Beach Party

Last month, our storytime column listed ideas for a storytime party you can do for a wide age range, as a very low cost summer program. Here is another idea for these tight times, for a summer program that the library staff can do with minimal funds. All you need is some simple craft supplies and refreshments, and you'll have a library program! Our theme this month is a library "beach party," for kids ranging from preschoolers to young teens.

Besides the books listed below, you can also play some games. Make some water balloons, and have the kids get into pairs. Have them toss the water balloon to their partners, take one step apart, then toss again - the team whose water balloon doesn't burst is the winner.

You can also have a limbo contest, with the "Limbo Song" or music from Disney's "The Little Mermaid" or Beach Boys music.

A simple craft can be done with sand paintings. Buy colored sand from Lakeshore, or color sand from a gardening shop. Drizzle white glue on thick paper, and then dust with the colored sand. You can also make simple kites or windsocks as another craft idea.

Have a snack of Goldfish crackers and lemonade.Then, have all the kids sit around a fake "fire" made of colored tissue paper and logs, while you read some of these stories:

Rey, H.A. CURIOUS GEORGE GOES TO THE BEACH.
The mischievous monkey feeds the seagulls and rescues a picnic basket.

Bridwell, Norman. THE MISSING BEACH BALL.
Clifford, Cleo, and T-Bone go to the beach, but their beach ball is washed away by a big wave.

Cottle, Joan. MILES AWAY FROM HOME.
Miles has a great vacation at the beach.

Cash, Megan M. I SAW THE SEA AND THE SEA SAW ME.
A girl uses her five senses to experience the sea.

Hubbell, Patricia. SEA, SAND, AND ME!
A young girl does a variety of activities at the seashore, including making sandcastles.

Levine, Evan. NOT THE PIANO, MRS. MEDLEY!
Mrs. Medley is loaded down with items to take to the beach.

Coplans, Peta. CAT AND DOG.
In this fun counting story, Dog and Cat picnic at the beach.

Hill, Eric. SPOT GOES TO THE BEACH.
Spot and his Dad go to the beach.

Mathers, Petra. LOTTIE'S NEW BEACH TOWEL.
Lottie the chicken thinks of several ingenious uses for her beach towel.

Enderle, Judith Ross. SIX SANDY SHEEP.
The six sheep surf, sail, scuba, search for seashells, etc.

Ryan, Pam Munoz. HELLO, OCEAN.
Another story about using your five senses to experience the ocean, this features a rhyming text.

Karas, Brian. ATLANTIC.
Dramatic illustrations depict the Atlantic Ocean in this simple nonfiction book.

Ehrlich, H. M. LOUIE'S GOOSE.
Louie's stuffed animal goose gets tattered after a day at the beach.

Yamashita, Haruo. MICE AT THE BEACH.
Dad saves the day when one of his mice children is stuck out on a sandbar after the tide has come in.

Yektai, Niki. BEARS AT THE BEACH: COUNTING 10 TO 20.
Not a story but a fun counting exercise.

Brown, Marc. D. W. ALL WET.
D. W. is afraid of the water.

Daly, Niki. THE BOY ON THE BEACH.
One of the few beach stories with an African child, set in South Africa. A boy is lost at the beach but the lifeguard gets him an ice cream and finds his parents.

July 21, 2003