Imagination Movers: Juice Box Heroes

This is a first for me reviewing a CD for kids. With this particular CD however, I am glad to break with tradition. So many times have a prepared for a story time in advance and requested a CD be sent for me, only to have it arrive and it be lame or unusable. This has happened to me more times than I care to count or remember. So when I find a CD that is great I can't help myself from telling everybody.

Imagination Movers: Juice Box Heroes, is Awesome. There I said it. I listened to this CD all the way through and then went back and replayed songs. The songs cover all sorts of topics so they lend themselves well to many different story time themes. My favorites are:

• Farm- This is really cute and the kids can get involved by shouting animal noises and clapping

• Shakeable You- This is by and far the best. It is a great alternative to Shake my Sillies Out. You can use this song as a standard story time song.

• First Day of School- This one is just cool and self explanatory in theme

Check this CD out. I swear you will not regret it.

Look Out Suzy Goose

Look Out Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek is a wonderful story for Toddlers and Preschoolers alike.

Suzy is a young goose that is fed up with all the noise that her gaggle is making and decides that she is going off to find peace and quiet in the woods. However on her quest for peace and quiet will she get more than she bargained for? You need to read it to find out.

This book is great for teaching kids a number of skills such as:

• patterns
• onomatopoeia
• safety

Look Out Suzy Goose is also a great addition to your story time collection.

Rock- A- Baby Band

This is an adorable rhythmic book that my daughter just loved (We read it at least twenty times). Rock a Baby Band was written by Kate McMullen and is a perfect book to entertain toddlers. As if reading this book wasn't entertaining enough for children it also covers some basic skills that you could incorporate into the story time. The skills that this book teaches is:

• rhyming
• counting
• grouping
• moving (rolling, dancing, etc...)

Rock a Baby Band would be a wonderful book to incorporate into a number of themed story times some of my suggestions of themes and activities are below:

• Music- have the children act out their own band scenarios. The great thing about this activity is that it could be a plain or elaborate as you want it. The children could play air instruments or they could make their own.
• Dance- This the same as above you could incorporate the dancing described with a number of different supplement materials such as Imagination Movers, Wiggles, Raffi etc...
• Baby Story time- This is the perfect edition to any baby story time.

Showdown at the Food Pyramid

What happens when some rogue snacks invade the peaceful and healthy balance of the great food pyramid, showdown!! "Showdown at the Food Pyramid" is awesome book by New Mexico's own Rex Barron. This book is a great tool to teach children the importance of healthy eating.

This a great book for a story time or lesson plan with a nutrition theme. The illustrations are bright and humorous and are sure to grab the attention of children and parents alike. Some activities to go along with this theme would be:

Create an extra large blank recreation of the food pyramid out of butcher paper. Then cut out pictures of a variety of different foods and have the children place them on the pyramid where the belong.

Another possible idea would be to again pass out blank versions of the food pyramid and have the children bring them home and fill in there meals in the corresponding levels. So if the child had chicken, carrots and rice for dinner they would fill in chicken in meat section, rice in the grains section and carrots in the vegetable section.

Book!

The sometimes overwhelming world of children's literature can be hard to navigate at times. There are so many different categories and options that often times finding the perfect story becomes a chore and, we tend to turn to the easier option the TV. So when I come across a good book I feel the obligation to share it with the world and maybe others can find the same enjoyment.

The newest gem that me and Maddy came across is "Book!" by Kristine O'Connell George and illustrated by Maggie Smith. This book is appealing from cover to cover with wonderful illustrations and nice easy text. Book! tells the story of a young child receiving a gift of a book and his reactions.

I loved this book me and Maddy have probably read it about ten times. This book would be a great addition to any library program or classroom story time involving younger kids.

Great Sites for parents and teachers

Hey guys,

I have had the good fortune to be able to research and use many great sites for my story times and library functions and I am sharing the wealth. These websites are great tools for teaching and entertaining children of all ages. So if you have a moment check them out:

http://www.apples4theteacher.com

http://www.dltk-kids.com/

http://www.brownielocks.com/month2.html

http://www.123child.com/act/

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/abc/h.shtml

http://www.geocities.com/mystorytime/themes.htm

http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/home/jump.aspx

These are just a few of my favorites and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do. There are plenty of cool sites out there if you look. Please let me know if you find any new ones.

Day Out With Daddy

Looking for a great story to read with Dad? Than this is the book for you. "Day Out With Daddy" by Stephen Cook is hysterical story of bonding as told from a child's point of view and I absolutely loved it. This story has earned a special place in my heart because I have often wondered what Maddy and Daddy do when I am not around.

This is another great example of a self illustrated author. The illustrations and the storyline are simple and beautiful it is just a perfect heartwarming me and my dad book.

This book would fit in perfectly for a Father's Day story time. You could use it with or, in place of "Just Me and My Dad" by Mercer Mayer. The story would fit in great with Toddler, Preschool or early elementary age children.

Overboard

"Overboard," by Sarah Weeks is the tale of mischievous baby bunny who with his accomplice mouse creates all sorts of havoc around the house. This book crossed my path by way of my baby daughter who almost flew out of my arms to grab it off the shelf and once we brought home we must have read it at least twenty times.

Overboard is a fantastic rhythmic story that would be great to read in a toddler time. I believe I have read it with success in a preschool story time as well. The illustrations are excellent (done by Sam Williams) with each page capturing the attention of the children. Some story time themes that lend themselves well to this book are bed time, rabbits, mischief and babies.

Overboard is also a great choice for parents who just want to read a fun book with their children.
It is also a great choice for beginning readers who will delight in its perfect word count and silly verses.

Lost and Found

This is By and Far one of my favorite stories. "Lost and Found" by Oliver Jeffers is such a sweet tale of friendship that both children and parents will love. This book was illustrated by the author and is a perfect compliment to his wonderful tale of found friends.

This is an excellent story time book that can extend past preschool and into early elementary age children. It would be great to be used with a friendship or bird themed story time but I am sure that it would also work with a variety of others as well.

There are so many great activities to do with this book just a few of my favorites are:

• Hang up sheets of butcher paper on the wall and have children create a sentence or two about their own special friend and then illustrate it.
• Have the children create lost and found tags for their special friends and family. I will hopefully be able to upload an example
• This idea is related to the book itself have the kids make paper boats or boats made out of soap and decorate them
  

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook is a wonderful picture book written and illustrated by Cathy MacLennan. A wonderful rhyming story about animals on a sunny summer day it will have preschoolers captivated with it's silly rhyming verses.

This is a great book to do with a variety of story times but my picks would be for a summer, farm or animal theme. This book is also great for parents who want to introduce children into concepts such as alliteration and onomatopoeia. It is also a great book to read just to snuggle up and read just for fun before bed.

A great easy and fun activity to do with this book is fingerprint pictures. I am including a website that has great ideas and directions.

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/fingerprint_characters.htm

Enjoy