Cats!

One of my colleagues brought to my attention the book Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj just after we added it to our collection, and I'm finally getting around to building a cat-themed storytime for toddlers for next week. I love books like this that invite interaction with the audience, and this one goes way up on my list of favorites along with Can You Make a Scary Face and Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.  The books I'm reading this week are:

Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj

Sleepy Kittens by  Jill and Martin Leman

and Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat illustrated by Annie Kubler for Child's Play.

Between stories, we'll do an action rhyme:

"Five Little Kittens" from Storytimes for Two-Year-Olds by Judy Nichols, p. 58.
One, two, three, four, five, (count fingers on one hand)
Five little kittens standing in a row. (stand up straight)
They nod their heads to the children so. (nod head)
The run to the left, they run to the right (run in place facing left, then turn and run in place facing right)
They stand up and stretch in the bright sunlight. (stretch arms overhead)
Along comes a dog, looking for some fun. (hunch shoulders)
Meow, meow, (make scratching motions)
See that doggie run! (clap hands quickly)

and a flannel rhyme:

"Rainbow Kittens" from Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz, p. 111
Six little kittens found a box of paint.
They jumped right in...their mother will faint!
The first little kitten came out all red.
"I'll be orange," the second kitten said.
The third little kitten turned bright yellow.
"I'll be green," said the next little fellow.
The fifth kitten said, "My favorite is blue."
"Purple for me," said the sixth with a mew.
Dancing home the kittens go
To show their mother a KITTEN RAINBOW!

We'll also sing "There's a Dog in School" (there's a cat in the second verse) from H.U.M. by Carole Peterson, and we'll repeat that song over the next few weeks when storytimes focus on the other animals in the song--dog, rabbit, and we just had a duck storytime last month.

Our craft, a paper bag cat, comes from http://www.freepreschoolcrafts.com.  We will use markers to add stripes or spots instead of painting the bags, though.