Celebrating Authors: Mo Willems -- 3/31/26

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.

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems

Books:
Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems
City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems
That Is NOT a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

Craft: Pigeon

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out and color head

- Color a craft stick as Pigeon's neck and legs

- Color a mini cupcake liner that is folded in half as Pigeon's wing

- Glue head to top of craft stick

- Glue wing near bottom of craft stick leaving room for legs

Extension Activities:

- Which kind of pet would be best for Pigeon?  Investigate different types of pets.  Check out pet books from the library or visit the local pet store for more information.

- Learn simple drawing skills from Mo Willems by watching his Lunch Doodles video series on YouTube.

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Celebrating Authors: Morag Hood -- 3/24/26

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.

I Am Bat by Morag Hood
Carrot & Pea by Morag Hood

Books:
Aalfred and Aalbert by Morag Hood
Brenda Is A Sheep by Morag Hood
Dig Dig Digger by Morag Hood
Goodnight Sun by Morag Hood
Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood
Spaghetti Hunters by Morag Hood

Craft: Carrot & Peas

- Print template (at left) onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (carrot, peas)

- Color pieces

- Cut three strips of green paper for carrot tops

- Glue green strips to top of carrot

- Glue peas where you like

Extension Activities:

- After reading the book Spaghetti Hunters, make spaghetti with your children.  Feel free to use pre-made pasta and sauce or to make them from scratch.

- After reading Carrot & Pea, discuss with your child what characteristics would make various vegetables/foods be good friends.

Celebrating Authors: Eric Carle -- 3/17/26

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.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Books:
1, 2, 3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Hello, Red Fox by Eric Carle
Little Cloud by Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

Craft: Very Hungry Catepillar
- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (leaf, head)

- Cut five small strips of green paper

- Glue paper strips into paper chain

- Color head and glue to one of paper chain to make caterpillar

- Color leaf

- Glue caterpillar to leaf

Extension Activities:

- Extend the book From Head to Toe by coming up with more animals and movement to imitate.

- Visit the Eric Carle website for a lot of activities, downloadables, and printables to go along with his books.

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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.

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Celebrating Authors: Dr. Seuss -- 3/3/26

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.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! by Dr. Seuss

Books:
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! by Dr. Seuss
Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss

Craft: Cat in the Hat

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (cat, hat)

- Color pieces

- Glue cat into a tube so stands

- Glue hat to cat's head

Extension Activities:

- Extend Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by coming up with more sound effects.  Ask your child(ren) what different things might sound like.  Do the sounds effects in a pattern and then ask your child(ren) to repeat them back in that order.

- A lot of Dr. Seuss books incorporate rhyming.  Play a rhyming game by coming up with rhyming pair word pairs.

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Eric Litwin Story Time: July 31-August 1, 2017

Books:
Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin *
The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin *
The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin *

Craft: Pete the Cat & His Shoe
This week's craft was based on the picture above.  The children colored a Pete the Cat head and a converse shoe before gluing it together.  If they wanted, they could then practice their lacing and tying skills with a piece of white yarn for a shoelace.

Literacy Extensions:
- Groovy Joe is a great introduction to the topic of sharing.  Use the book to start a discussion about sharing.
- Extend the book Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by coming up with more things for Pete to step in and the colors his shoes would change.


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Jon Agee Story Time: July 24-25, 2017

Books:
It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee
Life on Mars by Jon Agee *
Mr. Putney's Quacking Dog by Jon Agee *
My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee *
The Retired Kid by Jon Agee *

Craft: Sock-topus
The kids were given an octopus template which was colored and then glued into a cylinder.  The legs were spread apart before gluing on a multi-colored paper sock to each leg.

Literacy Extensions:
- Mr. Putney's Quacking Dog introduces kids to simple riddles and wordplay.  If your child likes the book, try out some simple knock knock jokes that also include wordplay.
- Life on Mars tells two different stories -- one in text, one in pictures.  Before reading the book to your child, show them the pictures and see what story they come up with to go along with them.


