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

Old MacDonald Has a Farm Song

Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Researchers have found that one of the early literacy skills is phonological awareness. This is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words, like rhyming, playing with syllables or parts of words, and hearing beginning sounds of words. The beginning of this skills starts with children hearing and saying the sounds of animals.Sometime durng storytime sing "Old MacDonald" with the children, including several animals--cow, pig, sheep, chicken, duck, etc. Early Literacy Aside--Example:  Making the sounds of animals contributes to phonological awareness and hearing sounds in words. Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Take advantage of opportunities to sing and say the sounds of animals with your children. It's fun and it also helps them hear the smaller sounds in words.

Submitted by Kimberly Burnette-Dean, 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

Shapes--Explain Aside

Early Litearcy Aside--Explain: Today our early literacy tip is on letter knowledge. You may think of letter knowledge as being able to write letters. Actually there is a lot to know related to letter knowledge long before children can write the letters. One aspect is recognizing shapes. Today I'll be pointing out some fun ways we can help them recognize and talk about shapes.

Print Awareness--Explain Aside

Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Our early literacy tip of the day today is on print awareness. There are many ways we can help children understand that print has meaning. Research studies point out that about 95% of a child's attention goes to the pictures. Today in storytime I'll be pointing out some ways we can help them focus on the print as well.

Reading--Language of Books

Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Reading is one of the best ways to introduce new words to your children. Many books have unfamiliar words. ones we would not use in regular conversations with our children. Talking about even one or two of the words before, during or after reading the book is one way to build your children's vocabulary. Knowing lots of words, having a large vocabulary, helps children not only understand what they later learn to read, it also helps them recognize words when they later try to sound them out. Today we'll see how the language of books expands your child's vocabulary.

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (or other song with repeated sounds)

For any song with repeated sounds. Example: My Bonnie Lies Over the OceanStart out with one sound, say /b/ (buh). Each time you hear a /b/ raise your hands over your head. Sing the song and raise your hands over your head each time you hear the sounds /b/. Then add another sound, say /m/ (mmmm). Each time you hear /m/, tap your knees. Sing the song again doing the motions for both sounds. Early Literacy Aside--Example: Putting motions to the sounds helps some children hear the sounds by emphasizing them. This helps develop phonological awareness, the ability to hear the smaller sounds in words which will later help them sound out words. Words to song: My bonnie lies over the ocean; my bonnie lies over the sea. My bonnie lies over the ocean; so bring back my bonnie to me. Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my bonnie to me, to me. Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my bonnie to me.

Rhyme Along with Me

[When you read a rhyming book or say a rhyme, you can pick two rhyming words and then sing this song to emphasize the rhyming words.]To the tune of Row Your Boat: Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme along, rhyme along with me Small and tall are rhyming words [or whatever two words you are rhyming] Now rhyme along with me. Early Literacy Aside--Example:  Emphasizing words that rhyme helps children hear the rhyme. Being able to hear the smaller sounds in words helps develop their phonological awareness, a skill that will help them be able to sound out words when they later learn to read.

Pamela Martin-Diaz, Allen County (IN) Public Library

These Words Rhyme

After reading a book that rhymes, I read the book and then come back to a page that have two rhyming words. We talk about the words that rhyme and then sing a song [to the tune of "Skip to My Lou"]Small, tall [or whichever two words you have noted] these words rhyme Small, tall, these words rhyme, Small, tall, these words rhyme, Rhyme along with me. [You can also do this with a nursery rhyme, pointing out two rhyming words.] Early Literacy Aside--Example:  Helping your children to recognize and say rhyming words helps them hear the smaller sounds in words, which develops phonological awarness. This is a skill that will later help them sound out words when they learn to read.

Idea from Pamela Martin-Diaz, Allen County (IN) Public Library

Row Your Boat

During several consecutive storytimes you would choose a song to sing every time. For example, I chose Row Your Boat.In each storytime we sing the song correctly: Row, row, row your boat; gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily; life is but a dream. Then we sing the song again in a silly way, changing the first sound of each word: Bow, bow, bow, bour boat, bently, bown be bream Berrily, berrily, berrily, berrily; bife bis but ba bream. Then we sing it again correctly. Early Literacy Aside--Example: Singing nonsense songs like this help children hear the smaller sounds in words, in a fun way! Try it with different songs. Being able to change the first sound in a word is part of phonological awareness.

The next week when we sing Row Your Boat changing the first sound of each word to a different sound. For example: Low, low, low lour loat; lently lown le leam Lerrily, lerrily, lerrily, lerrily; life lis lut la leam. Sometimes the children like to make their own changes and sing to the group.

Super Duper 1, 2, 3

 Super Duper 1, 2, 3 Can you say this word (or name) with me? [volcano--or word/name of your choice] Say it  (You say it) [Children/adults repeat the word with you] Clap it  (You clap it) (Say it again and clap it) [Children/adults clap the word with you, one clap per syllable] Snap it [snap fingers] (Say it again and snap it) [Children/adults snap fingers together with you, one snap per syllable] Tap it [tap with foot or tap knees] (Say it again and tap) [Children/adults tap feet (or knees) with you, one tap per syllable] Early Literacy Aside–Example: You can do this little song with any word! Dividing words into sound parts, into syllables, helps children hear the smaller sounds in words, one part of phonological awareness, the ability to hear the smaller sounds in words.

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