Halloween Songs and Books!

We presented a very large storytime downtown for our Halloween program! We had over 386 people attend! We danced to some REALLY great Halloween songs and read some wonderful books that I wanted to share!
Here are the songs we danced to:
It's Showtime by The Learning Station on the CD, Get Funky and Musical Fun with the Learning Station

This is a classic song we play at almost every Riverwalk storytime program before the show begins.

Goo Goo Ga Ga by Joe Scruggs on the CD, Traffic Jams

We presented a puppet show to go along with this hilarious song about a baby that mesmerizes a Troll and a Witch with her adorable baby speak.

Pumpkin Twist from the CD, Halloween with Victor R. Vampire & Friends

If you are looking for some fun songs that will get kids dancing and involved in the party, consider The Pumpkin Twist.

Spooky Loo on the CD, Wee Sing for Halloween

This is a really fun action song too! Here are the lyrics:

Here we go Spook-y Loo, Here we go Spook-y Light,
Here we go Spook-y Loo, All on a Hal-low-een night.

1. You put your right hand in, You put your right hand
out, You give you right hand a shake, shake, shake, And you turn your-self a-bout. Oh,

(Chorus after each verse)

2. ...left hand...
3. ...right hand...
4. ...left foot...
5. ...head...
6. ...whole self...

Tippytoes by Marcia Louis on the CD, Dancin' With Mr Bones

This is a really fun song where we went on tippytoes, went walking, marching, and running! The song speeds up as you change movements. We had signs for the words "Happy Halloween!" and "BOO!". We each held up a sign when the word was said. The children loved the "BOO" part in this song and you could tell they enjoyed participating!

Halloween Dance on the CD Golden Records Spooky Halloween Hits

This is the classic 60's hit that we ended the Halloween Riverwalk with! In this song you shake your hands like a skeleton, you put your arms up like a goblin, and dance like a fairy! It's a really great song to get kids moving.

Books we read at the Halloween on the Riverwalk:
Ghost Face based off the book, Monkey Face by Frank Asch

This was the prop story about the ghost named Casper who drew a picture of his dad. He came along and met a vampire, a spider, and other friends who had him change the picture to add something unique. For example, the vampire Capser met suggested that he add fangs to the picture. The spider suggested to Casper that the drawing was missing not one, but 8 legs! Casper added all these things to the drawing and brought it home to his dad who LOVED the drawing, just because it was made by Casper, just for him.

Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

This is a classic book where we scare each part of the monster such as the scraggly purple hair, green monster face, etc. Kids love to yell at "GO AWAY" during this story!

Spooky Box by Mark Gonyea

This story is one of my new favorite books! We turned this book into a prop story with 1 big black spooky box decorated with spider webs and inside that box contained 2 more spooky boxes! We all read a list of different spooky things that could be inside the box such as evil puppets, a squid far from home, or snakes! We added our own ending to the song by listening to some animal sounds to give us clues as to what was inside the spooky box. Inside our boxes were a bat and a cat!

The Three Bears' Halloween by Kathy Duval

This was our puppet show this year. This story is about 3 bears who go trick or treating on Halloween. Papa Bear puts on his funny ears, Mama Bear dons a curly wig, and Baby Bear wears a black mask (in the book he wears a tiger suit but we modified it for our puppet show). Eventually Baby Bear sees a witch and yells, "Someone is a big, bad witch," but many children in our audience recognized the Goldilocks puppet under the witch's costume. The ending is when Goldilocks takes her mask off and reaveals that she isn't really a big, bad witch at all!

Happy Halloween!



Jazz Storytime for 3-5 year olds!

My intention with this storytime is to educate children on jazz music and to also introduce them to the colorful picture books on this subject. The stories read will increase print awareness as many of these stories have repeated phrases in them. In addition, the books I am choosing have a lot of new vocabulary that might be unfamiliar to children. When they leave, I hope they at least have gained some appreciation for jazz music and were exposed to picture books featuring talented African Americans! I enjoy introducing children to a wide variety of books that they have probably never heard of before. This may also pique children’s interest on jazz music to which I can show them the wide variety of jazz music CDs we have in the library. This storytime will also reinforce early literacy skills as I also connect the storytime to the letter of the week (the letter J).

