Building Block Award Winners -- 9/2/25

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.

10 Little Ninjas by Miranda Paul
Naked! by Michael Ian Black
Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos

Books:
Dandy by Ame Dyckman
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
I'm Terrified of Bath Time by Simon Rich
NO Is All I Know! by Chris Grabenstein
Press Here by Herve Tullet
Pug Meets Pig by Sue Gallion

Craft: Mustache Baby
- Print template (at left) onto cardstock or heavy paper
- Cut out pieces (baby, mustache)

- Color pieces

- Glue mustache to baby's face

Extension Activities:

- Practice voting.  Have your child(ren) vote on different things such as favorite food, book, game, etc.

- Visit https://molib.wildapricot.org/Building-Block-Award to learn more about the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award and to discover the past winning books.

Naked! Story Time -- 6/27/23

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.

Naked! by Michael Ian Black
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

Books:

Catch That Baby! by Nancy Coffelt

Cold Turkey by Corey Rosen Schwartz

Fred Gets Dressed by Peter Brown

How to Dress a Dragon by Thelma Lynne Godin

Maggie and Michael Get Dressed by Denise Fleming

No Pants! by Jacob Grant

The Skeleton in the Closet by Alice Schertle

Craft: Naked Mole Rat Paper Doll

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (naked mole rat, clothes)

- Color pieces

- Glue clothes to naked mole rat

Extension Activities:

- Discuss the importance of clothes.  Talk about what clothes is appropriate for which situations.  Ask your child to create outfits for different occasions.  

- Make a tie-dye t-shirt with your child.  Have your child rubberband a t-shirt in various places.  They can do as much or as few rubberbands as they like.  Then dye the t-shirt using the directions on the dye packet.

Template --

The Alphabet: NO -- 3/22/22

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.

Mosquitoes Can't Bite Ninjas by Jordan P. Novak
Naked! by Michael Ian Black
Baz & Benz by Heidi McKinnon

Books:
Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor
How to Put an Octopus to Bed by Sherry Duskey Rinker
I Want That Nut by Madeline Valentine
Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward
The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin
Octopants by Suzy Senior

Craft: O is for Owl
- Print template on cardstock or heavy paper
- Color pieces of owl (O body, head with beak, wings, feet) before cutting out pieces
- Glue head to top of body
- Glue wings to sides of body
- Glue feet to bottom of body


Extension Activities:
- Make a Name Puzzle.  Write your child's name on a long piece of paper.  Have your child decorate the paper before cutting it into pieces so each letter is on a different piece.  See if your child can put their name back together again.
- Get messy by making some painted O art.  Place a small amount of paint in a shallow dish.  Then let your child stamp Os on a piece of paper using a variety of things (i.e. paper towel tubes, drinking straws, round plastic lids, etc.).


Template --

Building Block Award Past Winners Story Time: September 3, 2019

Books:
Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos *
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *
Pug Meets Pig by Sue Gallion *

Craft: Person
The kids colored a large person cutout and glued on sparkles so it was no longer naked.

Extension Activities:
- Pug Meets Pig is all about friendship and sharing.  Schedule a play date for your kids stressing good friendship and sharing beforehand.
- The character of Beard Baby is introduced at the end of Mustache Baby.  Ask your child what they think would happen after Mustache and Beard Babies meet.  Then read the other books in the series to see how it is the same or different.

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.


Template --

Good Night Story Time: March 27-28, 2017

Books:
Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarrett Krosoczka *
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas *
Mitchell's License by Hallie Durand
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *

Craft: Moon and Stars Mobile
This week's craft was based on the picture at left.  The children were given a cloud, moon, and four star cutouts to color.  They then tied the moon and stars to the cloud with yarn to turn into a mobile.

Literacy Extensions:
- Bedtime stories is a great way to end the day with your child.  Make it a tradition in your family to read a story or two before bedtime.
- Practice counting by trying to see how many stars your child can count in the night sky.


Template --

Naked! Story Time: February 1-2, 2016

Books:
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems *
You Can't Go to School Naked! by Dianne Billstrom *

Craft: Naked Mole Rat Paper Doll
The children were given a cardstock cutout of a naked mole rat.  They then also got a sheet of "clothes" that could be colored and cut out to put onto their naked mole rat.  The craft came from the Mo Willems website at http://www.pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/molerat_event_kit.pdf.

Literacy Activtities:
- After reading You Can't Go to School Naked, ask your child to come up with more reasons why you need to wear clothes.
- The Mo Willems website has several more great activities to go with Naked Mole Gets Dressed at http://www.pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/molerat_event_kit.pdf.


Notes:
Naked! by Michael Ian Black was just awarded the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award for 2015 as the favorite picture book as chosen by preschool children.

2015 Building Block Award Nominees Story Time: September 28-29, 2015

Books:
Digger Dog by William Bee *
I'm My Own Dog by David Ezra Stein *
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *

Craft: Digger
The children colored and then glued together cardstock pieces to make a digger.  The template can be found at the bottom of this entry.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Digger Dog, talk about being a paleontologist who searches for dinosaur fossils.
- After reading I'm My Own Dog, learn about dog training.  Several books are available at the library on dog training.


Notes:
Attendees at this week's story times were able to vote for their choice for the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award.  You are still able to vote even though you didn't attend by visiting the Kansas City Public Library's online voting at http://www.kclibrary.org/kids/missouri-building-block-2015 or by voting at the Arnold Branch during the month of December.

Template for Digger Craft

Favorite Books of 2014: December 8-9, 2014

Books:
Found by Salina Yoon *
Froodle by Antoinette Portis
How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler
How to Lose a Lemur by Frann Preston-Gannon *
Naked! by Michael Ian Black *

Craft: Lemur
We made a lemur today where the kids colored the various body part and glued them together to make a lemur.  The template can be found on the DLTK kids page.

Literacy Extensions:
- Discuss the importance of clothes.  Talk about what is appropriate clothing for various situations. (i.e. Naked!)
- Talk about how it feels to lose a favorite toy or animal.  Then discuss how it feels to give a formerly cherished toy or animal to a friend.  Select a toy or animal to donate to a charity for the needy.
(i.e. Found)


Notes:
All of the stories we read this week were really short. I probably should have added a fourth book to the story time.