With storytime today, we took a trip to the zoo! Since it was raining this morning, if we had taken a real trip to the zoo we wouldn’t have seen many animals. But thankfully, in books, the animals are always there!
Books We Shared
Stripes the Tiger by Jean Leroy & Bérengère Delaporte ; illustrated by Bérengère Delaporte
House cat Stripes doesn’t want to be a pet. He knows he’s MUCH fiercer than that. When his owner gets tired of his stubbornness, Stripes is taken to the zoo to see a REAL tiger. And things turn out surprisingly for both of them.
A Hippo in Our Yard by Liza Donnelly
One day, Sally finds a Hippo in her yard. But no one in her family believes her! Is it just Sally’s imagination? Or is something else going on?
Flannelboard Stories
To start our storytime, we answered some riddles about zoo animals with a flannelboard.
Zoo Riddles
They are big and they are gray,
And their trunks swing and sway.
What are they? ELEPHANT
Bananas are their favorite things,
And they like to chatter and like to swing.
What are they? MONKEY
These animals bark and are colored brown
They have flippers and swim all around.
What are they? SEAL
They have necks that are long, long, long.
If you guess a turtle, you are wrong, wrong, wrong!
What are they? GIRAFFE
They are sort of like a horse,
Except for their black and white stripes, of course.
What are they? ZEBRA
They are a kind of cat,
But they have a mane and Roar (ROAR) like that.
What are they? LION
These birds can’t fly and they look funny.
They’re black all over except for a white tummy.
What are they? PENGUIN
These animals like to hop around.
A tummy pouch is where their babies can be found.
What are they? KANGAROO
They don’t come in just one color or style
but they all like to giggle, laugh and smile.
What are they? CHILDREN
Based on the book by Rod Campbell. Template for story taken from Kizclub.
I want a pet, so I write to the zoo for one. But, a lot of the animals they send aren’t quite right. Will I ever get a good pet?
Song
This is a fun song to sing with your little ones, because any animal and sound or movement can be used. What animals will you sing about?
The Animals at the Zoo
(to the tune of: “The Wheels on the Bus”)
The lions at the zoo go roar, roar, roar
Roar, roar, roar. Roar, roar, roar.
The lions at the zoo go roar, roar, roar
All day long.
Other verses:
snakes … hiss, hiss, hiss
hyenas … ha ha ha
monkey … ooh ooh ooh
any other ideas you can think of!
Music from CDs
Music always adds to storytime. Here are some songs from CDs we shared:
“Clap Your Hands” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music
“Shake Your Sillies Out” from A Child’s Celebration of Silliest Songs by Raffi
Film We Watched
“Good Night, Gorilla” from Good Night, Gorilla …and More Great Sleepytime Stories. Based on the book by Peggy Rathmann.
As the zookeeper makes his rounds for the night, Gorilla steals his keys! And then that sneaky Gorilla lets some of the other animals out. Will the zookeeper or the animals ever get to sleep?
Continue the Fun
Here are some more books about a trip to the zoo to check out at your Pasadena Public Library Branch:
Date presented: Saturday, January 12, 2019