transportation – Storytime with Ms. Emily Library

animals go vroom and on the go awesome book covers

Storytime: Things That Go

Posted on October 24, 2025October 24, 2025 by msemilylibrary

Returning to the theme I skipped last week – Things that Go! Honestly, with this theme the challenge is choosing what NOT to include. There are so many rhymes, songs, books and activities that go along with cars, trucks, busses, planes, boats, and trains. And that’s not even including the construction and work equipment that could fall into the mix!

So, I tried to highlight each of the main categories of vehicles and use rhymes and songs that I like. I also broke out the rhythm sticks for this program! We use shakers and scarves regularly in storytime, but less often rhythm sticks. This age group (0-3.5) find them a little harder to manipulate, and my own cache of rhymes and songs that use them is slim. But I had a windshield wiper rhyme I’ve been wanting to use, as well as the motions from Jbrary for Wheels on the Bus that worked perfectly for the theme. Keeping a few props that are less used isn’t a bad thing, either. It increases the novelty and fun factor when they do come out.

See other versions of transportation storytimes here.

animals go vroom book cover, showing an adult snake driving a yellow car with a younger snake wearing headphones in the backseat.

on the go awesome book cover, showing a busy city street with lots of cars and trucks, planes in the air, and a subway under the road.

Early Literacy Tip: The use of small percussion instruments such as bells, shakers, drums, and rhythm sticks helps children with muscular development and coordination, and games that give them the opportunity to stop and go and do specific movements help them develop their impulse control to follow directions! adapted from The Early Literacy Kit: A Handbook and Tip Cards by Betsy Diamant-Cohen & Saroj Ghoting

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* †

Hello Friends rhyme sheet. Includes a smiling rainbow and two yellow ducks at the bottom. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet*
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. I rotate between elbows, cheeks, hips, noses, arms, chins, thighs, heads, shoulders, ears, knees, and fingers.

Wake Up Feet thumbnail, with a graphic of three pairs of baby-sized shoes. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster*

Toast in the Toaster thumbnail, with a graphic of a toaster with a piece of bread hovering above it. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Intro: What goes vroom, vroom, and beep beep? Cars! What about Chugga choo choo? Splash, splash? It’s so fun to think about all the ways we can get around – with things that go!

I’ve got a long black rectangle, and three colored circles. What colors do I have? Red, yellow, and green. Look at what these shapes make all together! If you’re driving in your car or truck, you might see this on the road.
We go over the ASL sign for stop before we start, and it’s a good time to mention that freeze rhymes/songs are great for practicing impulse control!
Action/Flannel Rhyme: Green Means Go
Green means “GO!” Go! Go! Go! (roll arms quickly)
Yellow means “Slow.” Slow… slow… slow. (roll arms slowly)
Red means “STOP!” (ASL sign for stop: one hand making a chopping motion onto flat opposite hand)
Go! Go! Go! (roll fast)
Slow… slow… slow. (roll slow)
Stop! (ASL sign for stop)
Source: Jbrary

green means go thumbnail, with a graphic of a traffic light. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*

The fun of this title is that the sound and die-cut showing an animal turns out to actually be the sound of the vehicle the animal is driving/riding in! Clever and fun. The pictures are a bit small and complex, so it’s a difficult book to share with a large group.
Read: Animals Go Vroom! by Abi Cushman

This is a new-to-me book that I just happened to see on the shelf in my library. It’s simple and exciting and covers a range of vehicles. We pretended to be in each vehicle as it came up, with toots and chugga-chuggas and airplane arms.
Read: On the Go Awesome by Lisl H Detlefsen & Robert Neubecker

Time to go on a trip! How will we get there? Let’s start on this boat!
I love when I can build flannels from pieces I already have. The car is from “Five Cars so Squeaky Clean” and the plane is from “Guess Whose Shadow.” I just had to add a boat and bus to make it complete.
Action/Flannel Song: Row, Row, Row Your Boat/Car/Plane/Bus
Row, row, row your boat (row arms)
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream!

Drive, drive, drive your car (steering wheel with hands about 6″ apart)
Gently down the street
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a treat

Fly, fly, fly your plane (airplane arms)
Gently in the sky
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Watch the clouds go by

Drive, drive, drive your bus (steering wheel with hands about 12″ or more apart)
Gently down the way
Stop to let some people out
To ride another day
Source: Grandview Heights Public Library
(this is the source I had in my notes, but I’m not finding a link now)

Row your boat flannel, featuring printed and laminated pieces of a rowboat with two oars, a red car driven by an alligator, a commercial passenger plane, and a green bus with people inside.

row your boat thumbnail, with lyrics only. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

I am so glad that I saw Jessica’s post at Storytime in the Stacks with some new verses for this classic bounce rhyme. I use them often with my little one, and it inspired me to come up with a few more! They have been fun to share with my library kids both here and in my Book Babies programs. We don’t always do all of the animals, but it’s fun to take suggestions for the audience.
Speaking of taking the bus, there’s an animal that likes to get on!
Rhythm Rhyme: Hippopotamus on a City Bus
(slap thighs rhythmically or bounce baby until the last line of each verse)
A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus
Got on, got on, got on a city bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“You’re squishing us!” (squish face or hug baby)

