Dress-Up Storytime

 
The library where I work is in a very diverse community and we try to make our programs as inclusive as possible, so instead of a full-on Halloween party we decided to do a special "Dress-Up" storytime instead. This way kids (and staff!) could still have the fun of wearing costumes without excluding anyone who doesn't wish to participate in Halloween. Though we chose to have this as a Halloween alternative, you could have Dress-Up storytime anytime!

First I introduced myself and welcomed everyone, then we sang a "Hello" song, followed by what what to expect (stories & songs, costume parade, dance party w/bubbles, play & craft time, and treat bags). I also had a selection of costumes and accessories available for those who didn't have a costume.

We warmed up with singing "If You're a ____ and You Know It" and filled in the blank based on the costumes attendees were wearing:

If you're a superhero and you know it, show your muscles...
 If you're a butterfly and you know it, flutter your wings....
If you're a mouse and you know it, say "squeak, squeak"...
If you're an astronaut and you know it, blast off!...
If you're a kitty-cat and you know it, say "Meow"...
If you're a bear and you know it, give a growl...
If you're an avocado and you know it, make guacamole....

I chose Maisy Dresses Up by Lucy Cousins for our first book because it is short and simple, but still has a bit of a story. We see Maisy and her friends planning what they are going to wear to Tallulah's costume party. I like that this shows dressing up in costumes, but is not specific to Halloween, and also that Maisy makes her own costume. The illustrations are bright and bold, and not too busy, so perfect for a younger crowd.

I followed that with another song based on what the kids were wearing:

If You're Wearing...

If you're wearing red today, red today, red today;
if you're wearing red today, please stand up!

(Use different colors, patterns, characters, etc., and you can also play around with different actions)

Then we looked at a boardbook that shows babies dressed in different costumes, Baby Dress Up by Stephanie Meyers. This book features photographs of babies and toddlers in costumes, and we all know babies and toddlers love seeing photos of other babies. I appreciated the simple sets and the diversity shown.

Finally, I closed with one of my favorite read-alouds of all time, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams and Megan Lloyd. This book is so fun to read aloud, and adds a perfect slight spooky touch without actually being a true Halloween book. Yes, it does feature a pumpkin with a face, but never mentions Halloween or jack-o'lanterns. This is one book I never get tired of reading, and I look forward to it every year. And since it featured articles of clothing dressing as a scarecrow, it fit in with our "dress-up" theme.

After that, we did a costume parade around the library, returning to the program room for a short dance party with bubbles, followed by optional craft and play time, and treat bags to take home.

Activities
I put out a variety of things after storytime, depending on how many attend and their ages. Usually one simple craft or crayons/markers/paint and paper, and some sensory and building toys. For this storytime I had:

• "Getting Dressed" sticker sheets
  
• Color-Your-Own masks
• Dress-Up bin with costumes
• Foam building blocks
• Waffle builders
• Sensory tubes
  
  

Treat Bags
I generally give several non-edible treats, along with a few edible ones. This time, due to budgetary constraints I only gave one edible treat and used other giveaways we had on hand:

• Mini book
• 4-pack crayons
• Mini tub of Play-dough
• allergy-friendly lollipops (made with natural colors & flavorings)
• stickers
  
  

Additional books not used, but available for checkout:

Amazing Me! Dressing Up! Soy Sorprendente! Me disfazo! by Carol Thompson

Dress-Up Fun with Elmo  by Cat Reynolds & Allison Black

Maya Papaya and Amigos Play Dress-Up by Susan Middleton Elya & Maria Mola

Dress-Up Day by Blanca Gómez

How It Went

I work at a small library in a community where people generally don't bring their kids to the library, for a variety of reasons (both parents work, cultural differences, different values & priorities, worrying about more basic needs, not aware of what library offers, competing with larger nearby libraries...), so I am learning to adjust expectations and redefine success. I ended up with nine children and nine adults, which is a big turnout for this library, and everyone seemed to enjoy the program. Some did show up in costumes, some did not, and only one of those that didn't chose to put on one of the provided costumes, though others did choose to put on hats. I noticed there was little interest in doing either of the crafts.

