Banned Bookface and more!

   

 ...it is banned books week, a time when most librarians celebrate and defend  the FREADOM of reading whatever you want to read. "Whatever!"  I am not usually a fan of that word, but it works this week and in this situation.  

I can't imagine being told as a high school student that I can not read a certain book.  This would be similar to your parents forbidding you from dating a certain boy...and of course...you go right out and do it.   Read.  Date.  Whatever.   

We put up a banned and challenged book display in the library and I had to include the currently challenged title: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  The entire series is challenged.   And maybe that is part of the reason why this series is so popular.  It would be interesting to speak with Suzanne Collins, the author, to get her perspective on this.  Do you think she receives nasty letters from people?  I love the book and the series - that's my perspective - whatever!  (maybe I do like this word)

With or without intention my high school assigned many of the books that were challenged or banned...Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Catcher in the Rye, Call of the Wild, Lord of the Flies.  We read Ray Bradbury and I am sure we would have read Lauren Myracle if her books were published back in the "olden days" of the late sixties - early seventies! (whatever - age is just a number!)

I read Banned Books, do you?  

Do you know this one, this lovely and loving picture book?

And doesn't it look awful stamped Banned?  This book is based on a true story.  Do we ban mother nature.  Okay, I won't go there.  

You will most likely find this book in your public library....check-it-out.  I will say no more about it except that: I love it...but, you know...whatever!  

Now, some of my wonderful and supportive blog readers have sent photos for Bookface, (my new mini-series on the blog)  I will state this disclaimer right up front - they had no idea that I would be blogging Banned Books Week when they sent their photos...but sometimes things align perfectly.  A ninth grader is reading a novel by the forever famous Jack London who just happened to write books that would be banned.  I doubt that was his goal, (even if he was quite a social activist) - possibly he wanted to get readers to think and feel.  With great applause for this reader's recommendation...here's today's first Bookface:

White Fang, an American Classic

Click HERE to visit the author's page on Amazon.  Learn more about Jack London and his books.  

and now, for the more peaceful path.... Bookface continues with: 

We love this book in the library.  If you have a preschooler who adores big trucks and construction   sites - this is the book to pick up from the library or purchase for a holiday gift.  

Click Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site for more info

An end of summer, early fall, must read if your little one is off to Kindergarten!

Pick it up in the library or purchase when someone completes preschool.

Now honestly who doesn't love bears?  This book just arrived at my library and I am saving it for a Bear themed Pajama Story Time.  Bears!  Baby Bears!  Blue!  The letter B.  

Mo Willems writes amazing, sassy, funny books for kids and their parents!  I suppose I should check to see if any of his titles have been challenged.  He could easily be tempting fate with his sense of humor.  Piper and I adore this book from the popular Pigeon series.  You really should visit your library's website and place a hold on this book.  Seriously.  And then go get some cookies!  (oatmeal, thanks for asking!)

Bookface continues!  And I adore that you send me photos. Thank you.   Please keep them coming :)   And feel free to comment!

But today, I am curious about Banned Books...do you have a favorite that has been banned?  Will you read a banned book this week - just because you can?  I will be featuring some in story time tonight.  I am thinking that Curious George may be part of tonight's story time.  It drives me a little bit crazy when my favorite monkey is challenged.  Please let me know - I look forward to reading your comments. 

If you are interested in Banned Books Week please visit the American Library Association by clicking here

....and then let us know what you're thinking about!  

I am not afraid of anything!

The little old lady...

     ...should have brought her flashlight along with her!  

We use flashlights in story time with this book.  You know the part, when the little old lady starts to head home and there is only a sliver of moon - we turn off the lights.....it's scary!  It's fun!  It's scary fun!!  We all have our flashlights, thank goodness!

This is another one of the old flannel board stories that I've pulled out for Fall.  The little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything written by Linda Williams is an absolutely fail proof story.  

These flannel board  pieces were created while my daughter swam laps at swim team practice.  I knew I needed a story for the next day's program...I had a manilla folder with me and some colored pencils.  I drew on the folder, colored with pencils, cut and then I placed sand paper on the back side when we got home.  This was new to me - using sand paper instead of felt.  (this was also 18 years ago!)  

I love this story and I still love these pieces.  

Two shoes that went: CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP

One pair of pants that went: WIGGLE, WIGGLE, WIGGLE

One Shirt that went:  SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE

Two white gloves that went: CLAP, CLAP, CLAP

And one tall black hat the went: NOD, NOD, NOD

AND......

one very huge, very scary, very orange pumpkin head that went:

BOO!