Additional verses:
A cow… “Mooooove over!” (lean far to one side)
A snake…“Ssssssit down!” (fall thru knees)
A sheep…“Baaaack up!” (lean far back)
A chicken… “Buk-buk-buckle up!” (hug over waist)
A horse… “Howdy, neigh-bor!” (wave)
A pig… “Oink we glad to see you!” (snuffly kisses)
A bee… “Buzz off!” (buzz and tickle)
Source: Jbrary, Storytime in the Stacks (chicken/horse), and original verses (pig/bee)

hippo on a city bus thumbnail, with a graphic of a blue cartoon hippo. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

We haven’t yet talked about one of my favorite things that go – trains!
I encouraged them to think about whether they want to use their arms or legs the first time we went through this one. Then before the second time, I said they could choose a different limb, OR they could see if it’s okay to do the rhyme on their grownup’s arm or leg. We had a couple of enthusiastic older kids who chose the latter! And since I had a full train flannel set, I went ahead and put up a short train so we could talk about the caboose before the next song, too.
Tickle Rhyme: This Little Train
This little train ran up the track (walk fingers up arm or leg)
It went Choo! Choo! (tap nose or belly button)
And then it ran back (walk fingers back down)
The other little train (other arm or leg) ran up the track
It went Choo! Choo! And then it ran back
Source: King County (WA) Library System

train flannel made of printed and laminated images of a short train consisting of a black engine and coal car, a purple box car, and a red caboose.

this little train thumbnail, with a graphic of a toddler in a sleeper. a tiny train is on their right arm and an adult's hand is walking up the left. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Which car goes at the end of the train?
This is a fun song – and it inspires great chugga motions! Our program room is right next to the preschool one, and we often coordinate programs at the same time. One of the moms popped her head in after their session and asked “Did you do the train song?” Apparently her kiddo (who had formerly been one of my regulars) heard it in the other room and recognized it from my virtual program on trains! She said, “We probably account for half of your views on that video!” LOVE.
Ukulele Song: Little Red Caboose
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train
Smokestack on its back, back, back, back
Coming down the track, track, track, track
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!

Little red caboose chug, chug, chug
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train
Always at the end, end, end, end
Comin’ round the bend, bend, bend, bend
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!

Always on time, time, time, time
Comin’ down the line, line, line, line
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train
Never running late, late, late, late
Comin’ through the gate, gate, gate, gate
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!
Source: Lindsay Munroe, from the album I Am Kind

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet for “Little Red Caboose” here!

little red caboose thumbnail, with a graphic of a red train engine on the left and a red caboose on the right. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Rhythm Stick Intro: Let’s practice! Can you make your sticks go Fast & Loud? Slow & Quiet? In a Circle? Rest them on your shoulders? Tap the ground? Okay, listen carefully! Fast, Quiet, Shoulders, etc.
Our rhythm sticks are actually just unsharpened pencils, which are more manageable for little ones (and less likely to hurt when accidentally bonking someone else.) I learned this intro and practice from the Laptime and Storytime blog.

Okay, it’s time to get in the car. Let’s fasten our seatbelts and car seats! We’re ready to head out – wait, it’s raining! What can we do when it’s raining?
Rhythm Stick Rhyme: Windshield Wipers
It’s a rainy day and down the street we go
It’s only raining a little bit so the wipers are going SLOW
(Swish…swish…swish…swish)

It’s starting to rain more now but it’s not a disaster
We know what we need to do: Make the wipers go FASTER!
(swish, swish, swish, swish)

Oh no, it’s really pouring now We hope that it won’t last
Turn those windshield wipers up and they’ll go FAST-FAST-FAST!
(Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish!)

The rain is slacking off again We’re not sad to see it go
We’ll turn those windshield wipers down and they’ll go back to SLOW
(Swish…swish…swish…swish)

Oh, look, is that the sun I see? And here comes one last drop
The rain has stopped now, Yessiree, and we turn our wipers OFF!
(Swish…ker-chunk!)
Source: One for the Books blog

first page of windshield wipers thumbnail, with a graphic of a head-on green car in the rain with wipers going. click the image to download a non-branded PDF — Page 1 of 2 pictured, PDF includes both pages

Okay, I think you’ve proven that you are ready. Can you be a bus driver? Let’s get into the bus!
All the verses below work well with rhythm sticks, and I added a steering wheel one.
Rhythm Stick Song: The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town!

Additional verses:
The doors on the bus go open and shut…
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish…
The people on the bus go up and down…
The money on the bus goes clink, clink, clink…
The driver on the bus says, “Move on back”…
The [steering] wheel on the bus goes turn, turn, turn…
Source: traditional, stick movements from Jbrary

wheels on the bus thumbnail, with a graphic of a green city bus with a driver and three people shown in the windows. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*

zoom zoom zoom thumbnail, with a graphic of a rocket ship. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Craft:
My library is going through a transition, where our interim programmer who covered my maternity leave is no longer doing the Monday/Tuesday sessions while the new person who will be the permanent full time programmer is getting onboarded. Because we were down two sessions that are often full, I offered to do a second session back-to-back on Wednesdays. So, no crafts in the month of October. Crafts will be back in November!

