M is for Monster

"M is for Monster" Book Display

As you may already know, this year is the 50th Anniversary of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. A wonderful local art museum in our area is celebrating 50 years of works by Sendak with an exhibit and lots of great programs beginning in early November, so we decided to join the fun with our own wild rumpus at the library.

This past Saturday we hosted our "Monster Madness" event. Since we were making monster cupcakes and decorating monster pumpkins and gourds, we asked families to register. We had over 35 kiddos of all ages from under 1 to 12 (plus their grown-ups). Here is a quick rundown of the plan:

Of course we started with a reading of the special occasion book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

We used our imaginations to go on a monster hunt (rather than the usual bear hunt). I love this version that Michael Rosen performed, so I used this as my inspiration.

We read Frankenstein by Ludoworst Bemonster next. This story is a Madeline parody and tickles the funny bone of those that can follow along, but we had a large crowd and it was a bit long for our audience. I probably wouldn't use this story again in a storytime setting like this.

After the story, our group was ready to move. I love If You're a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley. Our copy was checked out though, so I downloaded the free musical version from the Scholastic page and we danced and snarled and roared like monsters. (The song is sung by Adrian Emberley.)

We passed out some musical instruments and listened and played along to the musical version of There Was An Old Monster sung by Adrian Emberley. I had a copy of the story so I turned the pages as the band played on. We especially loved the fact that monster kept on dancing because he had ants in his pants, scritchy-scratch.

After we bid farewell to our instruments, we read the story Frank Was A Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves. This funny book is rather participatory and was a great fit towards the end of our program. Plus it had the yuck factor you need at a monster event, since Frank's head unzips and his eye rolls out the door. After our reading, we did one last dancing song, The Monster Mash. 

We had lots of other monster books at the ready, including Go Away Big Green Monster, The Monsters' Monster, and Monster Mash, but our monsters were ready to create. (We had also created a "M is for Monster" book display early in the month to showcase all of those monster books we have!)

We sent the monsters on their way to make their own Big Green Monster cupcakes, painted monster pumpkins (or squash), and wild thing masks. We have so many wonderful businesses in our town and local area, that we were able to get 50 vanilla cupcakes (unfrosted) and 40 pumpkins and squash donated. We purchased the frosting, some candies, and bottled water. This entire program cost under $20.

Many families stayed for over an hour and half, so we thought it was monster mashing success!  

Young Writers

Do you have young writers in your library? Here's a few writing ideas they might like to try:

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it looked cool.
Kids in K-8 grades:

 The pin brings you to this blog: http://www.buildingalibrary.com/picture-books/scholastics-kids-are-authors-contest-great-books-written-by-great-kids/978
which talks about past winners, the contest details, and how cool it is! The deadline for this year in March 15, 2014.

November is National Write a Novel Month (NaNoWriMo)

There's no set age limit for this impressive goal, but there is a Young Writer's Program for those 17 and under. It's a way to set individual limits (not the adult limit of 50,000). Complete with pep talks, forums, and friends - this site has a way of keep your patrons motivated.

At Otis Library, we host an annual write-in for teens and adults. There's usually two or three teens that attend and it's a fun way to get your creative juices flowing - we even provide cookies for incentives to finish your daily word count.

Fall Fun

Fall is the most glorious time of year, in my opinion. It's a true feast for the senses; the vibrant colors, the warm smells of seasonal favorites, the feel of the crisp air, and the sounds of crunching leaves under your feet. Luckily, my coworkers feel the same way about amazing autumn. We couldn't handle it any longer, we just had to turn one of our unused columns into a tree [display]. It's been a great way to showcase some of the underappreciated books that feature forests and woodland animals.  

In the spirit of all things autumn, here are a few of my more recent favorites for this time of year.

A is for Autumn by Robert Maass
I love this ABC book all about the joys of autumn for kiddos ages 2 and 3. I was drawn in by the cover and photos on each page, so I can forgive some of the not necessarily fall fiting pairs (i is for ice cream, n is for neighborhood...). Understanding that books with photos can become dated quickly, I will keep going to this nonfiction book for as long as I can for my fall storytimes.

Bear Has A Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead
We meet lovable Bear, who has a story to tell, but all of his friends are too busy preparing for winter.  A sweet story that discusses migration and hibernation in an enchanting way. And who doesn't love the Philip and Erin Stead team?

Flora's Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall and illustrated by Matt Phelan

I absolutely adore the illustrations in this charming picture book. The watercolor images of leaves and siblings floating through the air are the most lovely part of this whimsical story of an older sister and her younger brother who struggle against a "very windy" autumn day.

Awesome Autumn: Fall Facts and Fun by Bruce Goldstone

A wonderful book full of photos, facts, and activities all about fall changes (migration, hibernation, why leaves change color, fall holidays, etc). An important resource for teachers and students in the prek-2 classroom. Due to the nature of the format it is a little tricky as a straight read aloud, but the bright colors, engaging photos and informational text make this one a keeper for sure.

Fun Infographics - perfect for Teen Read Week

I started playing around with the If You Like pins at work...

Then I was creating book talks and thought, this idea would also work.

An easy way to talk about books and use the photos in social media. To see all the visual book talks, visit my tumblr page. 

What are some fun ways you've come with to talk about books?

Teen Program: Mug Cakes

I had been seeing Mug Cakes around Pinterest and thought they looked cool - so I purchased a book for the library. It's the perfect dessert - not too big and wicked easy to make.  Each large mug is good for two people. It takes about 5-7 minutes to make, including the time in the microwave.  You can split the cake afterwards or dirty two mugs (I'm not a huge fan or dishes, so guess which one I chose)

We made S'mores Mug Cake - and it was tasty! It cost less than $15 - so it was easy on the wallet but big on fun. Plus, there's lots of mug cakes to test out.

Star Wars Reads Day

Do you know about this day filled with awesome? If not, check out the official website: http://starwars.com/reads/. I got around to planning it too late this year (we were already having activities going on at the same time in the library), but next week, I want to rock this day.

Here's a search on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=star%20wars%20crafts
That brought up Yoda Ears, Origami Yoda, Yoda Apple, Smarties Light Saber, and tons more ideas.

Have you done this program before? What did you do and was it a hit?