Please visit http://sarahpicciuolo.wix.com/jazzpicturebooks for a more thorough list of jazz picture books!

1.      Opening Song – Good Morning Song (Remix) by the Alphabet Rockers

Hear this song and purchase it on bandcamp!

2.    Discuss letter of the week : J , discuss words that begin with the letter J by giving clues and allowing children to guess. Next, explain what Jazz music is. Children are never too young to learn about Jazz music! 

3.       Book # 1 – When Louis Armstrong Taught me to Scat by Muriel Harris Weinstein

This book is a bit long and might be better suited for older children but I love it so much that I just wanted to include it! If your crowd is filled with more 3 year olds then I would probably not read this due to the length. You know your crowd best though so use your best judgement.

Here are a few snippets of some reviews I've read

"Children can both giggle at the bouncy non sequiturs (“Cricket’s throne/ puppy’s bone/ bug’s umbrella/ mozzarella???”) and absorb some musical history from endnotes on Armstrong and scat. Christie’s vibrant acrylics offer a pleasing, surreal fluidity. Floating purple trumpets, a winding musical staff and appearances by some hep-looking animals all jell with the anything-goes nature of the subject. Ages 5–9. (Feb.) " - Publisher's Weekly

If you're looking for a shorter book then I suggest Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler. This book is another rhythmic book that is GREAT to read aloud. You can read it like a rap, “Grandpa toot-toots. Granny sings scat. Bitty-boppin’ baby goes, Rat-Tat-Tat! Mama sings high. Daddy sings low. Snazzy, jazzy baby says, Go, Man, Go!” This whole family seems like so much fun and the illustrations are kind of retro which I also love! I would love to spend a night with this family, just jiving to the music!

4.       Flannelboard Story : 5 Jazz Musicians  (original flannelboard story from me, Miss Sarah! Please credit me and link to my blog if you use this)

5 jazz musicians playing music at night
one gets hungry and leaves to get a bite

4 jazz musicians playing music so sweet
1 gets a craving so he leaves for a treat

3 jazz musicians playing music in the city
1 leaves quickly to feed his pretty kitty

2 jazz musicians left performing on stage
until 1 leaves to clean his guinea pig's cage

One jazz musician left bopping his head
until he gets sleepy and goes home to bed

Now there are zero jazz musicians anywhere in sight!
They're all home sleeping for it's late at night! 

5.  Poem: When the Jazz Musician was Ten (original poem from me, Miss Sarah! Please credit me and link to my blog if you use this)

When the jazz musician was three he made music on his knee
When the jazz musician was four he thought it was a bore
When the jazz musician five he learned to jive
When the jazz musician was six he picked up drumsticks
When the jazz musician was seven he changed his name to Kevin
When the jazz musician was eight, his drumming was great
When the jazz musician was nine he was doing just fine
When the jazz musician was ten, he joined a jazz band full of men

6.       Book # 2 – Jazzmatazz by Muriel Harris Weinstein

7.       Song : Bouncin on the Bed from the Philly Joe Giraffe’s Jungle Jazz CD

8.   Book # 3 : Bring on that Beat by Rachel Isadora 

9.   Fingerplay :

Clap Your Hands! (To the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat)
Clap, clap, clap your hands, clap your hands together
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap your hands together
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers, wiggle your fingers like spiders
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers like spiders
Shake, shake, shake your shoulders, shake your shoulders now
Shake, shake shake, shake, shake, shake, shake your shoulders now
Move, move, move your hips, move your hips around
Move, move, move, move, move your hips together
Bend, bend, bend your knees, bend your knees right now
Bend, bend, bend, bend, bend your knees right now
Slide, slide, slide your feet, slide your feet like James Brown
Slide your feet, slide your feet, slide your feet like James Brown
Dance, dance, dance around, dance around together
Dance around, dance around, dance around together

 11.   Song : Little Lamb Jam by Oran Etkin on the CD "Wake Up, Clarinet!". You can preview the song on amazon. 

12.   Book #4 – This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhard

This book is awesome! Not only does it reinforce counting skills with preschoolers, the song is very fun to read out loud. The book is to be read to the tune of "This Old Man" and is a playful introduction to nine jazz giants.

