Superhero Storytime!

Wizard World Comic Con is coming to St. Louis this weekend, so in honor of that (and because this Storyteller is super excited) we are doing Superhero Storytime!!!

Opening Song: If you’re Happy and You know it! (Clap, Stomp, Shout Hurray)

If you’re Ready for a Story, Clap your hands!

If you’re Ready for a Story, Clap your hands!

If you’re Ready for a Story, If you’re Ready for a Story,

If you’re Ready for a Story, Clap your hands!

Sit Down Song:

The more we read together, together, together

The More we read together, the happier we’ll be,

‘Cause my books are your books and your books are my books,

The More we read together, the happier we’ll be.

Book One: Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident by George McClements

Fingerplay: Counting Superheroes

(From jbrary.com)

5 superheroes ready to fly

Here comes the villain, Stop that guy!

This superhero can save the day.

Off he flies – up, up, and away!

Count down from 4, 3, 2, 1, 0

Book Two: Princess Super Kitty by Antoinette Portis

I’m a Superhero Big and Strong

(Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)

I’m a Superhero Big and strong

My clothes are tight and my cape is long

When someone needs help they call my name

And I fly there faster than a jet airplane!

Song: Superhero, Superhero, Turn around 

(From jbrary.com)

Superhero, superhero turn around

Superhero, superhero touch the ground

Superhero, superhero put on your suit

Superhero, Superhero put on your boots.

Superhero, Superhero, jump up high

Superhero, Superhero, fly, fly, fly

Superhero, Superhero, turn around.

Superhero, Superhero, please sit down.

Book Three: Kapow by George O'Connor

Song:Did you ever see a Superhero?

(From jbrary.com)

Did you ever see a hero, a hero, a hero,

Did you ever see a hero, flying through the sky?

Fly this way and that way, and that way and this way

Did you ever see a hero flying through the sky?

Verses: Putting on their cape, hopping on one foot, saving the day, twirling around

Superhero

(sung to: Wheels on the Bus)

The Superheroes arms flex and lift,

Flex and lift, flex and lift, the superheroes arms flex and lift, all around the town.

Eyes go zap, zap, zap

Legs run very fast

Legs jump super high

Flies zoom zoom zoom

The person in trouble yells help help help!

The superhero goes to save the day

If you’re a hero and you know it !

(Sung to: If you’re happy and you know it)

If you’re a hero and you know it, Flex your muscles

If you’re a hero and you know it, Flex your muscles

If you’re a hero and you know it than your post will surely show it (heroic pose)

If you’re a hero and you know it flex your muscles.

Verses: Jump up high, Fly around, Run real fast

Super Pokey

We put our right glove in

We put our right glove out

We put our right glove in

And we shake it all about

You do the Super Pokey and you fly yourself around

That’s what it’s all about!

Verses: Left glove, Right boot, Left boot, Mask, Cape, Super Self!

Today's craft is a combination from FirstPalette.com and Me!

First, we will make these Superhero masks (they can choose!)

Color, cut out, holepunch, add string, instant superhero mystique!

Then we will make our own logo!

Last time I did this, I made my own logo with an SL (SuperLibrarian!) and taped it to my chest and cape. It's also great because we can talk about the words "logo," "emblem," and "initials."

Other Recommended Reads:

I chose the books that I chose this week because one has a male superhero/villian, one has a female, and one has both! But here are some that almost made the cut because they were also adorable:

Hero Dad by Melinda Hardin; Illustrated by Bryan Langdo (A great story for a military family)

The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy or Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis (sibling rivalry story!)

Super Duck by Jez Alborough (cute)

Superhero by Marc Tauss (actual black and white photos of an African American boy playing superhero which is great because there isn't enough African-American representation in mainstream superheros)

The Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman Origin books from Ralph Cosentino (Superheroes have been going darker to capture adult audiences and alienate kids, who still love them. These are kid friendly introductions to the heroes they want to love but can't see in the theatre.)

Have a Super Week!

H is for Halloween: Favorite Halloween Storytime books

Halloween Week!!!

