Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Anyone who's worked with me long enough has heard my bitter diatribe about how there are no GOOD Thanksgiving picture books to read with the K-2 grade crowd...yeah, there are a bunch out there, but for a variety of reasons--too long, too hokey, too boring--there are few that I actually enjoy sharing with the kids, and my philosophy is if I don't enjoy them the kids won't either, because I won't be putting my full gusto into the reading! So, getting down from my Thanksgiving book soap box, I'll share those books and be THANKFUL that they're out there! The first is obviously silly and geared toward the eating aspect, but the other two share a little more about the Indians and Pilgrims side of things--the best of both worlds! Based on I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly , Alison Jackson The kids LOVE this book. The rhymes are silly, but the pictures are downright RIDICULOUS! I laughed out loud at the picture of the kids bouncing on the old lady like a t...

This exhausting week in LaLa Library Land: Monday my 15-23 months old group was so much fun! (I am going to miss this bunch of parents when their kids move up to the 2 year old group). Our current theme through January is Favorite Children's Authors. I chose to start with Eric Carle, who is my favorite illustrator, and thus introduced the kids to The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear (both favorites of mine). The kids loved the stories and that for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, I actually had enough copies for everyone. We also pulled out our huge parachute for the last 5 minutes of class before toy time and had so much fun. The kids excitement and laughter is so contagious. Had my last Ancient Civilizations group Wednesday, where we learned about Pueblo Indians . After talking about the who, what, where and when's of the Pueblos, each kid began the task of making coiled bowls (w/Crayola air dry clay--WONDERFUL!) Then while we let the bowls dry a little I read some...