Here are some fun Halloween rhymes and songs to do with children:
Big Black Cat
(To the tune of Where Is Thumbkin?
Creeping, creeping,
Creeping, creeping
Big Black Cat,
Big Black Cat.
Sneaking 'round the corners,
Sneaking 'round the corners,
Pit, pit, pat.
Pit, pit, pat.
(Note: it's fun to act this song out. Just make your hands creep along like a cat, then flatten them out to pit, pit pat.)
Scary Eyes
See my big and scary eyes,
Watch out for the big surprise,
BOO!
(Directions: cup your thumbs and index fingers around your eyes, then sweep them to the side as you say BOO!).
Hoot Owl
Hoot Owl, Hoot Owl
Up in your tree.
Hoot Owl, Hoot Owl
What do you see?
I see a black cat running by me!
That's what I see way up in my tree.
Hoot Owl, Hoot Owl
Up in your tree.
Hoot Owl, Hoot Owl
What do you see?
I see a big pumpkin rolling by me!
That's what I see way up in my tree.
Hoot Owl, Hoot Owl
Up in your tree.
Hoot Owl, Hoot Owl
What do you see?
I see a black spider crawling by me!
That's what I see way up in my tree.
(Directions: hoot each time you say Hoot Owl, point upwards when you say up in your tree, circle your eyes when you say what do you see, then act out with your fingers each of the things that the owl sees -- running cat, rolling pumpkin and crawling spider).
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Pumpkin, pumpkin
Turn around.
Pumpkin, pumpkin
Touch the ground.
Pumpkin, pumpkin
Stomp your feet.
Pumpkin, pumpkin
Trick or treat!
(Directions: hold arms at side in semi-circle shape to make yourself a pumpkin. Then follow the directions in the rhyme. For the last line, bend down low and then pop up as you say Trick or treat!
Come celebrate with us, November 13th 2010. Libraries across the nation will be hosting games. ( #ngd10 ) You can play Dungeons & Dragons with us, or go check out the games at some of the participating DC and PG library branches. (Possibly some other area libraries as well, the list of participants isn't updated very often. By mid-September 1200+ libraries had planned their events.)
Be sure to register with us if you want to join our games — 8 and up, parents are welcome to play too.
Kids ages 5 up are invited to come hear some scary stories told by master storyteller Candace Wolf on Monday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. We'll turn the lights down low and listen to Candace tell tales that will send chills up our spines! This annual event is a great way to begin the Halloween celebration. Please register in advance.
The meetings scheduled for October 18th 2010 have been canceled.
Barry Louis Polisar and Robbie Schaefer will perform here in Takoma Park in a benefit concert for Hungry for Music, Saturday, October 15th 2010, at 2 PM. Council Chambers. $15 adults, $12 for kids, and the money helps supply musical instrument to kids who would otherwise not have them. More Information
Recommended Read: Barry Louis Polisar on censorship. At one time he was banned by the school system in Ann Arundel County. Fortunately he was not barred from performing at the Smithsonian, White House, Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, or Piney Branch School.
In the library look for this vintage Polisar treasure: Noises from under the rug : the Barry Louis Polisar songbook : a songbook and more : songs, poems, drawings, complete 1974-1984 with illustrations by Michael Stewart. Look for J 782 POLISAR
The reading and discussion of this year's Caldecott possibilities, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed. Register now and we will contact you when we have new information.
Also canceled: the Wednesday morning Baby Time on October 13th 2010.
Monday, Oct 4 2010, Bedtime story hour tonight is canceled.
So is the Baby Time program scheduled for Wednesday Morning, October 6th 2010.
Bedtime Stories, scheduled to be held Monday October 4 2010 at 7 p.m., is canceled. The next Bedtime Stories will be on Monday November 1 2010 at 7 p.m.
Thanks to everyone who came to the Community Read-Out today. More than 100 kids and adults participated in the Read Out during which we read children's books that people have tried to keep off the library shelves in other parts of the country -- NOT in Takoma Park! We had 24 readers, who read everything from picture books like Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and The Lorax to children's novels like The Phantom Tollboth and Abel's Island. At the Read-Out, we began by talking about the difference between a banned book and a challenged book (a challenge is an effort to ban a book). Then, before each book was read, we listed the objections that some people had to it. Our Read-Out concluded with a pizza lunch, and everyone went home with a free book. Thanks to the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Foundation for awarding us a $1,000 grant, which allowed us to give out free books to all participants. Thanks also to the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library, who paid for our pizza lunch. Finally, thanks to the all the library staff and library friends who took care of the myriad details that make an event like this possible. It truly takes a library staff (and some library friends!) to put on a successful Community Read-Out.