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 TO THE ZOO!
Zoos are filled with things kids love: animals, interesting sounds, bright colors, playgrounds and carousels, yummy treats, and more! Books about zoos are much the same. They help us practice animal identification, animal sounds, and counting; you can also support children’s gross motor development by encouraging them to run like cheetah, leap like a lemur, snap like a crocodile, etc. Zoo stories are also just plain fun and colorful! The library has some wonderful books about the zoo, and we’ve included some of our favorites below. When you visit, you can also search 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 zoo-themed storytime.
Preschool
- Wild About Us! by Karen Beaumont
- Fiona Helps A Friend by Richard Cowdrey
- 1 Zany Zoo by Lori Degman
- Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
- Zoo-Looking by Mem Fox
- Zoo Zen by Kristen Fischer
- Good Night, Zoo by Gina Gold
- Birthday Zoo by Deborah Lee Rose
- Pumpkin Day At The Zoo by Susan Meissner
- Curious George Goes To The Zoo by Cynthia Platt
- Where’s Walrus? by Stephen Savage
- If I Ran The Zoo by Dr. Seuss
- Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
- Two At The Zoo by Danna Smith
Toddler/Baby
- Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
- 1, 2, 3 To The Zoo: A Counting Book by Eric Carle
- My Heart Is Like A Zoo by Michael Hall
- Peek-A-Zoo! by Nina Laden
- Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
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.
Song: Animals At The Zoo
Tune: Wheels On The Bus
The lions at the zoo go roar, roar, roar
Roar, roar, roar. Roar, roar, roar.
The lions at the zoo go roar, roar, roar
All day long.
Other verses:
snakes … hiss, hiss, hiss
hyenas … ha ha ha
monkey … ooh ooh ooh
Action Rhyme: Monkey See, Monkey Do
Monkey see, monkey do
Little monkey at the zoo
Monkey, monkey in the tree
Can you jump around like me? (jump around)
Repeat with: swing your arms, scratch an itch, eat a banana, screech, etc.
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 zoo theme.
Paper Plate Elephant Craft
Materials Needed
- Paper plate
- Scissors
- Paint
- Sponge or paintbrush
- Glue
- White paper
- Black sharpie
Source: Crafty Morning
Directions
- Cut the paper plate as pictured in the left picture above (also in this article).
- Use the paint and sponge or brush to cover the plate and pieces with paint. Let dry.
- Cut out circles from the white paper and help your child glue them onto the elephant’s face. Draw eyes onto the circles.
- Use one of the cut-off pieces of plate for the elephant’s trunk. Glue it onto the face.
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:
- Take a trip to a real zoo! Metro Richmond Zoo is nearby, and Virginia Zoo or National Zoo would make for great day trips! Maymont is another great local option for animal sightings.
- Play zoo with your child’s toys and stuffed animals. Have some extra cardboard lying around? Set up pens for different stuffed animals. Help your child pretend to be the zookeeper! Have them feed their zoo animals, clean their pens, etc.
- Make zoo collages. Have children cut out animal pictures from magazines and glue them onto paper to make collages.
- Play animal charades. Take turns making animal movements and sounds and having the other guess which animal you are!
- Make mealtime more fun with this zoo animal snack mix featuring “bears,” “fish,” elephants’ favorite treat (peanuts), and more.
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!
