Home all day self-isolating can be a challenge, and missing your regular activities with library storytimes doesn't help. The Handley Library System's Youth Department is committed to helping our young patrons make this as enjoyable as possible and this week's storytime is perfect for some at-home enjoyment! We'll be celebrating National Crayon Day with a look at crayons and all the stories they have inspired.
We'll be building a storytime-at-home that has some creative expression built right in, and includes some wonderful digital resources available with your library card, all free! The books on our suggestion tag will be waiting for you when the libraries reopen, but until then, here are some places to get your colorful crayon stories immediately.
Our newest digital resource is Hoopla Digital and if you haven't visited the site yet to set up an account, here are some incentives!
How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney. When the sun and the clouds get into a fight and refuse to be in the sky together, there are no more rainbows. The world begins to lose its color, until a box of crayons steps in!
The Crayon Counting Book by Pam Muñoz Ryan by Jerry Pallotta. This is a great one for the older child who enjoys a bit more counting challenge. This colorful rhyming book teaches counting by twos–two different ways.
You will find several titles from the wonderfully talented Peter H. Reynolds on Hoopla, including The Dot, which you can get in Spanish as well. Be sure to look up, Sky Color too!
Speaking of Peter H. Reynolds books, you can find his works on Overdrive too, including The Dot in both ebook and audiobook. What's wonderful about Overdrive is the ability to transfer your book to a Kindle.
Overdrive's Blue Ridge Consortium has a wonderful collection of crayon books, including Drew Daywalt's The Crayons' Book of Colors, The Crayons' Book of Numbers, and The Day the Crayons Came Home.
If you're looking for a digital options for Daywalt's book, The Day the Crayons Quit, you can now find this and many more through the National Internet Archive, which has developed a National Emergency Library to Provide Digitized Books to Students and the Public! When you create a free account you will have access to thousands of titles for your child, including Color Dance by Ann Jonas and Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff.
For an art project with crayons, try doing some rubbings! You can find all kinds of objects to make impressions of with your crayons. Scholastic Go! has an article all about Rubbings.
Finally, you can tune in to watch some of our online programs through the Handley Regional Library System. You can find last week's Preschool Storytime LIVE on Facebook, which includes a wonderful color book, I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!
We'll be doing another Storytime LIVE event on Facebook, complete with your favorite puppets, this Wednesday at 11:00 AM, so join us on the Handley Regional Library's Facebook Page.
Don't forget to add in some rhymes, songs, and finger plays to your week of Crayon fun! Here are some favorites to try. Many of them can be explored best along with your box of crayons. Happy coloring!
Five Little Crayons
Five little crayons colored a scene.
Yellow, blue, orange, red and green.
“Look,” said Yellow, “My sun is bright!”
Blue said, “Great! My river’s just right”
Orange said, “Flowers! I’ll draw
something new”
Red said, “Great, I’ll add some too!”
“Sigh,” said Green, “I’m tired of trees,
And grass and bushes and tiny leaves. I
think I’ll draw a big green cloud!”
“A big green cloud should be allowed!”
The crayons all smiled and didn’t think twice.
A big green cloud sounded rather nice!
Coloring Fun
Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
I know the colors for crayon fun,
Green like grass and yellow sun,
An Orange pumpkin and white snow,
A red rose and a black crow,
Blue like a mailbox, brown like an ape,
A pink pig and some purple grapes.
I Have a Crayon
I have a crayon, I’ll give it to you.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of blue.
I have a crayon, a lovely little fellow.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of yellow.
I have a crayon, it’s here on my head.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of red.
I have a crayon, we can draw a circle.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of purple.
I have a crayon, what do I see?
Here is my crayon, an orange one for me.
I have a crayon, the best ever seen.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green.
Five Little Crayons in a Row
Five little crayons standing in a row (hold up 5 fingers)
The first one said, “I’m red, you know!” (wiggle the fingers as you talk about them)
The second one said, “I’m green like a tree”
The third one said, “I’m blue like the sea”
The fourth one said, “I’m yellow as the sun”
The fifth one said, “Being purple is fun!”
Five little crayons, happy as can be (hold up 5 fingers)
Coloring pictures with you and me (point to person and then self)
Colors
Red, red, red is the color,
The color that I spy.
If you’re wearing any red,
Raise your hand up high!
(Repeat with Blue, Pink, Yellow, Orange, Green, Black, etc.)