Opposites

Dos and Don'ts - Tod Parr
The opposites in this book are just the do and don't. And the examples are some of the silliest I've ever seen. I'm sure the page about underpants is going to get a big laugh.

Dinosaur Roar - Paul and Henrietta Strickland
A great opposites book with some happy friendly dinosaurs in it. I love the unconventional opposites too, like "clean and slimy" or "spiky and lumpy". It makes a nice change from "up and down".

Noisy Nora - Rosemary Wells
Nora is a mouse who's little brother and sister are (in her opinion) getting way too much attention. She bangs around the house, but eventually it goes quiet, then they really notice her. Rosemary Wells is the author/illustrator of Max and Ruby, this is one of her earlier books for younger children, although her distinctive style is still apparent.

Opposites - Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton is an indispensable young children's author. Her small board books are very silly and very popular. This one is exactly as the title suggests. A standard book of opposites; in and out, whisper and shout. We will be whispering and shouting.

June and August - Vivian Walsh
June and August meet in the jungle when it's dark and they get on very well, but in the light of day, they realise that they are very different. This doesn't stop them from being friends though, as they get as close to the moon and the stars as they can.

We'll be singing the Hokey Cokey, the Up and Down song and Open Shut Them.

Things That Go

Yes, we'll be reading stories as usual on Monday morning at 10.30am.

This week we're doing an old favorite. Things That Go.

Smash Crash by Jon Scieszka, David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon
The first of the excellent Trucktown series by Scieszka and what can only be described as contemporary children's illustrator royalty. These books are intened to interest young boys in reading. As such, some parents find them a little difficult to sanction. As the title suggests, two trucks, who are best friends, ride around the town smashing and crashing, sometimes this is helpful and sometimes it isn't. They try to avoid the adult presence in the book, but they can't zoom away forever.

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper and Loren Long
his 1950s classic is seen throughout the world as a truly American tale. A struggle over adversity and a triumph for the little engine who wants to be helpful and try her best. I read from a version with the original text and modern illustrations by Loren Long, but I edit as I read. The idea of giving a child a "jack knife" now seems too odd to read aloud. I also edit the mean-spiritedness of the unhelpful trains, although mostly because my audience is normally 3 years and under and expecting them to sit still for the full length of the original text is a little unreasonable.

Machines go to Work by William Low
One of those beautiful books which is more about the illustration than the story. A series of machines at work and some whole page flaps make this a very popular one with the under 3s.

B is for Bulldozer by June Sobel and Melissa Iwai
We can find all the letters of the alphabet on this construction site and the last page gives us a great and eXciting surprise.

Tractor Trouble
A little board book about a cow who thinks she can drive a tractor and the chaos that ensues. This one is not available to buy, unfortunately as it is published by UK retailer Marks & Spencer. Good old M&S :)

On the Farm

Cock-a-Doodle Quack Quack by Ivor Baddiel, Sophie Jubb, and Ailie Busby
A young rooster has trouble with waking up the farm, luckily there's a wise old owl in the barn, with a few words of advice. This is a simple book, with a nice underlying theme about how you should be yourself, it's what you're best at.

Serious Farm by Tim Egan
Farmer Fred is very serious "nothin' funny about corn" he deadpans. However his animals disagree and after various attempts to make farmer Fred laugh, they finally give up and run away. What happens next is a bit silly, but it all ends well. This is a great read-aloud book for funny voices. Especially Farmer Fred, who needs a serious drawl. I would also add that this is a good book for slightly older pre-schoolers as it deals with animals doing things they just don't do.

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The hero of this book is too busy to play with all the other animals on the farm, but he makes a beautiful web. Just what you'd expect from Carle, who also wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar this book is simple with beautiful collage illustration.

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
I love this book. I think it's one of the best children's picture books ever published. The text is structured without being repetitious, there's plenty of opportunity to make animal noises and it features a creature on wheels. But that's not all, the story actually deals with the distance between what the farm animals say, what they think and what they feel. A hugely intellectual concept, fundamental to successful social interaction and dealt with effortlessly in a great story. David Shannon is also an amazing illustrator who's chaotic paintings are seemingly always in motion.

Say Hello to the Animals by Ian Whybrow and Tim Warnes
A baby book about animal noises, once again it's a fun read aloud option because the text asks questions with obvious answers "Look who's hiding under those sticks? Say hello to the fluffy...Chicks". The children love to shout out the answers and then we can all make the noises at the end of the book.

I'll be singing Old MacDonald, Mary Had a Little Lamb and the Tractor Song and the poem will be the William Carlos Williams poem which begins "so much depends".

Welcome to the Storytime Blog

It comes as no surprise to any parent when Educational Psychologists tell us we should read to our children for at least 20 minutes every day. Children love books and even before they can read they are learning so much from us when we read to them.

In this blog I hope to use my storytelling experience to suggest great books which you can read to your own children. I am not sentimental and I'm often highly opinionated about the books I choose to read, these are not exactly the average back cover blurbs. I've also grouped the books into themes, with songs and usually a poem. This can help you to explore a particular topic, or just when your toddler wants more books about trucks.

I have been reading to a group of under 5s at the local bookstore (Cover to Cover, San Francisco) for over a year, I have a two year old son and we read a lot.