The big theme of Sadie's 6-9 month book selection is GIGGLES. All the books on this list are books that lend themselves to using funny voices, elaborate kisses, lap bounces, and tickles! My Sadie loves to giggle! As usual, I couldn't totally decide this month and wound up changing her picks up until my self-imposed deadline (today!) but here we go...
1. Hello Bugs! by Smriti Prasada is full of fun sounds and tickles. Each high-contrast page presents a shiny bug and simple text--"Hello, Bee! (buzz, buzz)," "Hello, Snail! (slide, glide)" or "Hello, Beelte (scuttle, scuttle)"--until the last page, which says, "Bye bye, Butterfly! (flutter, flutter)" This book has it ALL. Not only does it mean mom makes silly bug noises (Sadie's favorite is "zuzz zuzz" for "Hello, Dragonfly!" which comes with a lot of bonus belly tickles), but the bugs are SHINY. And the pages are otherwise black-and-white. Doesn't get better than that! Ace in the hole, my friends, ace in the hole! (Sidenote: There is another very similar book called Hello Animals! by Smriti Prasada and Sadie likes that one a lot too!)
2. Tap Tap Bang Bang by Emma Garcia is, like Hello Bugs!, full of fun sounds and tickles. Plus, in Tap Tap Bang Bang, we get to slap the pages of the book a bunch of times too. Each page features a different tool and what the tool "says." For example: "We can cree craw, cree craw, cut with the saw and chippety chip with the chisel," "We can zzz zzz make a hole with the drill and twizzle and twist with the screwdriver." Then at the end, we find out that, all this time, we've been making a go-cart! I don't know if it's the tools themselves Sadie likes or if it's just the silly noises and things I do with her while we read that make her giggle (although it's probably the latter). Her favorites are "zzz zzz" with the drill (which amounts to me tickling her belly and saying "zzzzz"), "grabbety grab" with the pliers (which means that I grab her) and "lift lift" with the jack (which means that I lift her up as high as I can). She also seems to enjoy when we "slap and slosh" with the paint brush (which means that we slap the page of the book). Emma Garcia's books really appeal to Sadie, as this is the second one that's appeared on one of her lists!
3. Baby Cakes by Karma Wilson resonates with Sadie because, like most of the other books in this post, it involves singing, bouncing, kisses and tickles. But it's not only that, she's drawn to these pictures too! This whole book is basically chant that, to me, seems to pretty clearly to follow the beat of Pat-a-Cake. It starts with, "Baby cakes, baby cakes, I love you. Baby cake, baby cakes, yes I do!" Along the way we get to "Kiss my little Baby Cakes on the nose/Smooch my little Baby Cakes on the toes," "Nibble little Baby Bakes on the feet/Oh my little Baby Cakes taste so sweet," and "Laugh with little Baby Cakes, Ha, Ha, Ha/Sing to little Baby Cakes, La La La." Of course, like most books for kids this age, it ends with Baby Cakes going night night. This book always draws Sadie in, while a lot of other books I try to read her, really don't. Even when she's super tired and cranky, this book can pull her in for one last hurrah before bed. I also have a feeling that, as Sadie gets older, she's going to continue to like this book and the chanting and tickles that come with it.
4. Baby Parade by Rebecca O'Connell is a book that I've used in baby storytimes many times. It works great for groups, but it also, apparently, works well well one-on-one! The majority of the book's pages say things like, "Wave to the baby in the big, red wagon!" and "Wave to the baby in the bright orange backpack," which is great because Sadie likes my extremely cheery "hello voice" as well as watching my hand while I wave (though she is still a novice waver herself). Of course, we wave and say hi to all the babies as they go by in the parade, which is fun and keeps Sadie's attention completely. But the very best part of this book is the first page! It says, "Here come the babies! It's a baby parade!" and I read it to Sadie in my very silliest announcer voice. She loves it! Sometimes even when we're not reading the book and I'm just trying to make her giggle, I'll say, "It's a baby parade!" and it does the trick!
