Summer Story Times

I did two story times on the theme of summer this year. One was a family story time on Saturday and the other was my usual preschool story time.

Since my family story time consisted of older children, the first book that I read was Duck's Vacation by Gilad Soffer. Duck has gone on a vacation and HE JUST DOESN'T WANT ANYONE TO BOTHER HIM! But as the reader turns the pages, Duck's vacation scenario changes. A seagull poops on his head, a crab pinches his foot, the beach gets crowded, he gets caught in a snow storm and finally pirates have him trapped in a cooking pot! So, Duck leaves the book and gets out of the story. However, the pirates are disappointed that their story doesn't even get a chance to start.

The second book that I read was The Whale in my Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan. A little boy finds a whale in his swimming pool and does everything he can think of to get the whale to leave. He tries to get the whale to play fetch. He tempts him by dangling a small fish in front of him. He offers to give him his allowance and tries to play tag with him. But nothing works. Finally, he gets an inner tube and surfs on top of the whale spouting water. Everything is fine until naptime, when he finds a bear in his bed!

For my preschool story time, I also read The Whale in my Swimming Pool, followed by Mouse's First Summer by Lauren Thompson. This book explores the joys and wonder of mouse experiencing summer for the very first time! It's great as an interactive book. I asked the children to answer the questions, "What's over here?" and "What's under there?" Together, we found a watemelon, black ants, a kite, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fireflies, and fireworks.
Other books that I had but did not read: