Pick of the Week: Good Night, Sleep Tight

Have you ever wanted to remember or practice the rhymes you hear in storytime? Well, some of our favorites appear in Mem Fox's new book Good Night, Sleep Tight. Siblings Bonnie and Ben have a favorite babysitter, Skinny Doug, who tells them nursery rhymes at bedtime. This is a fun rhyming bedtime book full of favorites like "It's Raining, It's Pouring!", "This Little Piggy," "Round and Round the Garden," and "This is the Way the Ladies Ride."

Good Night, Sleep Tight by Mem Fox, illustrated by Judy Horacek (Orchard Books, 2013)

Nursery Rhyme Mini Books

Hearing and saying nursery rhymes help children develop early reading skills. Children who listen to nursery rhymes often have an easier time recognizing and sounding out the different sounds that make up a word. Plus, many nursery rhymes are just plain fun! Here's a family activity that will help promote this skill:

Print out all 24 nursery rhyme coloring pages, fold them into mini books, and have your child color them. Read them at home with your child or carry them with you in your bag to share with your child on the go! Early Literacy - To Go!

Pick of the Week: Not Last Night But The Night Before

Not Last Night But the Night Before by Colin McNaughton, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark (Candlewick, 2009)
A surprised little boy is visited by a cast of nursery rhyme characters in his home. Everyone from the Man in the Moon to Little Bo Peep to Goldilocks visits him. Each character comes rushing through the door with a present in hand, in this book of rhyming text and soft pencil illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark.The little boy receives a gift at the end of the book - a chorus of childhood characters singing, "Happy Birthday to you,/Squashed tomatoes and stew,/Bread and butter in the gutter,/Happy birthday to you!"

Pick of the Week: Truckery Rhymes

Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka, characters and environments developed by the Design Garage--David Shannon, Loren Long, David Gordon


This is a great addition to the truck-themed picture book genre and a lively new take on the nursery rhymes of childhood. Substituting truck-themed rhymes based on classic rhymes and songs take on new life as "Little Dan Dumper," "Pop! Blows the Diesel", and "The Wheels on the Truck." This is a great action-packed collection of rhymes to share with all young truck enthusiasts and fans of Jon Scieszka's Trucktown book series.

Notable Site: Speakaboos

Find of the week: www.Speakboos.com.

Speakaboos (Beta) brings classic stories and nursery rhymes to life using animation, song, and spoken word performed by celebrities. There is even an option for you or your child to record their own voice (option coming soon). For example, you can listen to Wilmer Valderrama recite "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" or hear and watch actor John Krasinski tell the story of Aladdin. If you're a teacher, there are story guides, worksheets, and arts/crafts ideas to peruse. For parents, there are activity sheets to download and print out, as well as links to parenting resources. Another fun way to help encourage and build literacy skills with your child!

Take a video tour here:

Today at Infant Storytime

Rhymes We Shared in Infant Storytime today ~
Rhymes to Share at Home!

Elevator Song
Let’s go riding on an elevator, let’s go riding on an elevator,
Let’s go riding on an elevator.
1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor, 4th floor, 5th floor, down!

Spanish Color Song
Rojo, Red, Rojo, Red
Azul, Blue, Azul, Blue
Amarillo, Yellow, Amarillo, Yellow
Verde, Green, Verde, Green

Smooth Road
Smooth road, smooth road, smooth road
Bumpy road, bumpy road, bumpy road
Rough road, rough road, rough road….HOLE!

10 Little Kisses
1 little, 2 little, 3 little kisses
4 little, 5 little, 6 little kisses
7 little, 8 little, 9 little kisses
10 little kisses say I LOVE YOU!

Peekaboo
Peekaboo, peekaboo
I see you! I see you!
I see your button nose
I see your tiny toes
Peekaboo, I see you!

Two Little Red Birds
Two little red birds, sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Fly away Jack, Fly away Jill,
Come back Jack and Come back Jill

We Shared these Books during Storytime:

Flappy, Waggy, Wiggly by Amanda Leslie

I Love Colors by Margaret Miller (board book)

Strawberries are Red by Petr Horacek (board book)

I Love Animals by Flora McDonnell

Fun Food Rhymes

Jelly in the Bowl

Start with your baby on your lap. This is best to do with babies who can sit independently. As always, be careful and gentle when bouncing with your baby. Listen to your baby's cue - she will let you know if it's too much action! Wobblers and toddlers may also enjoy this one!

Jelly in the bowl, Rock baby back and forth.
Jelly in the bowl,
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble Gently wiggle baby's arms.
Jelly in the bowl. Rock baby back and forth.

Cookies in the tin Gently bounce baby on your lap.
Cookies in the tin.
Shake them up, shake them up
Cookies in the tin.

Baby on the floor, Gently bounce baby on your lap.
Baby on the floor.
Pick him (her) up, pick him (her) up Lift baby up high.
Baby on the floor. Lower baby to the floor.


Pizza Pickle Pumpernickle

Pizza, pickle, pumpernickel,
My little girl shall have a tickle.
One for here nose, one for here toes
And one for her tummy where the cracker goes!


Popcorn Rhyme

(bounce baby on knees)*
Popcorn, popcorn,
Sizzling in the pan.
Shake it up, shake it up,
Bam, bam, bam!

