Rub-a-dub-dub! Toddler storytime, 7/15/0

I could not believe how crazy our packed house of toddlers went for this splish-splashy storytime! And they say kids don't like bathtime. The caregivers really got into it too, and it was certainly the most fun this librarian has had in a while. My voice now sounds like Kermit the Frog with emphysema (a phrase shamelessly stolen from YA author John Green) from sing-shouting the books, but it was worth it.

We read:








Big Red Tub by Julia Jarman; illustrated by Adrian Reynolds - We just got a fresh copy of this at CHH so I decided to give it a test drive. Huge hit! It's fantastical in a way that's appealing to toddlers, with various animals joining kids Stan and Stella in the tub and eventually sailing around the world.
Scrubbly Bubbly Car Wash by Irene O'Garden; illustrated by Cynthia Jabar - This one flopped a little, relatively speaking. Our copy wasn't large enough for the audience to really see the colorful illustrations. If I can figure out a way to make it more interactive - the cumulative rhyme didn't seem to do it - I'd use it again.
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont; illustrated by David Catrow - This is one of my all-time favorite picture books. You can literally sing the entire thing to "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," and it's hilarious. The kids pick up on the rhymes quickly and are able to predict what will happen next.
Bonus book: Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late written and illustrated by Mo Willems - This really has nothing to do with bathtime, except that after a bath you usually have to go to bed. The main reason I used it was that Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus was so popular a few weeks ago, and the kids get a kick out of yelling "No!!!" at the pigeon. They liked this one too!

We sang:
"(I wash my) Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes"
"This is the way we wash our ____" (I supplied the first few suggestions - hands, face, etc. - and then the kids could yell out other body parts. Luckily they were all G-rated. :))
"It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" (to practice for I Ain't Gonna Paint No More)

What have you been reading and singing with your young patrons, toddlers or otherwise, this week?