All in all, I would say it was a successful program, but I do have to admit I missed doing my usual big Halloween "Boo Bash" and having 2-3 times as many kids. The energy is just different with such a small crowd and it sometimes feels awkward. But different communities have differing needs and require a different approach. I'm still adjusting and figuring things out here.

Cinco de Mayo - Family Storytime

I take a break from storytimes in May to clean, organize, and get ready for summer, so I try to make the last one a little special. Last year I did a Kentucky Derby theme, complete with hats and horses, and wanted to do something different this year. I decided to go with a Cinco de Mayo theme to celebrate Mexican-American culture and Latino books month. While I've done this theme before as a virtual program at a previous library, this was this first time I've done it as an in-person program.

I started out by greeting everyone and reminding them this would be the last storytime until the first week of June, and briefly explaining today's storytime was inspired by a special day coming up that some people celebrate called Cinco de Mayo. Then we sang our "Hello" song, followed by our warm-up song for the month, "The Wheels On the Bus".

Next I used a non-fiction book, Cinco de Mayo, by Sharon Katz Cooper to help explain what the Cinco de Mayo holiday is and how it is celebrated. I really would rather have had a book written by someone of Mexican heritage, but I wasn't able to find one (hello, series non-fiction publishers...how about getting some own-voices authors???). I didn't read from the book, but showed pictures in the book as I explained that "cinco de Mayo" means "5th of May" and that while many people mistakenly believe the holiday celebrates Mexican independence, it actually celebrates a victorious battle against the French in the town of Puebla, Mexico on that date in 1862.

I further explained that in Mexico, it is a minor holiday focused on that battle, but in the United States it has become a much larger celebration of Mexican and Mexican-American heritage and culture, featuring parades and festivals with dancing, music, art, and lots of yummy foods. Since I had planned a piñata craft, but the book didn't show one, I printed out a picture of a traditional one to show them. I told them that in that vein, our stories and activities would be inspired by aspects of Mexican culture and feature Latin authors.

Our first story wasn't necessarily related to Cinco de Mayo or celebrations, but featured something uniquely Mexican, the dramatic performance wrestling knows as the lucha libre! In Lucía the Luchadora by Cynthia Leonor Garza and Alyssa Bermudez, the main character loves playing superhero, but becomes upset when the boys say that girls can't be superheroes. Her abuela comes to the rescue with a story about the luchadores of lucha libre and a shiny, silvery cape and mask.

This is a fun read aloud with lots of action, that also provides an important message that girls can also be superheroes, luchadoras, or whatever they want, and they don't have to just be "sugar and spice, and everything nice" all the time. It also shows that you don't have to hide your skills and accomplishments, and that by "removing your mask" you can help inspire and encourage others.

After that we practiced counting in Spanish, and learned the Spanish words for "friend" and "I have" with a simple counting song:

Tengo Diez Amigos
("I Have 10 Friends")

Uno, dos, tres amigos;
(One, two, three friends)

Cuatro, cinco, seis amigos;
(Four, five , six friends)

Siete, ocho, nueve amigos:
(Seven, eight, nine friends)

Tengo diez amigos!
(I have ten friends!)

For our second story I selected Paletero Man! by Lucky Diaz and Micha Player, which is based on the author's song of the same name. Diaz is not only an author, but also a popular Latin Grammy-winning "kindie" musician from the Los Angeles area. This was also a really fun read aloud, with a nice rhythm, repeating elements, and a sprinkling of Spanish words and phrases throughout, which I translated as I read. The story is about a boy who thinks an icy cold paleta (Mexican ice pop) would be the perfect treat on a hot day in Los Angeles.

As he races through the barrio looking for the vendor, Paletero José, he greets several of his neighbors and friends. However, after finally finding the paletero man and ordering his favorite flavor, piña (pineapple), the boy discovers he has lost his money. However, all ends well as the neighbors he passed on his way picked up his dropped money and have brought it to him. Paletero José is so touched by their kindness, he declares free paletas for all!  (See trailer below):

After that it was time for our craft, and a special treat - paletas!

Activities

We made simple piñatas out of paper bags and crepe streamers. Though it would be more traditional to completely cover the piñata with fringed crepe paper, I knew that would require more time and patience than my group typically has, so I made an example that just had 3-4 rows of fringed paper around the bottom of the bag, and used markers to decorate the top. I showed them the quickest way to fringe the streamers was to cut or tear a piece of the roll, fold it half several times, and then cut about 2/3 across through several layers. On the back side of my example, I showed an even faster and easier method of decorating by just attaching long strips hanging down.