13. Fingerplay :

Dance your Fingers
We’re going to dance our fingers up
And dance our fingers down
We’ll dance them to the side
Let’s dance them all around
And we’ll dance them on our shoulders
And we’ll dance them on our head
Let’s dance them on our tummy
And we’ll put them all to bed!

14.   Ending Song with Shakers : Old Mcdonald Had a Farm (any regular version will do) and then play Old Mcdonald Had a Farm by Ella Fitzgerald (the jazz version) to compare! I LOVE Ella Fitzgerald's version.

15. Lastly, have children line up for a music note stamp on the children’s hands!

You could also pass out a book list and a list of internet links to teach jazz music to children. PBS has an AMAZING website, for example. 

Let's Dance! Storytime for Early Talkers (Ages 0-3)

Theme: Let's Dance! 

*Note: I will add personal descriptions of the books once Storytime is over to provide details on how the children responded to the stories. 

Introduction Song: Open Shut Them

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them, open, shut them

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap

Creepy crawly, creepy crawly,

Right up to your chin, chin, chin

Open up your little mouth

But do not let them in, in in

Book #1 - Dance with Me by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Dancing Fingers

We’re going to dance our fingers up 
And dance our fingers down
We’ll dance them to the side
Let’s dance them all around
And we’ll dance them on our shoulders
And we’ll dance them on our head
Let’s dance them on our tummy
And we’ll put them all to bed!

It’s Time for Music by William Janiak

It’s time for music and lots of fun 
So, let’s stand up and now we run
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run

Run, run. NOW STOP!

It’s time to slow down so we’ll walk

So let’s start moving but don’t talk

Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk walk

Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk. NOW STOP!

So now we’re tired and now we’ll stop

By sitting down and being quiet

Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh

Shh, shh, shh, shh. NOW STOP!

Book #2 - Dance! by Ward Schumaker

Let's Get Fit by Billy Reid

I seriously love this song so much! It makes me want to work out and break a sweat. I also think the parents will appreciate that this song is a little more upbeat and interesting than your typical kids songs.

Book #3 - Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig and Marc Brown

Clap Your Hands! (To the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat)

Clap, clap, clap your hands, clap your hands together

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap your hands together

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers, wiggle your fingers like spiders

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers like spiders

Shake, shake, shake your shoulders, shake your shoulders now

Shake, shake shake, shake, shake, shake, shake your shoulders now

Move, move, move your hips, move your hips around

Move, move, move, move, move your hips together

Bend, bend, bend your knees, bend your knees right now

Bend, bend, bend, bend, bend your knees right now

Slide, slide, slide your feet, slide your feet like James Brown

Slide your feet, slide your feet, slide your feet like James Brown

Dance, dance, dance around, dance around together 

Dance around, dance around, dance around together

Michigan and Smiley - The Reggae Rock

I plan to play this song after I pass out the shakers to everyone! I want to give the children a unique and fun song to dance to that is unlike anything they had heard. We have a very diverse group at Storytime so I figured it would be more than appropriate to start featuring music from around the world when possible. 

Closing Song: Saying Good-bye 

(to tune of the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way our hands say goodbye

With a clap clap-clap

Clap, clap-clap.

This is the way our hands say goodbye

With a clap, clap-clap ,clap-clap.

This is the way our knees say goodbye

With a tap tap-tap.

Tap tap-tap.

This is the way our knees say goodbye

With a tap tap-tap, tap-tap.

This is the way we wave goodbye

Wave goodbye, wave goodbye

This is the way we wave goodbye

Until you’re here next time