5. A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy is full of kisses! But not just regular kisses, silly kisses! One of Sadie's most favorite things is when I sort of "come at her" from a few inches away while making a funny noise and then kiss or tickle her. This book is ALL about that. Each page has a different type of animal kiss: "A giraffe kiss is gentle and tall. Like this! *kiss*," "A mouse kiss is quick and small. Like this! *kiss*," or "A bee kiss is fuzzy and buzzy. Like this! *kiss*" So many different silly ways for me to kiss Sadie! PLUS the last page has a big super-shiny heart that is basically a baby magnet. This book is awesome!
My next installment of Sadie's Top 5 will come when she is ONE YEAR OLD. That is wild. I can't even believe it.
I had my last session of Share & Play Babies today and I have to say, this was such an enjoyable program to do! It was a new program that I created for babies ages 3-12 months (with ages 3-5 months being a group previously not serviced at our library!). Inspired by all of Sadie's favorite things, this program crammed a LOT of juice into a three 30-minute windows (one per week).
For every single parent/baby pair in the class... this was their first library program. That means that, in the three Wednesdays that I held this program, I reached a total of nineteen new library users! That is SO awesome. So exciting! So important! So much pressure!
Each week, the format of the class was as follows:
1. Open play (with music) + introductions (8-10 minutes)
2. One book read by me (2-3 minutes)
3. One book, passed out as a class set, read individually between parents and babies (2-3 minutes)
4. Simple finger play songs (2-3 minutes)
5. Baby soccer (with music) + clean up toys (5 minutes)
6. Shaker + puppet song (2-3 minutes)
7. Parachute time (5 minutes)
8. Goodbye song (2-3 minutes)
I'll explain all the details below.
1. Open Play: I have done programs involving open play in the past, but have always thrown it in at the end. In the past, it typically felt awkward and forced for me. And it included a lot of me feeling sort of useless, smiling, and only saying things like "Awww, so cute." But after attending a few baby programs with Sadie while on maternity leave, I learned a lot about well done open play. First, I decided that open play works better at the start of the program. This gives everyone a chance to settle in, get comfortable, even come in a few minutes late without too much pressure. Second, I learned that it works well when combined with introductions. This organically opens up the conversation floor a little and is just a good way to get to know who's in the room. Plus, it turns out that chit-chatting with moms during open play is a lot easier when you have your own baby! Who knew?
This was also the first time I ever had the parents do formal introductions of themselves. I'd asked them to tell the group their name, their baby's name, and how old their baby was. As a program attendee (and specifically one who also attended my first baby program just a few months ago), I liked doing this--it made me feel more comfortable. So for this room full of first time program attendees, I included it. I think it worked well and kind of broke up the open play time, without taking the toys away from the babies. I had them do this each week, even if they'd come before, because it's a good little ice breaker and, honestly, we could probably all use the refresher.
Here are how the toys were typically set up before the start of the class:
2. One book read by me: After about 8-10 minutes of open play, each week I read the class a book. I left the toys out too because (a) I'm not really a stickler for making kids (especially babies) pay attention to me, (b) I believe babies can benefit from hearing a book while also playing with or chewing on a toy, and (c) Just why NOT let them play with a toy a little longer if that's what they're currently in the mood to do?
Throughout the three weeks of this class, these are the three books I read:
3. One book, passed out as a class set, read individually between parents and babies: This was an exciting new thing that we haven't done in our library before (but I'd done in the past when working at a different library). In advance, I ordered shiny new class sets of books specifically for this program, inspired by--you guessed it--Sadie's Top 5 Lists! Throughout the three weeks of this class, I had parents share the following books with their babies:
Here are a few moms and caregivers sharing Sneak-a-Peek Colors with their little ones:
4. Simple finger play songs: For most of the parents and caregivers in the program, this is was chance to sing some "old favorites" together with their babies. Both repetition for kids and re-teaching parents childhood favorites are always great! However, for a few moms who were from other countries (at least two, maybe three, in my class) this was a chance for them to learn NEWsongs--important, almost vital, songs that their kids will be singing for years to come! Here are the songs we wound up covering over the three weeks:
Five Little Monkeys Itsy Bitsy Spider She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star * Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Where is Thumbkin
* I had an embarrassing moment here in week 2 of the program, where I started singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star but accidentally did the hand motions for Itsy Bitsy Spider! It called for a hearty do-over! So grateful for the wonderful families that I work with who aren't too judgmental!
