Adoption and Families Storytime

Last night I had the pleasure of being a guest at Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena, and doing a storytime at their Free Family Night:

They asked me to do a storytime about adoption and forever families. So I chose a few classic books that are wonderful on this theme, and one recent book that has a relevance to this theme or to the theme of a new baby.

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Zachariah OHora is a fun story about a bunny rabbit named Dot whose parents adopt a baby wolf, despite her protests that he is going to "eat them all up." She eventually develops a bond with him, though, and even risks her life to protect him from a bully. I love the character of Dot. She is a girl with a lot of spunk, brains, and courage!

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrated by Laura Cornell is a beautiful, funny and touching book about a family's adoption story.

We Belong Together by Todd Parr just says it all, so simply and so perfectly. In this book parents (who are represented as diverse types of couples or single parents) tell their adopted children that they belong together because, for example: "You needed someone to kiss your boo-boos and we had kisses to give."

I found a lovely flannelboard idea on Story Time Secrets which I modified for last night's adoption storytime:

Who is knocking at my door, at my door, at my door?
Who is knocking at my door?
Look! It’s Mommy.
Let’s give Mom a great big kiss, great big kiss, great big kiss.
Let’s give Mom a great big kiss.
Goodbye, Mommy!

Who is knocking at my door, at my door, at my door?
Who is knocking at my door?
Look! It’s Daddy.
Let’s give Dad a great big hug, great big hug, great big hug.
Let’s give Dad a great big hug.
Goodbye, Daddy!

Who is knocking at my door, at my door, at my door?
Who is knocking at my door?
Look! It’s Grandma.
Let’s give Grandma a great big smile, great big smile, great big smile.
Let’s give Grandma a great big smile.
Goodbye, Grandma!

Who is knocking at my door, at my door, at my door?
Who is knocking at my door?
Look! It’s Grandpa.
Let’s give Grandpa a great big wave, great big wave, great big wave.
Let’s give Grandma a great big wave. Goodbye, Grandpa!

I also played some of my usual favorites on CD and sang and danced to "Clap Your Hands" and "I Was a Bird" by the Old Town School of Folk Music, and "Shake Your Sillies Out" by Raffi.

The storytime was packed! There were around 80 people in that celebration room. I think everybody had a good time. I hope to do something with Kidspace again in the future.