Transportation: 20 Big Trucks -- 2/10/26

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for the February virtual Story Time.

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street by Mark Lee
Elecopter by Michael Slack
Moo! by David LaRochelle

Books:
Along the River by Vanina Starkoff
Bears in the Snow by Shirley Parenteau
The Best Bike Ride Ever by James Proimos
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
Planes Fly! by George Ella Lyon
Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge

Craft: Paper Plate Rocking Boat
- Color outer ring of paper plate blue for water

- Color inner circle of paper plate as bottom of boat

- Fold plate in half (color on outside)

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (triangle sail, fish)

- Color pieces

- Glue sail to plate along fold

- Glue fish onto blue ring of water

Extension Activities:

- Elecopter is part of a series of books where animals are combined with types of transportation (ie - Monkey Truck, Turtle Tug).  Ask your children to design other animal/transportation combos.

- Use a small toy car to paint a picture.  Dip wheels into paint and then run it along a piece of paper.  Repeat with additional colors.

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Building Block Award Nominees: Week 3 -- 9/23/25

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

Peg Gets Crackin' by Jo Renfro
Mr. Fox's Game of "NO!" by David LaRochelle

Books:
Bear's Lost Glasses by Leo Timmers
Dig Dig Dinosaur by Professor Anjali Goswami
I Live in a Tree Trunk by Meg Fleming
Just One Flake by Travis Jonker
Ploof by Ben Clanton
The Quiet Forest by Charlotte Offsay
Simon and the Better Bone by Corey Tabor
Towed by Toad by Jashar Awan

Craft: Chicken
- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper
- Cut out pieces (body, legs, feet)
- Color pieces
- Fold body along dotted lines to make beak and wings
- Glue legs to body (optional -- accordian fold legs)
- Glue feet to legs



Extension Activities:
- Play a game of Simon Says.
- Visit a farm or local park with chickens (such as Suson Park).


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Orange -- 6/10/25

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle

Books:
Beware of Tigers by Dave Horowitz
Carrot & Pea by Morag Hood
Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story by Zeena M. Pliska 
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Ten Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage

Craft: Clownfish

- Print template (above) onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out clownfish

- Color clownfish

- Cut orange paper into small pieces.  Glue pieces to stripes of clownfish

Extension Activities:

- Hold a taste testing of orange foods -- oranges, canteloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes, cheez-its, cheetos, goldfish crackers, etc.

- Plant a carrot top.  Cut off the top of the carrot and trim away the leaves.  Place the carrot top in a small container on top of a layer of pebbles.  Let your child pour water in up to the carrot.  Wait for it to start to grow roots and then transplant to dirt.

Virtual Story Time: 2024 Picture Books -- December 2024

Each month, Miss Amy records a virtual Story Time that goes along with the monthly theme.  It will be posted monthly in the morning of the first Tuesday of the month.  (The video is available to watch for one month before a new one is uploaded.) 

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" by David LaRochelle
The Robbery by Joaquin Camp

Books:
All of Those Babies by Mylisa Larsen
Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli
Not a Smiley Guy by Polly Horvath
Ten Little Rabbits by Maurice Sendak
The Wrong Book by Drew Daywalt
You're Going to Love This Book by Jory John


Extension Activities:
- Make ice cream sundaes with your kids.  After everybody's made their sundae vote to see which one looks the most appetizing.
- Visit David LaRochelle's website to play a "Game of Silly Questions".
- Have your child draw a wanted poster of themselves.  What crime would they be wanted for?

Learning Concepts -- 8/13/24

 Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's online Story Time.

How to Count to 1 by Caspar Salmon
Go and Get with Rex by David LaRochelle

Books:

10 Hungry Rabbits by Anita Lobel

Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson

Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd

Little Plane Learns to Write by Stephen Savage

Press Here by Herve Tullet

Shape by Shape by Suse McDonald

Shout! Shout It Out! by Denise Fleming

Craft: Turtle Numbers Count

- Print template at left

- Color turtles

- Rip colored paper into small pieces

- Glue corresponding number of pieces to each turtle that matches that shell's number

Extension Activities:

- Play a game of I Spy.  Switch it up by giving clues based on the first letter of the object, the color of the object, etc.

- Practice letter recognition by asking your child to find a different letter on each page of a book you are reading together.

