Read Aloud Thursday - Silly Songs

We seldom go to the library around here, for several reasons:

1. I almost always forget to return the books on time and I'm always getting e-mail reminders that my books are overdue and then, of course, end up paying a fine. I'd rather just buy the books in the first place. (Apparently this is a genetic thing. My sister-in-law deals with this problem as well in the form of my brother who also can't get books back in time. You'd think with as much as we read, we'd manage the library system a little better. Not so.)

2. We have a pretty good home library going and I don't feel the need to go to the actual tax funded library. (But if I could figure out how to direct taxes to my own bookshelves, well then. . . !)

That all said, this week we went to the library. (It's kind of a big deal, hence the mention of it!) And we found books. (Surprise!)

Two of our favorites were the following:

On Top Of Spaghetti incorporates the song by the same title, of course. My son had never heard it before so I made sure we sang and read it at the top of our voices when daddy wasn't home to hear mommy warble. Hmm, yes. In this particular rendition by author and illustrator Paul Brett Johnson, we meet Yodeler Jones, a dog with a diner whose business is floundering due to the fact that a new Fried Fritter Fricassee opened up right next door. Yodeler decides he needs to get serious about revamping his menu a little to reattract his customer base. While experimenting on a pasta dish he creates an amazing meatball which, of course, he loses to a sneeze.

The song is interspersed throughout the book and it concludes by having the meatball land underneath a bush and turn to mush as a result of, well, an interesting baseball game. The meatball turns into a tree which produces meatballs and spaghetti sauce which, naturally, are all so spectacular that Yodeler's regular customers return and the competition goes out of business. All's well that end's well! Very cute book and this one was highly enjoyed.

I was tipped off to I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie during the last Children's Classics carnival at 5 Minutes for Books. Alicia at Experiencing Each Moment talked about a similar book, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell. Having recently read the original Fly version of the song, and having it met with much enthusiasm, I snatched up the Pie book having it on good authority that it would be a winner. No disappointments here. This old lady is doing her darnedest to swallow the entire Thanksgiving dinner. It's unfortunate that the original pie which started the whole problem for this woman was so dry. By the time she was done eating the pie, some cider, a roll, a squash, a salad, the turkey, a pot, a ten-layer cake, and some bread, she substitutes for a Macy's Day Parade float. Weight Watchers to the rescue!!!

This book was really funny and as my two year old pointed out, "It's like a fly, but it's a pie!" and we enjoyed our time with it very much. (Thanks, Alicia, for the tip!)

So the trip to the library wasn't so bad. The big question now is - will I get the books back on time?! I have the best of intentions!