Tiny Little Fly (2010) - Michael Rosen, Kevin Waldron

Tiny Little Fly (2010) – Michael Rosen, Kevin Waldron (Ill.)

A tiny little fly has a close encounter with an elephant’s great big toes, nose, and eyes before moving to adventures with other animals. The poor fly is just trying to stay out of trouble… Or is he?

Tiny Little Fly is filled with great rhymes and sounds kids can imitate. A double fold-out page really makes the massive size of the animals unmistakable. This should be a lot of fun for animal storytimes.  

Storytelling  4
Color Attractiveness  5
Size of Book  5
Text Size  5
Illustrations 5
Participation Potential  4
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime  4.5

Chloe and the Lion (2012) - Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

Let me start by saying that Mac Barnett is one of my favorite children’s authors and Adam Rex one of my favorite children’s illustrators. And while Chloe and the Lion is a fun, clever and intelligent children’s book, it simply does not work for a Storytime setting.

First, the book is 48 pages long, rather than the more standard 32. That wouldn’t necessarily make the book problematic, but the story is quite complex with lots of starts and stops in the form of Barnett and Rex appearing throughout the story (as clay figures), arguing over parts of the story. Most of the children we have in Storytime are on the younger side and would not understand the interaction of the creators; they’d only know that these scenes interrupt the story.

Also too many pages consist of multiple panels more appropriate to a graphic novel format. This makes the visual elements too small for large groups. The book contains very few opportunities (if any) for group participation. While Chloe and the Lion would make a great story for some one-on-one situations (or even better, for independent reading), it simply does not work for a Storytime situation.

Storytelling  2
Color Attractiveness  2
Size of Book  2
Text Size  1
Illustrations 2
Participation Potential  1
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 1.5

How to Be a Cat (2013) - Nikki McClure

Nikki McClure’s How to Be a Cat only features three colors – black, white, and blue – but it makes effective use of those colors. Most of the artwork covers a two-page spread with only one word of text, words like “stretch,” “explore,” “tumble,” “lick”… You get the picture.

The book allows for a good bit of audience participation by imitating what the cats are doing. There’s really no story, just a sequence of words/actions, but who cares? I wouldn’t use How to Be a Cat for a large group, but for just a few kids (and those on the younger side), it might be a good filler book.   

Storytelling  1
Color Attractiveness  3
Size of Book  4
Text Size  5
Illustrations 4
Participation Potential  4
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 3.5

Moo Hoo (2012) - Candace Ryan & Mike Lowery

Moo Hoo is a fun, silly, clever and maybe just a little hard to pronounce, book of rhymes. When I first started reading it, I was envisioning dividing up the Storytime crowd into too groups, the Moos and the Hoos, both of which would shout out their word on cue. Before long, I decided that this probably wouldn't work. :( It probably would work, that is, until Kangaroo shows up and things get phonetically complicated. I'm not sure I could pull it off, but it's a very cute book.

Once again, the book is a little on the small side, so it would probably work better for smaller groups than large ones. And the tongue twisters are not easy! Still, it's a very cute book. I just might try it....

Storytelling  4

Color Attractiveness  3
Book Size 3
Text Size  4
Illustrations  4
Participation Potential  3 
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 3.5

Oh No, George! (2012) - Chris Haughton

Poor George... He tries so hard to do the right thing. This is a good book for kids, because it's sometimes hard for them to do the right thing, too.

Oh No, George! has a lot of purple and orange colors with some blues and greens thrown in here and there. It's a very attractive book with funky fonts, but a good story. The book is quirky enough to work for some kids, but others used to clear, bold lines may not fully appreciate the artwork. Some of the illustrations are small, but most are full-page-sized. So there are some slightly negative points, but the book's selling point is its charm.

Crowd participation (with a little instruction) is possible and recommended. A fun time!

Storytelling  4

Color Attractiveness  4
Book Size 4
Text Size  3
Illustrations  4
Participation Potential  4 
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 4

Solomon Crocodile (2011) - Catherine Rayner

Solomon Crocodile is a quick, fun book that kids should enjoy, mainly due to the colors and alliteration. Solomon is the terror of the swamp (even though he's not very frightening), but he really just wants to play. You could probably find better crocodile books, but if you're doing a crocodile storytime, why not toss this one in? 

Storytelling  3

Color Attractiveness  4
Book Size 3
Text Size  4
Illustrations  4
Participation Potential  2 
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 3

A Ball for Daisy (2011) - Chris Raschka

Chris Raschka's A Ball for Daisy is a wonderful, wordless picture book that's absolutely adorable. (I am, if nothing else, a sucker for dog books.) Parts of the book "read" like a graphic novel with several "panels" on some pages, which might require the "reader" to point a lot and ask "What's happening here?" Other pages are self-contained with a few more in the style of splash pages (in this case, one picture taking up two pages). The book could work with a small group, but is probably best suited to a one-on-one situation. 

Storytelling  4

Color Attractiveness  4
Book Size 3
Text Size  (No Text)
Illustrations  3
Participation Potential  2 
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 3  

Animal Baths (2011) - Bob Barner

Animal Baths is a simple, colorful, fun book that would be great for a Bathtime or Nighttime Storytime. The colors are big and vibrant with a great mix of animals kids love. Kids can easily identify most of the animals and can learn about some (like the manatee) that might be unfamiliar. The last two pages (which would be great for one-on-one) teach the correlation between each particular animal and getting clean. Good clean fun!

Storytelling  4
Color Attractiveness  5
Size of Book  5
Text Size  5
Illustrations  5
Participation Potential  4  
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime 5

Shout! Shout It Out! (2011) - Denise Fleming

Shout! Shout It Out! by Denise Fleming doesn't have much a story, but for a storytime setting, who cares? It's got everything else: big bold colors, counting, ABCs, animals, and much more.  This book practically demands audience participation!

The story also includes a cute little mouse that kids in a storytime setting could probably see if you pointed him out. The little guy says something on just about every page, but it would probably be more effective to read his words in a one-on-one setting only.

Storytelling  2
Color Attractiveness  5
Size of Book  5
Text Size  5
Illustrations  5
Participation Potential  5
Overall Appropriateness for Storytime  5