Today the library wraps up our 130th Anniversary celebration with an Old Time Fair in the library parking lot! It’s from 12 until 4 pm and there will be lots of great food and activities for the whole family, all FREE!

Our storytime was also about fairs. We started with Hurry Down to Derry Fair, a lovely book by Dori Chaconas and illustrated by Gillian Tyler about a little boy named Dinny Brown who just can’t wait to get to the fair.

Hurry Down to Derry Fair

Then we learned a nursery rhyme song called “Animal Fair”! We started by reading the adaptation written and illustrated by Ponder Goembel. Then we sang the song and learned the movements.

Animal Fair

We went to the animal fair

The birds and the beasts were there

The big baboon by the light of the moon

Was combing his auburn hair

The monkey fell out of his bunk

And slid down the elephant’s trunk

The elephant sneezed — aaahhhhh chooo!

And fell on his knees

And what became of the monk, the monk, the monk, the monk, the monk?

And what became of the monk?

We read a funny book called Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman, in which a group of super-smart cows saves the fair for everyone!

Cows to the Rescue

We then told the story of Pete the Clown, who keeps letting his balloons slip through his fingers. I adapted the story from a story written by Katie Fitzgerald and posted on Story Time Secrets.

pete the clown

We read Molly Who Flew Away by Valeri Gorbachev. It’s a cute story about friendship.

Molly Who Flew Away

We finished with a song and an episode from the DVD Max and Ruby’s Halloween. It’s an episode called “Ruby’s Panda Prize” in which Ruby tries time and again to win a panda at the fair.

I hope everyone gets a chance to attend our big Old Time Fair!