Boys and Books: Frindle

Tuesday evening I had a 45-minute program on Frindle by Andrew Clements for nine 3rd and 4th grade boys with a parent.  We talked a little bit about the book, played a rousing game of Dictionary, chose the book for our June meeting, and made personalized frindles.  It was raucous, it was messy, and it was loads of fun.  The best part?  On my way to work the next morning, I passed one of the families on the way to school and the little boy held up his pen and shouted, “Look!  I’m bringing my frindle to school!”  Just. Awesome.

Want to know more?  Read on!

Paws to Read Storytime

This week was our last week of storytime for the school year.  We have loads of summer programming associated with our Summer Reading Clubs beginning in mid-June, and I’ll be doing Babytime then, but not preschool Storytime, so this was my last regular group until September.  (I will be doing some outdoor storytimes plus a mini-series called “Preschool Explorers” which is 45 minutes of storytime-plus-art-and-science, so I won’t be totally bereft of storytime opportunities.)

Since this was our last storytime, we introduced the “Paws to Read” summer theme.  Once or twice a season we do tandem storytimes with two tellers.  This is a fun way to learn from each other, offer the families something slightly different, and introduce the kids to some other staff members.  There are some great stories that just work better with two voices, so I always try to note those when I see them so that we have some good options.  These are frequently the storytimes that have patrons saying, “That was the best storytime ever!”

Attendance was sparse since we got some playground weather.  It’s funny – nice weather means lots of babies (this morning I had 20) but few preschoolers.  We did have a ton of fun though, with stories and songs about a variety of animals with and without paws.  And I think the kids liked it too.

Want to know more?  Read on!

Bug Storytime

This was the penultimate storytime of the season, and it was a good way to go out.  There are tons of great preschool bug books, both fiction and nonfiction.  (Next week we’re doing a “Paws to Read!” preview of our Summer Reading Club, which also has lots of great story potential.)  Some of our other presenters did butterflies as well, but I pretty much stuck with insects.

I thought it went well – although, as my 5-year-old daughter so helpfully pointed out mid-read, the kids are generally noisier when reading nonfiction because they have so much to add.  I also pulled out the glitter paint at the end, which is always a bonus.

Want to know more?  Read on!