Play Time
I put out a laundry basket of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older toddlers and siblings, we have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, plastic farm animals, and lacing cards and I rotate among a few of these options each session. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. The clean up bit is good practice for them – I often say “it’s hard to say goodbye to toys, so that’s why we practice every storytime!” I think that helps the grown ups who may be embarrassed that their kid is crying or refusing to put a toy away. So much of what we do in storytime is practicing skills, and I don’t expect the kids to “do it right’ every time, or even most times.

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator*

See you later thumbnail, with a graphic of a green alligator, brown crocodile, ladybug, and jellyfish. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

SO many other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Towed By Toad – Jashar Awan
Beep! Beep! Vehicles on the Go – Byron Barton
Not Just the Driver! – Sara H Ackerman & Robert Neubecker
Listen Up! Train Song – Victoria Allenby
The Babies on the Bus – Karen Katz
Red Canoe Shows Up at Two! – Victoria Allenby
Never Take Your Rhino on a Plane – KE Lewis & Isabel Roxas
The Sleeper Train – Mick Jackson & Baljinder Kaur
Is This the Bus for Us? – Harriet Ziefert & Richard Brown
On This Airplane – Lourdes Heuer & Sara Palacios
Honk, Honk, Vroom, Vroom – Jennifer Shand & Barbara Vagnozzi
Snakes on a Train – Kathryn Dennis
Whose Vehicle Is This? – Sharon Katz Cooper & Amy Muehlenhardt
Vroom! – Barbara McClintock
Trucky Roads – Lulu Miller & Hui Skipp
Puppy Bus – Drew Brockington
Hooray for Trucks! – Susan Hughes & Suharu Ogawa
Harbor – Donald Crews
The Airport Book – Lisa Brown
Look Up High! Things That Fly – Victoria Allenby
Truck, Truck, Goose! – Tammi Sauer & Zoe Waring
Monster’s Trucks – Rebecca Van Slyke & Joe Sutphin

This storytime was presented in-person on 10/15/25.

Storytime Handout:

handout with book suggestions, rhyme and song lyrics.

*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.

† Click the image of rhyme/song sheets to download a non-branded PDF

Storytime: Trains

Posted on May 5, 2023May 4, 2023 by msemilylibrary

From the Little Engine to the Little Caboose, trains are a storytime hit. I learned a couple of new-to-me songs in prepping for this week’s storytime, and boy, are they catchy! Be prepared to chugga-chugga and whoo-whoo all the way through your program.

Early Literacy Tip: Toddlers love playing word games — repeating rhymes, singing songs and reciting chants. Rhyming words, even if they are nonsense, help them understand that language is made up of strings and patterns of phonemes, or individual sounds. Being able to hear these in oral language develops skills that help reading written language later.

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (TT) (TB) (FT)**

Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (TT) (TB) (FT)
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. This week it was elbows and cheeks.

Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster* (TT) (FT)

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big* (FT)

Intro: Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, CHOO CHOO! The storytime train is pulling into the station! It’s time to celebrate trains!

I bought a wooden train whistle just for this rhyme, and everyone got excited when I gave it a toot – kids and adults alike! It actually was the inspiration for our craft today.
Action Rhyme: Choo Choo Train (TT) (TB) (FT)
Here’s a little choo choo train chugging down the track (chug arms)
Now it’s going forward (chug forward)
Now it’s going back (chug backwards)
Hear the bell ringing (ring a bell), Now the whistle blows (woo!)
What a lot of noise it makes everywhere it goes!
Source: Adventures of a Bookworm

Tickle Rhyme: Down the Track (TT) (FT)
Chugga-chugga Chugga-chugga, Choo-choo!
The train runs down the track (walk fingers up one arm)
Chugga-chugga Chugga-chugga, Choo-choo!
And then it runs right back (walk fingers down)
Source: King County (WA) Library System

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (TT) (TB) (FT)

Numbers, senses, noises, scenery – there’s a lot packed into this simple book.
Read: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Emma Garcia (TT) (FT)

This one is very visually appealing, but there are times that the rhyme scheme changes or is a little awkward, so be sure to practice ahead of time. I lean in to the hissing and ask the kids to help me.
Read: Snakes on a Train by Kathryn Dennis (TB)

I modified this one slightly to match the train cars from Donald Crews’ Freight Train. I found these beautiful printables from kizclub.com and printed and laminated them for this flannelboard. Of course, it’s super long so it’s hard to take a picture. In my program I ended up just making two parallel lines.
Flannel/Counting Rhyme: Clickety Clack
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
Here comes the train on the railroad track!
Clickety-clunn, clickety-clunn, Here comes ENGINE number 1
Clickety-clew, clickety-clew, Here is COAL CAR number 2
Clickety-clee, clickety-clee, Here is BOX CAR number 3
Clickety-clore, clickety-clore, GONDOLA CAR is number 4
Clickety-clive, clickety-clive, Here comes CATTLE CAR number 5
Clickety-clicks, clickety-clicks, HOPPER CAR is number 6
Clickety-cleven, clickety-cleven, Here’s TANK CAR number 7
Clickety-clate, clickety-clate, Little red CABOOSE is number 8!
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
There goes the train on the railroad track! Choo-choo! Goodbye!
Source: Storytime Katie

Picture of printed and laminated train flannelboard pieces: Black engine and black coal car, purple boxcar, blue gondola car, green cattle car, yellow hopper, orange tank car, and red caboose

