Ten More Great School Age Readalouds

We visit the YMCA Afterschool groups at each of our nine public elementary schools once a month during the school year, so I am always on the lookout for great readalouds for K-4th. This year, I was really trying to include some more diverse titles and I did succeed in taking more than I did last year (which isn't saying a lot!!), although I would still love more suggestions! Here are ten of my very favorites that I took to my groups this year.

Epossumondas by Colleen Salley, illustrated by Janet Stevens (Houghton, 2002). This is one of my very favorite readalouds and makes for great oral storytelling, too. It's a version of a Jack Tale called Lazy Jack in which the silly possum Epossumonas keeps getting gifts from his auntie with no idea how to carry them home, starting with the piece of cake that he squishes up in his paw. It's a silly tale and one that's great to do fun voices with.

Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien (Candlewick, 2015). Hoot Owl tries using disguises to help him catch his dinner... with varying success. One of my staffers reads this in a Batman voice and it is hilarious.

The Long-Nosed Pig by Keith Faulkner, illustrated by Jonathan Lambert (Dial, 1998). We don't circulate pop-up books, but this is a fun one that we have in our programming collection and it makes a great readaloud. Way back when pigs had long noses instead of short snouts, one pig couldn't stop bragging about his gorgeous, long nose.

Nino Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press, 2013). Whether or not you have kids that are into lucha libre, read this with your best wrestling-announcer voice and it WILL be a hit. I promise. (Practice the Spanish words first if you are unfamiliar with them!)

Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony (Scholastic, 2014). Kids are entranced by 1) yummy-looking donuts and 2) this grumpy panda who refuses to share his donuts with anyone who cannot ask for them politely.

The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton (Arthur A. Levine, 2015). Farting pony. Need I say more? I do? Okay, kick-butt warrior princess, how about that?

Shark in the Park by Nick Sharratt (Corgi, 2000). I am so, so sad that this book is out of print, but it's worth an ILL if you can. Timothy Pope loves to look through his telescope and he thiiinks he sees a shark at the park. Have the kids make their own "telescopes" with their hands and look up, down, left, right, and all around with you on the chorus.

Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon (Atheneum, 2013). How is a baseball game the same and different in the US and Japan? This book was a great one to inspire discussion about cultural differences.

Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman (Abrams, 2015). I love this one so much that I accidentally brought it to one group two months in a row. It was okay, they loved it, too! This is just what the title suggests: cute and funny vegetables in underwear.

The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan (Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2015). What to do when a whale is taking up your entire swimming pool? This kawaii picture book is filled with creative attempts to get rid of the whale and makes for a fun read.

There are ten of my favorite school-age picture book readalouds that I took to my groups this year. Need more suggestions? Check out Ten Great School-Age Readalouds to see what my hits were last year. What were your favorite school-age readalouds this year??

Ten Great School-Age Readalouds

Every year, we visit our 9 public elementary schools' afterschool programs with stories and crafts. Now that we're wrapping up our visits for this school year, I wanted to share some of my favorite books that I shared with the kids. Our groups are K-4th graders and the group sizes range from about 15-65 kids. Since they've been in school all day, engaging stories are a must. Here are some that worked best for me this year:

Beware of the Frog by William Bee (Candlewick Press, 2008). Old Mrs. Collywobbles lives on the edge of a dark, dark forest, so of course she needs something to protect her from the creatures lurking there. Is a frog up to the task? You'll be surprised what her guard frog can do... and of course there's a twist at the end!

Blizzard! by John Rocco (Disney-Hyperion, 2014). This story of an epic blizzard, based on a blizzard that John Rocco experienced as a child, captures the imagination as kids picture themselves buried in feet of snow. I especially like the fold-out spreads that show our young hero's wayward path around the neighborhood in search of groceries. And most kids seem to like a story about snow days!

Egg Drop by Mini Grey (Red Fox Books, 2002). If only the egg had waited! If only he hadn't been so impatient! But the egg was determined to fly, so he took matters into his own hands. After he fell from the tall, tall tower, we tried to put him back together, but you can't fix a broken egg. If only he had waited!

If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen (Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2005). The bouncy rhyming text lends itself to reading out loud and the kids are always amazed by the crazy things our young protagonist includes in his dream car. Afterwards, I always ask the kids what they would include if THEY built a car and we get some really creative responses.

