Feed Me Books Friday: Library Appreciation Week

A Little Goes a Long Way

As a former public school teacher, and as a mom, I can attest to the fact that it only takes a few words of gratitude to make someone’s day. At our public library branch, National Library Week comes and goes without much hoopla. I have to imagine the drastic budget cuts and short-staffing don’t leave much room for celebration, but I don’t want the caring staffers who entertain, motivate, and instruct to go unnoticed. Last year, we made a poster with a short “thank-you” verse highlighted by some strategically placed candies. (If you’re interested in the full text of the verse, leave me a comment and I’ll email it to you.) This time, our project is a combination of this year’s theme (Create Your Own Story @ Your Library) and an extension of a library-themed book we recently found – where else? – at the library!

An Alphabetic Introduction:

When I came across L is for Library during one of our weekly visits, my first thought was “yikes! I hope I didn’t miss library appreciation week!” My second thought was, “If I didn’t, I’ve got to do something fun with this book!” Sonya Terry’s rhyming tour of the library functions both as a review of the letters of the alphabet and a introduction to library vocabulary for young listeners. A is for author, D is for Dewey decimal system, F is for fiction, and while the couplet on for each letter gives a brief explanation, opportunities abound for extended explanation of the vocabulary presented. The illustrations include lots of humorous details that invite close and repeated readings. While the bouncy rhymes (April is poetry month, after all) and funny illustrations are enough to keep listeners entertained, the language begs for expansion and cognitive development.
Appropriate for: Toddlers, Preschoolers, Primary Grades


Our Story:

Letters and beginning sounds are the topic of conversations, questions, and games more and more often lately. So I decided to use L is for Library as a jumping off point for our appreciation project. We are actively building our list of alphabetic words that B associates with the library and his activities there. So far, we have B is for book, F is for friends, and S is for songs, among others. My plan is to have B illustrate each word on a square of paper, then assemble the squares quilt-style for presentation to our children’s library staff. I’ll add a picture once we complete the project this weekend.


A Couple Worthwhile Links:

• Use this page from the American Library Association to find out current political issues facing libraries and how you can become involved.
  
  
• This interesting compilation of 85 reasons to be thankful for librarians is sometimes serious, sometimes tongue in cheek.
  
  1. You can find a bunch of lesson resources if you want to expand on library appreciation with your little on at home. There’s even a playlist of library songs, including: "The Story of My Feelings" by Laurie Berkner, "Tell Me Another Story" by Barney Saltzberg, "When You Start to Read" by Russ, "Go Wild - READ" by Lucas Miller, "Seven Nights to Read" by The Good Rockin' Daddies, "Hangin' Out with Heroes at the Library" and "Take Me to Your Library" by Monty Harper, "At the Library" by Hap Palmer, "Library" by Meeka and her Cool Cousins, "The Library Boogie" by Tom Knight, and "The Library" by Barney.If you’d enjoy another great library-themed book, check out my Comin’ Down to Storytime post from last year’s Love My Library link-up at Little Page Turners.
     
  
  
  Give your library a shout-out in the comments!
   
  
  
  
  
  
  

Read more...

Bedtime Battles

Close Your Eyes. But I’m Not Tired…

We’ve been challenged at bedtime more often than usual in the last couple weeks. B is insistent that he isn’t tired, while his behavior is evidence to the contrary. It’s hard to stay mad at his stalling behavior when he asks a question like, “How do you fall asleep when your mind is awake?” Then I realize, we all have these moments – when our body is exhausted but our mind is racing. Hard to guess what he’s thinking about: What he learned in preschool today? The book we read before bed? Santa? Whatever it is, he needs a tool to tune it out. While my initial, burning eyelids, frustration-laden response was to tell him to count sheep, I reconsidered and thought better of it.


Soothing and Satisfying

Instead of a curt and annoyed directive to quiet down and sleep, I retrieved one of our favorites from bedtimes past from the bookshelf and gave both of us a refresher. Count Yourself to Sleep, by Lynn Hodges and Sue Buchanan is a lovely story told in verse of how a little otter settles down to sleep. Little ones are encouraged to “count yourself to sleep,” but not by counting sheep. Instead, they are encouraged to, “Count your good and perfect gifts, they all come from God.” The little otter provides some examples of things he is grateful for, which run the gamut from chocolate pudding to sunshine to Daddy’s lap, affirming for readers that there are no wrong answers. Just as I have been trying to commit to my gratitude journal each night, counting blessings is an ideal way to both settle down and foster a sense of satisfaction and content. Our board book version of this title also includes a CD with the text set to music, and once you learn the song, you won’t need to the book each night to remind you.


Helping our children learn to problem-solve gives them opportunities for cognitive development. Helping them establish a focus on gratitude and content not only promotes emotional development, but makes bedtime a little easier, too!


Appropriate for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, everyone!


Hope you’ll share your strategies for bedtime stallers in the comments and any books you’ve enjoyed recently in a link!

Read more...