5. Baby soccer: This was really fun! It may have been the highlight of the program! I stole the idea for this from a baby program that I attended with Sadie at my local library. For this, I brought out a decent-sized ball (see below), had the parents/caregivers lift their babies by grabbing them under their arms (also see below), and then making the kids "kick" the ball around the circle to each other. It wound up being a really awesome team building activity, working together, and making sure everyone had a chance to play. We did this for about five minutes and I almost felt bad ending it!
6. Shaker + puppet song: This is 5 minutes of programming that I get to borrow directly from Musical Kids. Here are the songs I used each week:
I Know a Chicken by Laurie Berkner (with chicken puppet) The Owl Song by Playdate (with owl puppet) This Land is Your Land by Josh Levine (with dog puppet)*
* There's no correlation between dogs and This Land is Your Land. I just needed another song and another puppet and I like both of these.
7. Parachute time: I am a huge fan of parachute time with babies. It always works in Musical Kids. Always. One thing that changed parachute time from how it usually goes in Musical Kids to how it wound up going in Share & Play Babies, was having the foam mat on the floor. Since I had everyone sitting, tightly packed around the foam mat, the parachute wasn't able to extend out to its full diameter, so there were several bunches and folds in the middle. Basically, a lot of extra fabric going on. It didn't really matter, just sort of changed the dynamic from what I am used to.
Here are all the parachute songs I wound up using throughout the three-week-class. I'll write out all these rhymes/chants at the end of the post!:
The Colors Over You Peek-a-Boo! In and Out the Window The Wheels on the Bus Come Under My Umbrella If You're Happy and You Know It Let's Go Riding in an Elevator
8. Goodbye song: Another few minutes borrowed from Musical Kids (and basically every other non-craft program I ever do). Our goodbyes are sung to Laurie Berkner's Blow a Kiss. Always a favorite for me!
Parachute songs, in detail:
The Colors Over You (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinke, Little Star)
Red and green and yellow and blue
These are the colors over you
Red like an apple, green like a tree
Yellow like the sun, and blue like the sea
Red and green and yellow and blue
These are the colors over you
Peek-a-Boo! (to the tune of Frer Jacquez)
Where are you hiding?
Where are you hiding?
I can't see you
I can't see you
Are you over here?
Are you over there?
Peek-a-Boo!
Peek-a-Boo!
In and Out the Window
This one's on Jbrary! Watch below:
The Wheels on the Bus(done with babies lying on their backs)
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round (move baby's legs in a circle)
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish (move baby's legs back and forth)
The windows on the bus go open and shut (open and close baby's legs)
The windows on the bus go up and down (move baby's legs up and down)
Here are a few pictures from Wheels on the Bus, which we ended with every week:
Come Under My Umbrella (to the tune of The More We Get Together)
(Fast shake) There's thunder and lightening and wind and rain
There's thunder and lightening and wind and rain
(Lift the parachute up high in unison) Come under my umbrella, umbrella, umbrella
Come under my umbrella, it's starting to storm
If You're Happy and You Know It
If you're happy and you know it lift it high...
If you're happy and you know it shake it fast...
If you know it shake it slow...
Let's Go Riding in an Elevator
I'll let Jbrary illustrate this one too. I do it with the parachute instead of scarves and sing it a lot slower (for emphasis, I guess):
What worked least: The third/last week of this program (the week that I used the books Pete the Cat: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Counting Kisses) I zoomed through the open play and the books too fast. By the time I'd finished with everything I had planned, there were still 8 minutes left of the program! And the goodbye song is only only 2-minutes and 47-seconds long! So I wound up doing 5 bonus minutes of open play at the end... which was fine but a little awkward since we'd just cleaned up the toys. What's funniest here is that I purposely didn't read Counting Kisses along with the group after I'd had them read it individually for fear that it would take too long! I should have!
What worked best: Parachute time is always a favorite in any program and this was no exception! And actually I've found that, even as a patron with my own baby, I am sort of bummed when a program doesn't include any parachute time! It's always a great success!
