Spring Storytimes ended with BEARS at Malletts Creek and Pittsfield Branches. You can find many versions of the Three Bears. Byron Barton's The Three Bears is perfect for littlest kids. Jan Brett's Goldilocks And The Three Bears has fabulous illustrations. Add action with Michael Rosen's We're Going On A Bear Hunt. If you also have kids in grade school you can continue the theme with the movie A Bear Named Winnie, the true story that inspired A.A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh.

Got wheels? Let's GO !!
But Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!.
In Mouse Tales "The Journey", Mouse sets out to visit Mother. And if you are very courageous, see what it's like to get In The Driver's Seat. These are the stories for Malletts Creek and Pittsfield Branch Storytimes this week.
Now pick out something by Richard Scarry like Richard Scarry's Cars And Trucks And Things That Go and study those pictures when you get home.

See the piggy? See the puddle? See the Piggy In The Puddle?
We'll do "Piggies" in Storytimes at Malletts Creek and Pittsfield Branches.
Once you know a traditional version of a folktale, revisions are fun.
Begin with traditional The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone; Try a revision of The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall;
And when you know the story, you can read ....
The wolf's point of view by Jon Scieszka in The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs.

Storytime @ Malletts Creek and Pittsfield will feature stories from Africa this week. We did Rachel Isadora's new Princess And The Pea and Anansi And The Moss-Covered Rock.
Rabbit Ears: Anansi is a DVD production of Anansi stories based onthe book illustrations and text. Rabbit Ears Productions publish, "stories read by well-known actors accompanied by music from top-notch groups".
Look for the Rabbit Ears DVDs in the Library collections.

We'll do "Doggies" in Preschool Storytime this week @ Malletts Creek and Pittsfield Branches. Doggies is one of my favorite Board Books by Sandra Boynton. The Cake That Mack Ate is out of print, and is still fun to tell. The Great Gracie Chase is Cynthia Rylant's story of the day the dog got out. If you have a dog, you know ALL about this story!

Folks ask us, "Where do you find kid songs?".
The answer is ... "From listening to CDs."
Here are some all-time favorites.
Raffi's Baby Beluga and Rise And Shine. Sharon, Lois, and Bram's Mainly Mother Goose and Sing A to Z. HarpBeat's Around the World In a HerpBeat. Tom Chapin and Some Assembly Required ... And a new favorite, Dan Zanes with Catch That Train! and Family Dance.
Tune-up and Sing!

"Trolls and wishes" are in Storytime this week. You can find these tales again. "The Big White Cat" story, and the "Snow Child" can be found in The Fox And The Rooster collection of folk tales. You can find other versions of these two tales, both illustrated by Tomi DePaola in The Little Snowgirl: An Old Russian Tale and Cat On The Dovrefell.

Blubber, snow, and ice is still around the North Pole. Inuit culture can be seen in the following books. Building An Igloo shows photos of exactly how an igloo is built. Kumak's House and Berry Magic show Inuit lifestyle in stories for young children. If you'd like to adopt Inuit style into your garden, take a look at the stone structures in Make Your Own Inuksuk and build one in your garden.

PreSchool STORYTIMES and BABY PlayGROUPS START again this week.
Look forward to 7 WEEKS of Programs with "fresh faces in old places".
The Schedule is the same. The Leaders have changed.
Don't forget to bring "singers","patty-cakes","laughers" and "cozy-laps".
We'll be seeing YOU!

Throw in a bunny with a box, a mouse with a cat, and a cow with major attitude, and stir briskly. This is a recipe for a fun last gathering of this session at the Wednesday Downtown and Thursday Pittsfield storytimes.

Will Bunny ever find his home? Will the beautiful cockroach, Senorita Martina, ever find a true love who will sing to her in the evenings? Celebrate Valentine's Day with songs and stories at the Wednesday Downtown and Thursday Pittsfield storytime this week.

Rabbit and Dog get just what they want to eat, with a little persistence, in these delicious animal tales at the Wednesday Downtown and Thursday Pittsfield preschool storytimes the first week of February.

It's all about mischief when Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto jumps into every story and little caterpillar, tricks all the big tough animals for the last week of January at the Wednesday Downtown and Thursday Pittsfield storytimes.

The hilarious new picture book, Grumpy Bird, will be joined by a blackbird adventure from India and a crafty trickster rabbit tale from American Indian tradition, when rabbit bounces up through the clouds to steal fire from the sky people, at the Wednesday Downtown and Thursday Pittsfield storytimes.

Meet Jumpity the Rabbit and listen to wintry tales from China and Scandanavia at the Wednesday Downtown storytime and the Thursday Pittsfield storytime this week.