Bugs & Insects

Read-Aloud Books

Pest Fest by Julia Durango
Bugs Galore by Peter Stein
The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman
The Ant and the Grasshopper by Amy Lowry Poole

Craft

spiders & webs - to catch all the bugs!

Magic

Read-Aloud Books

The Wizard by Jack Prelutsky
The Magic Rabbit by Richard Jesse Watson
The Magic Raincoat by Ryan David

Craft

magic wands

Monsters

Read-Aloud Books

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

Craft

monsters

Space Travel

Read-Aloud Books

Mail Harry to the Moon by Robie H. Harris
If I Were an Astronaut by Eric Braun
Big Birthday by Kate Hosford
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers

Craft

Orbiting Bodies

Space Scenes

Mother's Day & Super-Powered Moms

Read-Aloud Books

My Mommy is Magic by Carl Norac
My Mom has X-Ray Vision by Angela McAllister

Craft

Mother's Day cards - pictured above, between books

Cinco de Mayo & Mexico

Read-Aloud Books

Cinco de-Mouse-o by Judy Cox
What can you do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla
What can you do with a Rebozo? by Carmen Tafolla

Craft

paper-bag pinatas

paper-plate maracas

City Life

Read-Aloud Books

Bea Rocks the Flock by Victoria Jamieson
Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell
Say Hello by Rachel Isadora
Blackout by John Rocco

Craft

Night Time City Scape

• construction paper
• car printouts
• craft sticks
• various decorations
  
  • stickers
  • jewels
  • sequins
  • paper shapes
  • feathers

• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• hole puncher
• tape
• stapler

Earth Day

Read-Aloud Books

All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon
The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori

Craft

Earth

Eggs & Chickens

Read-Aloud Books

by Jane Simmons

by Jim Averbeck

by Emily Gravett

by Bruce McMillan

Craft

Chicks in eggs in nests with chickens

• plastic eggs
• colored cotton balls or craft fluffs
• paper plates, cut in half
• chicken printouts
• shredded paper, with lots of brown
• googly eyes
• craft sticks
• various decorations
  
  • stickers
  • jewels
  • sequins
  • paper shapes
  • feathers

• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• stapler

Tricksters and April Fools Day

Trickster stories include some clever tricks and pranks and are perfect for reading on April Fools Day!

Read-Aloud Books

Fox Tale Soup by Tony Bonning
Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald
Zomo the Rabbit by Gerald McDermott

Craft

April Fools Day Cards

These cards are glued shut to provide a joke effect. When you give the card to someone they can't open it! This version can be found here.

Secret Letters

I provided the secret letters to the kids, and they discovered them using watered down tempera paint. The letters were written with white crayon on white typing paper. Press very hard and cover the paper well with the crayon wax for a good hidden letter effect.

frogs

Read-Aloud Books

Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold
A Froggy Fable by John Lechner
Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley
Bee Frog by Martin Waddell
Hop Jump by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Craft

origami frogs & lily ponds

• origami instructions: frog (as pdf) and waterlily/lotus (with video)
• construction paper
• green & brown typing paper, cut into half sheets
• white typing paper, cut into squares
• googly eyes
• various decorations
  
  • stickers
  • jewels
  • sequins
  • paper shapes
  • feathers

• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• tape

Green, Spring, & Flowers

Read-Aloud Books

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano
Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
Nibbles: A Green Tale by Charlotte Middleton

Craft

Shamrocks

Flowers

Combine them both to make a
Spring Scene

• tissue paper
• chenille stems
• die-cut shamrocks
• construction paper
• various decorations
  
  • stickers
  • jewels
  • sequins
  • foam & paper shapes
  • feathers

• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• tape

Dr. Seuss' birthday & The Lorax

Read-Aloud Books

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

When I read The Lorax, I make it interactive for the kids to engage them in the story. Pictured below are the props I use:

• Fifteen cents
• a nail (I could only find a screw today)
• a plastic snail toy
• a craft fluff
• a fluffy scarf
• a handful of beans

Before I begin reading the story I distribute the coins, nail, and snail to three or four volunteers in my audience. When the Once-ler demands payment, I hold out a pail and have the children place the payment into it. The craft fluff is my sample truffula tuft. If I have extras, I sometimes pass them out to the kids when they are described in the story. The kids will inevitably sniff them for the smell of fresh butterfly milk. The fluffy scarf becomes my Thneed which is great for gesturing with and demonstrating its uses as a hat, etc when it is described. The beans are handed out to the audience at the end of the story when the Once-ler gives "you" the last truffula seed and the responsibility of planting it.

Craft

Truffula Tree Forests

• colored craft fluffs
• construction paper
• Lorax character printouts: Barbaloots and The Lorax
  

• crayons
• scissors
• glue

Cowboys & Rodeo

Read-Aloud Books

Cowboy Rodeo by James Rice
If I Were A Cowboy by Eric Braun
Tex by Dorie McCullough Lawson
Armadilly Chili by Helen Ketteman

Craft

Stick Horses

• template: Horse head outline
• googly eyes
• yarn
• newspaper rolled into sticks
• various decorations
  
  • stickers
  • jewels
  • sequins
  • paper shapes
  • feathers

• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• hole puncher
• tape
• stapler

Being Silly

Read-Aloud Books

Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Silly Tilly by Eileen Spinelli

Craft

Silly Glasses, Silly Mustache, & Silly Tie

Presidents

Read-Aloud Books

If I Were The President by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
Madam President by Lane Smith
Max for President by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
First Pooch by Carole Boston Weatherford

Crafts

Mount Rushmore

Cherry Tree

Log Cabin

Love & Valentines

Read-Aloud Books

Woof: A Love Story by Sarah Weeks
My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
How do Dinosaurs Say I Love You by Jane Yolen
Hug Time by Patrick McDonnell

Craft

Valentine cards

• paper
• doilies
• various decorations
  
  • stickers
  • jewels
  • sequins
  • paper shapes
  • feathers

Groundhog Day

Read-Aloud Books

Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller
Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox by Susan Blackaby
My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson illustrated by Penny Dale
Guess Whose Shadow? by Stephen R. Swinburne

Craft

groundhog pop-up puppets

• groundhog printouts
• craft sticks
• drinking cups
• green bulletin board border
• googly eyes

Chinese New Year

Read-Aloud Books

Who wants a dragon? by James Mayhew
If I had a dragon by Tom & Amanda Ellery
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

Crafts

lanterns

dragons