Rollicking rhymes and kid-pleasing sound effects will have children tickled silly when Nathaniel Willy gets scared of some of the noises in the night. Excellent read-aloud book. Colorful illustrations throughout.

Nathaniel Willy is scared silly by a squeak in his door, so Gramma must put the farm animals in bed with him for company.

While storytelling is a great favorite of preschoolers, many elementary age children are more drawn to crafts and other activities. StoryCraft is an award-winning library program that combines storytelling with crafts in an exciting and engaging activity for children in first through third grades. Each one-hour program includes storytelling, a craft, movement, activities, music, and discussion. This collection of StoryCraft programs presents 50 fun and educational theme-based sessions. Each includes suggestions for promotion, music, crafts, activities, and stories. The sessions also include bibliographies to help direct young readers toward additional reading, as well as diagrams, detailed instructions, and supply lists for the crafts. The themes range from a Jungle Safari to Math Mayhem to a Western Roundup, all encouraging children to enjoy reading in a variety of ways. Each session has plenty of suggestions, so that the program can be customized. Helpful Hints for implementing the program can help any librarian, volunteer, or parent turn a ho-hum storytime into a dazzling StoryCraft time.

Judy Freeman, author of the Books Kids Will Sit Still For series, gives practical how-to tips on how to tell a story, and write and stage a Reader's Theater script that gets children involved with creative drama. Reader's theater teaches children how to become better listeners, enriches their thinking skills, and encourages their response to literature. Included are ideas on using folk and fairy tales, songs, chants and nonsense rhymes, and a reader's theater script. Also included in this handbook are 400 plus annotated children's books every storyteller should know, 100 great titles for creative drama and reader's theatre and professional books and Web sites for storytelling, creative drama and reader's theater. Grades PreK-6. Judy Freeman, author of the Books Kids Will Sit Still For series, gives personal and practical how-to tips on how to learn and tell a story, how to act out a story using creative drama, and how to write and stage a Reader's Theater script. All are guaranteed to get your children listening, thinking, reading, loving, and living stories with comprehension, fluency, expression, and joy. Once Upon a Time pulls together a wealth of ideas, activities, and strategies for using folk and fairy tales, songs, chants, and nonsense rhymes. Also included in this handbook are the texts of 10 of Judy's favorite stories you can read today and tell tomorrow; a songbook of songs, chants, and nonsense rhymes; and a Reader's Theater script. You'll also find annotated bibliographies: 400+ children's books every storyteller should know; 100+ great children's books to use for creative drama and Reader's Theater; professional books and Web sites for storytelling, creative drama, and Reader's Theater; and a title and author index. Chapters include: ; Getting Started with Storytelling ; Judy Freeman's Songbook: Including Songs, Chants, Riddles, and Plenty of Nonsense ; Judy Freeman's Storybook: Tales You can Hear Today and Tell Tomorrow ; 400+ Children's Books Every Storyteller Should Know ; Getting Started with Creative Drama and Reader's Theater ; 100+ Children's Books Just Right for Creative Drama and/or Reader's Theater

Let children experience the learning power of play! Let’s Play is a handbook full of child-led, open-ended learning adventures. The 39 fresh, fun, and budget-friendly activities (plus more than 225 play variations) are packed with learning that helps children develop important motor, cognitive, language, and social skills. These activity starters were all tested by a slew of early childhood professionals and approved by the children they work with. Building on the early learning principles presented in the author team’s first book together, Let Them Play: An Early Learning (Un)Curriculum, they also support your transition to a play-based, child-led (un)curriculum. Jeff A. Johnson has more than twenty years of early childhood experience as a former child care center director and current family child care business owner. He is a popular keynote speaker, trainer, and author of six books. Denita Dinger has been a child care provider for more than ten years and is a frequent speaker at early childhood conferences, focusing on the topics of hands-on and play-based learning. This is her second book.

Offers children's librarians practical tips and strategies for integrating music into library storytimes, providing eight ready-to-use lesson plans that utilize different types of music for story hours.