It’s been raining so much the past few days, that I just might be able to paddle my way to the library for storytime this evening. That would be appropriate since tonight’s theme is boats, and that reminded me of this picture taken a few years ago:
This was staged (we don’t regularly go on boat rides down the library stairs!) and taken for a bulletin board we put up when the summer reading theme was Get a Clue at Your Library. The bulletin board’s theme was library lawbreakers, and in case you were wondering the law being broken here is that universal library law, No Boating in the Library! Of course, it works just as well for this year’s summer reading theme, Make a Splash at Your Library, well except for the fact that there’s no water and the fact that what you can’t see in this picture is the big pillar that was smack in from of me at the bottom of the stairs. Had we actually gone for a ride down the stairs we probably would have made a crash, but not a splash.
Anyway, for tonight’s storytime I’ll be reading about some vessels that actually travel through water, well and one that winds up in a tree (The Boat in the Tree by Tim Wynne-Jones). Some of my favorites are included in the mix like Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw and Class Three at Sea by Julia Jarman, which didn’t get returned in time to be used for my pirate storytime last month. Some other new to me books include Little Bear’s Little Boat by Eve Bunting and Alistair and Kip’s Great Adventure by John Segal. I’m rounding out the mix with a not quite boat story, the fish out of water tale Dear Fish by Chris Gall.
The boat theme also gives me the chance to use one of my favorite flannel boards, Sing a Song of Bathtubs! since one of the verses is, “There’s a sailboat in the tub, in the tub.” Just for fun we’ll be making some boats of our own by putting some of my mother’s large wine cork collection to good use.
Do you have a favorite boat story?
My Books
I didn’t know if you wanted a personal boat story or a favorite novel that revolves around a boat. But as for the latter, the first two that came to mind (although there are a lot) were, True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Kidnapped.
I enjoy the symbolism of boats in stories too. Almost all of my dreams include water of some kind which symbolizes going on a journey and I see boats as an extension of that wandering spirit.
Sam: I’m not at all surprised that you often dream of boats what with all your travels and the fact that you’ve been to all 50 states.