Well, I don't have any final outlines for storytimes right now. I am concentrating on science programs and letting the 4-H program do the heavy lifting for numbers for me this month. I'll be starting storytimes again in August though, and I know I want to take the kids to France and Egypt. I think I might also try to have one for India, but I haven't even started pulling a list of books together for that one.
I think I will definitely read Anatole by Eve Titus at my sister's suggestion. Darling Anatole realizes that people think mice are pests and does his very best to earn his keep...by providing cheese-tasting services. Lovely, sweet and fun. Some other contenders for France are: La La Rose by Satomi Ichikawa, A Spree in Paree by Catherine Stock, Ollie and Moon by Diane Kredensor, Belinda in Paris by Amy Young, and The Day We Danced in Underpants by Sarah Wilson. I can't wait to read Ollie and Moon, which is relatively new and sounds like a fun little tour of Paris. Belinda in Paris might not be a great choice since it's part of a series and if the kids don't know about Belinda's big feet from the first book, it might not be obvious why Belinda's shoes are so difficult to replace. I always love Ichikawa's illos, but we'll see if the other stories manage to edge it out. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention Zat Cat! A Haute Couture Tail by Chelsey MacLaren. I love France! I hope the kids will love it too.
As for Egypt, I am pretty sure that I will be reading Tomie DePaolo's Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile. As with Belinda, I am worried that the kids might not "get" the whole thing because it's the second in a series. I'm worried that they will not understand the tooth-brushing bird concept, so I'm going to try and explain that before reading the book. I thought about reading the first Bill and Pete as well, but that seems like a large percentage of my storytime on one author. I pulled Croco'nile by Roy Gerrard from the library, but I don't think I will be using it. The story is altogether too disjointed; here's the crocodile in the first two pages, and then the story goes in a different direction, and oh, look, here's the crocodile again to save them from drowning in the last two pages. I'm not a fan, even though the rhyme scheme totally worked for me. Temple Cat by Andrew Clements is also a possibility. I think it might be perpetuating a long-standing myth about ancient Egyptians worshiping cats though, and that makes me uneasy. I need to do a little research to make myself feel better about that. On a side note, do you know how hard it is to find picture books about modern Egypt? Some other candidates for inclusion are: The Mouse Who Saved Egypt by Karim Alrawi, which I took a gamble on and ordered without seeing any reviews or anything, What's the Matter, Habibi? by Betsy Lewin, totally cute and funny and could be enhanced by use of a puppet, and could also lead into singing Alice the Camel.
One of the other librarians was kind enough to loan me her set of hieroglyph stamps, and I think I am going to try to draw up a cartouche on a bookmark for the kids to stamp in. (Idea totally stolen from a museum store, but I can't pay more than a dollar per sheet for actual papyrus for the kids to stamp on. I would kind of like to have a real sheet of papyrus for them to feel though. I might buy one.) I am unsure about a craft for France yet. Too many options!
No comments:
Post a Comment