Display: Just Keep Reading (Ocean)

At this point, I'm content with the fact that there are no original ideas anymore. The human race has been around long enough at this point that we're just stealing one another's ideas and giving credit where we can. 

The idea for this display came out of a need for more displays in our library this month. The managers sent out an email asking us to sign up for display units since not too many had been claimed yet. Thanks to a quick Google search, I decided to make an end-of-summer, swimming-theme display. Another librarian blog (don't remember which one, sorry!) showed off the awesome Finding Dory display they put up when the movie came out a few years ago, which gave me the idea to take Dory's famous catchphrase and library-ise it. Even though the idea came from my very own brain, I'm 100% sure I'm not the first person to use this display idea. Even so, it turned out cute and I'm happy with it!

Originally I was going to put any books that looked pretty on this display, because "just keep reading" could refer to anything. In the end, I decided to raid the nonfiction section in search of books about fish, other sea creatures, water, and the ocean. Later this week, I plan to add adult, children's, and YA fiction books with the word "water" or "ocean" in the title. Here's a list of the current and planned titles for this display. I was surprised to find that so many novels by different authors are titled Thicker Than Water!

YA/Adult Nonfiction

• Dreaming in Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures by Peter Laufer, PhD (2018)
• The Dragon Behind Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt (2016)
• What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe (2016)
• Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea by Richard Ellis (2001)
• Firefly Pocket: Guide to Seashells of the World by A.P.H. Oliver (2004)
• Big Pacific by Rebecca Tansley (2017)
• The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Oceans Are One by Sylvia A. Earle (2009)
• Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn (2011)
• Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of Earth's Last Dinosaur by Carl Safina (2006)
• Shark Drunk: The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean by Morten Stroksnes (2017)
• Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity by Sandra Postel (2017)
• The Oceans by Ellen J. Prager with Sylvia A. Earle (2000)
• The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey (2010)
• The Attacking Ocean: The past, Present, and Future of Rising Sea Levels by Brian Fagan (2013)

Adult Fiction, Western, Mystery, Sci Fi

• The Water Children by Anne Berry (2012)
• Good Water by John D. Nesbitt (2016)
• Black Water by Louise Doughty (2016)
• Under Water by Casey Barrett (2017)
• Water Walker by Ted Dekker (2014)
• Deep Water by Pamela Freeman (2008)
• Hot Water by Erin Brockovich (2011)
• Blue Water by Manette A. Ansay (2006)
• The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)
• Still Thicker Than Water by Takerra Allen (2015)
• The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh (2019)
• Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge (2017)
• The Iron Water by Chris Nickson (2016)
• Into the Water by Paula Hawkins (2017)
• Blood, Salt, Water by Denise Mina (2016)
• The North Water by Ian McGuire (2016)
• Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore (2016)
• Thicker Than Water by Sally Spencer (2015)
• Dark Water Rising by Sharon Sala (2019)
• Flat Water Tuesday by Ron Irwin (2013)
• We Are Water by Wally Lamb (2013)
• Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge (2013)
• The Water Thief by Ben Pastor (2007)
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)
• Coldwater by Samuel Parker (2018)
• Waterborne by Bruce Murkoff (2004)

YA Fiction, Mystery

• Big Water by Andrea Curtis (2018)
• Like Water by Rebecca Podos (2017)
• Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer (2016)
• Water in May by Ismee Williams (2017)
• Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough (2018)
• The Dark Water by Seth Fishman (2015)

Children's Fiction

• Wild Water Magic by Lynne Jonell (2014)
• A Long Walk to Water by linda Sue Park (2010)
• Water Steps by A. LaFaye (2009)
• Haunted Waters by Mary Pope Osborne (2006)
• Deep Water by Watt Key (2018)
• Treading Water by Laurie Halse Anderson (2014) 

Toddlertime 4-25-18: Ocean

Sticking to a theme for Toddlertime is much more difficult than it is for Preschool Storytime, especially since my revelation that toddlers are large babies, not small preschoolers. But, sometimes choosing a theme still helps me make a storytime plan. Today I decided to revisit my theme of the ocean, which has been successful in the past. Plus, who wouldn't take every opportunity possible to sing the Goldfish song?

After saying hello this morning, our first story was Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins.

I love this book for toddlers. The combination of very few words on each page and the happy, dynamic illustrations keep a large group of toddlers engaged.

Because I couldn't choose between them, we did two movement songs after the book: "The Goldfish" (because duh) and "Slippery Fish."