This one actually messed me up – after singing it, I could not get the tune of “Wheels on the Bus” in my head. This happens to me on occasion, where a tune just completely escapes me. Sigh. In any event, this is a really cute song, and I was glad to learn it.
Song: The Little Red Train Going Down the Track (TT)
There’s a little red train going down the track
Look at the wheels go clickety clack

Chorus: And the train wheels are rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling
And the train wheels are rolling, rolling right along

There’s an engine in the front and a caboose in the back
Look at those wheels go clickety clack… (chorus)

The little train goes to the top of the hill,
It goes very slow but it gets there still
It gets to the top and it goes back down
Look at the wheels go around and around (chorus)
Source: Kathy Reid-Naiman via Jbrary

After having trouble the first session with the “Little Red Train” song, I skipped it for the last two sessions and I was able to recall the Wheels on the Bus tune. Whew. Those groups really enjoyed the motions on this one.
Song: The Wheels on the Train (TB) (FT)
The wheels on the train go clickety-clack,
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
The wheels on the train go clickety-clack,
All along the track

The whistle on the train goes toot, toot, toot…
The conductor on the train says, “All aboard!”…
The people on the train go bounce, bounce, bounce…
The engine on the train goes chug, chug, chug…
Source: Jen in the Library

I remember this one from my childhood, though we didn’t count down then, just sang it with one peanut. For some extra silliness, blow a raspberry after singing “peanut butter.” The video below isn’t the tune I remember, though, it’s more like this one.
Fingerplay: Three Peanuts (TB) (FT)
Three peanuts sat on a railorad track (hold up three fingers)
Their hearts were all a-flutter (flutter hand on chest)
Around the bend came Number 10 (make wide around motion)
Whoo-whooo (pull train whistle cord), Peanut Butter!
(count down)
Source: King County (WA) Library System

This is a barnstormer of a song – it goes fast but is so much fun.
Song: Little Red Caboose (TT) (TB) (FT)
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug,
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug,
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train
Smokestack on its back, back, back, back
Coming down the track, track, track, track
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!

Little red caboose chug, chug, chug
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug,
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train
Always at the end, end, end, end
Comin’ round the bend, bend, bend, bend
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!

Always on time, time, time, time
Comin’ down the line, line, line, line
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train
Never running late, late, late, late
Comin’ through the gate, gate, gate, gate
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!
Source: Lindsay Munroe

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet for “Little Red Caboose” here!

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (TT) (TB) (FT)

Craft: Cardboard Train Whistle
I couldn’t flaunt my train whistle without letting the kids make one of their own! Essentially, we made a simple kazoo using a toilet paper tube, wax paper, and a rubber band. The instructions call for making a small hole somewhere along the exposed edge (i.e. not under the wax paper) which I pre-made. I also pre-cut circles of wax paper. I provided dot markers for decoration, but any paint or markers would work. I tried drawing a train on mine – it was not super successful. An all-over design would likely work better! Lastly, it can be tricky to “play” a kazoo – you can’t blow into it, you have to hum, so we practiced a little when they were done making theirs.

Picture of cardboard tube kazoo, with a circle of waxed paper attached to the top with a rubber band, and a crude picture of a red train engine painted on the side.

Play Time
The toddlers have two laundry baskets of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older kids, I have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, and a few other items that are a little more sophisticated than the baby toys. For Family Time, I gauge the overall age of the group and put out what seems right for them. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. I think the clean up bit is good practice for them!

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator* (TT) (TB) (FT)

Goodbye Rhyme: Tickle the Stars* (TT) (TB) (FT)

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Mr. Complain Takes the Train – Wade Bradford & S. britt
Freight Train – Donald Crews
Listen Up! Train Song – Victoria Allenby
And the Train Goes… – William Bee
I Like Trains – Daisy Hirst
I Can Make a Train Noise – Michael Emberley & Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
How to Train a Train – Jason Carter Eaton & John Rocco
Choo-Choo School – Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Mike Yamada
I’m Fast! – Kate & Jim McMullan

This storytime was presented in-person on 4/3, 4/4, & 4/5/23.

Storytime Handout:

*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.

**These symbols indicate the program sessions I used the activities for:
(TT) Toddler Time, ages 1-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5

Storytime: Beep, Beep! (Cars and Busses)

Posted on September 2, 2022August 31, 2022 by msemilylibrary

There’s just something about vehicles that tickle the imagination of little ones. Maybe since driving looks fun but is out of reach. Maybe because being in a car is soothing to most babies. Maybe it’s all the fun noises we can make when talking about cars. Whatever it is, vehicles are ripe storytime fodder! I limited my focus to just cars and busses this time, though you could certainly go for planes, trains, boats, and even construction vehicles. I might make them separate themes in the future!

Early Literacy Tip: Rhymes like “The Hippopotamus got on the City Bus” call attention to the fact that “hip” is just one part of the bigger word “hippopotamus.” Also, when we complete the verses for cow, sheep and snake we show how familiar animal sounds can be found in other words that we regularly use. Recognizing and playing with the smaller sounds in words is called phonological awareness. Researchers have recognized this as a critical pre-reading skill that helps kids sound out words when they begin to learn how to read.

