Winter and Snow Story Times!

I was fortunate enough to get the chance to present two winter and snow story times: one at EdFEST and one at my regular preschool story time on Tuesday morning.

The first book that I read at EdFEST was Jingle-Jingle by Nicola Smee. In Jingle-Jingle, Mr. Horse asks Cat, Dog, Pig, and Duck if they would like to take a ride in his sleigh. They all say yes enthusiastically and get into the sleigh together. Off they go with a "jingle-jingle, crunch-crunch." They come to a hill and Cat, Dog, Pig, and Duck, ask Mr. Horse if they can slide down the hill. Mr. Horse says yes, but tells them that he wants to get into the sleigh. With Mr. Horse in the sleigh, they slide faster and faster down the hill until they run into a snow man, crash, and all fall out of the sleigh together! Mr. Horse is thrilled and asks everybody if they can do it again. So they do! This book features beautiful and whimsical cartoon illustrations. The refrains are a lot of fun for the reader and children to repeat, such as: "jingle-jingle, swoosh-swoosh! and jingle-plop!" The children really enjoyed this story.

I sang the next book instead of reading it! If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! by Kim Normal is sung to the tune "If You're Happy and You Know It". This book is written in a delightful rhyme and features illustrations using watercolor, colored pencil, and pastel. An interactive book, it features activities that the children do throughout the story/song, such as clap your paws, taste a flake, give a roar, and blow a kiss.

The first book that I read for my Tuesday morning was Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. Bear sleeps "in a cave in the woods, in his deep dark lair, through the long, cold winter. One by one Bear's friends arrive at his cave: Mouse, Hare, Badger, Gopher, Mole, Wren, and Raven. They start a party. Mouse starts a fire in Bear's cave. Mouse and Hare pop white corn and brew black tea. Badger brings honey nuts and Mouse seasons stew. When Bear wakes up, he is so upset and angry! His friends are having a party without him! He calms down quickly when his friends invite him to the party and he "spins tall tales through the blustery night". The children enjoyed this story and they enjoyed pointing out where Bear was in his cave throughout the story.
The next book that I sang/read for this story time was If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws!

I didn't get a chance to read Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London in either story time, but this story is a charming tale of a frog who gets dressed repeatedly to go outside and play in the snow because he keeps forgetting clothing items, such as the following: his pants, his shirt, his coat, and even his underwear! Eventually he gives up trying to get dressed to go outside because he is too tired. He goes back to his bed and falls asleep.