Story time: Superheroes

This was the the most energetic story times I've done so far. (I'm sure there'll be more to come!) So here's the run-down on yesterday:

THE TABLE

Before the library I opened, I set out what's-your-superhero-name print-outs: for you and your pet! Add fun dollar-store paper and markers, and you have superhero writing station. We ran out of time to find our hero names together as a group, but that's okay. I liked the table so well, that I didn't bother to clean it up. Hopefully, it will be a pleasant surprise for my boss. I've realized that I love independent activities coinciding with story time and I should simply ask her if I can officially adopt one of the children's table.

THE OPENING

Loudly clapped and sang "I'm in the Mood for Reading"  (To this tune.) We all got on the floor with the boys and introduced ourselves. (Six boys with two parents on the periphery.) And you have to chat about favorite super heroes: Superman, Batman, Flash, Hulk, Spiderman, Green Lantern.

THE BOOKS

Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
I asked how many knew the ABCs and we sang the Alphabet as fast as we could! As we read, the kids who could read shouted the letters on each page. After the story, we chatted about which of McLeod's heroes we liked: the Volcano, Nightman, the Zinger.


I can't remember how I segued over to Batman. Maybe, I simply held up the book and asked them, "Who is this guy," to get their attention.

The Story of the Dark Knight by Ralph Cosentino
The boys almost crawled inside the book; I had to keep backing up and holding it above our heads. They got particular quiet when we reached the villians' pages, and as a grand finale I read the last few pages in the best gruff Batman voice I could muster. That held the wiggling boys attention until the end.

For some reason, one of the younger boys asked if we could stand up for the next story. That seemed like a good enough way to transition as any that I had planned. So we did, we stood. Finally, we read more Bathman! (Get it? Batman, Bathman?) Actually, it was...

The Amazing Adventures of Bathman by Andrew T. Pelletier.
The boys hadn't heard this story. Reading this is the with an action-packed, cliff-hanging attitude made it work well.

THE SONG

At some point I sang "Superhero, Superhero, Touch the Ground," and the kids acted it out. Actually, I know I sang it more than once! Two verses during storytime and another round to keep a boy occupied while checking out books.

Breathless with Anticipation

This trailer has left me breathless. I keep forgetting that Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea is getting made into a movie, and then something surfaces to remind me. If you haven't read this nonfiction book, do so! It is physically harrowing and psychologically fascinating. (Plus, it's not very long. You won't be saddled with a tome.) This will be a double-whammy, bibliophile film. Not only is it based on a book, it's about true events that inspired the American classic Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The movie version comes out in March 2015 which gives me time to reread and savor both the non-fiction and the fiction.