Instead of singing everyone’s name, after singing the first verse we went around the circle and each caregiver introduced themselves and their little one, giving their age and a tip for travelling with their little. There were some great suggestions, from leaving super early for long trips, letting kids run around at stops to get the energy out, to pulling toys from the regular rotation a few weeks before a plane trip to make them new and exciting! I hope to make some bookmarks with the tips on them for future sessions.
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (BB) (TB) (FT)**

Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (BB) (TB) (FT)
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. This week was shoulders and fingers.

Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster (BB)
I’m toast in the toaster,
I’m getting very hot
Tick tock, tick tock,
UP I pop!
Source: Jbrary

Intro: What goes vroom, vroom, and beep beep? Cars! I love going for a drive. Let’s do a rhyme about something you’ll see on the road if you go for a drive: a stoplight!

I’ve got a long black rectangle, and three colored circles. What colors do I have? Red, yellow, and green. Look at what these shapes make all together!
Action/Flannel Rhyme: Green Means Go (BB) (TB) (FT)
Green means “GO!” Go! Go! Go! (roll arms quickly)
Yellow means “Slow.” Slow… slow… slow. (roll arms slowly)
Red means “STOP!” (ASL sign for stop: one hand making a chopping motion onto flat opposite hand)
Go! Go! Go! (roll fast)
Slow… slow… slow. (roll slow)
Stop! (ASL sign for stop)
Credit: Jbrary

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (BB) (TB) (FT)

Read: Toot, Toot, Beep, Beep by Emma Garcia (BB) (FT)

Read: Puppy Truck by Brian Pinkney (TB)

Loved this take on Clean and Dirty Pigs (itself a take on Green Speckled Frogs, of course) by Jessica over at Storytime in the Stacks. I also really enjoyed the process of designing the flannelboard pieces in Canva – you can read more about that (and download a copy of the template!) at my post here!
Counting Song: Five Cars So Squeaky Clean (TB)
(tune of Five Green and Speckled Frogs)
Five cars so squeaky clean,
Shiniest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go out for a drive, BEEP, BEEP!
One drove into the mud,
Spun out with a great big THUD!
Now there are four clean shiny cars
(count down)
Source: Storytime in the Stacks

These cars have mud all over their windshields! Let’s help them see with this rhyme:
Rhyme: Windshield Wiper (TB)
(move arms back and forth like a wiper)
Oh, I’m a windshield wiper, This is how I go
Back and forth, back and forth
In the rain and snow
Source: King County (WA) Library System

What else has a windshield wiper, and can carry lots of people? A BUS. Do you know a song about the bus?
There are so many verses, I usually only do 3-4. I ask the audience if they have a favorite. I also ask them to help me by doing the motions since my hands are occupied playing my instrument!
Ukulele/Action Song: The Wheels on the Bus (BB) (TB) (FT)
The wheels on the bus go round and round (circle arms)
Round and round, Round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town

Additional Verses:
The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish (wiper motion)
The doors on the bus go open and shut (open/close hands)
The money on the bus goes clink, clink, clink (mime dropping a coin)
The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep (push a horn)
The driver on the bus says “Move on back” (cock thumb back)
The people on the bus go up and down (bounce up and down)
The baby on the bus says “Wah, wah, wah” (wring hands)
The parents on the bus say “Shush, shush, shush.” (bring index finger to lips)
Source: traditional

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet here!

Thumbnail of ukulele songsheet for The Wheels on the Bus

Time to go for a drive!
Bounce: A Smooth Road (BB) (FT)
A smooth road! (repeat x4) (slowly, and sway baby gently)
A bumpy road! (x4) (a little faster, bouncing gently up and down)
A rough road! (x4) (even faster, bouncing and adding erratic swaying)
Oh, no! A hole! (tip over, lift up, and/or let them fall safely through your knees)
Source: Jbrary

Rhythm Rhyme: Hippopotamus on a City Bus (BB) (TB) (FT)
(slap thighs rhythmically until the last line of each verse)
A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus
Got on, got on, got on a city bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“You’re squishing us!” (squish face or hug baby)

Additional verses:
A cow, a cow, a cow got on a bus
Yes, a cow, a cow, a cow got on the bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,“Mooooove over!”
(lean far to one side)
A snake…“Sssssssssit down!” (motion hand down or fall thru knees)
A sheep…“Baaaack up!” (lean far back)
Credit: Jbrary

Action Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes* (BB) (TB) (FT)

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (BB) (TB) (FT)

Craft: Paper Plate Car (TB) (FT)
Inspired by this post at Glued To My Crafts, we made simple paper plate cars. I eschewed the headlight in front to simplify and just provided a half paper plate, two black circles for tires and two white quarter-circles for windows. We got out the dot markers to paint, but you could use anything to color the body of the car.

Play Time
The babies have two laundry baskets of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older kids, I have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, and a few other items that are a little more sophisticated than the baby toys. For Family Time, I gauge the overall age of the group and put out what seems right for them. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. I think the clean up bit is good practice for them!

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator* (BB) (TB) (FT)

Goodbye Rhyme: Tickle the Stars* (BB) (TB) (FT)

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
My Bus – Byron Barton
Truck, Truck, Goose – Tammi Sauer & Zoe Waring
Vroom! – Barbara McClintock
The Babies on the Bus – Karen Katz
Race! – Sue Fliess & Edwardian Taylor
Love Is a Truck – Amy Novesky & Sara Gillingham
Bunnies On the Bus – Philip Ardagh & Ben Mantle
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Car – Kate Dopirak & Mary Peterson
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus – Mo Willems
Car Wash – Sandra & Susan Steen & G. Brian Karas

This storytime was presented in-person on 8/29, 8/30, & 8/31/22.

