Miss Hootie Hoo: Storytime: It's Raining Cats and Dogs

So I came up with this theme today as I worked on my storytime for this month and I thought I'd hit on some amazing idea, then I found that there have actually been a few other witty librarians who have come up with the very same. You know what they say about great minds. A couple of the titles: Raindrop, Plop and Kitten's Summer, are great to tie this theme together because they actually feature cats and dogs in the rain. However, if there is anything I've learned from libraries and librarians over the past few years though, its that no matter how simple the theme, each person will execute it differently. So, that being said, here's my take on the Raining Cats and Dogs theme.

I tried this theme with my nieces last weekend and I think it'll be great for my library kids. I do Family Storytime, which consists of a LOT of different age groups. In that respect, I've added books for toddlers as well as older preschoolers. With the amount of summer storms we've been having, I think this one will be great.

Theme: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

Books for Babies and Toddlers:

Kitten’s Summer by Eugenie Fernandes

Bad Dog, Marley by John Grogan

Raindrop Plop by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Going to Sleep by Bill Martin

Good Boy, Fergus by David Shannon

Cat the Cat, Who is That by Mo Willems

Books for Preschoolers:

Diggy Takes Charge by Caroline Jayne Church

Doggy Dreams by Nancy Kapp Chapman

Dogs Colorful Day by Emma Dodd

The Cat Barked by Lydia Monks

There are No Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton

No Dogs Allowed by Anne Davis

Songs/Rhymes:
B-i-n-g-o
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-I-N-G-O!
(clap)-I-N-G-O!
(clap)-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!
etc.

I also came across this AMAZING Bingo flannelboard activity over on Miss Mary Liberry. If you have a little time and a few pieces of felt, you should definitely give it a go.
Here's how mine came out:

The kids really loved shouting out what they thought would be behind each letter of BINGO's name, and it was the first time we barked out the missing letters instead of clapping. It made for a great segue into the next story as well because when we got to the last letter, I told the kids that I just bet there was a cat behind it, and they told me that cats didn't bark! So when we finished the song, they were mighty tickled to see that the next story was "The Cat Barked". LOL This was a great, great idea, and I'm glad I stumbled across it.

Five Little Puppies
Five little puppies were playing in the sun
This one saw a rabbit, and he began to run
This one saw a butterfly, and he began to race
This one saw a pussycat, and he began to chase.
This one tried to catch his tail, and he went round and round.
This one is so quiet, he never made a sound!

Five Little Kittens

Five Little Kittens standing in a row

(hold up left hand, extend fingers, count)

They nod their hands to the children so.

(bend fingers forward)

They run to the left, they run to the right.

(wiggle fingers to the left, then to the right)

They stand up and stretch in the bright sunlight

(stretch fingers up slowly)

Along comes a dog, who's in for some fun.

(move right fist slowly towards stretching fingers)

M-e-ow, see those kittens run.

(run and hide left fingers behind your back)

Both found on the YSO Program Wiki

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Fingerplay
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout, (Use thumb and pointer fingers to “walk” your hands up like crawling spiders.)
Down came the rain and washed the spider out, (Let your fingers trickle down as though raining.)
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, (Hold your hand together over your head to make a giant circle like the sun.)
And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again. (Use your thumb and pointer fingers to “walk” upwards again.)

Rain is Falling
(Tune: Frere Jacques)
Rain is falling, rain is falling,
All around! All around!
Pitter-patter raindrops,
Pitter-patter raindrops,
On the ground! On the ground!

Crafts/Activities