2019

Picture books about the cycle of the year!

Happy New Year from us to you!

Pajama Storytime

Yes! Pajamas at the library! Yesterday morning, we gathered for Christmas stories and hot chocolate and a Christmas craft. Kids left with decorated reindeer hats and red noses - looking like Rudolph! Merry Christmas to us!

December LEGO Club

LEGO Club kids today listened to the The Night Before Christmas - A Brick Story, illustrated by Amanda Brack. They joined in the reading and noticed the creative uses of bricks in the color photographs. The LEGO Challenge for today was to make a small ornament from bricks. When it was completed, kids attached a gold wire for hanging and a small tag with the date for remembering. They also made a second ornament to put in the library's display case.

"Gingerbread" Houses 2018

This weekend we held our annual December S.T.E.M. event, building gingerbread houses with graham crackers and marshmallows. First we read the story of The Gingerbread Boy by author Richard Egielski.  When we got to work with the materials, most builders chose to make their structures with a milk carton base, using royal icing "glue" to hold the graham cracker sides and roofs in place. Candy, cereal, and pretzels were used for decorating. What do you think of our constructions?

Yum!!!

Today we read stories about food!! We first read How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food by Jane Yolen, about the good and bad eating habits a dinosaur might have. Next, we read I Really Like Slop! an Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems. In it, Piggie convinces Elephant to try some of his favorite food, slop. You can imagine what happens!! We finished the hour with Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, about three woodland friend who share the soup-making experience and what happens when one of them wants a different role.

Then we used all sort of materials and craft items to build a representation of our favorite meal on a paper plate. See the plate with spaghetti, marshmallows, and peas - and the pizza with cheese and pepperoni? YUM!

LEGO Club!

Back in action again this fall, with assistance from Mike Dowal and five New Hampton School students!

Small Fall Visitors

Have you seem mice this fall? We had mice at Storytime - mice books and a mouse craft! We read A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, about fussy Bear who doesn't want any visitors, not even one that's small and gray and bright-eyed. In The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by Sam McBratney, an old mouse gives his young charges an experience they will never forget! And in our old favorite, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff...well, you know what happens if you give a mouse a cookie......

Our mouse was made of gray paper with a folded 3D nose, pink paws and ears, googly eyes and a string tail...and a tiny piece of holey "swiss cheese"!

Caterpillars & Butterflies

Today we read about caterpillars and butterflies and attempted connections between these two creatures. We began with the favorite The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Some Storytimers joined in with naming numbers, types of food, and with repetitive phrases as we watched the very hungry caterpillar turn to a beautiful butterfly! We also read Don't Worry Bear by Greg E. Foley, about a bear with a caterpillar friend who forms a cocoon and emerges as a moth. Our last story was my favorite, Caterpillar Dreams by Clive McFarland, about a caterpillar who, with the help of some friends, goes off on an exciting adventure!

Then we made both a caterpillar and a butterfly! We used liquid glue to attach pompons to the caterpillar's craft stick body, them set the creation aside and showed patience as we waited for the glue to dry.  While we waited, we used glue sticks to stick tissue paper squares on the butterfly's wings and added eyes and pipe cleaner antennae to both critters. Some of us with hang these creations on the kitchen refrigerator with magnetic tape for the back!

Have YOU seen caterpillars and butterflies this summer?

Crickets!!

One of the sounds of summer's end is crickets chirping in the evening into the night. Today we read stories about them and talked about how we can listen for them, perhaps even in the daytime! We started Storytime with The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle, a story about a little cricket who grows into his voice. Then we read Cricket Song by Ann Hunter, about a boy who listens to the sounds of crickets as he falls asleep and other creatures in community get ready for the night. Our last book was I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe, a story about a small cricket who has been convinced that he's ugly and the surprise that lets us all know how beautiful he and his song really are.

We made crickets from cut out paper legs (six of them, of course!) and head and a paper plate body. We covered the paper plate with green tissue paper squares and glued on the body parts. Red reinforcements worked for eyes and gold pipe cleaners made the antennae.

This young Storytimer even made her cricket smile!

Summer Reading Program Numbers

The Summer Reading Program totals are in! Please be sure to thank our sponsors - and the Friends of the Gordon- Nash Library - for their part in making the program such a success this year. Thanks especially to the children who did the all that reading and to the parents and caregivers who encouraged them!

Here's a link to a bigger version of this infograph. 

Making Music at Storytime

During our Summer Reading Program Thursday Storytimes, we had fun listening to books and stories about music and dancing. One week for crafts, we made tambourines from paper plates and bells. Another week we made rainstick shakers from paper tubes and beans. We made kazoos from paper rolls and waxed paper. We also made puppets with flexible legs and arms, so they could dance!

And each time, when we played our instruments, we danced along to music from our new disco ball bluetooth speaker, graciously donated by Mrs. Hunewell's friend, Capt'n Jack. Our summer Storytime patrons truly made the Gordon-Nash Library rock!

Talent Show!

Our final Tuesday family event for the Summer Reading Program was a Talent Show! And what amazing talent we showed!!

A beautiful queen and a handsome king came to dance and sing "Lavender's Blue, dilly-dilly...". 

Here's a magician, who made the ball inside that little red container move to the pocket of his mother/assistant, who was seated at the back of the room! Way in the back! How did he do that, you ask? With magic words - and a wand!

At the grand piano is a talented young lady who takes piano lessons. She played "Appaloosa" on the piano, and we all agreed her beautiful music sounded just like a horse running very fast!

This young reader brought her mat and entertained us with a gymnastics routine to one of the songs from the movie "Leap". And she did leap - and do cartwheels and somersaults! She moved so fast! Wow!

This was a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, played as a duet on noseflute and Storytime-made straw kazoo. It was fabulous number, if I do say so myself! 

Here's a fantastic family hula hoop number, accompanied by the sounds of honking trucks and sirens!

And another catchy tune, The Blue Danube Waltz, played with great emotion and seriousness - on rubber chickens. 

We also had a mother-daughter rock 'n roll dance to Rock Around the Clock and astounding magic and card tricks, both with the same magic wand! 

We celebrated the end of our Summer Reading Program with a make-your-own-sundae ice cream party! Thanks to our talented young patrons, this was an amazing night! Shall we make this a yearly event?? Click on the speech bubble to comment!

Modern Times Theater

This week's Tuesday night presentation was by Modern Times Theater of Hartwick,Vermont. They entertained us with jokes and songs. Justin played the bicycle pump and the cornet (with a mute!) and Rose played a ukulele made from a real cigar box and a kazoo that she made herself! They were so talented!

Rose and Justin put on a very funny puppet show about the silly Mr. Punch. Mr. Punch got easily confused and Rose tried to help  - and so did the audience! We really liked the part where Mr. Punch was making a sandwich and taking care of his baby at the same time. It was hysterical! The audience laughed so hard all throughout the show!

Here Mr. Punch needed some help and kind girl helped him. He painted her a picture of herself - except it was not even her! In the next picture, you can also see Justin playing his cornet. 

Here's the audience reaction to a part of the show! It was so funny! Thanks for the show, Modern Times Theater!

Music with Mr. Aaron!

This week, famous New York/New Hampshire musician Mr. Aaron entertained us with his many instruments and his funny songs. We sang along, we danced, and we had a rockin' good time! Mr. Aaron also donated a copy of his CD, All My Friends are Giants, to our Summer Reading Program raffle. Thanks, Mr. Aaron!