Storytime Handout:

*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.

**These symbols indicate the program sessions I used the activities for:
(BB) Book Babies, ages 0-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5

Flannelboard: Five Cars So Squeaky Clean

Posted on August 5, 2022August 31, 2022 by msemilylibrary

I have a three week break between my last summer program and the next one in August, so I’m working ahead! Here’s a project I’ve had a lot of fun playing with.

Inspired by this post at Storytime in the Stacks, I’m planning to use this rhyme at an upcoming transportation storytime. Searching Canva for simple cartoon cars, I found an adorable series of art featuring animals driving cars. An idea was hatched.

Using simple shapes in the Canva app, I was able to alter the animals faces to give them all surprised looks to really emphasize a difference between the “clean” and “dirty” sides, and cover the cars and the animals with dirt splotches. Their faces crack me up!

Several of the cars in the series were red, so in order to have five different colors I worked some editing magic to put the mouse in a blue car instead of the original. And I wish the giraffe’s car was more green than teal, but that’s okay. The “clean” side had more of the original artwork, with the exception of the bear in the taxi, whose “surprised” face was the original, and I replaced the giraffe’s big eye with a small one for the clean side. Otherwise, I made eyes bigger and gave them open-mouthed expressions. I was liberal with the mud splotches, too!

Want to download your own copy? Find it here!

Notes on construction – I printed single-sided on cardstock and held the two sides up to the light to match up one car at a time (printing back-to-back will NOT line up the cars, sorry), then put a small piece of rolled tape between the two to keep them together while I cut around them. When each car was cut, I laminated and put a small adhesive velcro dot (or half a dot) on each side, hiding them on a white part.

Enjoy the rhyme!

Five Cars So Squeaky Clean
(tune of Five Green and Speckled Frogs)
Five cars so squeaky clean
Shiniest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go out for a drive
BEEP, BEEP!
One drove into the mud
Spun out with a great big THUD!
Now there are four clean shiny cars

(count down)
last line:
…Now there are no clean shiny cars!
Source: Storytime in the Stacks

Parks Department Outreach

Posted on September 3, 2021September 2, 2021 by msemilylibrary

Our local parks department runs a summer half-day camp for preschoolers, and asked the library to come out for a story and craft session once a week. It was another outdoor opportunity to connect with our community, so I was happy to do it! We had time each week for a book, a song, and a craft, and the kiddos were a lot of fun. The camp had their own weekly themes, so I tailored each session to what they were already doing. Where I could, I then used any overlapping animal themes for my weekly library storytime (dinosaurs, arctic, jungle), but did something different the weeks they had non-animal themes (transportation, olympics).

Pets: 6/17/21

I’d done a pet theme a few months earlier, so this was an easy one. I got to read a book that was a little long for my “all ages/family” virtual program, but was perfect for a group of preschoolers. I did a different voice for each pet and really hammed it up. They loved it! For our song, I wanted to get the ukulele out, so did “How Much is that Pet in the Window.” Their “job” was to make the animal noises after each line, and they took that job *very* seriously. 🙂

Book: Mr Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite by Stacy McAnulty & Edward Hemingway

book cover of Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He's the Favorite

Song: How Much Is that Pet in the Window?
How much is that doggy in the window? Woof woof!
The one with the waggily tail?
How much is that doggy in the window? Woof woof!
I do hope that doggy’s for sale

Additional verses: (What do other animals do and say?)
Kitty…meow…whiskers so long
Bird… tweet tweet…flappity wings
Rabbit…hop hop…hoppity legs
Fish… glub glub… swimmy fins
Credit: Jen in the Library

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet here!

Thumbnail of ukulele songsheet for How Much is that Doggie in the Window

Craft: Paper Plate Fishbowls
In the past I’d used dried beans for the aquarium rocks, but for simplicity and weight I used crispy rice cereal for this group. My photo is from my original sample.

photo of fishbowl craft - paper plate colored blue, with multicolored dried beans glued to the bottom, tissue paper aquatic plants, and two goldfish with googly eyes.

Dinosaurs: 6/24/21

Again, I’ve done dinosaurs in the past (pre-blog), so it was easy to pull together a song and book. I figured out the chords for Five Little Ducks the way I sing it (which seems to be a little different from a lot of the chord sheets I looked at, strangely enough). I also had flannel board dino pieces that I brought along and held up for each new dinosaur. They were from a template on the Mel’s Desk blog.

Book: We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

book cover of We Don't Eat our Classmates

Ukulele Song: One Dinosaur Went Out to Play
(tune of Five Little Ducks)
One dinosaur went out to play
By a giant fern one day
She had such enormous fun
That she called for another dinosaur to come:
“Oh, Diiiiiiiiiiiinosaur!” (slap thighs for “running” sounds)

(count up to 5)
Last line:
…That they played until the day was done!
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet here!