And when we get to the end of the story...this is how our pieces look:

Click here for the story read by Shelly Lovett at childcareland.com

For those of you who follow Piperlovesthelibrary.... let me ask - who knew that my flannel board stories would serve as markers in my life, markers full of memories?  Who knew this?  I didn't!  Last week when I posted my This Old Man pieces I had a flash of the Ref Desk at the Farmington Library and my colleague Trish.  And when I snapped the photos for this post...all I could think of was the Westbrook YMCA, my daughter and her friend Caroline swimming.  I find it both funny and heartwarming that my flannel board pieces made on the road, on a desk, in a car, on a plane...on the beach...hold more than the story from the book.  They hold my place in time, with my family and friends, houses and dogs and cats.  This is a good thing, (Martha Stewart)!  

Now, as I continue to craft flannel  into stories I may be more aware that I am logging memories, (or not).  I still travel with flannel and scissors in my book bag most days.  And I laugh to see that I must have 4 manilla file folders in my bag as well!  Tomorrow I will be in NYC for KidLit at the New York Public Library.  I suppose if anyone needs a quick flannel board story - I can draw it out for them on the folder and provide flannel for the backing.  I have proof that the pieces will last at least 18 years.  

p.s. (piper script) I am saying Good Night for Piper.  But we are wondering - Do you love this book as much as we do?  How do you tell the story of The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything?  

Knick-Knack Paddy Whack

This Old Man

The Counting Song!
Fall story times begin next week in my library and it is time to dust off the flannel board and organize the books, songs and stories.  Who's ready for fun?  

First up - This Old Man  The Counting Song  illustrated by Robin Michael Koontz.  This is one of my long time favorites.  I grew up singing this song and learned the hand motions from a little girl named Colby.  I made these pieces 24 years ago to go along with the book. 

I drew them, outlined them, colored them with markers, laminated, cut them out and attached a piece of felt to the back of each.  I remember sitting at the Ref Desk and coloring them.  I still love "doing this song".  

This old man, he played one, he played knick-knack on a drum with a knick-knack paddy whack, give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home!

Sometimes the children ask "did you bring the old men with you?"  I tend to play-out this question...looking all around, what old men?  who are you talking about?  The responses vary ...the counting men!  the give a dog a bone men!  the knick-knack men!!!   And I can not resist to play some more ...oohhh, the men who go with this book?  Maybe, let's see.  And I will take out the men, (from my book bag) one by one and we will count out loud til we have the 10 men on the flannel board.  Yay!  And then we have Piper too.  She is the dog from the line "give a dog a bone"

Click here for an adorable video of This Old Man with the words on the screen

or here for a version you may download for free to an iPad or iPod

This song is available as a free App for iPad and iPod.  Visit the App store under Nursery TV

With each verse I place one man on the flannel board we do all the motions, (hopefully I find a volunteer who will let me film him/her doing the motions next week and I will post on this blog!), and go right into the next verse.  The song moves quickly and that is good because there are ten verses!  This is what the flannel board looks like at the end of the song:

UPDATE: we made our own video click here for new posting

p.s. (piper script)  I love this song because I always get 10 bones!  yum!

Piper Reads RRRALPH!

Piper is in love with this book.  A talking dog?  Really?

Caldecott-Honor-Award Winning author, Lois Elhert, brings Ralph to life in glorious collage fashion. Parents, children, (and Piper), will giggle with the silly jokes.  

hmmm...

did you guess??

oh, there's more

Can you guess this one?

RRRALPH is a talking dog!

Piper and I can't help but wonder what our friends find fascinating this fall?  We recently asked the question..."What are you reading?"  And this is what we discovered:

Have you seen my Cat?

written by Eric Carle is a cat lovers favorite for fall!

Eager to learn about robots in the future?  

eager, written by Helen Fox is fantastic science fiction.

The BONE series has quite a following.  

These graphic novels written by Jeff Smith are always flying off the self

Award winning author Rebecca Stead's First Light is unbelievable.

Who knew that traveling to Greenland to study global warming could produce a sci-fi fantasy?

The Warriors Series by Erin Hunter

I am beginning to think this is a Cat-lovers cult!  

There are series inside of series for the Warriors.  

I never have enough of these on the shelf, yet I am always ordering more. 

Whoa! Here's a classic, Margery Williams' 

The Velveteen Rabbit

No doubt a mom's "fav"

(The Velveteen Rabbit link takes you to the upcoming newly illustrated version,  pub date 2/12/13, but there are many versions of this book in the library and in your bookstore.  If purchasing, I recommend that you take home the book with the plush rabbit)

What better way to end your day?  