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Colin Jack (Tundra Books, 2014). There are lots of uses for a dinosaur - from trimming your trees to snowplowing to being a water slide at the pool - but there are also some jobs dinosaurs just aren't suited to... This book sparked a GREAT conversation with the kids about what they would do if they had a dinosaur.

Moira's Birthday by Robert Munsch (Annick Press, 1989). Friends, this one is readaloud gold. The rhythmic, repetitive text just super lends itself to reading aloud. This would very easily translate to an oral story if you want to ditch the book (say, if you were telling it to a very large group). When Moira has a birthday, she wants to invite 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, aaaaand Kindergarten! Watch the fun unfold as Moira's birthday grows out of control!

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, 2014). Oh, man, the kids loved to catch all the places where Sam & Dave just missed finding something spectacular! And then we had some great discussions about the weird ending.

Sausages by Jessica Souhami (Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2006). This funny folktale warns listeners to be careful what they wish for, especially if they have rescued an elf and now have three wishes to spend. Hungry and tired of thinking about what to wish for, the farmer foolishly wishes for some sausages. This upsets his wife so much that she impulsively wishes the sausages were stuck to the end of his nose! And then, of course, they have to use the last wish to get the sausages unstuck (but at least they have a nice dinner).

That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems (Balzer + Bray, 2013). Of course, anything Mo Willems is gold. Many of the kids were familiar with this one when I brought it and they were more than happy to chime in for the chorus of "That is not a good idea!"

This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne (Henry Holt & Co., 2014). This book gives readers a surprise as it eats the protagonist's dog! And when a brave soul goes in to rescue the dog... he disappears, too! Can anything be done to save the day?

These are my top ten school-age readalouds for this school year, and I see a problem here: I am greatly in need of diversity in my picks! I tend to gravitate towards books that are funny or have twists or surprise endings. Can you recommend great school-age readalouds featuring, written, or illustrated by people of color?

January, February & March Afterschool

Afterschool was hit or miss for us this year as our kids had SO MANY SNOW DAYS and thus many of our visits were canceled. And now we're starting to wrap up the school year (yup - doesn't feel like it, but April will be our last month for Afterschool visits!).

Here are the biggest hits over the past few months of Afterschool:

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2004). This nonfiction book shares facts about many animals from around the world. The cool part? The illustrations are made ACTUAL SIZE, so they show you just how big (or small) these animals really are! The short, simple text makes this an easy one to read aloud. Kids LOVE learning fun facts about animals (and sharing what they know!), so this is great for incorporating some nonfiction in your readalouds.

Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein (Candlewick Press, 2013). A baby dinosaur hatches and decides to give a kiss... but she doesn't exactly get it right the first time. After some whomping, stomping, and chomping, she meets a friend who can finally kiss the way dinosaurs kiss! At first the kids thought this was going to be a sappy story ("Is this a kissing book?" YEP!), but it's actually funny. This is a great readaloud for February since it can go along with Valentine's Day, or for any time since it is hilarious. 

My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza (Puffin, 2003). When a piglet shows up at Mr. Wolf's door, Mr. Wolf thinks it's his lucky day! How often does dinner just SHOW UP on your doorstep?! But after piglet's done with him, your listeners will know just whose lucky day it really is. This is another silly story that'll have the kids laughing.

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel, 2011). It starts with Floyd's kite. Stuck in a tree. And to get the kite down? Floyd throws his shoe at it. But guess what? The shoe gets stuck... and so on and so on until most of the neighborhood is stuck in the tree, too! This is a really wacky story and the kids really responded to the humor in it. 

There were other books, but these were my biggest hits this winter. For crafts, we did building squares, made Valentine's Day cards*, and colored slap blank slap bracelets (found on Oriental Trading!).

What new books have you found that are great for K-4th readalouds? Any old standbys I need to know about? I'm always looking for new books to share with my groups!

* After February 14 they became I love you/Happy birthday/Whatever cards. Make sure you have some different colors of construction paper and you're good to go. Kids LOVE to make cards. 