Thumbnail of ukulele songsheet for One Dinosaur Went Out to Play

Craft: Shape-o-Saurus
Make a dino using simple shapes. This was a tough one to do on a windy day – shapes blew everywhere! But the kids still enjoyed it. I created a template to get all the shapes for two dinos on one sheet of construction paper, which you can download here. I printed them on red, green, and purple, but you could do any color you like.

Printable Shape-o-Saurus Template

photo of shape-o-saurus craft - purple shapes on a black paper make a stegosaurus. triangles, half-circles, circles, and rectangles make up the body.

Transportation: 6/28/21

Another easily adapted theme from sessions I’ve done in the past. I used a new-to-me book and tried to keep the craft as simple as possible. I figured a familiar song would be welcome and the kiddos were happy to call out the Wheels on the Bus verses we did together.

Book: Toad on the Road: A Cautionary Tale by Stephen Shaskan

Ukulele Song: The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round, (circle arms)
Round and round, Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.

Additional verses:
The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish (wiper motion)
The doors on the bus go open and shut (open/close hands)
The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep (push a horn)
The driver on the bus says “Move on back” (cock thumb back)
The people on the bus go up and down (bounce up and down)
The baby on the bus says “Wah, wah, wah” (wring hands at eyes)
The parents on the bus say “Shush, shush, shush.” (bring index finger to lips)

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet here!

Craft: Name Train
Simple craft this time. I printed a train engine on two halves of 11×17 paper and provided construction paper squares to make cars. (My cars were too big for kids to have one per letter, so we figured out how to get their name on using 4 cars or less…) For a little extra sensory experience, we glued down cotton ball steam – which is hard to see in the picture!

Download the train template (print to 11×17 paper and cut in half)

photo of name train craft. long rectangular (5.5"x17") white paper with a train engine printed on the left side, followed by purple, green, blue, and orange rectangles behind it. Letters on each train car spell EMILY. Cotton is glued to the smoke stack on the engine.

Arctic: 7/15/21

A cold weather theme for the middle of summer! I had an inflatable globe I’d intended to bring to point out the arctic and antarctic (the fact that polar bears and penguins get grouped together is one of my pet peeves), but I’d left it behind. Oh, well, next time! I also left the ukulele at home this week on purpose – our song worked better with motions, and I brought our storytime scarves for it. I added a verse about the dryer since it felt wrong to wash without drying!

Book: A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett & Shawn Harris

Scarf Song: The Walrus Washes His Winter Coat
Oh, the walrus washes his winter coat
Down by the wavy ocean
He adds some water and he adds some soap
and he waits…and he waits…and he waits.

Then the laundry shakes, shakes, shakes
The laundry shakes and shakes and shakes
The laundry shakes, shakes, shakes
until it’s clean. (repeat)

Additional verses:
The laundry spins … until it’s clean
The laundry tumbles … until it’s dry
Credit: Brytani Fraser via Jbrary

Craft: Polar Bear Scene
This was inspired by Tompkins County Public Library (NY). I printed a picture of a polar bear on dark blue construction paper, and gave kids chalk and cotton balls. They could choose to fill the bear with either chalk or cotton, or the snow (or really, whatever they wanted.) I showed them examples of both and let them go. It was fun to see the variety of what they made.

Olympics: 7/22/21

This theme was actually not one I’d ever done before, so I pulled a lot of books to see what might fit. I considered Peanut Goes for the Gold by Jonathan Van Ness & Gillian Reid – it’s super cute and a pretty recent title (plus, Peanut uses they/them pronouns – bonus!), but ultimately decided to go with Jabari Jumps. I’d thought it would be more relatable, and worked with the song I’d chosen. Our craft was an abstract process art piece that the kids really got into.

Book: Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Ukulele Song: If You’re Going to the Pool
(tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It)
If you’re going to the pool, wear your suit
If you’re going to the pool, wear your suit
If you’re going to the pool, then a suit will keep you cool
If you’re going to the pool, wear your suit
(Additional verses: hat, flip flops, sunglasses, what else?)
Credit: Teeny Tiny Library

Craft: Olympic Rings
Inspired by the Happy Hooligans blog, this was a simple process art. I brought paper plates, tempera paint, toilet paper tubes, and construction paper, showed them how to make a ring, and let them at it! Some were done in three minutes, some lingered for ten.

photo of olympic ring craft - rings are randomly stamped on the page from toilet paper tubes in black, red, yellow, green, red, and blue.

Jungle: 7/29/21

The last session! Our book was on the longer side and the group got a little wiggly during it, so perhaps it is a better fit for slightly older kids – maybe kindergarten. The other option I was thinking of was Oh, No! by Candace Fleming & Eric Rohmann, which might have been better with the interactive option for the repeated phrase. I set up the chant by talking about monkeys and what the phrase “go bananas” meant – that helped them know exactly what to do on the last line! And the craft was one I was pretty proud of – I’d seen this lion fork painting at Crafty Morning and adapted the idea to painting the tiger’s stripes! (Since grouping savanna animals with jungle animals is another pet peeve of mine…) I found a picture of a stripeless tiger, made some jungle leaves, and the kids built their scene.

