Aside: Now I am going to read to you this wonderful book Pete's a Pizza by William Steig. I especially like this story because it introduces narrative skills, which is the ability to retell a story.Read the story. Aside: You can use things from all around the house to tell a story, just as they used things from around the house in this story. Having your child retell stories helps to develop your child's own narrative skills for later life while at the same time increaseing his memory and imagination and love for books. Submitted by Miss Yolanda, Washington County (VA) Public Library
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
As you read the book, ask the children to identify the animals in the book. Talk about the landscape in the pictures--where in the world might this take place? Use words the children may not know (arctic, icebergs, ice floes, glaciers, etc.). Also, talk about Tacky the Penguin's personality, his uniqueness and originality, explaining words children may not know. For an activity, have children and adults draw and color a penguin however they want.Early Literacy Aside--Empower: We used lots of interesting words today with Tacky the Penquin, some were not even in the book. This helps develop your child's vocabulary. On your way home, talk about being creative and ways your child is unique, using some of the interesting words we used today and adding your own. Through talking and talking about your children's drawings there are many opportunities to expand your child's vocabulary.
Submitted by David Banker, Radford (VA) Public Library
Maybe a Bear Ate It by Robie Harris
This book is wonderful for how, why, when and where questions! There are several pictures in this book with no words. When you come to these pictures, ask the children what the character is doing, what is missing and how the character is feeling.Read the book Maybe a Bear Ate It by Robie Harris
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Asking questions using what and how, as I did when I read the story will help strengthen your children's narrative skills, which in turn helps to build comprehension ability as the child begins to read.
Submitted by Dawn Cheney, Glenvar Branch, Roanoke County (VA) Public Library
Snap! by Marcia Vaughan
Read the book Snap! by Marcia Vaughan.Early Literacy Aside--Example: This book lends itself to retelling events which helps your child understand the story. Encourage your child with questons that leave room for them to describe what they hear or see. I used questions like, "What did Joey do when his Mom fell asleep?" and "Who did he meet?"
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: The ability to retell a story is an important skill for children to have in order to understand what they are reading. Predicting what happens next and acting it out, or as it's usually called, pretend playing, is a fun way to retell a story and to gain background knowldge along the way.
Submitted by Donna Hackman, Bedford (VA) Public Library and Justin Azevedo, Sacramento (CA) Public Library
The Aminal by Lorna Balian
Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Narrative skills is helping your child tell a story. Researchers say this is an important skill towards your child learning to read, understanding what he will read. In this storytime we will have fun while using narrative skills.During the storytime:
Early Literacy Aside--Example: In this story we will be using narrative skills to tell our story and to talk about the events taking place. Narrative skills is one of the early literacy skills that help your children learn to read. This includes giving your children time to think about and answer questions about the story. Listen as I ask questions that cannot be answered with just yes or no.
Read the book.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Ask your child about storytime today when you get home and help them retell one of the stories. You'll be continuing to develop your child's narrative skills!
Submitted by Carolyn B. Morehead, Big Island Library, Bedford (VA) Public Library
Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri
Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Researchers have found that 95% of children's attention goes to the pictures in the book. When you run your fingers under the title as you read it, this helps show them you are reading the text, not the pictures. This is part of print awareness and is one of the skills children need to learn to read.During the storytime--Read the book running your finger under the repeated phrases.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: You can run your finger under the repeated phrases to match the text to the words. Then your action doesn't get in the way of the story. Read the book running your finger under the repeated phrases.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: When you read withyour children at home, hold the book upside down or backwards and see if your child notices. Be sure to turn the book if a page is in a different direction. Theis helps develop their print awareness.
Submitted by Melissa Davis, Bedford (VA) Public Library
Jazzmatazz! by Stephanie Calmenson
Early Literacy Aside--Example: What a fun and noisy book this is! Listen to the different kinds of sounds that music can make like plink, plink and bang-a-bang along with the jazz rhythm of Doo-dat, diddy-dat, diddy-dat, doo! As children learn to hear and make not only animal sounds but sounds of many different things, they are developing phonological awareness which will later help them sound out words as they learn to read.
Help! A Story of Friendship by Holly Keller
Early Literacy Aside--Explain: When you help your children pay attention to the print in books, you are helping to develop their print awareness, one of the early literacy skills that will later help them learn to read. I'll point out a couple of things in storytime today that will support this skill.