Simple Solutions: Building Squares

This fall, I came across a wonderful series called 25 Days of Art on the blog In the Children's Room. In particular, the post on Building Squares caught my eye. AHA! Cheap, easy, and creative is just what I need our Afterschool crafts to be and this fit the bill perfectly.

Building Squares are small squares of cardboard with varying numbers of slits cut in the sides. Kids can fit them together at the slits. We planned way ahead, knowing that we wanted the prep work to mostly be done by volunteers. (Upside: this gave us several months of volunteer tasks! Yay!)

We needed around 300 sets to take with us on our Afterschool outreach because we wanted each child to be able to keep their set. Cardboard is an abundant commodity here and it really cost us nothing but time and effort (which was mostly volunteered). We bundled them up in sets of 15, held together with a rubber band for distribution. Yes, that was a lot of pieces. Yes, we started cutting months ago. But, of course, you don't need to let your kids keep their sets if you're limited in time or resources.

The kids have loved having these sets and they were really excited to have something to take home with them. We pointed out to them that if they want to extend their sets, they can easily create more (save the box next time you order pizza, save your cereal boxes, etc.). If they wanted to color them when they got home, they totally could.

Building with the squares is a great STEM activity. Encourage kids to design a structure that will stand on the table. See how high they can build it with a limited number of pieces. Can they redesign it to make it higher? How sturdy is their structure? Can they knock it down with their breath? How could they make it sturdier? Encourage them to experiment with their designs and see what happens. For a family program, provide hundreds of squares and ask everyone to work together to build a GIANT tower!

Since they are very cheap and easy to make, building squares would be a great science component to leave out in your children's area. It's easy to replace any pieces that get torn or walk away. And it's great for families to see that you can craft and experiment with materials that do not cost a lot.

This was a cheap, easy craft that worked perfectly for a large outreach event!

Afterschool: December

I only had one Afterschool group in December because my other visit was snowed out. Here's what we read:

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner (Dial, 2002). This rhyming story about what snowmen do at night works with a wide range of ages. Those crazy snowmen get up to all kinds of things once people go to sleep - snowman races, sledding, snowball fights, and drinking ice-cold cocoa, of course. This was a fun one since we recently had some snow (fairly rare for us in Southern Indiana), so many of the kids had build snowmen or gone sledding or something.

It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard (Chronicle Books, 2012). This one's all in the way you read it, I think. I told the kids we're going on an adventure together and whenever that tiger comes up, I scream my head off. This was a fun, funny one and I love the colorful illustrations.

I'm a Frog! by Mo Willems (Disney-Hyperion, 2013). By popular demand! We have made little Elephant and Piggie fanatics of all our Afterschool kids, I think. These books just lend themselves to reading aloud. This new E&P stars Piggie pretending she's a frog and Gerald trying to figure out why Piggie is suddenly a frog (she looks like a pig...). Another rollicking good time.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (Candlewick, 2011). I had read Klassen's This is Not My Hat with them last year, but realized that I hadn't brought this first book! They really enjoyed this funny story. Illustrations are very important to getting the jokes, so make sure everyone can see!

This month's craft was snowman scratch-art ordered from Oriental Trading. The kids looooove scratch art and would happily do it every single time. I had a ton of kids wanting to do this craft. I always debate with myself over whether we should be switching it up every month (like we're doing now) or just give in and order scratch art every month. I guess my fear would be that if we have budget cuts, we may not be able to order scratch art at some point, so I don't want them to be counting on it. But maybe that's just not a good way to think about it!

Afterschool: November

Here's what I shared with my Afterschool groups this month:

Animals Should Definitely NOT Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ron Barrett (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1970). This story is short and extremely silly; it's great for a broad range of ages. The Barretts examine many different reasons animals should not wear clothing - it would be disastrous for a porcupine, a mouse would get lost in it, it would be messy for a pig. Each spread features an amusing illustration - my kids are particular fans of the hen. The illustrations definitely make this book, so it'll work best if everyone has a good view. 

Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Dan Santat (Chronicle Books, 2013). I totally flubbed this book when I read it to my first group because I didn't practice it beforehand. I had read it, thought it was really funny, and stuck it on the Afterschool shelf. When I picked it up a couple of weeks later, I made a big mistake by bringing it along without practicing the readaloud! When I did it for my second group (after practicing!), it went a lot better and the kids enjoyed it. This is a good choice if you have older kids; I think a lot of the humor went over the heads of the younger kids in my groups. I introduced the story by asking if someone could tell me what a carnivore is and we talked a little bit about that before I read the story. 

