Celebrating Authors: Alison Murray -- 3/10/26

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 this month's virtual Story Time.

Hickory Dickory Dog by Alison Murray
One Two That's My Shoe! by Alison Murray

Books:
Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
Dino Duckling by Alison Murray
Hare and Tortoise by Alison Murray
The House That Zach Built by Alison Murray
The Little Green Hen by Alison Murray
Little Mouse by Alison Murray

Craft: Triangle Folded Dog

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (head, body)

- Color pieces

- Fold down along lines to make ears on head

- Fold along inner lines toward center and then along the outer lines to the outside so dog will stand

- Glue head to body

Extension Activities:

- Alison Murray likes to write and illustrate new versions of familiar rhymes and stories.  Read the traditional nursery rhymes and folk tales to compare them with her versions.  Which do you like better?  Why?

- Today's books all include dogs in the stories.  Visit a local animal shelter to volunteer with the dogs.  Different activities to volunteer for include reading with the dogs or petting them for socialization.

Template --

Fairy Tales & Folk Songs: Week 2 -- 2/13/24

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 virtual Story Time.

Hare and Tortoise by Alison Murray
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
Old Mikamba Had a Farm by Rachel Isadora

Books:

The Bear Went Over the Mountain by Iza Trapani

Frog Went A-Courtin' by John Langstaff
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Gus Grimly

Peter and the Wolf by Christopher Raschka

Redlocks and the Three Bears by Claudia Rueda

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

Three Little Kittens (and One Little Mouse!) by Barbara McClintock

Craft: Tortoise

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Color pieces (body, shell circles)

- Glue together as shown in picture at left

Extension Activities:

- After reading Hare and Tortoise, hold some races.  Try different types of races (ex - relay race, hopping, complete activity, etc.).

- Learn about the different animals on farms in Africa versus the US.  Which animals are different?  Which animals are the same?

Template --

Building Block Award Nominees -- Week 4: 9/27/22

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

Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.

Wolfboy by Andy Harkness
Sharky McShark by Alison Murray

Books: (2022 Building Block nominee books)

Bear Can't Wait by Karma Wilson

Don't Hug Doug (He Doesn't Like It) by Carrie Finison

Find Fergus by Mike Boldt
It Is (Not) Perfect by Anna Kang

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman

Roar: A Book of Animal Sounds by Katerina Kerouli

Sharky McShark by Alison Murray

Something Stinks by Jonathan Fenske

Swim, Swim, Sink by Jenn Harney

Wolfboy by Andy Harkness

Craft: Shark

- Fold a small paper plate in half and color as shark's body making sure to draw on mouth and eyes

- Cut out a fin and tail from heavy paper or cardstock and color

- Glue fin to top fold of paper plate and tail to back to complete shark

Extension Activities:

- Learn more about sharks by checking out a nonfiction children's book from the library or visiting an aquarium.

- Click HERE to vote for your choice for the 2022 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award.  

Princess Story Time: November 16-17, 2015

Books:
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen
Princess in Training by Tammi Sauer
Part-Time Princess by Deborah Underwood *
Princess Palooza by Joy Allen *
Princess Penelope and the Runaway Kitten by Alison Murray *
Princess Says Goodnight by Naomi Howland

Craft: Crown
I found a crown template online.  (There are plenty to choose from.)  The kids colored and then glued sequins to the crowns.  Strips of yellow paper were glued to the back so the kids could wear the crown.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Princess Palooza, have your child design their favorite princess (i.e. sports princess, cooking princess, etc.)
- Pick a famous princess from history and learn a little about them.

Favorite Books of 2014: December 29-30, 2014

Books:
The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water by Gemma Merino *
Duck, Duck, MOOSE! by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen *
Hickory Dickory Dog by Alison Murray *
My Teacher Is a Monster! No, I Am Not. by Peter Brown
Ninja! by Aree Chung
Peek-A-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice *
Tyrannosaurus Wrecks by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Craft: Dragon
I don't have a picture or template to share of this project as it was hand-drawn.  The kids colored a dragon's body and wings before gluing the wings to the body and then gluing on tissue paper flames.

Literacy Extensions:
- Explore the original "Hickory Dickory Dock" and other nursery rhymes.
- Ask your child for his favorite books from this year.  Have them articulate why they liked certain books and disliked others.

Notes:
I was amazed at how much the kids really liked Duck, Duck, MOOSE!.  I was afraid that it didn't have enough story to go with it.  Turns out that they liked it almost as much as the similarly written book Moo! by David LaRochelle.