Friday, November 20, 2009

Native American Myth Theme (K-5)

In celebration of National American Indian Heritage Month!

Books:
The girl who loved wild horses by Paul Goble - Rather long for a storytime read-aloud but this is a lovely story and has gorgeous artwork that the kids all appreciated.


Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story by Robert D. San Souci - I didn't read the subtitle aloud before starting the story, so it was fun to see when the kids starting recognizing the classic Cinderella story themes in this version.


Frog Girl by Paul Owen Lewis - Gorgeous artwork and excellent use of mythological tropes in this story of a girl who saves both her village and the local frog population.


American Lore & Legend: Rabbit by D.L. Birchfield - Funny rabbit-as-trickster stories from several different tribes.


and Thank You Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson - Not a Native American myth, but a hilarious story about how Thanksgiving became a national holiday after many years of campaigning and hard work by Sarah Hale.


Movie:
Disney’s Little Hiawatha (film reel) - Very funny but definitely racist. I hadn't watched this one since I was a kid, and while I laughed a lot at the silly animals and the boy's trouser-dropping antics, I also cringed at all the offensive stereotyping/mockery of this character.


Craft:
Native American dance fans - Very easy to make and the kids had lots of creative interpretations for fan designs. There were feathers everywhere afterward :)

Friday, November 6, 2009

Dragon-themed Storytime (K-5)

Books
Elvira by Margaret Shannon - A very funny story about a dragon who'd rather wear dresses and make daisy chains than chase princesses.



The Egg by M.P.Robertson - Gorgeous fantasy-style dragon artwork and a sweet story about family and belonging.



The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch - I adore this story of the feisty princess who outsmarts the dragon and decides to go solo rather than marry a snobby prince.



The Knight and the Dragon by Tomie De Paola - There are several textless panels in this book, but the visual humor is clear. It took minimal ad-libbing to convey the idea of both the dragon and the knight not being very good at fighting each other and deciding to open a BBQ together instead.



Movie
Teacher From the Black Lagoon (DVD) - We didn't have any medieval dragon films, so I chose a "Black Lagoon" series film where the evil teacher strongly resembles a dragon and breathes fire. They loved it!



Craft
Handprint Dragon - This craft was really fun and not terribly messy. Some of the five and six year olds had a hard time cutting out the handprints, but otherwise no problems. Lots of cute kids making their craft dragons roar at each other towards the end.