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic, 1990). This rhyming story is a little silly with a lot of heart and it's perfect for the school-age crowd around this time of year. In the cadence of "Twas the Night Before Christmas", Pilkey spins the story of a class visiting a turkey farm on a field trip, realizing what's going to happen to their new turkey friends, and smuggling the turkeys out under their jackets to enjoy a veggie Thanksgiving dinner at their houses. 

This month's craft was a paper mosaic leaf and we debuted our new glue sponges! These have been all over Pinterest for elementary school classrooms and they're great for libraries, too. We've replaced the glue sticks at our make-and-take craft table and we've started bringing the glue sponges along to our Afterschool outreach. They last way longer and are way less messy than glue sticks (or glue bottles) and the kids got the hang of them quite quickly. 

Afterschool: October

This month was a little crazy with a 2-week Fall Break in the middle of the month and then our community's annual Lights On Afterschool program taking the place of one of my Afterschool visits. Here are the books I shared with my group this month:

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012). I wanted to share something slightly scary, but not really Halloween-y and this fit the bill nicely. The ending is a funny twist and the color scheme really adds to the creepy atmosphere of the story. 

Shark in the Park! by Nick Sharratt (Corgi Childrens, 2000). Timothy Pope goes to the park with his telescope and keeps thinking he sees a shark at the park... but does he? While reading this one, I have the kids make telescopes with their hands and look up, down, and all around with me.

The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat (Putnam Juvenile, 2012). This martial arts twist on The Three Little Pigs is definitely a crowd-pleaser. The rhyming text makes it a fun read and the martial arts details hold the interest of the kids. They asked me to read this one again, which NEVER happens with this group! 

For this month's craft, we did leaf rubbings, which I love because it is so cheap and easy. And if the kids enjoy it (which all of our kids did), they can very easily do it again at home or with their Afterschool group. 

We also visited the YMCA Fall Break camps twice this month and read to very large groups of kids (70-80 each visit). Their camp theme was superheroes, and here's what Miss A and I brought: 

• Bark George by Jules Feiffer (HarperCollins, 1999) - I brought the felt story
• Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley, illustrated by Carol Heyer and Scott Goto (Walker Childrens, 2005)
• Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long and David Shannon (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 2007)
• Traction Man is Here! by Mini Grey (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2005)

Any new favorites for the school-age set? 

Afterschool: September

This will be our fourth year visiting all of the YMCA Afterschool sites in our school district to read books and do a short craft with them, and our visits started in September. (Although the kids go back to school in August, we generally take August off from programming and we like to give the sites a chance to get into their routines before we start visiting.) You can read more about our Afterschool outreach on the ALSC Blog here and here. Last school year, I posted monthly about what books I was taking on my visits, so check out the afterschool tag for those posts.

Five of my six staff members (including myself) split up visits to the nine Afterschool sites each month. A few of the sites have very large groups (40-50+ students) and I send two people on those visits. I see two of the sites and my two groups are very different. Site A is located in the city and this year it's a very young group - lots of new Kindergarteners - which I'm hoping will make it a little bit easier this year. (Last year, this site had lots of older kids who were too-cool-for-school, so I had to be very strategic in what I brought.) Site B is located in one of our most affluent suburbs and they love books and will sit through anything that I bring. It is not unusual for me to read four or five books to this group and I'll often bring longer books knowing that they can handle it.

Sometimes I'll bring the same books to each site and sometimes I'll have some overlap and then sometimes I'll read completely different things. It all just depends on how the visits go.

So, here's what I read in September:

Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard, illustrated by James Marshall. Houghton Mifflin, 1977. I always start the year with this one because it's one of my favorites and a perennial favorite of the kids. The kids who have heard it before know the surprise ending and delight in keeping the secret (or blurting it out... either way). The canvas bag we bring to each visit has Viola Swamp's picture on it, so it's a great way to introduce our program to new faces and connect all our visits.

