Hoo-boy, I have been busy! It feels like storytimes have taken a bit longer to plan, and we started offering school-age programs as well in September, so there’s been less time to write up blog posts. But I’ll get them all!
Squirrels may be one of my favorite animals. We have several oak trees in our yard at my house, so we have lots of squirrel friends to watch throughout the year. They’re cute, they have funny tails, and adorable paws for patting the ground after burying an acorn! Plus, there are some GREAT picture books, rhymes, and songs about squirrels, so it’s a perfect storytime theme.
You can see the virtual program that does not include the full books read aloud here.
See another version of this from 2023 here.
Early Literacy Tip: Having your child retell a story is one way to help them understand the story. However, sometimes retelling the whole story can be hard. You can start off with having your child say a repeated phrase as we did in the book Ol’ Mama Squirrel. “Chook, chook, chook! Get out of my tree!” “And that takes care of that!”
Welcome Song: We Clap and Sing Hello
Action Rhyme: Sneaky, Squeaky Squirrel
Sneaky, squeaky, (tiptoe) Hippity, hop, (hop)
Up he goes to the tree top (stretch arms up)
Whirly, twirly round and round (spin around)
Down he scampers to the ground. (sit down)
Credit: Librionyian
Read: Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep by April Pulley Sayre & Steve Jenkins
We talked about the different kinds of squirrels that were mentioned in the book, and I showed photographs of these. For the rhyme, we did a verse for each.
Action Rhyme: Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail
Wrinkle up your funny nose…
Hold a nut between your toes…
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake your bushy tail
(repeat with fox squirrel, red squirrel, and flying squirrel)
Credit: Jbrary
Fingerplay: This Little Squirrel
(wiggle each finger in turn)
This little squirrel said, “Let’s run and play!”
This little squirrel said, “Let’s hunt nuts today!”
This little squirrel said, “Yes, nuts are good.”
This little squirrel said, “Yes, my favorite food.”
This little squirrel said, “Come climb this tree.”
(run fingers up other arm, quickly)
And crack these nuts: one, two, three!
(clap hands three times)
Credit: Sunflower Storytime via Storytime Katie
Our grownups love us and want to protect us. In the next book, Ol’ Mama Squirrel is VERY protective of her babies!
Read: Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein
Song: Grr, Grr Went the Big Brown Bear
Grrr, grrr went the big brown bear one day (make claws and scary face)
Grrr , grrr went the big brown bear
Grrr, grrr went the big brown bear one day
And they all went grrr, grrr, grrr
But… We know bears go (clap) huggy, huggy, hug! (hug yourself)
(Clap) Huggy, huggy, hug, (clap) huggy, huggy, hug!
We know bears go (clap) huggy, huggy, hug!
They don’t go grrr, grrr, grrr
Jump, jump went the little red squirrel one day (jump!)
Jump, jump went the little red squirrel
Jump, jump went the little red squirrel one day
And they all went jump, jump, jump.
But… We know squirrels go (clap) rub a dub a dub! (arms “run” in front of you)
(Clap) Rub a dub a dub, (clap) rub a dub a dub!
We know squirrels go (clap) rub a dub a dub!
They don’t go jump, jump, jump
Credit: Jbrary
My Scaredy Squirrel puppet took these acorns off the flannel board.
Flannel Rhyme: Squirrel’s Acorns
Down around the corner by the big oak tree
Sat five little acorns looking sooo yummy
Along came a squirrel with a big bushy tail
He took one acorn and ran off down the trail
(count down)
Credit: Storytime Secrets
Read: Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt
We need to follow that silly story with a silly song! In this one, we will click/clack our tongues. Let’s practice. If you can’t quite get it, you can clap instead of clicking!
Song: I’m a Nut (The Acorn Song)
I’m an acorn small and round
Lying on the cold, cold, ground
People always step on me
That is why I’m cracked you see
I’m a nut (clack, clack)
I’m a nut (clack, clack)
I’m a nut, I’m a nut, I’m a nut (clack, clack)
Credit: traditional
Craft: Scaredy Squirrel Headbands
Assemble the shapes as shown in the picture. Glue the headband piece to the bottom of Scaredy’s head, then measure to fit your child’s head. Glue or staple the pieces. (I made my own pattern pieces based on this blog post from LiBrionyan.)
I also booktalked these alternative titles during the permanent YouTube video.
Squirrel’s Family Tree by Beth Ferry & A.N. Kang
Girl Versus Squirrel by Hayley Barrett & Renée Andriani
This Is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose & Josh Shipley
Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Stars
This storytime was presented virtually on 9/15/20.
Storytime Handout:
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 
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