I'm so excited.  This is just the week for a Creepy Susie like myself.  Really, it feels like every one of my programs could be Halloween related, but it's exciting when I have an excuse to do more.

You know, sometimes holiday books are just terrible, trying to shoe-horn in too much at a time.  I find Halloween books suffer the least.

These are my Favorite Halloween Storytime books, which could be mixed and matched with some of my Monster Storytime books.

Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi, Ill. by Gris Grimly

I adore everything Crimi does, and the illustrations of Grimly.  This is actually the only book that mentions the word Halloween.  Bella Lagrossi is the grossest ghoul on the block.  She's neighbors with Boris Kleanioff, who is an obsessed grime-fighter.  They, of course, hate each other.
This book is about as long as I ever go for a Preschool Storytime, but it's just so often.  I love the names (which will get a laugh from parents) and the illustrations.

Three Little Ghosties by Pippa Goodhart, Ill by. AnnaLaura Cantone

Three Little Ghosties, sitting on posties, eating burnt toasties and telling big boasties!
Love this story.  Love the repetition, the sound, and of course, plenty of opportunities to yell "BOO!" works great at a storytime.  Never actually mentions Halloween, so could be done all year round in theory.

The Curious Demise of a Contrary Cat by Lynne Berry and Luke LaMarca

A story about a cat who refuses to help with the witch's dinner party.  Black and white illustrations, which I adore but I think get mixed results from kids.  The repetition of this book, however, is so wonderful that the kids can help you read half of it.  Also doesn't have Halloween mentioned specifically, so you could use it for a cat Storytime.

Honorable Mentions:

Alpha Oops: H is for Halloween by Alethea Kontis and Bob Kolar

A great, funny little Halloween Alphabet book.  Only trouble, I find it a little difficult to present books like these with a lot of sound bubbles.

Sipping Spiders through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters by Kelly Dipucchio, Ill. by Gris Grimly

Another beautifully illustrated Grimly book on here?  Shocking.  I love songs in a storytime, so some of these would be good to use.  However, many are a little two complicated to teach a preschool.

There you go!  My favorite Halloween stories for kids.  Any you would add to the list?

M is for Monster: My favorite Monstrous Storytime Books

It's a wonderful thing to me that Monsters are so en vogue in picture books.  Monster Storytime allows for:

1. A lot of ROARING, STOMPING, and other excellent mischief making.

2. Awesome monster-related crafting

3. Some of the best Children's books out there.

Nearly all of my colleagues have some Farm Animal Storytime or another, yet the monster books go nearly untouched in any month other than October.  But why give Monster books a season?  Where the Wild Things Are is not a Halloween book.  There's a Monster at the End of this Book is a book about Grover from Sesame Street, a program that has shown us that monsters are acceptable for every day consumption by children (or that monsters might consume children every day, whichever you like.)

I have so many Monster Books I love, so I think I'll do this over several posts, 3 books a post.

Monsters Eat Whiny Children by Bruce Eric Kaplan

This one is sort of an Honorable Mention.  Have you ever read a Children's book as an adult and laughed out loud?  It's awesome when it happens, and this book had me laughing so much I struggled to finish reading it to my niece.  Two children are whining and monsters come to eat them.  Unfortunately, the monster's cannot decide how to prepare their whiny children.  They try to put them in a salad, a sandwich, a burger, etc.  One of the lines that had me in stitches was when they wanted to make a nice Whiny Child Vindaloo, but "sometimes it's hard to decide if you want Indian Food or not."

Now, obviously jokes like that are funnier to adults, and I don't mind "adult" humor in children's books because kids are smarter than we sometimes give them credit.  The only problem with this book is that it sways too much for the adults in the room because of the length and the illustrations.  I don't mind a sort of messy, black and white sketchy style, but with a book of this length a child will.  One of those books that's just "almost" there.  Check it out even with the flaws.

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

Mo Willems knows monsters and kids.  The man worked on Sesame Street!  The great thing about a lot of his books is that they are wonderful to read but especially great to have read to you.  They lend themselves to performance.  This books is no exception with the monologue Sam has in the middle, which I often try to do quickly and in one breath, the way I figure a child would.  It's also a pretty good story for a "Friendship" storytime, if you are so inclined.