A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems. Disney-Hyperion, 2013. Add this to the growing list of Elephant and Piggie books that make GREAT readalouds. My kids at Site B are especially huge fans of Elephant and Piggie and they were so happy that I had brought a new one to share. If you do voices, make sure to practice your HUGE WHALE voice.

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. Scholastic Press, 2013. I wasn't sure how this one would go over and if the kids would get it, so I skipped it with Site A (so many Kindergarteners!), but the kids at Site B really liked it. Voice inflection is really important with this one to tell the dialog apart. This would also make a GREAT book to share with kids working on punctuation or possibly English language learners to demonstrate the different voice sounds when asking a question or making an exclamation.

CDC by William Steig. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 1984. Okay, so I brought this one to Site A anticipating all those older, punky kids. When I was faced with a group of mostly-Kindergarteners, I wasn't sure how it would go and I would have skipped it, but they asked me for a third book (saying, "You always bring three books, Miss Abby!"), so I tried it. And for the most part it went way over their heads. I had one little girl who got the idea and would chime in with the answers, but it just didn't work with the group I had. The idea is that each spread is a phrase that's written out in letters or numbers that sound like words or parts of words. You read the letters/numbers and the kids try to decipher what the message is (with help from an illustration). The cover image "CDC?" translates to "See the sea?", etc. It's a fun book and great for older kids who like word games, but it just didn't go for my Afterschool crowd. Lesson learned! We only tried a few of the spreads and then I decided it was time to move on to our craft.

This month's craft was complete-the-picture, inspired by 25 Days of Art: Complete the Picture from In the Children's Room. We cut cardstock into half-sheets and used leftover magazine cutouts from when we did I Spy Collages last year. We had a volunteer glue a small picture on to each cardstock piece and the kids could select a picture to add a background or complete their picture. The kids enjoyed it and some of them were really creative with it!

What are your favorite real-alouds for the K-4th set?

Afterschool: April

April was kind of a tricky month for our afterschool visits. Summer vacation starts May 23 for our public schools, so the kids are getting a little squirrelly and the librarians are a little tired from working on (and constantly thinking about!) Summer Reading Club. Still, we persevered. Here's what I shared with my groups this month:

One of my groups is ... spirited, let me say that. In March one of the most "spirited" kids in the group asked me to bring The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, so I did, and all we read was stories from that book. I let the kids pick out which stories to read and I read the ones they picked out. We probably shared four or five of the stories from this collection and that was that.

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. Viking Juvenile, 1992. This collection of fractured fairy tales definitely delighted the kids. They're silly and, well, stupid, and that was just what the kids wanted. 

The other group is generally very receptive to whatever I bring. These are kids who love books and stories and will sit through longer stories. I often bring some of my favorites from my childhood to share with them. But this month they were a little subdued when I came in. I don't know what was going on with them, but the only book they really responded to was Mo Willems, which is a title I've read to them before last year. Oh, well. Sometimes there are days like that!

The Three Triceratops Tuff by Stephen Shaskan. Beach Lane Books, 2013. This is a retelling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff that would be great to pair with Mo Willem's Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. It's not really a fractured fairy tale and not really as funny as Willems's title, but using some great dino voices can spice it up a bit. I love the colorful illustrations. 

Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny by Bill Grossman, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. HarperTrophy, 1989. I saved this one from the weeding cart and chuckled to myself about the funny poems in this collection. I thought it would be great to share in celebration of National Poetry Month, but this group was maybe a little too young for it. I got mostly blank stares at the punch lines. Sigh. 

The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! by Scott Magoon. Simon & Schuster, 2013. I guess fairy tale retellings were kind of my theme this month. This retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is told from Bigfoot's point of view. The concise, funny text lends itself to reading aloud, although the illustrations are a little dark for large-group-viewing. 

There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems. Disney Hyperion, 2007. FINALLY A LAUGH. This is one of my all-time favorite readalouds and, honestly, this was the only one that the kids really responded to during my visit. I don't know if it's because they love Elephant and Piggie (they do) or if it's because it's a book I'm very familiar with and confident reading so I just read it better. But we went out with a bang, sharing one of our favorite books together. 

This month's craft was scratch-art bookmarks that I had leftover from last year. When they asked why I wouldn't be coming to visit them in May, I talked about the Summer Reading Club with my groups and encouraged them to all come and see me over the summer. And that wraps up my Afterschool visits for this school year! 

