Read Up! Dogs at Bedtime

Have you got your library card ready?  Reserve these books now, and check them out!

Goodnight, Good Dog
Mary Lyn Ray & Rebecca Malone
This is a quiet book, quiet like the night.  Bedtime has come, but the dog isn't sleepy.  He's still thinking about his wonderful day in the sun with his family.  He's not ready for bed; he's ready for a new day to begin.  This seems like a very calming bedtime book, to help the people sharing it reflect upon their day, and think a bit about the next one.

Time for Bed, Fred
Yasmeen Ismail
While the dog in Goodnight, Good Dog quietly roams the house for a bit while his family sleeps, Fred is actively, disruptively, joyfully fighting against bedtime.  He's trying to squeeze in as much remaining action from the day as he can, before he is forced to go to bed.  It is probably those 26 pages of activity that finally tired him out!  I love the funny situations and the beautiful, action-loaded watercolor illustrations.

Have you read these books?  What do you think?  If you have any other favorite books to share, I'd love to hear about them!

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

-- Storyteller John Weaver



.

READ UP!

Have you got your library card ready?  Reserve these books now, and check them out!

Say Hello!
Linda Davick
This book's official summary puts it very nicely: "...the world would be a lot more fun if hellos were shared." The rhyming text offers a wealth of different ways to give a friendly greeting: "With a hug.  With a shake.  With a Curtsy.  With a Cake."  I love the letter in the mail going to Uncle Wally on Sea Lion Drive in Pacifica!  The huge pictures of smiling faces, the abundance of white space surrounding them, the simple ideas offered one-per-page: all of these things pull in the adult reader & children, inviting them to take time to think & talk about each possibility, and to brainstorm a few other ways to offer hellos, and kindness.

Puddles
Jonathan London & G. Brian Karas
Here, a brother & sister take great joy in exploring the post-rainstorm world of their own yard & neighborhood, filled as it is with frogs, worms, mud, tiny rivers, and (of course) puddles!  Is Mom's order to not get wet one that is even possible to follow?  I love the sense of adventure here, and the opening to discuss that adventure, and the post-rain world, with young co-readers.

Have you read these books?  What do you think?  If you have any other favorite books to share, I'd love to hear about them!

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

-- Storyteller John Weaver

Read Up! Charming Animal Edition

Have you got your library card ready?  Reserve these books now, and check them out!

Betty Goes Bananas
Steve Antony
Betty is a baby gorilla, and she loves bananas.  When she is unable to open one by herself, things get out of hand: she cries, sniffles, kicks & screams, until she finally calms down.  In fact, it seems as if Betty is always crying, sniffling, kicking & screaming. Toddlers & preschoolers with whom I've shared this amusing, colorful book always seem to think Betty is overreacting, and needs to calm down.

Froodle
Antoinette Portis
From the author of two of my favorite books (Not a Box & Not a Stick) comes this imaginative story of a little brown bird that would not say "peep."  "Froodle sproodle," "tiffle biffle," sure, but just no more "peep."  Such nonsense upsets the other birds--especially crow.  The children taking this story in, though, always find it hilarious.  Plenty of fun playing with sounds.

Big and Small
Elizabeth Bennett & Jane Chapman
Big is a bear and Small is a mouse, but that is neither here nor there.  Big is big, and Small is small.  Sometimes Small needs help.  But sometimes, Big needs help, too.  A sweet tale of friendship, empathy, and the power of all sizes.

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Read Up! A book with no pictures, and a story with no words

I like these two as a set: one with no pictures, the other with no words!

The Book with No Pictures

B.J. Novak
At a family storytime, when I announced that the book had no pictures, kids whined.  Once I'd finished reading it, those same children begged for me to read it again.  And that is all I have to say about that.

The Boy & the Book (A Wordless Story)
David Michael Slater & Bob Kolar
A boy walks into the library unsupervised (his mother was there; she just wasn't supervising him), and he gets down to business, terrorizing the books.  This is a book to talk about together (since there are no words to read), perhaps gasping and shaking heads together, commiserating over the way these poor books get treated.

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Read Up: Four for fun

Pull out your library card & reserve these four new books from some favorite authors & illustrators of mine!

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole
Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
It's a new book from the team who brought us Extra Yarn!
THIS yarn is about a pair of boys who dig a hole--a really deep hole.  They vow not to stop digging until they find something spectacular, and as the readers, we get to see how close they keep coming.  The end of this book kind of blew my mind.

Lola Plants a Garden
Anna McQuinn & Rosalind Beardshaw
I love Lola, and am always happy to see a new adventure with her.  This time, she's got some gardening to do--and of course, she wants to do some research with some library books, first!  Lola's is a family who loves to read.

If You Were a Dog
Jamie A. Swenson & Chris Raschka
What would you do if you were a dog...or a fish...or an insect...or a dinosaur?  The language of the book tickles the ears, while encouraging children to think about what makes them unique as people.

Where is the Rocket?
Harriet Ziefert & Borroux
This book is full of big words--well, big font--and a big space adventure! Borroux's bold collages grab the eye, while Ziefert explores concepts of place: over, under, around & through--and beyond!


Check these books out! Have fun with them, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about digging , or dogs, or gardening--or whatever? Please let me know!

