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon”
• Book: One Little Blueberry by Tammy Salzano, illustrated by Kat Whelan
• Book: There’s A Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins
• Song: “Goodbye” song with ASL from Jbrary. Same tune as the “Hello” song, taught the signs first, repeated it twice.
• Thanks for coming, time to put mats away so we can…
• Dance to music (“Banana Bread” by Caspar Babypants) and bubbles! Bubbles are always a hit.