Read the story Help! A Story of Friendship by Holly Keller. [When you come to the page with the deep hole, you have to turn the book the long way.] Wow! This hole is so deep we have to turn the book around. Look the writing changed direction too!
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Children's attention often goes to the pictures. By pointing out the direction of print you help develop your children's print awareness.
Thank You Bear by Greg Foley
Talk about how what is special to one person might not be special to another. People see things and use things differently.Read the book Thank You Bear by Greg Foley. Activity: Pull out a cardboard box and have the children act out the story. You are the bear. There can be as many monkeys, owls, elephants, etc. as there are children who want to be that animal. Then talk together about the many things you can do with a box. Early LiteracyAside--Example: Acting out stories and having children say parts helps develop their narrative skills, the expressive part of language. Retelling stories is one way that children will later more easily understand what they read. If your child did not get a chance to talk about how they might use a box, listen to their ideas on the way home.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Here is a handout for making stick puppets. Using props or puppets is one fun way to encourage children to retell stories at home. It is activities like this that you do with your children that set them on a strong road to reading, in this case helping them understand what they read and how stories work! Puppets: Patterns for making stick puppets. The pattern for the mouse is here, but I use a mouse puppet. The pattern for a bear is also here, but I make myself the bear when I am retelling it with these stick puppets. Thank You Bear stick puppets
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Read the book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, having children join in. Then we stand up, put on our imaginary wolf suits, and have the participants act it out and tell it back to me.Early Literacy Aside--Example: Narrative skills is the ability to describe things and talk about or tell stories. It is an important skill for chidlren to learn about how stories work and to later understand what they read. Acting out stories, or parts of them, using their bodies, helps children internalize and understand what is happening in the story.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: At home, using any story, encourage your children to practice telling and retelling stories to improve your children's narrative skills.
Submitted by Alison Towles, Middlesex County (VA) Public Library
Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
Early Literacy Aside--Explain: One thing you can pass on to your children is an enjoyment of books. Children who enter school enjoying books and reading are more likely to stick with learning to read even if it is difficult. For over half our children, learning to read in school is difficult. I know we have a lot of book-lovers here. In today's storytime, I'll point out some ways to keep your children's attention and keep the booksharing time enjoyable.Book Introduction: I show the cover of the book Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill and flip through the pages to show my love of a few descriptive illustrations, especially facial expressions that show feelings like”mad and scared.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Read with your child in a comfortable setting so you may share and talk about the book, including what the pictures are saying. When you take time to talk with your child and listen to what your chld says about the pictures, you are helping to make an enjoyable time with the book, which helps print motivation.
Submitted by Carolyn Lewis, Pamunkey (VA) Regional Library
Who Took the Farmer's Hat? by Joan Nodset
Read the book Who Took the Farmer's Hat? by Joan Nodset. Have children make the sounds of the animals the farmer sees.Early Literacy Aside--Example: Did you know that according to studies, by playing with sounds, you are developing phonological awareness and your children will be better ready to sound out words when they learn to read.
Submitted by Linda Gosnell, Pamunkey (VA) Regional Library
Little Red Hen
I introduce the book and encourage the children to say the "Not I" responses in the book and "I will" at the end as I read. I would use a flannelboard to retell the story, which also keep it enjoyable for the children.Early Literacy Aside--Example: By having the children participate, both with saying "Not I" and with the flannel board, they enjoy the story more which emphasizes print motivation or the enjoyment of books and reading.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: At home you may not have a flannel board, but you and your children can use props to retell stories which makes the reading experience enjoyable and supports print motivation!
After reading and retelling the story as written, I sometimes retell the story with the participants as "eager helpers" and have them all say "I will" instead of "Not I". Then we all have fun pretending to eat the bread together at the end of the story. As you and your children act out stories, it is fun to play around with the plots and to get their ideas as well. Help them use their imaginations!