It's already time for installment two of Sadie's Top 5! Six months old today, I have learned that there are books that hold her interest enough to read over and over and over, and books that she can barely stand to look at at all. In the end, I feel a bit on the fence about her top 5 this go around, but these are my best guesses. Presenting, Sadie's Top 5 for ages 3-6 months:
1. 1 2 3 Counting by Maxine Davenport and Cindy Roberts is ALL about the super high-contrast pictures + stand up combo (as is #2 on this list!). Due to a birth injury, we have to work extra hard with Sadie on gross motor skills and, physically, this book is a wonderful motivator for her when we're doing so! I don't even have to read it sometimes! The pages fold out like a fan, rather than turn like a traditional book, which allows it to stand and also allows lots of pages to be on display at one time. Then, between each page, there are black-and-white checkered borders that I swear are like baby eye magnets. (Click the link above to see what I'm referring to.) The combination of everything is just absolutely perfect! This book has it ALL. Even at the older end of this 3-6 month age range, we're big fans in my house!
2. Black & White by Tana Hoben is essentially another version of the book above. In fact, Tana Hoban's collection of high contrast books were most likely the inspiration for 1 2 3 Counting. Like 1 2 3 Counting, the pages of this book open up like a fan so it can stand up by itself and motivate Sadie during her exercises. The first half of the book has pictures that are black silhouettes on a white background; the second half has white silhouettes on a black background (while 1 2 3 Counting uses bold, bright colors in addition to black and white). Of all the pages, Sadie seems the most drawn to the picture of the butterfly, which also happens to be the picture with the most detail. Overall, this is another really easy-to-look-at book for Sadie, although (according to her) just slightly less cool than the book it most likely inspired. This one might have even worked better as a 0-3 month book (but we were too busy reading and re-reading Sneak-a-Peek Colors to notice).
3. Counting Kisses by Karen Katz means LOTS of kisses from mommy. If you're not familiar with it, this book markets itself as "a kiss & read book," and it really, truly is. The book counts down from "ten little kisses on teeny tiny toes," "nine laughing kisses on busy, wriggly feet," all the way down to the one last kiss on baby's "sleepy, dreamy head." The illustrations are vibrant, sweet, and just seem to reflect love. Sadie's personal favorites are the toe kisses, feet kisses, and belly button kisses. Sometimes I cheat and give her a few extra on those (Don't tell Karen Katz!)--although lately she prefers to have her feet and belly "chomped on" instead. This book is AWESOME for mommy-baby giggles!
4. Toot Toot, Beep Beep by Emma Garcia is all about the noise-making, so it needs to be read with a lot of enthusiasm. Each page asks the reader to make a silly car noise (such as, appropriately, "Toot toot," and "Beep beep") and, even though I've used this book in storytime for years, I've never seen a small baby's reaction to it until I read it to Sadie. Her favorite noise is the first in the book--"beep, beep"--but even the other noises don't seem to elicit the exact same reaction, the entire book is really engaging for her. Each page says something like, "Beep beep goes the little red jeep. And off he zooms," and "Vroom vroom goes the sleek black sports car. And off he speeds." So there are lots of opportunities for noise making! The vibrant colors, short text, and different tones of voice really seem to be the right combination for her. Maybe she'll be one of those kids who really likes cars. Maybe I am fostering a love of cars in her right now.
5. I had a hard time settling on a #5 for this list but ultimately realized that the answer was Sophie la Girafe: Colors from DK. This was a book that I (naively) assumed was just a marketing ploy to sell more Sophie toys (which, naturally, we own). While, yes, it may be that, it's also a book that Sadie genuinely seems to love. The text of the book says, for example "Who's hiding behind Sophie's green boat?" then you open the flap and see that it's "Margot the turtle! She loves green. She's resting on her green towel." Then at the end, the book recites all the animal friends and their favorite colors again: "Gabin loves blue. Josephine loves yellow. Kiwi loves red. Margot loves green. Lazare loves orange. Sophie loves purple." I don't know what it is exactly, but there's something really engaging about this book. There's the usual simply drawn illustrations and bright colors, but what I think it is mostly are the really thick, cool, colorful lift-the-flap pages that Sadie is really into grabbing. They're not the ordinary thin, glued on flaps we're all used to, but almost like mini doors on each page. Like page within a page. They're so enticing! So, marketing ploy? Maybe. But enjoyable board book? Absolutely.
And that's it! More of this again when Sadie hits her 9-month-mark!