I gave them the bags, several different colors of crepe streamers, markers, glue, tape, and scissors and let them get to work. Once they were finished, I instructed them to put their bags on a side table, opened, to dry. While the bags were drying, they got to have a special treat and try paletas! I had assorted flavors: mango, lime, coconut, strawberry, and strawberries & cream. I also gave them paper plates to catch drips and have a place to set them down if needed. Most kids chose by color rather than flavor, and almost all seemed happy with their choices; however, one child was not happy with her lime paleta at all and gave it to her dad and chose a less adventurous strawberries & cream one instead.

While they were enjoying their paletas, I filled their piñatas with goodies (fruit gummies, alphabet cookies, slap bracelets, bubbles, squishies, and plastic animals) and closed them up. I instructed them to take the piñatas home and let them dry thoroughly, and break them open later (when their grownups said it was ok) for a special surprise!

How It Went 

This was a super fun storytime for all of us, so much better in person as opposed to the previous virtual version I did a few years ago! I really had fun with the stories and getting to use a little Spanish, which I studied in high school and college, but have mostly forgotten due to not having opportunities to use it early on. I was pleasantly surprised that most, maybe all, of the kids already knew how to count to ten in Spanish, and knew that "amigo" meant friends.

They also surprised me by how well they listened, considering both stories were on the longer side. However, they each were great read-alouds and very relatable. What kid hasn't played superheroes, or enjoyed a refreshing popsicle on a hot day? They really enjoyed getting creative with their piñatas and getting to try the paletas. I envied them, as it was very warm in the program room and I would have loved a cold treat, but alas, I am diabetic and could not indulge.

There was one really funny moment during the reading of Lucía the Luchadora. When I read the the part where the boys tell her that girls can't be superheroes, the little girl that happened to be sitting directly in front of me made a face of pure outrage and disgust that was so dramatic it made me crack up. Such a strong reaction!

For a bonus feature, I found a video of the author of The Paletero Man and his daughter making homemade paletas: 

Derby Day - Family Storytime

This was the last week of storytimes for the Spring, after which I would be taking a much needed break from programming for the rest of May. This is mostly to have more time to get ready for summer reading, but also because though I love doing storytime and other programs, I do get burned out on the planning of them and just need a break every so often. 

Library Week - Family Storytime

 

My director wanted to make a big deal out of National Library Week, partly to acknowledge the staff for all the hard work they do, partly to remind people of all the library does for the community, and partly to get more people coming back in. So I planned for a "Library" themed storytime, which is always fun because there are several funny and cute books about libraries for kids.

Christmas Pajama Storytime

I just started my new job in December, and I felt bad I didn't really get there quite early enough to really plan any special holiday programs or take-home kits, so somewhat at the last minute I decided to at least do a special evening pajama Christmas storytime.

Owls - Family Storytime

 

During the summer one of our programs for elementary aged kids was a virtual visit with the director of the local raptor rescue and rehab center and their resident barn owl, with take-home owl pellet dissection kits, so I decided to make that week's storytime owl-themed as well.

ABC's & 123's - Family Storytime

 

I did this storytime back in August, but just now got around to writing it up. I haven't been writing up every storytime anymore because (1) I just don't have the time, and (2) at this point in my career I have done so many that it's becoming repetitive. So now I just write them up if it was a theme I haven't already covered multiple times, or I used new books I want to highlight.

Silly Chicken Stories - Family Storytime

 

The YS department at the main library had a bunch of these egg-hatching craft kits leftover, so I decided to take some off their hands and do a chicken-themed storytime.

Cats - Family Storytime

To be honest, I totally chose this theme in order to show off my kitten felt set that I made last year during the pandemic shutdown when I had plenty of time on my hands. But, they are freakin' adorable, if I do say so myself. 

Polar Bears - Family Storytime

 
I was first inspired to plan a polar bear theme by Mac Barnett's new book, A Polar Bear In the Snow, but at the last minute decided not to use it because I wasn't sure the pictures would be visible and clear enough to everyone, with us having storytime outdoors and being all spread out.