Adventures on the Road -- 6/4/24

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

Are We There Yet? by Dandi Daley Mackall
Let's Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems
Moo! by David LaRochelle

Books:

Mrs. Armitage: Queen of the Road by Quentin Blake

Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli

Sakes Alive! A Cattle Drive by Karma Wilson

Toot Toot Zoom! by Phyllis Root

Tulip Sees America by Cynthia Rylant

The Tweedles Go Electric by Monica Kulling

Vroom! by Barbara McClintock

Craft: Car with Driver Puppet

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out car and cut slit along driver's window

- Color car

- Decorate top of craft stick as driver

- Slide craft stick through slit 

- (Optional) - Glue craft stick into place

Extension Activities:

- Play a road trip game in the car such as License Plate BINGO (how many different states license plates do you see) or the Alphabet Game (find the letters of the alphabet on roadside signs).

- Plan a road trip using a map.  Ask your child to find the best route between two cities on a map.

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The Alphabet: TUV -- 4/19/22

 Join us weekly on Tuesdays for an online Story Time featuring books read by Miss Amy.  The video will be available for a week before a new online Story Time is posted.

Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.

It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle
Polar Bear's Underwear by Tupera Tupera

Books:
Bug in a Vacuum by Melanie Watt
Do You Believe in Unicorns? by Bethany Murguia
Freight Train by Donald Crews
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
I Love My New Toy! by Mo Willems
Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton
The Umbrella by Jan Brett
What Uncles Do Best by Laura Numeroff

Craft: V is for Vulture
- Print out template on heavy paper or cardstock
- Color pieces of vulture (V body, head, feet)

- Cut out pieces

- Using scissors, make small snips along outer sides of V for feathers

- Glue feet at bottom of V body

- Glue head as shown in picture





Extension Activities:

- Play a game of Twister.  It is a great way to teach colors, left/right, and following directions.
- Do some drawing with the letter.  See what all they can turn a "U" into (i.e. umbrella, cup, etc.)

- During a trip to a grocery store, ask your child to identify the different vegetables they see in the produce area.  


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Tigers Story Time -- 7/19 (Outdoors) & 7/20 (Virtual)

Outdoor Story Times are held weekly on Monday mornings at 10:00 am and 11:00 am.  (Registration is required to attend.)  Online Story Times will be posted weekly on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am.  (The video is available to watch for one week before a new one is uploaded.)


Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.


It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle
Beware of Tigers by Dave Horowitz

Books:

Fear the Bunny by Richard T. Morris

Little Lost Tiger by Jonathan London

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Song of the Circus by Lois Duncan

A Tiger Called Tomas by Charlotte Zolotow

Tiger Pups by Tom Harvey

The Tiger's Egg by Nele Bronner

The Tiptoeing Tiger by Philippa Leathers

Craft: Tiger Mask

- Cut the inner part of a paper plate out so you have just the outer ring.  Color the ring as the tiger's face.

- Cut out and color two eyes and a nose to glue to the top part of the face.

- Cut out eight long triangles to glue to the inside of the ring for teeth.

- Cut out approximately 30 (total) black and orange rectangles to glue around the outside of the ring for the tiger's stripes.

Extension Activities:

- Tigers are commonly orange and black.  Ask your child to name other things that are orange and black (i.e. construction cones, monarch butterflies, etc.).  Maybe go on a scavenger hunt to find items that are those colors.

- Visit the zoo to view and learn more about tigers.

Cows Story Time -- 6/14/21 (Outdoors) - 6/15/21 (Virtual)

Outdoor Story Times are held weekly on Monday mornings at 10:00 am and 11:00 am.  (Registration is required to attend.)  Online Story Times will be posted weekly on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am.  (The video is available to watch for one week before a new one is uploaded.)


Click HERE to view the latest video.


When Cows Come Home by David Harrison
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas
Moo! by David LaRochelle

Books:  (Cows)

A Birthday for Cow by Jan Thomas

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson

The Cows Are Going to Paris by David Kirby

Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman

Find a Cow Now by Janet Stevens

Moo Who? by Margie Palatini

Not Now, Cow by Tammi Sauer

Only Cows Allowed by Lynn Plourde

Sakes Alive! A Cattle Drive by Karma Wilson

Craft: C Is for Cow

- Print template on heavy paper or cardstock and cut out

- Color head, tail, and "C" (cow's body)

- Glue pieces together as shown in picture

Extension Activities:

- Practice letter recognition by asking your child to point out the letter "C" as you read a book.

