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 SWEET TREATS!
Let’s sweeten up your storytime with some fun tales about treats and sweets! Whether you’re an ice cream enthusiast or a cookie lover, we’ve got a book for you. One of our favorite things about books involving delicious desserts is they usually promote messages of sharing, emotional intelligence, and patience. It can be hard to teach these lessons, but adding some humor and sugar in helps it go down smoother. Plus, treat-themed stories provide opportunities for fun movement songs and rhymes. The library has many wonderful books about a variety of treats, and we’ve included some of our favorites below. When you visit, you can also search for your preferred sweet treat 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 treat-themed storytime.
Preschool
- Cake vs Pie by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
- Angry Cookie by Laura Dockrill
- The Smart Cookie by John Jory
- Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin
- The Case of the Missing Donut by Alison McGhee
- Oh Look, A Cake! by J.C. McKee
- The Ice Cream Vanishes by Julia Sarcone-Roach
- Gorilla Loves Vanilla by Chae Strathie
- What Can You Do With A Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla
- Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins
- The Duckling Gets A Cookie!? by Mo Willems
- The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
Toddler/Baby
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Bakeshop by Eric Carle
- Stir Crack Whisk Bake: A Little Book About Cakes by Maddie Frost
- Wemberly’s Ice-Cream Star by Kevin Henkes
- The Best Mouse Cookie by Laura J. Numeroff
- Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington
- The Duckling Gets A Cookie!? by Mo Willems
- The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
- SERIES: If you give a… by Laura J. Numeroff
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? This character is eating a cookie; do you remember when we ate cookies at the park?
- 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.
Rhyme: Down By The Bakery
Down around the corner in the bakery shop
Were 5 yummy cookies with sprinkles on top
(Hold up hand with five fingers extended)
Along comes [child’s name] with a dollar to pay
He/she buys a cookie and takes it away
(Put one finger down)
Continue with four, three, two, and one cookie(s)
Sing: Do You Like Ice Cream?
Tune: Do Your Ears Hang Low
Do the actions in italics as you sing
Do you like ice cream? (Hold hands out, palms up)
Do you like it in a bowl? (Use hands to make bowl)
Do you like to eat it fast? (Pretend to eat fast)
Do you like to eat it slow? (Pretend to eat slow)
Do you like it with some syrup? (Pretend squeeze a bottle)
With some sprinkles, or some nuts? (Pretend to sprinkle nuts)
Do you like ice cream? (Hold hands out, palms up)
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 treat theme.
DIY Sponge Cake Craft
Materials Needed
- Sponges in various colors and thickness
- Tacky craft glue (ordinary glue will not hold)
- Mini pom poms
- Glitter
- Felt
- Cake shape template
Source: The Craft Train
Directions
- Hold a template over a sponge and trace along the edges.
- Help your child cut out the sponge shapes.
- Do the same with the felt.
- Place the sponges, glitter, tacky craft glue and pom poms on a table and let the kids get to work!
- Glue layers of cake together and decorate with glitter or felt icing and mini pom poms.
- Allow to dry – this may take a while if the kids have used tons of glue.
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:
- Make puff paint treats like these ice cream cones or cookies.
- Visit a local bakery to enjoy a sweet treat together! Some of our favorites are Fat Rabbit‘s olive oil chocolate chip cookies (near East End branch!), Cameo Cakery’s yummy fare and fabulous decorations (near West End branch), and JC Dessert’s croughnuts (near Hull Street branch!).
- Make your own treats at home. Including your child in baking is a great way to practice math skills (like measuring and counting) as well as motor skills like stirring, scooping, etc.
- Have a toy kitchen at home? “Bake” treats with your child. Pretend play is so great for children’s imaginations and creativity.
- Get your hands dirty and make mud pies outside!
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!