Wolves - Family Storytime

 
Since the CLSP summer reading theme this year is "Tails and Tales", I am using animal themes for all my storytimes. This week I focused on wolves, and I wanted to avoid the typical "big bad wolf" story that paints wolves in a negative light since conservationists and wildlife biologists are working very hard in our state to re-establish wolf populations and educate people on their necessity for a healthy ecosystem.

Movement Family Storytime - IRL!

 
This week was a momentous occasion - after more than 15 months, I was finally able to do a real storytime, in person, with REAL LIVE KIDS! 

Awesome New Books - Virtual Storytime

March 10th is the "International Day of Awesomeness", which I decided to use as a segue to introduce some awesome new picture books. (In reality they weren't brand new, both having been published in 2020, but with the pandemic shutdowns and changing jobs I didn't see them until the end of the year, and hadn't had a chance to use them until now.)

Mystery Storytime

 

As I've mentioned before, we have gotten in several new picture books lately that I knew would be really great for storytime, and I decided I wanted to use them sooner rather than later. I came across a particular book that I knew would be really fun to do, and since it was a longer book, I made it the sole focus of today's storytime, which was delivered virtually.

After the "Hello" song, I explained that today we were going to be detectives and solve a mystery.

New Books - Virtual Storytime

 
We have gotten in so many great picture books lately that I couldn't wait to use, I decided to forego using a theme for a couple of weeks this month in order to share some of them right away. 

Moose - Virtual Storytime

 

I've had a "moose" themed storytime in the back of my mind for over a year, since back in the before-times when I noticed that there were several cute picture books with moose. Then the pandemic hit, lost my job, yada yada yada, and now I'm in Colorado, which made the theme even more fitting since there are moose here.

Snow - Virtual Storytime

I guess I always do some kind of snow-themed storytime in January, but I was able to come up with two books I had not used before, so it's somewhat original. The weather is very unpredictable where I am now, for example a week after I arrived here in October a big storm dropped temperatures and 8"-12" of snow on us, after being sunny and 75 the week before, and after a few days almost all traces of snow were gone. I've been told they've had blizzards pop up as late as May, or even in the summer!

I started with a hello song, introduction, and lead-in song, then read the first book, Pablo In The Snow, by Terri Sloat and Rosalinde Bonnet. A little lamb named Pablo has never seen snow before, and is amazed when "pieces of the clouds" start falling down. He goes outside to explore and discovers lots of fun things to do in the snow. But he stays out a little too long and can't find his way home as new snow has covered all of the tracks.

I chose this book for a few reasons: it shows several snowy day activities, it was a newer book and I had not seen or used it before, and my branch happens to have "Lamb" in its name. I also used it as a reminder that if you get lost or separated from your group, you should stay put and call for help.

Next we counted out ten snowflakes as I put them on my flannel board, and then sang the following while counting on our fingers:

Ten Little Snowflakes

(The snow shower begins:)

One little, two little, three little snowflakes;

Four little, five little, six little snowflakes;

Seven little, eight little, nine little snowflakes;

Ten little snowflakes fall!

(Now it's snowing harder!)

They are falling all around us,

They are falling all around us,

They are falling all around us,

MILLIONS of snowflakes fall!

(The snow shower ends:)

Ten little, nine little, eight little snowflakes;

Seven little, six little, five little snowflakes;

Four little, three little, two little snowflakes;

One last little snowflakes falls.

(The snow is over, time to play!)

When I do a "Ten Little..." counting song, I may not always include a middle verse, but I do always include counting back down from 10 to 1 because it forces them to use their muscles and their brain a little differently, not relying on muscle memory or habit, so they have to think a little more and be more aware of what they are doing and saying and what it means. And of course, counting down is the first introduction to subtraction.

I followed that with a quick little action rhyme about a snowman losing his nose to a hungry bunny:

The Snowman & The Rabbit

There was a little snowman,     (pretend to stack 3 large snowballs)
Who had a carrot nose.            (indicate long nose)
Along came a rabbit                 (hold up two fingers and "hop" hand around)
And what do you suppose??    (hold out upturned hands)
That hungry little rabbit             (hold up two fingers, rub tummy with other hand)
Looking for his lunch                (look around)
Ate the snowman's nose!         (pretend to eat)

Nibble, nibble, crunch!

