Storytime: Dr. Seuss

This storytime was for a preschool-aged group at my library.

To start out, I actually gave a little blurb about Dr. Seuss' life and showed them a picture of him, so the kids remembered that we're talking about an actual person.

"Today, we're celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday! If he was still alive, he'd be 112 years old! Theodor Seuss (Zoice) Geisel (Guy-zil) lived from March 2, 1902 to Sept. 24, 1991, born in Springfield Massachusetts. He wrote and illustrated 46 books. He started out as a cartoonist. He didn't have children, but is quoted as saying, 'you have 'em; I'll entertain 'em.' "

FYI: Most people pronounce Dr. Seuss' name "Soose" instead of "Zoice" because it is more reminiscent of Mother Goose. (It is rumored that he changed the pronunciation on purpose).

Read Aloud Books

Green Eggs and Ham Written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss

Dare I say it? This may be the best Dr. Seuss book. Sam-I-Am just wants to share the amazing dish of green eggs and ham! Won't you try it? It's perseverance in action! Plus the rhymes are fantastic and it has a perfect ending. It is longer than I realized, however, to read aloud.

Horton Hears A Who! Written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss

Horton hears some little voice, something on that speck of dust, even if no one else believes him. Plus, the kids know about it really well (thanks to the movie). However, it is SO LONG. So if you have the time, yeah, go ahead. I ended up cutting it short. 

If I Ran the Zoo Written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss

A normal zoo is boring compared to this one. All kinds of fantastical creatures! The imagination required for this book alone is rather impressive. I just read parts of it so that the kids would get the idea behind the craft for today (because, yep, it's another long one).

Songs and Rhymes

Hello Song

Song: "Shake My Sillies Out"

Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

And wiggle my waggles away.

Gotta clap, clap, clap my crazies out…

Gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out…

Gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out…

Gotta stretch, stretch, stretch my stretches out...

Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out…

Song: "Did Horton Hear A Who?"

(Tune: Old McDonald Had A Farm)

Did ol' Horton hear a duck? E-I-E-I-O,

On that speck, is there a duck? E-I-E-I-O

With a quack-quack here, a quack-quack there

Here a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack-quack!

Did ol' Horton hear a duck? E-I-E-I-O,

...cat (meow), dog (bark), sheep (baa), cow (moo), pig (oink), horse (neigh)...

Did ol' Horton hear a who? E-I-E-I-O

On that speck, is there a who? E-I-E-I-O

With a yes! yes! here, and a yes! yes! there

Here a yes!, there a yes!, everywhere a yes! yes!

There on the speck there IS a who! E-I-E-I-O

Goodbye Song

Games and Activities

Flannel Board: Not Just Green Eggs!

This flannel board activity is two-in-one activity. First, I made some eggs (sunny-side up, of course) out of felt and foam. For storytime, I put all the eggs up in the multi-color glory and we said this rhyme together:

I-am-Sam. Sam-I-am.

I do so like ____ eggs and ham.
(insert color)

And as we say each color, we practice it in sign language. So after going through each color of the different pairs of eggs, I turn them all over and turn it into a matching game.

Kids who are quiet and raise their hand can take a turn flipping over the eggs, trying to find a match. It worked with a small group (although, I still made a girl cry because she didn't get a turn...oops). If it had been larger, I think I would have flipped them myself, letting the kids call out which one to turn over. I made sure the kids knew they could play it by themselves after storytime was over.

Craft: Wikki Stix Animals!

In conjunction with If I Ran a Zoo, I wanted the kids to exercise their imagination and create any sort of animal they wanted! The library happened to have a ginormous stock of Wikki Stix, so I provided those as the medium (but anything could work, really).

Wikki Stix work on paper or by itself. Then, at the end (since it is a birthday party of sorts), the kids got to take a pack of the Stix home with them.

Other Book Ideas

...Anything by Dr. Seuss. Of course.