There Was an Old Monster by Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley

The Emberley's seem to be as fond of monsters as I am since it is time and again the subject of their books.  I could put many on here: Glad Monster, Sad Monster, Go Away Big Green Monster, If You're a Monster and You Know it, etc.  The style of these books is so bold with bright colors contrasted against black that they are always a Storytime favorite, but this one has the line "Ants in his pants" and allows wiggling and "scritchy-scratching", so it's the clear winner.

To be Continued...Mwhahaha.

Okay, perhaps maniacal laughter isn't necessary in a Children's book discussion.

P is for Pirates: Geekery in Picture Books

Best Pirate Children's Books for Storytime

Every self-respecting Geek knows that International Talk Like a Pirate Day is on September 19th, and even though my pirate accent is absolutely terrible (it turns Southern about midway through, kids don't seem to notice) this week's entries are going to be about Pirates!  First up, my favorite storytime, read-aloud Pirate books.

Now, the Pirate craze is probably on its way out if not over.  I think its rise can be attributed to "Pirates of the Caribbean" and its fall can be attributed to the sequels being absolutely terrible.  The thing about Pirates, however, is that they never really go away.  Pirate Halloween costumes have always been a staple for kids and adults and not just because of Johnny Depp.  My main exposure to pirates growing up stemmed from Peter Pan, more specifically the movie "Hook," which I think I watched 11 million times as a child, even though parts scared the heck out of me.

What is it about kids and Pirates?  There were, and still are, awful human beings who stole, murdered, and pillaged their way through life.  Perhaps we still can't shake that romantic image of sea-fairing life we still might have.  Maybe its the swashbuckling image we've gotten from movies going back as far as Error Flynn.  It could just be the funny hats.  Whatever it is, I like pirates, you probably like pirates, and kids love pirates.

Pirate picture books aren't hard to find, the only tricky thing is finding ones that don't make your preschooler glaze over with boredom because they're too long.  Here are my top pics for a Pirate Storytime.

Small Saul by Ashley Spires

Small Saul wants to live the life of sea-fairing adventure but he's short on size and big on being considerate.  Can he find a way to fit in with his rough and tumble crew?  Great "it's okay to be different story" with a pirate theme.

Roger the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist

Very similar story to Small Saul, about a guy who is just too darn Jolly to be a proper pirate.  I love this book because it has the awesome illustrations of Brett Helquist, whom I fell in love with from his work on Lemony Snicket and still adore.  It's a bit long, but I love that there's a song at the end that sums up the story that goes to the tune of "What do you do with a drunken sailor?"  It promotes narrative skills, because you can use it to ask the kids what happened in the book before each verse.  The song is catchy and you can have kids "get their wiggles out" by standing up for the chorus "Way, hey, up she rises."

Pirate Pete's Talk Like a Pirate by Kim Kennedy; Illustrated by Doug Kennedy

The ridiculousness of me, with my terrible Pirate accent, attempting this book, is not lost on me.  However, I still really love the book for the repetition, and it's just plain funny.  Though it's long for a Preschool storytime, the repetition, changing voices, and a parrot impression will make this story a knock out.

Henry and the Pirate Chickens by Carolyn Crimi; Illustrated by John Manders

Carolyn Crimi is fast becoming one of my favorite children's authors.  This book has what I like to call, "Book propaganda," in which the problem is solved with the power of books.  In libraries, schools, and children's lit, "book propaganda" is a pretty oft-used weapon in the arsenal, which I frankly have mixed feelings about (but that is for another blog).  This book had the added benefit, however, of being about Rabbit and Chicken Pirates.  Really, what more could one want?  Also, in Last Starfighter/Independence Day/The Librarian fashion, they are saved by the nerd/bookworm, which is also appreciated.

Honorable Mentions: Peg Leg Peke by Brie Spangler; Pirate vs. Pirate: The Terrific Tale of a Big, Blustery Maritime Match by Mary Quattlebaum, Ill. by Alexandra Boiger

Any other Pirate book favorites that should have gone on the List?