Love is a Truck words by Amy Novesky pictures by Sara Gillingham (2016)

This board book is a great choice for baby and toddler storytimes. The simple rhythmic text combines love of a favorite toy,  the love shared between siblings, and different kinds of vehicles--a winning combination that is just the right length to introduce some complex vocabulary and concepts without losing the audience. Sweet as pie, this is one your audience will love.

Themes/Topics: Trucks, love, siblings, bedtime, play time, vehicles, firetrucks, board books

Sample text from the first two spreads:

"Love is a truck, shiny and new.
Lights and sirens that go woo! woo! woo! 

Love is a fire engine, red as a heart. 
A ladder truck, spotted dog in the back" 

If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki Vansickle and Cale Atkinson

If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki Vansickle and Cale Atkinson (2016)

This is a fun confection of a storytime book. Our glum bespectacled protagonist is unhappy with her mundane pet hamster, and dreams of more exotic pets. She explains why each mythical creature would make a great choice but then remembers a flaw and moves on to her next choice. As the book goes on, each new creature seems less and less desirable, until she concludes that a hamster makes a pretty good pet after all. The final reveal shows the girl with her nose in a book and the hamster grinning out at readers with batwings and antlers. The verse flows well, pets are an ever-popular theme, and the main character is cute as a button--this one is a no-brainer to add to storytime.

Themes/topics: pets, contentment, wishing, mythical animals, unicorns

Sample text from two spreads:
"If I had a unicorn, 
I'd braid her silky mane. 
I'd make her silver horseshoes 
That tinkled in the rain. 

We'd prance through fields of posies
And nibble nectarines. 
I'd shine her horn with candy corn
To get a starry sheen. 

Unicorns are pretty, 
but they're also very shy. 

On second thought, 
I'd like to give a 
hippogriff 
a try."

 

Zoo Day: A My First Experiences Book by Annie Rockwell and Lizzy Rockwell

Zoo Day: A My First Experiences Book by Anne Rockwell and Lizzy Rockwell (2017)

I probably don’t need to tell you how great Anne Rockwell’s books are for storytime, and this one is no different. A perfect, realistic, and gentle narrative that shows what a trip to the zoo is like for a family (aside from the lack of crowds, that is). A perfect example of narrative nonfiction for storytime.

Themes/topics: zoo, family, parrots, maps, events, nonfiction, firsts

Sample text from one spread:

When the zookeeper comes to feed them, the sea lions gather around, barking even louder. She throws a shiny fish up in the air. A sea lion catches it and slaps his flipper on the rock. Another catches a fish and dives underwater.

“Now they’re making me hungry,” I tell my mom.

“Me too,” she says. 

Sam Sorts by Marthe Jocelyn

Sam Sorts by Marthe Jocelyn (2017)

Every once in a while I find a book that doesn’t really work for storytime, but works so well for programs and extension activities (and presumably classroom use) that I just have to include it. Sam sorts is one of those books. Probably best shared one on one or in small groups, it’s a wonderful exploration of similarities, differences, sorting, counting, and grouping. So it’s great for encouraging both early literacy, and numeracy. Sam’s things are in a messy heap—time to sort them out!

Themes/topics: counting, messes, organization, cleaning your room, mustaches

Sample text from a page that shows a Venn diagram and the following spread:

Spider rock joins the other rocks.  Sam’s favorite rock is the round one. He looks for more round things. Two of the buttons are exactly the same. What else comes in twos?

Another way Sam makes a pair is by finding a rhyme. Some things match because they have stripes. A few have dots or holes. Only one has checks. The snake is striped AND green...

Harry and Clare’s Amazing Staycation by Ted Staunton and Mika Song

Harry and Clare’s Amazing Staycation by Ted Staunton and Mika Song (#ownvoices)

Trapped inside at home due to rain, Harry and Clare use their vivid imaginations to have lots of fun adventures—well, fun for Clare who has a lot of opinions about how the adventures should go and somehow manages to find a way to eat Harry’s snack every day. On the day they get to go the park, Clare realizes they forgot snacks and wants to go home, but Harry has squirreled snacks away in his pockets, and uses them to negotiate a more equal partnership in their playtime. Clever, imaginative, and fun, but probably best for older groups who will understand the dynamics of the story.

Themes/topics: snacks, imagination, siblings, playtime, bossiness

Sample text:

“Watch out for umpire bats,” whispered Clare, “and hop quietly. The hippo is sleeping.” She jumped, clunk, over the sandbox. Harry had an idea. He kept it to himself.

“We are looking for a sunken ship guarded by a monster octopus,” Clare went on. “We’d better ride our Kimono dragons so we can go faster.” Harry rode hard to keep up. He held on to his idea.

“Duck,” Clare cried. “Elephant hummingbirds!” Then she reined in her Kimono dragon. “Oh-oh. We forgot snacks. We have to go back.”

Harry didn’t say a word. He climbed off his dragon, took something from his pocket and began to munch.

“Is that a baby carrot?” asked Clare. Harry didn’t answer. His mouth was full. 

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin (2017)

This is a wordless story, so it won’t work for many storytimes, but those with smaller more intimate storytimes and who do programs with wordless books should be aware of this one. A brown-skinned girl takes her beloved fox stuffy to the park, where it is stolen by a real fox. The girl and her friend travel into the animal village to search for the toy. They eventually track it down to the fox’s house and the little fox’s mother makes it return the toy. The girl, seeing how sad the fox is, decides to let the little fox keep her beloved toy, and in return the fox gives her a unicorn toy to keep. With lots of emotion, and a large trim size with clear illustrations AND lots of detail, this is a wordless book that could work in a small storytime, or in a visual literacy bookclub.

Themes/topics: stuffed animals, sharing, foxes, wordless, show and tell

Gorilla Loves Vanilla by Chae Strathie and Nicola O’Byrne

Gorilla Loves Vanilla by Chae Strathie and Nicola O’Byrne (2016)

In a sugary sweet fantasy-land where humans and animals live side-by-side, Sam’s Sundaes serves up any kind of ice cream imaginable. A series of animals make special requests for ice cream—all of which horrify the others—but Sam serves them up their heart’s desire, from blue cheese ice cream for mouse to a worm sundae for chicken. The large format, silly premise, and length make this a fun read for storytime. Note that the final request from gorilla relies on British pronunciation (trying to rhyme filler with vanilla), so a little practice breaking the rhythm is wise.

Themes/topics: ice cream, food, sweets, treats, taste, trying new things, sharing, gorillas

Sample text from one spread:

The chicken said,

“I’ll have a cone full of worms—

I like nothing more

than an ice cream that squirms.

“It’s funny the way that it wriggles and jiggles.

It tickles my beak and it gives me the giggles.”

It sounded

too squirmy,

but Sam didn’t blink

He rustled up wormy ice cream in a wink.