- Moo! tells an entire story using just two words -- moo and baa.  See if your child can retell one of their favorite books using just animal sounds.

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Virtual Story Time: A Plane Goes Ka-Zoom! by Jonathan London -- 4/20/21

Join us weekly for an online story time featuring a book read by Miss Amy on Tuesdays at 10:00 am.  The video is available to watch for one week before a new one is uploaded.


Click HERE to view the latest video.


A Plane Goes Ka-Zoom! by Jonathan London
Moo! by David LaRochelle

Books:  (Cars & Planes)
Cars Galore by Peter Stein
Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car by Eileen Christelow
Flight 1-2-3 by Maria Van Lieshout
Little Plane Learns to Write by Stephen Savage
Little Smokey by Robert Neubecker
Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli
Planes Fly! by George Ella Lyon
Race! by Sue Fliess
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Car by Sue Dopirak
Vroom! by Barbara McClintock

Craft: Rolled Bi-Plane

- Cut a piece of heavy paper or cardstock into a quarter piece (5-1/2" x 4-1/4") and two strips (5-1/2"" x 1").

- Color quarter piece as plane body before rolling and gluing into a tube.

- Color two strips as wings.

- Glue first strip to top front of body.
- Fold second strip so there is a "bump" in the middle and glue to top back of body.

Extension Activities:

- See how many parts of a car your child can name (i.e. windshield, mirror, tail light, etc.).

- Plan a road trip with your child.  Show them the route on a map.  Have them help decide on and pack any supplies (i.e. snacks, toys, etc.) you might want to take.

Elephant & Piggie: Let's Go For a Drive! Story Time: July 15-16, 2019

Books:
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems *
Let's Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems *
Mitchell's License by Hallie Durand
Moo! by David LaRochelle *
Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli

Craft: Pigeon Bus
The children colored a bus cutout with Elephant and Piggie in the Windows as well as a Pigeon head cutout.  The Pigeon cutout was glued into the driver's window.

Extension Activities:
- After reading Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, ask your child for the reasons why a pigeon should not drive a vehicle.
- Plan a drive with your child.  Ask them to help determine what supplies will be needed and to help pack for the drive. 

Cows Story Time: May 20-21, 2019

Books:
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson *
The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill *
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas *
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier
Moo! by David LaRochelle *
Moo Moo in a Tutu by Tim Miller


Craft: C Is for Cow
The children colored a letter "C", a cow head, and a tail before gluing them all together to make the cow.

Extension Activities:
- Practice phonics recognition.  See how many words your child can come up with that starts with the letter "C" -- whether the hard "C" sound or the soft "S" sound.
- Cows help make some of our favorite foods. (i.e. - milk, cheese, ice cream, etc.)  Learn how these different foods are all made from cow's milk.  There are books and videos available at the library or visit a working farm to learn the process.

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Cars Story Time: March 4-5, 2019

Books:
And the Cars Go . . . by William Bee
Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car by Eileen Christelow
Moo! by David LaRochelle *
The Scrubbly-Bubbly Car Wash by Irene O'Garden *
The Tweedles Go Electric by Monica Kulling
The Wheels on the Racecar by Alexander Zane *

Craft: Car
This week's craft was loosely based on the picture at left.  The children were given a quarter sheet of cardstock with a slit cut in the middle of the sheet.  It was colored before gluing into a cylinder to make the car body.  Four circles were colored and glued on for the wheels.  A small person cutout was colored and slid into the slit for the driver.

Extension Activities --
- Play a game while in the car.  Ask your child to find different types or colors of vehicles.
- Talk with your child about car safety.  Why do we wear seat belts? What other features in the car help make it safer? (i.e. wipers, air bags, etc.)


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Teacher Story Time: April 16-17, 2018

Books:
Here Comes Teacher Cat by Deborah Underwood *
My Creature Teacher by Laura Leuck
My Teacher Is a Monster! No, I Am Not. by Peter Brown
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
Teacher! Sharing, Helping, Caring by Patricia Hubbell *
This Is NOT a Cat! by David LaRochelle *



Craft: Schoolhouse
The kids were given a two-sided opening schoolhouse on cardstock to color.

Literacy Extensions:
- Children love to play "school".  Have your child be the teacher who is going over learning concepts (i.e. - alphabet, numbers, colors, etc.) with you as a student.  This is a great way to review those concepts.
- Visit the school your child will be attending in the future.  Ask for a tour of the building and to possibly meet with some of the teachers and workers in that building.


Template --

Copy the two sides back-to-back to get a double-sided opening schoolhouse.

Tigers Story Time: February 26-27, 2018

Books:
Beware of Tigers by Dave Horowitz
Cats Are Cats by Valeri Gorbachev *
It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle *
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Craft: Tiger Paper Bag Puppet
This week's craft is based on the picture at left.  The main different we made was that instead of all the individual facial features, the children were given one face (including eyes, nose, stripes, ears, etc) to color and glue onto the bag.  They also got to paws to color and glue onto the bag.

Literacy Extensions:
- Learn more about tigers.  Check out a nonfiction book about tigers from the library to learn more about them.
- Go on a field trip to the zoo to view the tigers.


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David LaRochelle Story Time: June 12-13, 2017

Books:
1 + 1 = 5 and Other Unlikely Additions by David LaRochelle
The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle *
The End by David LaRochelle
How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans by David LaRochelle
It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle *
Moo! by David LaRochelle *

Craft: Tiger Puppet
The Kids colored a cardstock tiger's head before gluing on black paper strips for the stripes.  The head was then glued to a jumbo craft stick to turn into a puppet.

Literacy Extensions:
- The End tells a story from the end to the beginning.  See if your child can "re-tell" the story backwards after reading him a book.
- Use Moo! to talk about punctuation and how different punctuation changes the way you read a line.


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Cars Story Time: May 2-3, 2016

Books:
And the Cars Go . . . by William Bee
Cars: Rushing! Honking! Zooming! by Patricia Hubbell
Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car by Eileen Christelow *
Moo! by David LaRochelle *
The Wheels on the Race Car by Alexander Zane *

Craft: Cars on Road Picture
Our craft this week was based on the picture at left.  The kids were given a coloring sheet with a large letter C on it to color.  They then glued short strips of yellow paper to make the car lanes.  They also had two cars to color and glue onto the road.

Literacy Extensions:
- We made a C-shaped road for a craft since "Car" starts with letter "C".  See how many different vehicles your child can list and what letters they start with.
- When in the car, play the alphabet game.  Ask your child to find things that start with specific letters.


Templates --

    

T - Turtles & Trains: May 4-5, 2015

Books:
10 Turkeys in the Road by Brenda Reeves Sturgis
Clickety Clack by Amy & Rob Spence *
It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle *
Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson *
Turtle Island by Kevin Sherry
Whoosh and Chug! by Sebastien Braun

Craft: Bouquet of Tulips
The children were each given four tulip heads to color and glue to craft sticks.  They were then placed into a mini-styrofoam  cup.  They could write their name or a short message for Mother's Day that was then placed on the cup.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Tap the Magic Tree, learn about different types of trees.  Check out a tree identification book at the library before going on a nature walk and trying to identify the different types of trees in your neighborhood.
- Play with sounds.  Both Clickety Clack and Whoosh and Chug! feature sounds made by different objects.  Make a game of coming up with the sounds made by different objects.

2014 Building Block Nominees Story Time: September 29-30, 2014

Books:
Moo! by David La Rochelle *
This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington *
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli *

Craft: Watermelon Person
This week we made watermelon people based on the picture at left.  We made ours out of half of a paper plate.  The children colored the edge of the plate green before gluing on a red semi-circle and four accordian-folded green strips of paper for arms and legs.  They could then draw on seeds and a face.

Literacy Extensions:
- Visit the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award website to vote for your choice for the 2014 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award.
- Extend the book This Little Piggy by having your child come up with more activities for the toes to do.

Cows Story Time: June 16-17, 2014

Books:
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson *
The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill *
Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas *
Moo! by David LaRochelle *

Craft: Paper Plate Cow
Children glued a head cutout and two hoofs to a small paper plate.  The cow could then be colored. 

Literacy Extensions:
- Discuss with your child what different animals like to eat (i.e. The Cow Loves Cookies)
- Continue the story of Cows to the Rescue.  Have your child come up with more situations in which the cows could help out their family.