I Don't Wanna Story Time

We have done bedtime and bath time and sharing story times, and the attraction to those stories always seems to be the universal theme of kids not wanting to do what parents want them to. We decided to put them all together and title our story time, "I Don't Wanna!"

Our pre-reading focus of the week was Narrative Skills, so I started off talking about how we always start off talking about things! I tell he kids about my weekend, and they tell me things. Yes, it gets us focused while people are trickling in, but there is another purpose to it - getting that beginning/middle/end order straight. I told them about our family picture attempts this weekend, when my 2yo absolutely REFUSED to be anywhere but in my arms, with his head buried in my shoulder. I can't wait to see all the fabulous pictures of...the back of his head. None of my story time listeners are ever stubborn like that, are they? Refusing to do what Mommy needs them to do? Of COURSE not!

Well then, who better than our old friend Pigeon to illustrate stubbornness?

9780786837465

$12.99

Monday I had a set of siblings sitting down front, and big sister was adamant that Pigeon was NOT getting any extra time - she's tough!

Next up - a favorite in my house:

9780060591328

$16.99

Finally, one off the New Books shelf:

9780374300494

$16.99

This dragon is AWFUL! He belches in church, he steals candy from baby unicorns...several groups, promised a wonderful gift from the king as a reward, try to conquer him, with humorous results. Finally a clever boy (because there is always a clever boy or girl) lures dragon in and calms him with a story - of course! His reward? A dragon friend, naturally (the king is very thrifty, but he is a man of his word.)

Everybody needs their own dragon friend, right? For our craft, we made one to take home:

I used this paper bag puppet template from Create in the Chaos. Some kids (and moms) cut out scraps to make lower jaws, fangs, etc., all on their own. I LOVE when they think outside the box!

Some alternate titles I had on hand, but did not end up reading this time:

9781423199571

$9.99

9780399175985

$16.99

9780399246425

currently out of print

More Quickie Reviews: New at the Library

9780374300524

Egg loves Bacon.

Lettuce loves Bacon. 

Waffle loves Bacon. 

Bacon is sizzling with popularity. 

And pretty much everyone thinks he is the best.

That is-until Bacon's fame goes to his head. He's so busy soaking up the attention, that he soon forgets the important things in life, like friendship and family. How will it all pan out for our dashing, delicious hero?

Plot summary: Everyone loved Bacon. And then my husband ate him. The end.

(You could also include some ideas about staying loyal to your friends, not being stuck up, pride goeth before a fork, etc., but that's pretty much the gist of it.)

9781481405140

Sophia tries varied techniques to get the giraffe she wants more than anything in this playfully illustrated story about the nuances of negotiation.

Sophia has one true desire for her birthday. But she has Four Big Problems in the way: Mom, Dad, Uncle Conrad...and Grand-mama.

Will her presentations, proposals, and pie charts convince them otherwise?

Turns out, all it takes is one word.

While you can probably guess the word that finally works, "accompanied by a particularly compelling pair of eyes", the trip there is a fun one - with a mini vocabulary lesson along the way. Cute!

9780399160851

9780399162831

9780399167539

Seems like everyone in the world has been talking about this little series, and we finally got them in here. I'll just echo what everyone else in the world has said - sweet little books about welcoming a new sibling, and some of the ups and downs that come after. Plenty for kids to associate with, warmly and beautifully illustrated. I adored the pictures, and Willow would have been part of Shane's name had he not been a Shane. The first has already been translated into Spanish, and I'm sure more titles will be coming.