Heather McNeil - Read, Rhyme, and Romp

HEATHER McNEIL has been involved with childrens services in a public library for more than 30 years. She is currently youth services manager for Deschutes Public Library in Oregon. She is certified through Portland State University as a master trainer in Oregon on Every Child Ready to Read. Heather is also a third-generation storyteller and has represented the United States at international storytelling festivals in New Zealand and Scotland. Her previous books, Hyena and the Moon: Stories to Tell from Kenya and The Celtic Breeze: Stories of the Otherworld from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, are based on collecting stories from those countries. She presents workshops on a variety of topics, including early literacy, family programs, and storytelling. Heather and her daughter, Jamie, live in Bend, Oregon, where they enjoy horseback riding, hiking, singing, and, of course, reading.

READ, RHYME, AND ROMP

Early Literacy Skills and Activities for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents

Heather McNeil

Copyright 2012 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or reproducibles, which may be copied for classroom and educational programs only, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McNeil, Heather, author.

Read, rhyme, and romp : early literacy skills and activities for librarians, teachers, and parents / Heather McNeil.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-59884-956-1 (hardcopy : alk. paper)ISBN 978-1-59884-957-8 (ebook) 1. Childrens librariesActivity programsUnited States 2. Libraries and preschool childrenUnited States. 3. ReadingParent participationUnited States. 4. ChildrenBooks and readingUnited States. 5. Reading (Early childhood)United States. 6. Reading promotionUnited States. 7. Childrens literatureBibliography. 8. Best booksUnited States. I. Title.

Z718.3.M36 2012

027.625dc23 2012014171

ISBN: 978-1-59884-956-1

EISBN: 978-1-59884-957-8

16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5

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To all the wonderful, silly, creative, and dedicated childrens librarians I have had the joy of working with, including Sharon, Caroline, Joan, Jane, Rhoda, Nancy, Cheryl, Jo, Sandy, Chandra, Paige, Josie, Julie, Sheila

To my daughter, whom I love like crazy cakes

Most of all, to my mother, who made this book possible by giving me encouragement, time, and memories of the best childhood with books anyone could wish for.

I want to thank the parents of Emma, Gina, Jack, Lily, Emily, and Jack for allowing me to use precious photographs of their children. I also want to thank Leaetta Mitchell for spending a morning at Toddlin Tales taking pictures of me and the lively crowd.

I also want to thank the childrens librarians at Deschutes Public Library for helping me find titles when I couldnt remember them, or recommending titles I hadnt thought of. You are all wonderful at what you do!

Finally, a huge THANK YOU to Todd Parr, who is gracious, generous, and a good friend as well as one of my favorite childrens authors and illustrators.

My journey toward the writing of this book began as a daughter, the child of a military family that moved every two years. Born in Germany, then off to army posts in the United States, then to Turkey, then back to the United States. Different homes, different schools, different friends. I had amazing opportunities to experience other cultures and perspectives. I learned about adapting, like a chameleon, to whatever situation was now called home. Through all the changes, my parents saw to it that we had traditions and pastimes that bound us together as a family. Catching lightning bugs in jars while camping in Canada, braving the chilling waters of Rapid Creek during summer vacations at our cabin in the Black Hills, pulling taffy until it was hard enough to seriously remove teeth, cutting out paper dolls (remember the Campbells Soup girls?), swimming with jellyfish in the Aegean Sea, reading aloud every night.

Through all the moves, my mother made sure there were books in our lives, which always made those moves just that much heavier. But the books came along, and some I still have today. Three Little Bunnies by Ruth Dixon, published in 1950, features Maximilian, a bunny who is often in trouble, and amazing photos by Dale Rooks of real rabbits dressed in human clothes. There were the poems and songs by A. A. Milne. My mother says my favorite was Rice Pudding: What is the matter with Mary Jane?/Shes crying with all her might and main,/And she wont eat her dinnerrice pudding again/What is the matter with Mary Jane? I have a 1924 edition of Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees by Johnny Gruelle; I was sure the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls my Aunt Harriet made for me were up and about at night, having adventures just like those in the book. My brother and I absolutely adored Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss, and the phrase For a host, above all, must be nice to his guest is often repeated in our family. We wore out a record (remember those?) listening to The Elephants Child, produced by Columbia Records in 1956, and read by Gary Moore. The Fairy Tale Book, published in 1958, was an oversized volume of 28 stories from around the world, translated by Marie Ponsot. I remember first hearing the stories, later reading them on my own, and always being fascinated by the glorious and lavish illustrations by Adrienne Segur. I have had the joy in recent years of reading some of the stories to my daughter. The Better Homes and Gardens Storybook had many favorites, including The Little Red Hen done as a rebus with small pictures inserted into the text. My Bookhouse: In the Nursery belonged to my mother before me, and is now falling apart, but I clearly remember The Gingerbread Man and Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field as the ones I chose most often. Of course, I had Little Golden Books, such as Nursery Songs by Leah Gale, Little Gray Donkey by Alice Lunt, and The Shy Little Kitten by Cathleen Schurr and Gustaf Tenggrenall of them now fragile with age, but still holding a place in my heart.

My mothers rule was that my brother, Rod, and I each got to pick every other book, so he was introduced to the sweetness of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and I was given the high adventures of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. My brother was especially fond of the Oz books, and now collects them (somehow I managed to keep Ozma of Oz). I believe that my most poignant memory is that of reading aloud Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter, while Mom was pickling peaches in the crisp and crunchy autumn. I can vividly remember sitting on the kitchen stool while steam and the smell of cloves and cinnamon surrounded me. Perhaps those aromas are still in the pages of the book in the glass-covered bookshelf that belonged to my grandfather and is now gracing the entrance hall of my house.