Then I read one more book, Snowball Fight! by comedian Jimmy Fallon and illustrated by Adam Stower. I was surprised when I came across this book as I had never heard that Jimmy Fallon had ever written a children's book. It is a bit older, 2005, which is probably why I wasn't familiar with it. Though I am generally VERY skeptical about celebrity authors, this turned out to be a really great, fun storytime book. It has very little text and lots of action as the neighborhood kids gather for an epic snowball fight. It ends with the protagonist sneaking out and making one last snowball and storing it in the freezer for "future use!", which is something my brother and I always did as well.

I closed with a goodbye song and the usual reminders about take & make kits, digital resources, and curbside services.

How It Went??

Again, it's hard to say. I am getting more comfortable with our set-up and being live, and I liked the books I chose, but I am still ending up at 20 minutes, which I feel is too long. I am seriously thinking of eliminating the additional songs and fingerplays, because I don't feel that translates as well to a virtual storytime, and that people are likely more interested in the books. 

Once again, I am not getting tons of views and I don't know how many of those "views" really indicate someone watched a significant portion of the storytime or just clicked through it, and I don't have access to any additional information Facebook provides to the administrators, only what it shows to the public. Our branch's page only has like 400 followers, so I wouldn't expect many views, but I would like to know if *anyone* is really watching. I may get a couple of "likes" from patrons, but thus far no comments.

I gave the green screen another try, and was much happier with how it worked this time. I do wish we had better a better quality camera with higher resolution; I think the poor resolution also makes it more difficult to engage viewers. Honestly, the videos I did on my own at home over the summer with my phone and natural light looked much better, imo. Here is a screenshot from the video (I choose not to link to or embed the videos I do for work in my blog as I want to maintain a separation between my employer and my professional activities as an individual):

I don't expect to return to normal, in-person programming until maybe the Fall (though I expect to be told to do outdoor in-person programming before that), so I will keep offering the virtual storytimes and early literacy kits for the time being and hope I start to pick up some viewers and re-evaluate in a month or two. Of course, I appreciate any and all suggestions for making virtual storytime more engaging and/or attracting viewers!

Christmas - Virtual Storytime

 At first I wasn't sure about doing a Christmas storytime, having previously worked in a very diverse, multinational community with a wide array of ethnicities, cultures, and religions where we did not do Christmas programs. However, the library and community where I work now is very different and Christmas celebrations and programs are the norm. There was a wide array of non-Christmas programs available as well, and I made sure the theme was announced in advance so those who preferred to opt out could do so. But with storytime falling just two days before Christmas, and knowing so many in our already economically depressed community have had even more hardship due to the pandemic, I really felt a cheery Christmas storytime would best serve this particular community at this time, plus my manager had requested some type of Christmas program.

(I know this is a very divisive topic in our profession, and I have discussed my thoughts and opinions on the matter in previous articles, here and here, so I prefer not to debate the issue on this post.)

Winter - Virtual Storytime

 After taking a few weeks to settle into my new position and first develop a non-virtual alternative to storytime, I turned my focus to virtual storytime in December. I know many people are reporting that patrons have screen fatigue and interest in virtual programming has sharply declined, but I felt that I had to at least give it a try. Partly because I really didn't know what else to do and felt pressured to do *something*, and partly because I had not done a storytime in 10 months and really missed the performance aspect of reading books aloud. Of course it isn't the same without a live, in-person audience, but it would at least keep me in practice.

Ready for a Yeti? - Family Storytime

Last year I decided to give a slight twist to my "Snowman" storytime by having one story about the abominable snowman, or yeti, in addition to stories about traditional snowman. I realized that several cute picture books about yeti have come out in the last few years, and with Disney's release of the movie Abominable last year, I thought a "Yeti" storytime would be fun.

I started with greeting everyone and passing out program sheets with all the songs, and then we waved "hello" to each other and sang "Hello, My Friends, Hello", then warmed up with "Hello, Everybody". After that I introduced our topic and talked about what Yeti are, where they are from, and how they are also called "abominable snowmen". We sang this little song I found on You Tube, with some modification:

The Yeti Song

Who's the most famous monster

that history knows?

Who's tall, white, and furry

with big, stompy toes?

What's the scariest thing

that you ever did see?

