Today I graduated from being a page in the children's department to being a library assistant in Outreach! I joined my new manager on the Storytime Bus and we visited 2 different daycares, for a total of 4 classes (I was told this was a short day). Since it was my first day, and I'd had no time to prepare at all, I mostly observed.
The Storytime Bus is an RV that was donated and retrofitted into a mobile storytime room to take storytime to daycares and preschools who don't have the means to visit the library (see video below). It was originally intended to be a completely volunteer-driven program, but unfortunately that didn't work out due to a shortage of reliable volunteers. Thus, the need for creating the position I now have. Since it was intended to be conducted by volunteers, storytimes were loosely pre-planned by creating kits for various themes. Each kit is basically a storytime-in-a-box: a plastic bin filled with a number of books related to the theme, of varying types & lengths, different activities such as flannel boards, rhymes, and songs. So the person conducting the storytime can pick and choose books that suit their style and the age and attention span of each class, and mix it up if they get bored. The storytime bus visits a different day care each day for 2 weeks, then repeats; therefore the theme changes every 2 weeks. Each storytime lasts approximately 20 minutes.
This week's theme is "Bedtime" and the following books were used, though only 2 were used for any given class: Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, Bedtime Bugs by David Carter, Time For Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail, and Froggy Goes To Bed by Jonathan London. We also did a song version of "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" (I don't have the name of the performer or CD that it was from).
Each group had 10-12 kids, about 4 years old, and one teacher. The kids were all pretty well behaved, actually better than I had expected. There was one incident that was a bit funny and ironic, as we were reading Bedtime Bugs. When we got to the part about bugs in the bath one boy exclaimed "That's gross!," while he had his finger knuckle-deep up his nose! Out of the four books, I would say that Llama Lama and Bedtime Bugs were probably the biggest hits. I particularly was impressed with the miniature pop-up book within the Bedtime Bugs pop-up book.
I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle blogging about my outreach storytimes on the bus since there will be so many, but I will probably start by just summarizing in one post each week and see how that works, and tag these as "outreach storytimes" to differentiate from the storytime I have been doing that I plan from scratch every other week (which will now be on Friday instead of Wednesday). I think I will have a lot of fun on the bus, and I look forward to the opportunity to be involved in collection development as well.
Also, I just wanted to mention I have decided to start another blog, Jen's Library Tales, covering all other library topics that are not storytime/picture books, mostly to document that I am staying current with middle grade and teen lit, and still staying in practice with customer service, reader's advisory, and reference as I will be working the children's desk one day a week in addition to the storytime bus.
I grabbed a handful of books off the new shelf to look over, somewhat at random, with mixed results:
Feet Go To Sleep by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Maggie Smith. Ages 3-7. Knopf Books for Young Readers, May, 2015. 32 pages.
Summary - It's bedtime for Fiona, but after an exciting day at the beach, she is not quite ready to settle down and go to sleep. She begins to try to relax her body, starting with her toes, as she recounts all the fun she had. Bit by bit, she relaxes until finally she is able to drift off to sleep.
Review - The illustrations are nice, and it would make a decent enough bedtime story or story about beach fun, but nothing really makes it standout to me. A decent book, but not a must read.
Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman. Ages 2-5. Harry N Abrams, April, 2015. 30 pages.
Summary - Vegetables in underwear: big, small, old, new, dirty, clean, etc. And that's it.
Review - First let me say I really do have a sense of humor and can enjoy a good underwear or poop joke with the best of them, but I'm just not feeling this book. It seems like the author just decided "Oh, kids like underwear jokes, lets just throw together a book with the word underwear on each page. Let's see, who should wear the underwear? I know, vegetables!" It just seems totally random and gratuitous. There are much better books out there with underwear themes, in my opinion, such as Polar Bear's Underwear by Tupera Tupera, The Underpants Zoo by Brian Sendelbach, and Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman.
Bear and Duck by Katy Hudson. Ages 4-8. HarperCollins, May, 2015. 32 pages.
Summary - Bear was tired of being a bear. He didn't like sleeping all winter, being stung by bees, and his fur was hot. He spies a seemingly happy and carefree duck family and decides to be a duck instead. Needless to say, this doesn't work out as he had hoped. In the end his is still a bear, but has made a good friend.
Review - This is a cute story with lovely illustrations about trying to fit in and ultimately learning to be comfortable in your own skin that young kids will enjoy. It also sends a subtle message about friendship and self-acceptance. Sweet, with a little gently humor.
Under A Pig Tree by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Ages 4-8. Harry N. Abrams, April, 2015. 40 pages.
Summary - The author has written a no-nonsense factual book about the history of the fig. Unfortunately, the publisher made a small typo and "fig" has been replaced by "pig" throughout the entire book. Even worse, the publisher doesn't feel such a small mistake (after all, it's only 1 letter) warrants correction and plans to publish as is. This results in a hilarious exchange of notes between the two, supplemented by the author's hand-drawn corrections to the art-work.
Review - I thought this book was funny and clever, though I feel the suggested age range is a little low. I doubt most 4 year olds would appreciate the sophisticated humor, plays on words, and sarcasm, but older kids and adults would. My favorite part was the list of "Also available" books at the end, with such gems as: The Apes of Wrath, A Clockwork Orangutan, Hamadeus, and A Tale of Two Piggies. I think this would be a great read-aloud with older kids, maybe 1st-3rd graders.
Bear Counts by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman. Ages 3-7. Margaret K. McElderry Books, May, 2015. 32 pages.
Summary - Lovable Bear is back with his friends, counting from one to five.
Review - I love Karma Wilson's Bear books, and I was a little afraid this one would be a disappointing afterthought as sometimes happens when publishers try to milk everything they can out of a successful series, but I was pleasantly surprised. Bear Counts has a similar rhythm and cadence as the other Bear books and Jane Chapman's illustrations are as charming as always. A nice counting book for the younger kids, especially if they are already fans.