To calm everyone down after our dance party and get ready to hear a felt story, I used the "Everybody Do This Just Like Me" chant. This one is interesting because you need to change up the movements often to keep the kids interested. The point is for them to watch your movements and try to follow what you do, instead of wiggling around. You might have to repeat the first verse 2 or more times. I wouldn't move on to "Everybody sit down" until the group is calm, listening, and ready to sit.

Everybody do this just like me (movement 1)
Everybody do this just like me (movement 2)
Everybody do this just like me (movement 3)
Everybody do this just... (movement 1)
Like... (movement 2)
Me. (movement 3)

(motion for kids to sit down)
Everybody sit down quietly
Everybody sit down quietly
Everybody sit down quietly
Everybody sit down just... like... me.

I did a very simple felt story today, "Five Little Jellyfish."

I like to get the kids involved with this by asking them to help me count down as I remove jellyfish one verse at a time, and to help me identify what color each jellyfish is.

Five little jellyfish swimming by the shore
The yellow one got lost, and then there were four.

Four little jellyfish swimming in the sea
The blue one swam far away, and then there were three.

Three little jellyfish in the ocean blue
The red one took a seahorse ride, and then there were two.

Two little jellyfish swimming in the sun
The orange one took a dive, and then there was one.

One green jellyfish swimming all alone
And then it was time for him to go home!

Finally, we sang "Baby Shark," "Peek-a-Boo," and then said goodbye to all our friends until next time. 

Click here to listen to the version of "Peek-a-Boo" I use. 

Preschool Storytime 5-25-17: Fish and the Ocean

This is the first storytime I've ever done at the library that is not for babies! I've been to tons of trainings, but I had never run a Preschool Storytime solo before this session. At my old library, I did the Baby Lapsit every Friday, and didn't stick around long enough to rotate into another age group before I got the job in Mesa and moved across the valley. So here we go!

I modified my hello for a slightly older crowd. Found a new song, "Hello Friend," added in some sign language, but kept the other two introduction songs the same. You can see the whole intro and goodbye by clicking the link above.

Today's theme was fish and the ocean, so after we got the initial wiggles out, I asked the kids whether they had ever been swimming in the ocean, been fishing, or seen a live fish at the aquarium. Then, we learned the signs for "fish" and "water."

fish

water

Our first story today was Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count by Lois Ehlert. In addition to counting how many fish on each page, I asked the kids to shout out what color each pages fish were. Some people have a different read-aloud style, but I think it's okay for the kids to be shouting things out, and even up and walking around a little bit, while I'm reading a story to the group. Asking them questions about the book keeps them engaged.

Next we did two movement songs, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Octopus (Slippery Fish)." In both of these songs, it's really easy to figure out what movements you should lead the kids in doing just by listening to the lyrics. They have a blast rowing their imaginary boats and pretending to be different sized fish. Also, they always get a kick out of the giant burp at the end of "Slippery Fish."

Our second story of the day was Over the Ocean by Taro Gomi. This book is a really mellow little story about a girl wondering what else is out in the world beyond what she can see from the beach where she lives. The kiddos got a little wiggly during this one, but most of them at least tolerated this book that was not funny and had no opportunities to count or identify colors. In hindsight, I would have done this book first and saved Fish Eyes for second.

 

Our next movement song was the incomparable "The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner. Before we sing this song, I teach the kids the line, "Wait a minute, we're fish!" so they know it when it's time to shout it during the song. This is another one with very self-explanatory movements, and one that neither the kids nor I ever get tired of.

I read one more book to the group today, because we had a little extra time near the end and the Goldfish song effectively got out most of the wiggles. The Pout Pout Fish Goes to School by Deborah Diesen served the dual purpose of going with the fish/ocean theme and reminding everyone in the room to have high self esteem and believe in themselves. The Pout Pout Fish gets frustrated because he's not able to do anything at school on his very first day, until he finds the classroom for new fish where you can learn to do everything from square one. At the end, I had the kids repeat his mantra with me: "You are smart! You can get it! You belong! So don't forget it!"

 

This book also gave us a chance to practice our sign for "fish" that we learned earlier, as well as learn "smart."

After the final book, we sang our goodbye song and had bubbles, which is my post-storytime ritual and the way most kids know we're really done. Here is a list of books I displayed for the fish/ocean theme:

• Fish School—Poydar
• Faucet Fish—Robinson/Anderson
• Rain Fish—Ehlert
• Fish—Walsh
• The Specific Ocean—Maclear
• Whale Shines—Robinson
• Ugly Fish—LaReau
• Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale—Pfister
• The Pout-Pout Fish—Diesen 
• The Legend of Sea Glass—Noble 
• Ocean Whisper—Rockhill 
• Over the Ocean—Gomi