Plankton likes to say hello to all his fellow sea creatures, but what happens when Mussel doesn’t return the greeting? Plankton gets pushy!
Jonathan Fenske’s book, “Plankton Is Pushy,” is a 2018 Missouri Building Block nominee that is entertaining to read aloud and requires a bit of acting. In order to get Mussel to talk, Plankton tries everything from lecturing him to begging. The surprise ending will leave you and your audience giggling. Although this book is written in conversational style, many of the pages have no words at all. Readers must rely on body language and facial expression alone to understand the character dynamics. This is a great social skill for younger kids to learn!
After you’ve finished reading “Plankton Is Pushy,” you and your little one can create an ocean themed sensory bottle. These are great for exploration and also a good way to calm down, especially when one might be feeling a little pushy! Continue reading “2018 Missouri Building Block Nominee: Plankton Is Pushy”
“I’m Bored!” Two words that every child is destined to say at some point or another. In the Missouri Building Block nominee “Barnacle is Bored” by Jonathan Fenske, Barnacle says these same fateful words as he waits for adventure to happen. Then a colorful fish swims by. Barnacle bets the fish doesn’t have a boring life. With a surprising ending, it turns out exciting isn’t always better! This picture book is a playful answer to any child’s declaration of boredom.
Extend the fun at home of the with the simple science experiment below.
Salt water sink or float
Use this experiment to show how salt water makes it easier for objects to float. Fill two small see-through tubs halfway with water and add ½ cup of salt to one of the tubs. Stir until the salt dissolves. Gather everyday objects that you don’t mind getting wet. Spend a little time predicting whether each object will sink or float before you toss them in. What happens? Some of your items that sink in the plain water will float in the salt water because adding the salt to the water made it more dense.
Once you have read at least five Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominees, help your child vote for their favorite. Voting is open to children in kindergarten and younger and goes through December. The winner will be announced in February.
Friends are the best! They not only help us build up our self confidence and fine-tune our social skills, but they also provide us with an increased sense of belonging and purpose. A really good friend can help us discover our true selves and can also provide support when we cope with tough issues.
In the 2018 Missouri Building Block Nominee “I Got a New Friend,” author Karl Newsom covers the basics of learning to be a friend, wrapped up in sweet and simple narrative any child will love. Here’s a sample from the first few pages: “I got a new friend. She’s kind of shy. At first, she was scared. But she got used to me.” At the very back of the book, there are also some helpful tips on how to care for your new friend.
Overall, this delightful book has a delightful twist! Who is really telling the story?
When you finish reading, here are a couple of friendship activities for you and your child to enjoy!
Have some fun with this friendship fingerplay! Continue reading “2018 Missouri Building Block Nominee: I Got a New Friend”
”Pug is happy here at home.” Me too, Pug! This book made me delightfully happy. As a pug owner myself, I am of course biased, but I think this book by Sue Gallion with art by Joyce Wan is an absolute gem. Pug’s story begins with his enjoyment of routine and solitude, then everything changes when Pig arrives. Pug must adapt to this newcomer in his life, which he eventually does with grace and generosity. The simple words and clean, friendly illustrations make this an excellent choice for beginning readers, and little ones who aren’t quite there yet can try telling the story back to you after they’ve heard it once or twice. The theme of accepting changes and making new friends is one that will resonate especially with preschoolers and those facing new experiences.
Continue reading “2018 Missouri Building Block Nominee: Pug Meets Pig”
Once a week, starting today, we will be writing about all ten Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominees for 2018. These award nominees encourage reading aloud to children and are selected annually by a group of children’s librarians from Missouri. The books nominated for this award make for exciting and engaging story times for any group of kids. For the first nominee, we’ll start with Julia Donaldson’s, “The Giant Jumperee.”
We’ve all been scared of things that we can’t see, whether it be a situation or a mysterious monster. In this story, Rabbit comes home to find his burrow occupied by a Giant Jumperee who is “scary as can be!” Cat, Bear, and Elephant try to help Rabbit, but the Giant Jumperee is just too frightening. Will Mama Frog be able to face the unknown and help Rabbit take back his burrow? This book looks at our fear of the unknown in a lighthearted way and reminds us that things aren’t always what they seem.
After you’ve read the book, Penguin Books has provided printable activity sheets that you and your child can enjoy together. Practice observation skills by searching for the differences between two pictures, and then get a chance to draw your own Giant Jumperee!
Once you have read at least five Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominees, help your child vote for their favorite.
Did you know a single worker honey bee produces approximately 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime? That means around 22,700 bees are needed to fill a single jar of honey! In honor of National Honey Month, I’ve put together a small list of lovely reads that are truly buzz-worthy! They’re perfect for sharing with your own 
sweet honey bees.
“Honey” by David Ezra Stein
Bear is ravenous when he wakes up from his winter sleep and has one thing on his mind: honey! The world around him is waking up too, and he soon remembers all the other things he loves, like warm grass, berries and rain. One day, he hears a welcome buzzing sound…and finally it is time for Bear to delight in the thing he relishes above all others.
“From Flower to Honey” by Robin Nelson
This title describes the process of making honey, from a bee’s collection of nectar to honey production on a 
beekeeper’s farm.
“BEE: A Peek-Through Picture Book” by Britta Teckentrap
Through a hole in the book’s cover, a bee is buzzing inside a flower. Peek into this bright and lively book and discover the big ways this little insect contributes to the beauty of the environment.
Source for honeybee facts: National Honey Board
Think back to a time when you felt “different.” Perhaps you were in a situation where you didn’t look like or act like everyone else. Maybe you couldn’t keep up with an activity due to physical limitations or lack of skill sets. Regardless of why you felt the way you did, you remember these times because they evoked strong emotions. Brene Brown, American author and research professor at the University of Houston, provides some insight into this universal need to fit in. “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically and spiritually wired to love, to be loved and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don’t function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.” Continue reading “Vive la Différence”
When you’re really little, sometimes a box is more fascinating than its contents. Especially if it’s a big cardboard box that you can sit in! If your kiddo is sitting in cardboard boxes anyway, why not take it a step further and decorate that box to look like a car?
Step One: Find a cardboard box your little one can fit in easily.
Step Two: Attach black paper plates as tires! I like using hot glue, but it’s up to you. If you’re feeling really fancy, you can glue old CDs in the middle of the plates to make wheels! Just make sure it’s the shiny side out.
Step Three: Add headlights and tail lights. You can use yellow circles for the headlights and red circles for tail lights. Cut them out of construction paper or just draw them on with markers. Continue reading “Cardboard Box Cars”
Did you know September 15 through October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month? This celebration has been around since 1968 in honor of the great influence and contributions Hispanic Americans have made in the United States.
To celebrate, you can come to DBRL’s Spanish Story Time/Hora de cuentos en familia! Learn new words while listening to stories and songs in Spanish. This program is for native and non-native speakers alike and is for ages 2-5 with an adult. Registration is not required.
Our libraries also have books in Spanish that include board books, picture books and chapter books. A few of my favorites include “Fantasmas” by Raina Telgemeier, “Con cariño, Amalia” by Alma Flor Ada and “La granja de los siete establos” by Roberto Aliaga. You can check out the rest of our Spanish collection here.
These titles are great if you and your child would like to learn more about Hispanic culture and famous Hispanic Americans: Continue reading “National Hispanic Heritage Month”
If you’ve come to story times at the Columbia Public Library, then you’ve probably heard one of our favorite songs: