When Animals Get Up in the Morning feltboard

Here are some new felt board figures I made recently. The thing I love about this is that you could use any animals you happen to have around. Most of these guys are bigger in scale than the rest of my felt collection. I borrowed the chicken from my Little Red Hen set, and I think it's obvious she doesn't match. When I've got the time, I'll try and make a new chicken, more in the style of the duck, to go with the rest.


Here is the song that I sing with it:


When dogs get up in the morning,
they always say hello.

When dogs get up in the morning,

they always say hello.

Woof, woof. Woof, woof.

That is what they say.

Woof, woof. Woof, woof.

That is what they say.

And so on, and so forth, depending on which animals you've got. I wish I could describe the tune I'm using... but I'm deliriously unmusical!
You can sing as many rounds as you have felt animals, and/or as many rounds as the kids will sit still for. I always end with this verse:

When people get up in the morning,

we always say hello.

When people get up in the morning,

we always say hello.

Hello, hello. Hello, hello.

That is what we say.

Hello, hello. Hello, hello.

That is what we say.

It's a nice gentle song, I try to keep it pretty mellow and slow-paced. Afterwards, the kids like to point out which animals have eyes, and which ones don't have eyes.

Cars feltboard

I'm really happy with this latest felt board of mine. It was easy to do... only took about an hour, and I think they came out really well.

I used this clip art as the inspiration. I'm so glad that I did, as it wouldn't have occurred to me to square off the back wheel. Makes for much better perspective that way.

Here's the song I'll sing to go with it (modified from preschooleducation.com)
 To the tune of Frere Jacques:

I see a red car,
I see a red car,
On the street,
On the street,
Honking, rolling, speeding,
Honking, rolling, speeding.
All day long,
All day long.

Next verse:
blue car
green car
yellow car

Internets are awesome

I've been running across so much awesome stuff on the internet this week, I've just gotta share!

I had no idea that Maurice Sendak almost illustrated The Hobbit.

Here's a funny spoof of The Animorphs.

Check out the snarky goodness at Better Book Titles.

I'm sure I'm the last person in the world to discover this, but famed YA author John Green's YouTube channel is made of win. He and his brother Hank are hilarious. Go Nerdfighters! Also, while you're there, check out Jackson Pearce's YouTube channel: bonus points for being smart and funny and photogenic.

Hurrah, it's a mash-up of two of my favorite things: Jane Austen and Harry Potter. While you're at it, check out this amazing HP-themed marriage proposal.

I may be deliriously unmusical, but I still appreciate this: What if your favorite album was a book? Purple Rain is my favorite!

This video almost makes me wish I lived in New York.

Dream of books in this cozy book bed.

Nom, nom, nom. Book cupcake.

Amazing embroidered book covers!

Pete the Cat review

Pete the Cat
by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
HarperCollins
March 2010

As a storyteller, I'm always on the lookout for new books or stories to add to my repertoire of established favorites. When you find a picture book that really clicks, it's such a wonderful feeling. How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joseph Bruchac, and Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book by Alexander Stadler are two of my standbys. Even better is when I run across that rarest of finds: a book that leaves me feeling like I could sing. (I am deliriously unmusical.) Let's Play in the Forest While the Wolf is Not Around by Claudia Rueda has been one of my favorites for several years.

With Pete the Cat, Litwin and Dean have achieved children's librarian nirvana. This is, literally, a perfect book, for reading and singing aloud. Large, bright colored illustrations which are easy to see from across the room, a catchy tune that kids will quickly pick up and sing along with, an introduction to colors paired with a cheerful, optimistic message and a sense of humor. This book has it all. I'm buying multiple copies and hoarding them against the day that this wonderful gem ever goes out of print. I could go on, but I think the following video with the author and illustrator singing demonstrates exactly how magical this book really is.



I borrowed this book from the library.

An Homage to LPs

I kind of doubt that kids today will even know what an LP is. To be honest, cassette tapes and CD's were already the format of choice throughout most of my childhood, but I do remember those large black plastic discs that belonged to my parents and which were under no circumstances allowed to be played with. I also remember our local library had records. They weren't available for check-out, but you could listen to them if you signed up to use the record player, which included an enormous pair of heavy headphones. My favorites to listen to "Free to Be You and Me," by Marlo Thomas, an abridged version "The Scarecrow of Oz," by Frank Baum and, of course, "Frog and Toad Are Friends," read by Arnold Lobel.


Imagine my surprise then, when I started to notice several CD's using the image of an LP on their disc art.


Walt Disney's Fantasia
Leopold Stowkowski & the Philadelphia Orchestra
Walt Disney Records
2001 (1942)




Silly Car Songs
Treehouse Kids
Treehouse Entertainment
2008





Mickey's Dance Party
Disney
Walt Disney Records
2001





Activate!
Joel Caithamer
Crooked Knees Records
2006








Lilo & Stitch 2: Island Favorites
Disney
Walt Disney Records
2005






Woody's Roundup: A Rootin' Tootin' Collection of Woody's Favorite Songs
Toy Story
Walt Disney Records
2000






Chickens
Buck Howdy
Prairie Dog Entertainment
2007








Plenty of Disney titles in there, but a couple of others too. I wonder if parents or teachers are tickled when they run across one of these.

Random Interwebness

I find there's nothing that passes the time so well, as noodling about on the Internet.

Here are my latest discoveries.

Looking for something to read? This nifty website will come up with some suggestions for you. http://bookseer.com/ I love the olde-timey interface. The first several times I used it, the salutation was, "Oh Great Magician! I've just finished reading..." so I assumed that was the default, but it looks like there are various greetings you can cycle through. Really, it just pulls up a list generated from amazon.com and librarything.com, but still, points for style. Points for style!

Los Angeles Public Library already has a Series and Sequels database, of course. It's ultra-handy when patrons want to know which book comes next. But, I think the Kent District Library in Michigan may have one-upped us. They have a very similar feature on their website, which is easier to find, has a sleeker UI, and also includes (very important!) children's and teen fiction, which sadly, our database does not. Finally, our database was last updated in... 2004, I think, and Kent's looks more up-to-date.

And finally, someone on one of my listservs recently pointed me to this video:

I still claim to be deliriously unmusical, but I think that was pretty impressive!