Welcome to the Storytime at Home series! Every other week, we share a list of book options tied to a kid-approved theme, a craft you can set up to go along with the theme, songs/rhymes you can do during storytime, and additional enrichment activities. All books are available at Richmond Public Library, and crafts will involve items you likely have at home already! Our hope is that we can make it easy for you to share stories with your little ones and create a little bit of library magic at home.
P.S. Love library storytimes? Take a look at all in-library storytime options here. There is a storytime for your child every morning at our various branches!
Okay, now to the fun stuff…
Today’s storytime theme is MONSTERS!
Spooky season is upon us! Monster books are some of our favorites – funny characters, great lessons, loads of fun. What’s not to love? These books help teach little ones about being brave, kind, and clever, as well as being open to trying new things. Monster stories are colorful and help build children’s imaginations. What more can we say other than monster books are a spook-load of fun! Reading such stories is a great way to bond with your little one and this theme is one that opens up many movement pretend play opportunities. The library has many wonderful books about monsters, and we’ve included some of our favorites below. When you visit, you can also search for monsters in our catalog or ask a librarian to help you find the perfect book for you and your child.
Books
Reading to your kiddos turns them into confident thinkers. Making books a regular part of your daily routine is a great way to build children’s love of reading and learning. Storytimes also help build excitement around reading to support their literacy development.
Here are a few book options you can choose from for your monster-themed storytime.
Preschool
- Monsters 101 by Cale Atkinson
- Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
- Monster’s New Undies by Samantha Berger
- No More Monsters Under Your Bed! by Jordan Chouteau
- I Do Not Eat Children by Marcus Cutler
- Monster Needs A Costume by Paul Czajak
- Maurice The Unbeastly by Amy Dixon
- If You’re A Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley
- Monster Trouble! by Lane Fredrickson
- The Monsters’ Monster by Patrick McDonnell
- Monster’s Trucks by Rebecca Van Slyke
- Unlike Other Monsters by Audrey Vernick
Toddler/Baby
- Trap The Monster by Agnese Baruzzi
- Happy Birthday, Monster! by Scott Beck
- Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett
- Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
- Monster Clothes by Daisy Hirst
- The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
- The Monster Mac and Cheese Party by Todd Parr
- Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
There are many ways to make reading fun and engaging for your little one!
Click here to see some of our favorite tips for bringing stories to life at home.
- Point at the pictures and ask your child what they see. Help build their vocabulary by pointing to pictures and saying the word aloud.
- Ask your child questions about the story: What do you think will happen next? How do you think this character is feeling?
- Read with expression and enthusiasm, and use different voices for different characters.
- Act out what’s happening in the story.
- As your child gets older, count objects in a book, discuss the different colors they see, point out shapes in the story, etc.
- Snuggle up and be patient. Reading is great bonding time for you and your child. Take your time walking them through the story. If your child wants to turn the page or be finished with reading, that’s OK too. You don’t have to read every word or even every page for reading with your little one to be beneficial for their development.
Songs and Rhymes
We love adding songs and rhymes to our storytimes. This is a great way to practice language with your child and support their physical (motor) development through movement.
Here are two songs and rhymes you can use for this themed storytime.
Movement Rhyme: Monsters Galore
Do the actions in italics as you sing
Monsters galore, can you roar? (Roar)
Monsters galore, can you soar? (Flying motions)
Monsters galore, please shut the door. (Clap)
Monsters galore, fall on the floor! (Sit/fall down)
Song: If You’re A Monster and You Know It
Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It
Do the actions in italics as you sing
If you’re a monster and you know it, stomp your paws (Stomp your feet)
If you’re a monster and you know it, stomp your paws (Stomp your feet)
If you’re a monster and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re a monster and you know it, stomp your paws (Stomp your feet)
Repeat with gnash your teeth, show your claws, wiggle your tail, give a roar.
Arts and Crafts
Adding a craft along with a book is a great way to continue allowing your child to learn, explore, and grow. Crafts are a nice supplement as they encourage motor development, creativity, self-confidence, and more.
In fact, art and craft activities:
- Build fine motor skills. Actions such as painting, coloring, gluing, and cutting develop small muscles in small hands and improve coordination skills as children learn to use both hands at the same time.
- Support early literacy. When children make art, they learn vocabulary and how to follow directions when getting verbal instructions from parents and caregivers. They also boost their communication skills via talking about their work!
- Teach early math concepts. Math skills are used frequently in arts and crafts. Kids learn about and recognize different shapes, count and sort art supplies, and even measure out materials.
- Encourage creativity. Art helps develop creativity, self-expression, problem-solving, and curiosity.
- Boost self-esteem. Doing arts and crafts can give children a sense of achievement and allow them to take pride in their work, which builds confidence.
- Offer bonding time. Kids love spending quality time with parents and caregivers, and arts and crafts are a great opportunity for this.
Here is a craft activity you can do along with the monster theme.
Shape Monsters Craft
Directions
- Help your child draw shapes on each sheet of paper and cut them out. Choose basic shapes to start: square, oval, star, heart, circle, rectangle, pentagon, etc.
- Cut shapes to use for features (eyes, noses, arms, legs, mouth, teeth, etc.)
- Use semi-circles for mouths, small triangles and semi-circles to teeth and noses, etc.
- Glue features onto shape monster bodies.
- If desired, embellish with crayons and markers.
Additional Enrichment Ideas
The fun doesn’t have to end at books, songs, and a craft. There are many ways to enrich a storytime with additional activities and lessons. Here are a few ideas for you and your child:
- Go on a monster hunt! Walk around a festive neighborhood and see how many monsters and other spooky friends you can see in people’s yards.
- Learn the monster mash dance with your kiddos and have a monster-iffic dance party!
- Make monster slime, monster moon sand, or monster ice eye balls for a fun sensory activity.
- Grab some playdoh, scraps of paper, drinking straws, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, etc. and create monsters with your children. Let their imagination and creativity soar! How many different types of monsters can they make?
- Make a large monster face out of posterboard, cutting out a large mouth area. Tape your monster to a laundry basket and have your child “feed” the monster with balls, socks, etc.
- Enjoy monster-themed snacks and treats together.
- Join us at the library for monster-themed programs like Frankenworms, witch hat making, spider art, spooky storytime and pumpkin painting, and a Halloween party!
We share these Storytime at Home posts twice a month, so be sure to check back soon for more. You can also search “#storytimeathome” to see all past posts.
Have a suggestion for the next theme we cover? Email Sarah at sarah.fenninger@rva.gov and let us know!