Submitted by Phyllis Arbogast, Blackwater (VA) Regional Library, Carrollton Branch
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Early Literacy Aside--Explain:The ability to hear and play with the sounds of words, as in rhyming, is an important skill for reading. To recognize these rhymes and how words are related by sound is part of what educators term phonological awareness and will help your children later sound out words.During the storytime, read the book Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Each page describes the animal that might be llama's mother. Let's guess what will come on the next page. I will emphasize the word that will rhyme on the next page. For example, if I say now, guess what animal we will see. The author gives us other clues, like brown and moo. So, we know the animal will rhyme with now is COW!
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Some books, like this one, use rhymes in a playful way. Playing with rhyming words is one good way to help children hear the smaller sounds in words which will later help them sound out words when they learn to read.
Maisy Big, Maisy Small by Lucy Cousins
Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Vocabulary is a very important early literacy skill. By vocabulary, I mean knowing the meanings of words. Today we're focusing on the concept of opposites.
Read the book Maisy Big, Maisy Small by Lucy Cousins with time to allow participants to respond with the opposite word. [Add a synonym for a couple of the words as well. If a participant gives a different word for the opposite word, comment on it. For example if you say big and the book says small, but a child says tiny, you can note that tiny and small have similar meanings and both are the opposite of big.]
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Using this book your children filled in the word meaning the opposite of the one I said from the book. You can always add more interesting words for both the opposite and synonyms for some words. In this way you build your children's vocabulary.
Early Litearcy Aside--Empower: Today in storytime we talked about opposites. As you go about your day, when talking about feelings (hungry, full, tired, wide awake), about what you are doing (relaxing, hurrying, walking slowly, running quickly), or playing, there are many opportunities to think of opposites which builds your children's vocabulary. These little things you do throughout the day will later help them understand what they read.
Submitted by Ellen Abramson, Fairfax County (VA) Public Library System
Let's Go Froggy by Jonathan London
Book Introduction: In this book Let's Go Froggy by Jonathan London, there is a repeated phrase, "flop, flop, flop" when his mother calls to froggy. Let's hear you say, "flop, flop, flop." You'll say it each time Froggy's mother calls him.Read the book.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Having your child say a repeated phrase with you throughout the entire book keeps him/her involved. This is one way you support print motivation, an enjoyment of books.
Submitted by Charles Nagel, Chesterfield County (VA) Libraries
Little Bunny Foo Foo: Told and Sung by the Good Fairy by Paul Johnson
Book Introduction: Our next book is a songbook called Little Bunny Foo Foo by Paul Johnson. Let's sing it together.Early Literacy Aside--Example: You may want to share this songbook with your child at home and point out some of the phrases. You child will like to sing the refrain with you! By making the sharing of books enjoyable, you are supporting print motivation. Your child will want to learn to read.
Submitted by Jackie Anas, Portsmouth (VA) Public Library
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Book Introduction: In this book there are four animals (point to them on the cover)--a yellow bird, a white dog, an orange fox, and a brown squirrel. For each animal something sad happens, but then something good does, too! Let's see what happens.Read the book A Good Day by Kevin Henkes.
Sometimes something happens to us that makes us sad, but then we find a way to be happier. I am going to give each person a piece of paper and there are some crayons to share. I would like you to draw a picture of a time you were sad and a time you could make yourself happy. Then tell me or the adult who brought you about your picture.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Adults, having your child describe their experiences and feelings aloud gives you an opportunity to develop their vocabulary and background knowledge. You can add more words to what they already use and also explain more about the situations they describe.
Train Goes Clickety-Clack by Jonathan London
Book Introduction: Our next book is on trains and it has some words that are opposites. For example, the opposite of happy is . . . sad, that's right! The opposite of hot is . . . cold, right! As you listen to this book see if you notice words that are opposites.Read the book A Train Goes Clickety-Clack by Jonathan London all the way through. Then come back to the pages that have opposites (old, new; fast, slow; up, down). Read one set and ask, whatis the opposite of old? NEW! and so forth.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Adults, talking about not only words but their relationships, like opposites, helps develop your child's vocabulary.
Little Red Hen
ReadTheLittle Red Hen. As your read the repeated phrases, "Not I," said the dog;"Not I," said the cat; "Not I," said the mouse, run your finger under those words as you say them.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Running your finger under some of the words helps your child understand that it is the words you are reading, not the pictures. Researchers have found that even for four year olds, 95% of their attention is on the pictures. By pointing you help draw their attention to the text. This helps develop print awareness.