How many kisses does it take to say good night?

Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

is the perfect bedtime book.

And now, dear readers, you have experienced my newest edition to the blog.  

I am calling this BookFace!  Credit for this title goes to one of the many children's librarians in attendance at KidLib Camp 2012 hosted by the Darien Library  (if you read the blog and this is you, please comment and I will assign the proper credit.  Thank you)

I will be updating this series periodically.  

I encourage creative photos!  

The submission of a photo grants permission 

to use it on the blog.  

Many thanks from :

p.s. (piper script) The West Hartford Public Libraries carry these titles.  Stop by and check-them-out!

S-O-P-H-I-E

Do you know Sophie?

Well first, you might like to know that she is French, born in France!  Ooohh - la - la!  She has very bright eyes and beautiful blushing cheeks.  All the little ones in story time know her friendly smile, her soft touch and her adorable squeak!   Take a peek!

Oui!  Yes!  This is SOPHIE! 

This is my petite post for the perfect giraffe who joined my family just prior to the birth of my grandson.  I made the letters for Sophie's name.  They look like this:

Yes!  Giraffe felt.  (c'est parfait!)

With the help of all in attendance I place the letters in order trying to explain that "PH sounds like F."  But of course....some of the story time Sophies are actually Sofia.  So after a discussion on who has an F and who has a PH and what do they both sound like....we move into Sophie's story of being born in France, far away.  Many parents of the story time children were born in other countries.  We talk about that and also about how little we were when we were born - when we were just tiny babies!  And remember: Sophie is a baby giraffe.  We start our song very softly because we don't want to frighten baby Sophie.  (to the tune of BINGO)

I have a giraffe who's here from France

and Sophie is her name-oh

S-O-PH-I-E

S-O-PH-I-E

S-O-PH-I-E

and Sophie is her name-oh!!

Voila!

p.s. (piper script) J'adore Sophie, kiss kiss! 
It is a good idea to make a letter F for explaining PH/F sound.

If you would like to learn more about Sophie. click here

Pinterest to Program!

I <3 Pinterest!

Angry Birds to the Rescue!  

Wednesdays at 2pm we host 

Angry Birds to the Rescue in the library

This week we had Angry Bird Bowling in the stacks.  And later we made these bookmarks.  I found them on Pinterest some time ago and we just had to make them.  

Next week we'll play

 "Place the beak on the Angry Bird" 

while blindfolded.  Pinterest again!

And we plan to do Green Pigs in space with the straw rocket idea from Pinterest:

(replace the paper rocket with the green pigs from angry bird)

Stop and smell the Pinterest roses!  

Easy to make, kids take them home.

Guessing...inspired by Pinterest!  

This has been a learning experience...just guess!

Go for it!  Guess!  I never knew so many children were afraid to guess.  So I change up the number of legos in the container every other day and the guessing is getting easier...and actually more accurate! 

Help your kids become good guessers. 

And Tuesdays are Lego Nation!  

How about marbles in a maze!

Yes, it's a Pinterest Post!

Just another Monster Monday!  

Monday afternoons - it's Monster Time at two!

I cut out the Monster mouths (after I took the photo).  Each Monday we start with the bean bag toss...all ages love the bean bag toss.  Who knew???  Again, I found this on Pinterest.

We always read a monster book ... or two

And this is the monster case, inspired by Pinterest, I made for my iPod:

Pinterest is a part of almost everyday for me at the Library.  If I need a quick art project - I jump onto Pinterest.  I will pin things to my Story Time Fun board to review later. It is an amazing resource.  Having Flannel Friday on Pinterest is Librarian Heaven!! 

Many thanks to the creative pinners for your daily inspiration.  You add joy to my life and my job.  

We are the Dinosaurs!

We're BACK!!!  

I just had to do a blog post with the 

completed dinosaurs. 

These are the plain ones...now, 

wait for it

wait...

      wait..

Yep!  The printed ones!!!  

And, do you think you can match them up?

Of course you can!!

In case you didn't visit last week's dinosaurs on this blog...I found the adorable pattern for these dinosaurs on Mel's desk  Just click the link and you'll 

find the pattern!  

She has a wonderful rhyme too.

Thank you Melissa!

Go for it...sort and match the dinosaurs!  

And don't forget to march to 

Laurie Berkner's song!

Go get your little one and click the above link to Laurie marching and singing.  

You'll be singing this all day long!

So silly and so much fun!

p.s.  (Piper script)  I love marching!!