If you have several teen volunteers who can help the children, try some origami boats. Another simple boat craft can be made from a paper plate.
Songs: Row, Row, Row Your Boat A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea (jump rope rhyme) My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean Rub a Dub Dub, Three Men in a Tub Five Little Sailboats (fingerplay)
Alborough, Jez. CAPTAIN DUCK. Duck borrows a boat from Goat, and gets into trouble with Frog and Sheep on board.
Burningham, John. MR. GUMPY’S OUTING. Listeners can join in with the various animal sounds, or they can act out the story, where each animal gets into Mr. Gumpy’s boat.
Crews, Donald. SAIL AWAY. and HARBOR. Two of Crews’ signature transportation books – very simple with striking illustrations using saturated colors.
DeSeve, Randall. THE TOY BOAT. A toy boat gets separated from its owner, and sails off onto an adventure
Ginsburg, Mirra. FOUR BRAVE SAILORS. The four sailors are mice, and the only thing they fear is the cat.
Lindgren, Astrid. THE WILD BABY GOES TO SEA. This baby needs no help when he takes over the sailing duties.
Litowinsky, Olga. BOATS FOR BEDTIME. While falling asleep, a child dreams of all types of boats.
McPhail, David. PIGS AHOY! McPhail’s exuberant pigs take over the ship.
Rockwell, Anne. BOATS. A simple nonfiction presentation of the various types of boats and ships and their uses.
Samton, Sheila. JENNY’S JOURNEY. Jenny imagines sailing to her friend Maria, who lives across the ocean.
Shaw, Nancy. SHEEP IN A SHIP. A storm causes havoc with the sheeps’ ship in this hilarious, tongue-twisting story.
Sis, Peter. SHIP AHOY! Very toddler friendly, this simple book shows a boy pretending that the sofa is a boat.
Also see the previous Boats storytime ideas page from October 2001.