Cowboy Story Time

It's time for another toddler story time! This week our theme was "Out West". Originally it was cowboys, but many of the 'cowboy' books were too long for my story time.

Here are my picks for an "Out West" story time. There were some other great titles out there--but these are the ones I had available at my library.

• Under the Wild Western Sky by Jim Arnosky
• Cowboy Bunnies by Christine Loomis
• The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins
• Cowboy Kid by Max Eilenberg
• A Night on the Range by Aaron Frisch
• Cowboy Baby by Sue Heap
• Cowboy and Octopus by Jon Scieszka
• Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse by Rebecca Janni
• Buckamoo Girls by Ellen Kelley
• Diamond Jim Dandy and the Sheriff by Sarah Burell
• Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas

I absolutely love Cowboy and Octopus. During my storytime internship, the storytime leader did a fantastic job playing with the humor in that story. Normally, I try not to use too many 'voices' in a story--but this back-and-forth conversational format makes it easy. It's also fun to talk like a cowboy. Another bonus about this book--there are several little stories, almost like chapters, in this book. Depending on how energized your group is, you can split up the stories, or skip ones they might not go for, and the story doesn't really change much.

Buckamoo Girls was also a fun read. I hadn't tried it (or heard of it) before--so I was pleasantly surprised when the kids favored it.




I love anything Jan Thomas. Her dust bunnies are some of my favorite characters of all time. Her illustrations are bold and easy to see in a large storytime setting.

Here are the songs we tried for our "Out West" storytime:

I'm A Little Cowpoke (sung to: I'm A Little Teapot) I'm a little cowpoke. Here's my hat. (point to self and tip hat)
Here are my spurs(point to heels)
and here are my chaps.(pat legs)
AS soon as I wake up,(pretend to stretch)
I work all day, (pretend to lasso a cow)
I get on my horse(pretend to get on a horse)
and gallop away (galloping motion).

Way Out West -- Sung to: "Old MacDonald"
Way out West are buffaloes. Yippie-yippie-oh!
Way out West are buffaloes. Yippie-yippie-oh!
with a stomp, stomp here and a stomp, stomp there.
Here a stomp, there a stomp, everywhere a
stomp, stomp.
Way out West are buffaloes. Yippie-yippie-oh!

Way out West are prairie dogs. Yippie-yippie-oh!
Way out West are prairie dogs. Yippie-yippie-oh!
with a bark, bark here and a bark, bark there.
Here a bark, there a bark, everywhere a
bark, bark.
Way out West are prairie dogs. Yippie-yippie-oh!

Other Verses:
rattlesnakes - hiss,hiss
jackrabbits - twitch, twitch
coyotes - howl, howl
 
Song: If You're a Cowboy and You Know It
If you're a cowboy and you know it, shout "yee-haw." (YEE-HAW!)
If you're a cowboy and you know it, shout "yee-haw." (YEE-HAW!)
If you're a cowboy and you know, then your face will surely show it.
If you're a cowboy and you know it, shout "yee-haw." (YEE-HAW!)

Ask the storytime children what else cowboys and cowgirls might do and add it to the song. Ex. Rope a cow, ride a horse, eat some beans, etc.

I had a great time with this theme. I know there are tons of other books out there, so I might rework it with some new titles, and try it for slightly older kids.