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Check out the book: How to be a Storyteller: Essays and Advice on the Art of Storytelling (link HERE)!

Read Up! A fun trio

I've just met these fun characters recently, and I want to make sure you don't miss out!  All feature fun illustrations, and quite a lot to talk about & explore when sharing with the children in your life.




A Monkey Among Us
Dave Horowitz
"Among us?" a child in the group asked the first time I shared this book.  "Yes," I said, "among us!  Here with us!  Somewhere between us--it's among us!"  The book does more than possibly introduce challenging new vocab; it also plays with sounds ("A monkey among a fungus. A monkey, HUMONGOUS"), and lets us get to know a trio of silly animal characters.  I like the collage-style drawings, and the many opportunities to laugh & discuss the increasingly-wacky proceedings.




Early Bird
Toni Yuly
Many parents may be able to recognize this early bird, who wakes up before the sun, raring to go.  Early Bird gets moving, too: across, through, under, up, around and over!  This all happens over the course of several pages, but it's fun to go back and retrace her movements, emphasizing those prepositions.  Of course, the real conversation-starter is when Early Bird meets the Early Worm!



I Can See Just Fine
Eric Barclay
Our first image of Paige shows her holding a book upside-down; the second catches her walking out of the boys' room.  You can imagine what animal she's holding when she announces to her dad that she's found a kitty.  The charm & humor of this book are shouldered almost entirely by Barclay's super-cool retro advertising-art style, which packs in treats on every page.  It may be a book to make kids feel better if they need glasses, but it's a cool sight for anyone.

Check out these books, and let me know what you think!  Do you have any favorite books about monkeys, birds, glasses--or anything else?  Let me know about it, so I can read up!

Storyteller John Weaver

Catch up with me on Facebook!


.

Read Up: Moo!

Better mooo outta the way!

A cow spots a car in her grazing space, and just like that, everything is mooving at a fast pace!

What a book!  David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka manage to tell an engaging, action-packed tale in just a few pages, and just about one word.  

Is "moo" a word?

We've had a lot of fun at storytimes discussing what is happening, so there is absolutely no lack of language and thought involved in processing this hilarious story.  Pick it up, share it, and talk about it--and be sure to moo along!

Check this book out! Have fun with it, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about cows, or cars--or whatever? Please let me know! 

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver
Keep up with me on Facebook!

Read Up!

Time for another small handful of books for you to check out.  The only connecting thread here is that I happen to like them all!

The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas
Tony Wilson & Sue deGennaro

Princesses aren't all they're cracked up to be, but real girls--and frozen peas--sure are cool!  That's the premise of this twist on a "once upon a time" classic, and I sure agree!  The prince in this story: his brother married the "pea princess."  His sister-in-law helped him decide something very important: "...he didn't want to marry a real princess...he wanted to marry the exact opposite.  She didn't have to be beautiful or sensitive.  She just had to like hockey and camping and have a nice smile."  So, do you love this book yet?


Why?
Lila Prap

This is a nonfiction book about animals, and what I really like about it is the fact it can be read at two levels.  The first is the silly joke book that asks questions like, "Why do snakes have legs," and then responds to itself with silly answers like, "because they'd hate cutting their toenails."  The second level of this book is the more detailed, true, explanations to all of the questions.  They're more suited to one-on-one reading, or classroom sharing, than the large preschool storytime groups I often face during my book sharing--but this book is up to satisfy whatever group it can!




Not Me!
Nicola Killen

We're not talking about movies here, but whenever I hear anyone talking about a movie, and they call it "cute," I know that means it is not GOOD.  Well, here we have a very cute book--that I think also happens to be good.  My own rule of thumb has me questioning my judgement, though--so maybe you'd better have a look for yourself!  What I like is all of the clues that children can take in to decide whether the characters of the book are as innocent as they proclaim to be; also, the surprise ending wins me over.  Like I say, see for yourself & tell me what you think.  Maybe it's good, but not at all cute...

Check these books out! Have fun with them, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about princesses, or animals, or too-cute kids--or whatever? Please let me know! 

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Check out the book: How to be a Storyteller: Essays and Advice on the Art of Storytelling (link HERE)!

Read Up! A pair of silly animal tales

Have you got your library card handy?  Hop over to your local branch's website & reserve these fun books today!


Ribbit!
Rodrigo Folgueira & Poly Bernatene

The frogs are quite surprised to find a pig on their lily pad--a pig that says, "ribbit!"  What is it doing there?  Is it making fun of them?  Pretty soon, all of the animals are trying to figure out the pig, and you can sense their disappointment when the object of their attention disappears. I love the ending of this book, wherein all things become clear.



Hippospotamus
Jeanne Willis & Tony Ross

"Hippopotamus had a spotamus... on her bottomus."  Oh, my--do we really want to read this?  We DO!  So many diagnoses: is it hippopox, or hippolumps, or potomumps--or something else entirely?  When the answer finally comes, you may not be sure whether you are relieved or about to retch. Better re-read the book until you finally figure it out!  I was kind of sick of all of the cutesy rhyming, but the ending makes it very much worth multiple readings.

Check these books out! Have fun with them, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about frogs, or pigs, or hippos, or mysterious red spots--or whatever? Please let me know! 

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Check out the book: How to be a Storyteller: Essays and Advice on the Art of Storytelling (link HERE)!