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Cut on the lines to make legs.  The shaded section is cut off and thrown away.

Mo Willems Story Time: July 17-18, 2017

Books:
Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Leonardo, The Terrible Monster by Mo Willems *
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems *
We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems *

Craft: Walrus Puppet
The children colored the pieces of a walrus's face (eyes, tusk, cheeks) before gluing them to a paper bag to make into a puppet.

Literacy Extensions:
- Mo Willems is a great way to introduce children to comic strips as his Cat the Cat, Elephant and Piggie, and Pigeon books are all very simple forms of comics.  Point out the speech bubbles and how they are linked to specific characters to tell who is talking.
- After reading Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, have your child "retell" another fairy tale replacing some of the characters with dinosaurs.


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Michael Ian Black Story Time: July 10-11, 2017

Books:
Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black *
I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black *
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *
A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black
The Purple Kangaroo by Michael Ian Black

Craft: Paper Plate Flamingo
This week's craft was based on the picture at left.  We made a few alterations to the craft.  We used small paper plates and cut out the body and neck as one piece.  The kids colored the body and the head before gluing them together.  They then added the legs by placing a black pipe cleaner through a hole punched at the bottom of the plate.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea, extend the story by coming up with reasons why a panda bear parade would or would not be a good idea.
- Chicken Cheeks gives several alternate words for "derriere".  See if your child can come up with alternate words for other body parts.


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Mem Fox Story Time: July 1, 2017

Books:
Let's Count Goats! by Mem Fox *
The Magic Hat by Mem Fox *
Nellie Belle by Mem Fox
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox *
Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug! by Mem Fox

Craft: Goat Headband
The children colored the head, horns, ears, and beard of the goat before gluing them all together and then onto strips of paper turned into a headband.

Literacy Extensions:
- Continue the counting fun by having your children count items throughout the house (i.e. chairs in a room, magnets on the refrigerator, etc.).
- The author Mem Fox is from Australia and her books The Magic Hat and Possum Magic reflect that country in the animals and food from that country.  Learn more about Australia by checking out some books at the library.

Eric Carle Story Time: June 26-27, 2017

Books:
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle *
Little Cloud by Eric Carle
The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle *
"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth by Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle *

Craft: Butterfly
The children colored eight teardrop shapes before gluing them to a jumbo craft stick to make a butterfly.

Literacy Extensions:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar tells the story of a caterpillar that eventually turns into a butterfly.  Use the book as a starting point to learning more about caterpillars and their transformation to butterflies.  There are several great books at the library for young children on this process.
- After reading The Little Cloud, spend some time outdoors looking at the clouds.  Encourage your child's imagination by having them find shapes and objects in the clouds.

Karma Wilson Story Time: June 19-20, 2017

Books:
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson *
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson *
Duddle Puck: The Puddle Duck by Karma Wilson
A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson *
If I Were a Mouse by Karma Wilson


Craft: Frog
The children colored a large circle before folding it to become the frog's body and mouth.  They then colored and glued on eyes, a tongue, and feet.

Literacy Extensions:
- Use the book The Cow Loves Cookies to talk about what various animals eat.
- If I Were a Mouse invites children to consider how they would act as various animals.  Suggest different animals and have your child come up with how they would act differently.


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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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Jan Thomas Story Time: June 5-6, 2017

Books:
Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas *
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas *
Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave  Cowboy by Jan Thomas
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas *
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas *

Craft: Clip-On Ladybug
Children colored a bug body and two ladybug wings before gluing them together.  They then glued the completed bug to a clothespin so it can clipped to the child's clothes.

Literacy Extensions:
- Extend Rhyming Dust Bunnies by having your child come up with more rhyming words.
- Jan Thomas books are great for sight words.  Have your child try to find various sight words throughout the book as you are reading them.


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