Any great ideas for books to share or easy crafts to do next school year? 

Afterschool: March

I found some awesome books to share with the kids at my afterschool visits this month and we had a really fun craft, too. Here's what I shared with them and how it went: 

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. Greenwillow Books, 2012. This one was one of my favorites and I wanted to try it as a readaloud. I think it works, but it's maybe a little better with a smaller group and make sure you practice it first. What worked for my groups was pointing out where Moose is hiding in the illustrations, but also reading straight when you get to "R is for Moose, S is for Moose", etc. 

How Big Is It? by Ben Hillman. Scholastic Reference, 2007. I have been having a little trouble finding books that engage my first group of the month, and this is a surefire hit. This book has photoshopped pictures that help explain just how BIG some big things are. I don't read all the text, but show the pictures and share a few facts about the animal or object in the photos. 

Little Pea by Amy Kraus Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace. Chronicle Books, 2005. This book has a really fun story. Little Pea likes many things, but you know what he hates? Candy. But that's what little peas have to eat for dinner and if he doesn't eat his candy, he won't get dessert... a huge helping of spinach! The kids found the role-reversal really funny. 

Epossumondas by Coleen Salley, illustrated by Jan Stevens. Harcourt Children's Books, 2002. This is one of my very favorite books to read aloud. I read it with an exaggerated southern accent and the kids find it hilarious! Don't miss the Epossumondas books!

This month's craft was a fun one, too. We again got away from the scratch art (it'll be back next month...) with gameboard templates. Some of our neighboring librarians brought this template to our district meeting in January and I immediately wanted to try it with the afterschool kids. It's easy for us because we only have to run off the templates (the sites provide crayons). The kids can be creative in designing their gameboards however they like (one contrary guy wrote "go back" on every space!), but they can also just color it if they're not feeling creative. 

Please feel free to download and use the template. 

Next month will be our last visits for the school year. We wrap them up in April because we take time in May to visit each of the schools and promote the Summer Reading Club. School's out here on May 22 and our Summer Reading Club will be starting May 20! 

Afterschool: February

Here's what I shared with my afterschool groups this month!

Egg Drop by Mini Grey. Red Fox Books, 2003. The egg was young. If only it had waited. This is the story of an egg who wanted to fly. This book was a hit with both groups this month. It's pretty short and has great pictures (in a large trim size, which is great when sharing with a group). It's also hilarious. The kids particularly liked the pictures of how they tried to put the egg back together again after its drop (sticky tape, string, chewing gum, nails and screws, etc...) and I made sure to read them each caption for those pictures because one of the things they try is tomato soup which looks like blood dripping off the egg (as my first group delightfully noted). 

The Little, Little House by Jessica Souhami. Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2005. This is a retelling of the folktale of a family living in a house that feels too small. The local wise-woman (or, in this case, Aunty Bella) instructs the father to move the chickens into the house, then more the rooster into the house, then move the cow into the house, etc. And finally, when the family turns all the animals out of the house they realize that it's not too small after all. I love this story, but the younger kids in my audience didn't really understand what had happened. I'd probably stick to older elementary kids with this one. That said, everyone delighted in the illustrations showing all the crazy things the animals do inside the house! 

The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda Ferber, illustrated by Tedd Arnold. Dial, 2012. As soon as I saw this book come over on our new book cart, I grabbed it for use with the afterschool groups. It's snarky while still showing that Valentine's Day is really about love. It's good for the kids who think V-Day is yucky and for those who enjoy it. And the cartoony illustrations by Tedd Arnold have a ton of kid appeal. Definitely add this one to your school-age rotation! 

This month's craft was making Valentines, of course, and we kept it simple. We brought white paper and die-cut hearts in pink, purple, and blue. The sites had crayons, scissors, and glue sticks. Three of the sites we visit had visits after Valentine's Day was over, and I spun it with my group by saying I know that Valentine's Day was last week but maybe there was someone they forgot to make a Valentine's Day card for. Or maybe they don't want to make a Valentine's Day card but just a card to show someone they care. The kids were a little disappointed not to have scratch art this month, but I am so sick of scratch art!