It's the abominable beastie 

we call the Yeti!

Then we led into our first story with a quick verse of our "Story Song":

If you're ready for a story, find a seat.

If you're ready for a story, find a seat.

Check your hands, and then your feet,

If you're ready find a seat.

If you're ready for a story, find a seat.

Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen is a sweet story about friendship. Poor Yeti is sad and lonely because all the other animals are afraid of him, so he has no friends. Then one day a lost bird comes crashing into his life, literally. But unlike everyone else, Bird is not afraid of the Yeti, and they become great friends. Until winter comes and Bird must find her way to a warmer location. Yeti is sad, until he finds he has several new friends.

A very charming story about an unlikely friendship that teaches not to judge by appearances with rich illustrations that are neither stark nor too busy.

The kids were eager for the next story, so I went right to it: The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel. This story features a cute young Yeti and shows all the things he loves about winter: hot chocolate with marshmallows, sliding down hills, ice skating, building snow castles (then pretending to be Godzilla and knocking them down)...All of which he does accompanied by his favorite stuffie. But, the thing about Yetis is, even they can get tired of the cold and enjoy warm-weather fun as well. Kids will find this relate-able, sometimes funny (like when the Yeti's fur goes "poof" after getting wet), and the digital artwork charming.

Following this I asked them if Yeti's were real. Some said yes, some said no, some weren't sure. I explained that no one knew for sure. Some people believed they were real, and some said they had seen one, but no one had been able to prove it yet and that's why people kept hunting for them to try and get a clear photo or video. I told them now we were to pretend to go exploring and hunting for Yeti.

I simply adapted the traditional call-and-response chant, "Going On A Bear Hunt", by substituting Yeti and appropriate snow-covered, frozen topography.

Going On A Yeti Hunt

We're going on a Yeti hunt.

Gonna find a big one. 

With great big feet,

And long white fur.

Look, it's a great, big snowfield!

Can't go around it,

Can't go under it,

Have to ski across it!

(pretend to ski)

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

[Repeat beginning verse]

Look, it's a wide, frozen river!

Can't swim across it,

Can't go around it,

Have to skate across it!

(pretend to skate)

Glide, glide, glide!

[Repeat beginning verse]

Look, it's a great big mountain!

Can't go around it,

Can't go through it,

Have to climb up it!

(pretend to climb)

Climb, climb, climb!

[Repeat beginning verse]

Look, it's a deep, dark cave!

Just like where the Yeti lives.

Let's go in it!

(pretend to walk carefully)

Step, step, step.

Whoops, what is that?

I feel two great big feet!

And long, shaggy, fur!

[Say the rest quickly, without pausing for response while acting out the motions]

It's the Yeti! Run!  Run, run, run

Climb down the mountain!   Climb, climb, climb

Skate back across the river!  Glide, glide, glide

Ski across the snowfield!  Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh

Go back in the house, and shut the door!  Slam, lock

Ah, safe at last!

This was so much fun! I did have a third story picked out, Dear Yeti by James Kwan, but I decided since the other two were slightly longer than I realized, and people were starting to drift off, to skip it and go right to the final activity.

Activity

I told the kids that now we were going to go on a "real" Yeti hunt! We have a bunch of these little stuffed Yeti with velcro hands that a previous children's librarian had purchased (from Oriental Trading, but sadly no longer available), so before the library opened I hid them around the children's department. I told the kids that there were eight Yeti hiding, and they set off to find them.

Right before storytime started, I stuck one of the Yeti on my back, and I was sure they would spot it during storytime, but they never did. I was certain it would be the first one they found, but even though I kept walking around, they were so focused on looking in the shelves they never looked up, so it ended up being the last one they found. They all had a good time, and I think everyone that hung around and participated was able to find one.

How It Went 

Overall, it went very well. I started out with a big crowd, but as I've just come to accept is typical for the weekend storytime, many drifted off during the course of the storytime, but there were still a decent number that stayed until the very end, and they enjoyed the stories, and both the "Yeti Hunt" chant, and the Yeti hunt activity.

Most of the time people seem to big a big hurry to leave and are uninterested in the after-storytime activity, particularly crafts. Ironically, the time I didn't plan a craft and cut storytime a little short, someone actually asked if we were having any other activities.