Popcorn, popcorn,
Now it’s getting hot,
Shake it up, shake it up,
Pop, pop, pop! lift baby up with each "pop"

*toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy acting this one out themselves. They can shake their bodies and stomp their feet for "bam, bam, bam!" Jump up in the air for "pop, pop, pop!"

Pick of the Week: Three Little Kittens

Normally, I've chosen to highlight a new picture book for the Pick of the Week book. But this week I wanted to draw attention to one of my favorite authors/illustrators for toddlers and younger preschoolers, Lorianne Siomades. Introducing nursery rhymes and Mother Goose books are a fantastic way to help build a child's phonological awareness - or the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. Not only that, sharing nursery rhymes develops a child's connection to his or her cultural history, language and oral tradition. (The library's collection contains books with traditional rhymes in a variety of languages and traditions.) In Lorianne Siomades' Three Little Kittens, children are introduced to the traditional story with large, bright, and colorful illustrations. It's also a great introduction to beginning narrative skills. It's not-too-long of a story - and has a short plot with just the right amount of tension for little ones. This is a good choice for sharing either one-on-one or in a group setting. Additionally, Lorianne Siomades' The Itsy-Bitsy Spider is my favorite book to introduce the popular children's rhyme with babies, toddlers and the younger preschool set. Again, Lorianne Siomades' large, simple and colorful illustrations work well with this younger audience and the rhyme is always a childhood favorite!

Pick of the Week: Rufus and Friends Rhyme Time

Rufus and Friends Rhyme Time: traditional poems extended and illustrated by Iza Trapani (Charlesbridge, 2008)

Rufus and his canine friends star in a show about rhymes. Silly sounds, familiar rhymes, and illustrations with hidden pictures all make for a fun read-aloud with young children! This book contains familiar rhymes such as "Diddle Diddle Dumpling" and tongue-twisters like "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers", along with several less familiar but wonderful early childhood rhymes. Iza Trapani is also the author/illustrator of other traditional rhyme books, including Froggie Went A'Courtin' and Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush.

Rhymes to Share with Little Ones

Rhymes are a regular part of storytime for children. Children naturally play with language through rhyming and songs. This is an important part of language development and helps build their phonological awareness. Phonological awareness, or the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds of words, is a critical skill children need to get ready to read. To develop this skill, parents and caregivers can share music, poetry, and books with rhyming language in them. It also helps to learn a small assortment of rhymes to share with children throughout the day. Share a lively one during playtime, a soft quiet lap rhyme at bedtime, or a silly one during a car ride to pass the time. Some favorite rhymes include:

A B C
Big A, little a,
Bouncing B!
The cat’s in the cupboard,
And can’t see me.

BANBURY CROSS
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see an old lady upon a white horse.
Rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.

DANCE TO YOUR DADDY
Dance to your daddy,
My little laddy.
Dance to your daddy,
My little lamb.
You shall have a fishy,
In a little dishy.
You shall have a fishy
When the boat comes in.

HICKORY DICKORY DOCK
Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down.
Hickory, dickory dock.

JACK BE NIMBLE
Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
Jack jump over the candlestick!

MISS MARY MACK
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,
All dressed in black, black, black,
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons,
All down her back, back, back.

She asked her mother, mother, mother,
For 50 cents, cents, cents
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
Jump over the fence, fence, fence.

They jumped so high, high, high --
They reached the sky, sky, sky,
And didn't come back, back, back
'Til the 4th of July, -ly, -ly!

THE MOON
The Moon is round
As round as can be
With two eyes, a nose,
and a mouth, like me!

RIDE AWAY, RIDE AWAY
Ride away, ride away,
Johnny shall ride,
And he shall have pussy-cat
Tied to one side;
And he shall have little dog
Tied to the other,
And Johnny shall ride
To see his grandmother.

WEE WILLIE WINKIE
Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs, in his nightgown;
Rapping at the window, crying through the lock,
“Are the children in their beds?
For now it’s eight o’clock.”

1, 2, Buckle My Shoe

This familiar children's rhyme is often sung with preschoolers and is the subject of two of my favorite picture books for the very youngest child:

1, 2, Buckle My Shoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines (Harcourt Inc., 2008)

Illustrated with quilt patches bursting with color, this rendition of "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" is a superb addition!







Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker (Harcourt Brace, 1994)

Big Fat Hen counts to ten with her friends and all their chicks. An outstanding simple book for toddlers and babies.

Staff Pick of the Week

Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose collected and illustrated by Scott Gustafson (2007)

I admit that I love Mother Goose books. I love the old-fashioned language, the alliteration, the onomatopoeia, and the illustrations that adorn these books. My personal favorites have always been the classic illustrated volumes and the very young child-friendly illustrations such as the Iona Opie/Rosemary Wells collaborations. But not all Mother Goose books are created equal. One of the best illustrated Mother Goose books that I've come across in quite awhile is Scott Gustafson's Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose. Large, beautiful, imaginative paintings illustrate a great selection of nursery rhymes. A good introduction to these classic rhymes for toddlers and preschoolers. The large illustrations also make this a good choice for using in group settings like preschool or storytime.