A Grand Old Tree!

Storytime Books:

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

Summary:  Four animals--a sun-yellow bird, a white terrier, an orange fox and a brown squirrel face small disappointments that threaten to ruin their moods.  But before even a hint of gloom can settle over an otherwise sunny day, Henkes briskly reverses gears and reveals these momentary losses of self, freedom, love and food as gains.

Author and Illustrator Kevin Henkes' website has a list of book activities for children.

Birds by Kevin Henkes

Illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Summary:  Birds come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.  Birds are magic.  Birds are everywhere.  If you listen very carefully you will hear them, no matter where you live.  And if you look very closely you will see them, no matter where you are.  And if you can't go outside right this minute, you can always read this book!

A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma

Summary:  Once there was a grand old tree, who roots sank deep into the earth and whose arms reached high into the sky.  Every spring the grand old tree flowered and bore fruit for the squirrels and birds that made their homes in her leafy branches.  And every year, seeds from the tree scattered in the wind, she had many children.

Storytime Rhyme:

Two Little Blackbirds 

Two little blackbirds

Sat on a hill

One named Jack

And one named Jill

Fly away Jack

Fly away Jill

Come back Jack

Come back Jill

Two Little blackbirds

Sat on a hill

One named Jack

And one named Jill

click here to see fingerplay video

Storytime Songs:

Two Little Blackbirds by Kiboomers from Preschool Action Songs

Spring Song (One Little Bird Is Singing) by Paul Lindsey from Sing The Seasons!

Bluebird Through My Window by Nancy Stewart 

The Green Grass Grows All Around by Wendy Wiseman from 150 Preschool Songs



More Bird Books:

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Blue Burt and Wiggles by Derek Anderson
No Two Alike by Keith Baker
Blue Chicken by Deborah Freeman
How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
Purple Little Bird by Greg Foley
Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
Boo Boo Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Overview:

Today at storytime we learned the names, shapes and colors of different birds.  We stood as tall as a pink flamingo, balancing ourselves on one leg and then flapped our wings as fast as a red and green hummingbird.  We counted birds on the telephone wire, from one to ten, before they flew away.  Then we helped five little birds return to their color matched nest.  It was a very busy morning, but now it's time for lunch...would anyone care for a big juicy worm?

Tips:

I love using scarfs at storytime.  Today they magically turned our arms into wings and helped us fly safely home.  You can try this with your children at home using scarfs, socks, or bandannas.  The song Bluebird Through My Window by Nancy Stewart would be a great song to use for this activity, and you can download it for free!