Last week the library was closed for Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, so there was no storytime, but this week we were back in action! We started with seven kids, mostly on the younger side of our range, but as usual, more trickled in throughout and we probably had more than 10 altogether.

• Hello song with ASL from Jbrary
• Name song (“____ is here today, let’s all clap our hands, ___ is here today”)
• The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury: this one went over pretty well! It’s fun to read, and it’s a little long for some of the younger ones but it’s got a pattern they can follow.
• Song cube: “I’m A Little Teapot”
• Handed out scarves for Huff & Puff by Claudia Rueda. Blow on the scarves (or just wave them) when the wolf huffs and puffs! Collected scarves.
• Song cube: “ABCs”
• Let children come up and select shaker egg or bells for 88 Instruments by Chris Barton, illustrated by Louis Thomas. Practiced shaking and making noise, then being quiet with hands (and instruments) in laps. Collected instruments after the book (and one last good shake).
• Song cube: “Zoom Zoom Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon”
• Julian Is A Mermaid by Jessica Love. Explained that “abuela” means “grandmother” and “vamanos” means “let’s go,” otherwise let the pictures and text speak for themselves. This is the first time I’ve read this book in storytime and people seemed to really love the pictures.
• Song cube: “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
• The Steves by Morag Hood. Such a funny book, adults and kids both responded well to the humor. Nice bright pictures work well for storytime also. Could do a tie-in craft with puffin coloring sheets or gluing pieces together. Or color puffins and then glue them onto one big sheet to make a puffin colony!
• Song cube: “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (I usually end with “if you’re sleepy and you know it, give a yawn,” and stretch and sit back down; this is a good quieting technique)
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein: “Hug-O-War,” “Early Bird,” and “Pancake?”
• Goodbye song with ASL from Jbrary
• Clean up colored sitting mats, put on music (“Shake Your Sillies Out,” “Wheels on the Bus,” “Skip to my Lou”), blow bubbles, dance!