“Dig Into Reading” at Rowan Public Library

Library Notes

August 18, 2013

Dara L. Cain

    Preschoolers had the opportunity to watch some fantastic picture books come to life at Rowan Public Library (RPL) this summer! Amazing stories, props, and music entertained the children as they got to “Dig Into Reading” with underground themed titles.  Here is a brief review of some of the great books that they got to see performed by RPL staff.
     
One of the first things that come to mind when we think of the word “underground” are animals that reside below the surface.  Mouse Count written by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a silly book about ten mice that one-by-one get captured by a hungry snake.  Don’t worry though, the mice are very smart and just might come up with a clever idea to outwit the snake. 

In the story Magic Rabbit by Richard Jesse Watson a rabbit jumps out of a magic hat and performs some pretty amazing tricks. But what fun is conjuring up a car to drive, juggling balls, and a picnic if there is no one to share in the fun.  Can the magic hat provide the most amazing trick of all? 

It’s springtime in the story 999 Frogs Wake Up by Ken Kimura and the frogs are surprised to learn that the other animals living in the swamp are still sleeping.  The frogs take matters into their own hands by waking the biggest frog first, followed by the tortoise, the lizard, and the ladybugs.  Everything is going well until they hop down a hole and encounter someone they don’t want to wake - a big, long snake.

    Speaking of hopping down holes, in the story Oh, No! by Candice Fleming a Tiger chases a frog through the forest until he falls into a deep, deep hole.  Young children will have fun repeating the refrain “OH, NO!” as one animal after another falls into the hole as they try to rescue Frog.  While Tiger is slumped over eyeing his tasty feast “the ground bumble-rumbled and began to shake” and Elephant comes to help them escape. Meanwhile, Tiger ends up falling into the hole and asks for help.  What do you think the animals will do?
In search of treasure, a young red headed boy in Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck explores the depths of the sea.  He spies an octopus waving at him, hitches a ride with a dolphin, and fences a swordfish until at last he finds buried treasure.  But as soon as he finds it he must say goodbye to the treasure and his sea friends when he sees a smiling shark. 
   
    When we think of “underground” we also think about gardens and planting. My Garden by Kevin Henkes is about a young girl who loves to help her mother tend to the garden and dreams of what her very own garden would look like.  She imagines a garden that doesn’t have weeds and the flowers always bloom.  In her garden she would be able to change the colors and patterns of the flowers just by thinking it, rabbits would be made of chocolate, and jelly beans would grow on bushes.  To find out what other extraordinary ideas this young girl has in store for her garden you will have to read this delightful story by Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes. 

In Tops and Bottoms, a Caldecott Honor book adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens we meet Bear a wealthy but lazy landowner who enjoys sleeping all day and smart Hare who is broke and needs to feed his large family.  Hare uses his wits and convinces Bear to donate his land and in return Hare will do all the work and they can split the crops.  In this trickster tale Bear must choose tops or bottoms but since Hare is in control he plants his crops accordingly.  If Bear selects tops Hare plants root crops leaving Bear with a useless harvest.  If Bear chooses bottoms Hare plants corn, leaving empty stalks.  Will Bear ever learn about the importance of having a good work ethic?

A farmer plants a potato eye that grows into “the biggest potato in the world” in the story Enormous Potato by Dusan Petricic. Come harvest time the farmer can not uproot the potato by himself and seeks the help of his wife, followed by his daughter, the dog, and the cat but to no evail they can not set free the root from the ground.  The real surprise comes at the end when help from a tiny mouse finally frees the potato.  

If you didn’t have a chance to “Dig Into Reading” this summer with your children at the preschool storytime program you can still get your hands on these wonderful children’s picture books at RPL.