DREAMING OF YOU: Story Hour Kit

Best Users: Librarians, Booksellers, Educators,
Early Childhood Educators, Play Groups, Home Learning
Best Audience: Children Grades 00-02
 

ABOUT THE KIT

The sequential poems in the picture book Dreaming of You tell us what ten animals see in their dreams.

In this Story Hour Kit, those ten poems have been turned into ten Poetry Pockets. After a read aloud, children can go from pocket to pocket guessing which animal each poem is about. To affirm their choice, they can reach into the pocket and pull out a card with the featured animal on it. Those cards can be turned into a vertical mobile to hang in their sleeping space or a small book for the bedside.

The kit contains:
— Poster and copy to share your event
— Suggested preparation
— 10 Poetry Pockets
— 12 Dreaming Animal Cards (to make mobiles)
— 11 Dreaming Animal Cards (to make books)
 

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DOWNLOAD THE STORY HOUR KIT

Dreaming of You: Story Hour Kit (PDF)

Like to design your own posters?
Dreaming of You: Poster (JPG)
 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dreaming of You
By Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Illustrated by Aaron DeWitt
Published by Boyds Mills Press
ISBN-13: 9781629792125
Age Range: 3-6 Years

This soothing bedtime story explores the question, When animals sleep, what do they see in their dreams? The lyrical text tells readers that chipmunks dream of digging deep burrows, puppies dream of long, waggy walks, and horses dream of wild, windy rides. But most of all, the animals dream of all the fun and adventure the next day will bring. The gentle rhymes and gorgeous, serene illustrations combine to create a comforting story perfect for transitioning from a busy day to being tucked in peacefully at night.
 

 

“Sweetly imaginative, linguistically rich, and featuring enlivening vocabulary with lots of active verbs and new and interesting nouns and adjectives, this offers a fresh entry in the familiar canon of bedtime reads. Children will be delighted by the various animals’ activities and the notion that feathered, furred, and scaly sleepers like themselves enjoy nothing better than dreaming of kids. A delightful answer to the oft-asked question, do animals dream?”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
…..
“Well-crafted, undulating rhymes cover 10 animals in total, and although the animals’ dreams often involve exploration and play, the mood always remains restful…Working in mixed media, DeWitt combines watery portraits of chipmunks, frogs, fish, and fireflies with crisply collaged backdrops and charcoal-like flourishes of added detail. VanDerwater’s repeated second-person references are all but certain to have readers imagining themselves in the animals’ frolics…It’s a lovely bedtime sendoff for animal-loving children that will leave them with ample imaginative fodder for their own dreams.” 
—Publishers Weekly
…..
“…The refrain invites readers to imagine what animals see in their dreams. This repetition is broken at the last few pages when the sun rises and dreams are just for remembering. Mixed media illustrations, each dedicated to a different type of creature, depict the animals doing what they do best…This picture book, filled with vibrant colors, is a bedtime story that will delight young animal lovers. A soothing addition.”
—School Library Journal