Book: Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Action Chant: Bananas Unite!
Bananas……unite!
Peel bananas, peel, peel bananas (x2)
Chop bananas, chop chop bananas (x2)
Mash bananas, mash mash bananas (x2)
Eat bananas, eat, eat bananas (x2)
Goooooooooo BANANAS!
Credit: Jbrary

Craft: Tiger in the Jungle
I asked the kids to glue down all the parts and pieces first – leaves and tiger, then gave them forks to dip into black paint to add the stripes. Lastly, they could draw any other elements on their page, such as vines or other animals.

picture of tiger craft - orange tiger on a green paper, with 4 different colored leaves glued on. The tiger's stripes are made with the tines of a fork.

Baby and Toddler Storytime: Things That Go

Posted on August 27, 2020May 10, 2021 by msemilylibrary

I was getting down to the last few “themes” that seemed to work out of the books I had in my home and a box of books my director pulled for me while the library was closed, but transportation is a classic and there are lots of extensions that go with it! This was also the first video that I re-recorded with booktalks instead of full readings in order to archive it permanently on YouTube. (The full video went live on Facebook and was deleted in a week.) With everyone staying safer at home, we weren’t providing handouts or Take and Make packets at that time. I tried to suggest either crafts made with household materials or activities caregivers could do with their child.

*EDIT: I’ve realized that the tune “Shortnin’ Bread” is rooted in racism and can be harmful. I’ll no longer be using “Every Little Cell” during storytime, as it uses this tune.

You can see the virtual program that does not include the full books read aloud here.

Early Literacy Tip: When children are young, they treat books as they would any other toy – they play with them! This means they put them in their mouths and explore them by pushing and pulling and sometimes tearing them. When you allow your young children to explore books, they are learning how to handle them. Keep some in their toy box. You are helping your children develop print awareness. They are learning how books work, with pages that turn. This is one of the skills that researchers have shown is an important part of a strong foundation for reading.

Welcome Song: Clap and Sing Hello

Read: Vroom! by Barbara McClintock
I love that this title features a female protagonist, lots to look at in the scenery, and even shows the author posing in front of her race car on the back flap!

Action Rhyme: Green Means Go
Green means “GO!” Go! Go! Go! (roll arms quickly)
Yellow means “Slow.” Slow… slow… slow. (roll arms slowly)
Red means “STOP!” (ASL sign for stop: one hand making a chopping motion onto flat opposite hand)
Go! Go! Go! (roll fast!)
Slow… slow… slow. (roll slowly)
Stop! (ASL Sign)
Credit: Jbrary

Song: I’ll Take You Ridin’ in My Car
I’ll take you ridin’ in my car, car (“drive” with a “steering wheel”)
I’ll take you ridin’ in my car, car
I’ll take you ridin’ in my car, car
I’ll take you ridin’ in my car.
Additional verses:
The doors on the car go open and shut… (hands or arms move open and shut)
The windshield wipers go swish, swish… (arms wiper back and forth)
The horn on the car goes beep, beep… (push the horn)
The engine it goes “brrrmp, brrrmp”… (make engine noises with raspberry lips)
Credit: Woody Guthrie, as adapted by Jbrary

Read: Puppy Truck by Brian Pinkney

Lap Bounce: Bumpity, Bumpity Goes the Dump Truck
(tune of Michael Finnegan)
Bumpity, bumpity goes the dump truck
Bumpity, bumpity goes the dump truck
Bumpity, bumpity goes the dump truck
Dump out the load! (lean to side or back)
Credit: Jbrary

Action Song: The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, Round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town!

Additional verses:
The money on the bus goes clink, clank, clink…
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish…
The driver on the bus says “Move on back!”…
The doors on the bus go open and shut…
The babies on the bus go “Wah, wah, wah!”…
The parents on the bus go “Shush, shush, shush!”…
Credit: Traditional

Read: The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! by Mo Willems

Rhythm Rhyme: Hippopotamus on a City Bus
(slap thighs rhythmically until the last line of each verse)
A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus
Got on, got on, got on a city bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“You’re squishing us!” (squish face)

A cow, a cow, a cow got on a bus
Yes, a cow, a cow, a cow got on the bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“Mooooove over!” (lean far to one side)

A snake, a snake, a snake got on the bus
Yes, a snake, a snake, a snake got on the bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“Sssssssssit down!” (motion hand down)

A sheep, a sheep, a sheep got on the bus
Yes, a sheep, a sheep, a sheep got on the bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“Baaaack up!” (lean far back)
Credit: I’ve known this one a long time, but Jbrary has a lap bounce version.

An off-theme song to wrap up, but one to reinforce some feelings of healthfulness.
*SEE EDIT ABOVE* Ukulele Song: Every Little Cell
(tune of Shortnin’ Bread)
Every little cell in my body is happy
Every little cell is healthy and well
Every little cell in my body is happy
Every little cell is healthy and well

Cells on my left, cells on my right
All my cells are doing just fine
Cells from my top all the way down my spine
My cells work together to keep me in line
Credit: Mick Jeffries taught me the first verse, I wrote the second
(I also saw Allison Davies perform it with a different second verse)

Activity Suggestion: Play with Cars
Take some time to play with cars or trucks this week! You can make a track using tape on the floor, chalk on a sidewalk outside, or use the pattern lines already on rugs or blankets. If you don’t have toy cars, you can decorate toilet paper rolls. You may even want to have a “drive-in movie” at your house by making a car with an old cardboard box. (Image credits to A Little Pinch of Perfect and Welcome to Nana’s)

Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Stars

This storytime was presented virtually on 5/5/20.