There's a lot to love about winter! Sometimes that's hard to see, but we have books to help us get with the program :) After all, winter comes whether you're ready or not here in Upstate New York, right? Let's get ready with books!

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling; Ills. by Greg Newbold

Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple; Ills. by Brooke Dyer

 

All of these books help me get ready for winter! At Family Storytime, we had fun with this same wonderful lineup. The Mitten helps me with it's wonderful humor and gorgeous illustrations. I remember reading this book with my kids when they were young - over and over again :) Jan Brett's illustrations are so much fun. Take this one home and share the adventure of winter with Niki and Baba and all the animals :)

 

Winter Lullaby is one of my go-to books for acceptance! It can be hard to let winter in sometimes! But with Greg Newbold's gorgeous illustrations and Barbara Seuling's simple narrative, Winter Lullaby reminds us that we all have time honored ways of dealing with winter.

 

We also used Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep with the Family Storytimers on Saturday. Here are my feelings about this book: Jane Yolen's wonderful, poetic version of the old lullaby "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" (or the German, "Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf") takes us all for an adorably sleepy ride to hibernation with many animals from our black bear to snakes to beavers and mice, and with many other animals in between! If you like to sing, you can fit the melody in nicely with just a little tweaking as you enjoy the book together :) Here's a version of the original song at Mama Lisa's World: Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf.

Since we did most of the same things at Family Storytime that we did for you today at Toddler & Preschool Storytime, I'll share one song we didn't get to today here:

I'm a Little Snowman

I'm a little snowman, short and fat

Here is my broomstick;

Here is my hat.

When the sun comes out I melt away,

But you can make me again some day!

 

I think our 5 Little Snowmen on sticks want to weigh in on this blog post:

 

**Five little snowmen all in a row,

Dancing, dancing, watch them go!

One danced too close to the barnyard door.

He danced inside, so then there were four…

 

**Four little snowmen were playing hard,

Jumping, jumping in the yard.

One jumped and hit the limb of a tree.

He fell down, so then there were three….

 

**Three little snowmen skipped through the snow,

Skipping, skipping to and fro.

Not turning as he was supposed to do,

One skipped away, so then there were two….

 

**Two little snowmen began to spin around,

Spinning, spinning across the snowy ground!

One spun so fast because it was fun,

He spun away completely, so then there was one…

 

**One little snowman stood all alone,

Standing, standing as the warm sun shone.

He stood so long in the noonday sun,

That he melted away and then there was none.

 

But don’t be sad ‘cause I’m telling you

That’s what all little snowmen do.

Here are the snowmen puppets now

To say goodbye, and take a bow!

 

They were busy snowmen today! After the program, I let kids back behind the "theater" and some of the children tried the stick puppets out. You can easily make snowpeople stick puppets with craft sticks, paper, and crayons. You could even add cotton balls :) Sing I'm a Little Snowman or get five of them together and try our 5 Little Snowmen poem together to create your own play this winter!

 

Here's what I told the Family Storytime folks who were sad that FST was ending for the session: there's still a lot to do at the library! Lego at the Library most Saturday afternoons; Families Learning Science Together, Saturday, January 13th; Children's STEAM Crafternoon, Wednesday, December 13th; Children's Poetry Writing Workshop, Friday, January 12th; Sit! Stay! Read! Tuesdays from 3:00 to 4:00; Preschool Art with Stiller Zusman Saturday, December 16th and whatever you do DON'T FORGET to join the Winter Reading Program!! Whether you have babies, toddlers or elementary school-aged kids, there will be something for you :) Earn a free book and a chance to win more prizes by picking up a fun bingo sheet, reading, and visiting the library with your kids! Please check our website or grab a flyer for specific times and other details :)

 

 

I love to see my storytime kids at the library! So when you do come in, be sure to say hello, and tell us about what you're reading and doing this winter!

I hope to see you around!

Miss Kelly