Skidamarinkadinkadoo

Books Of The Month For February

An Old Favorite:
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The Gist and…

Why I LOVE it: (I LOVE the layout, illustrations, nostalgia, and because it’s a song!) This book is like a greeting card and a novelty book all rolled into one. It invites you to snuggle up with your sweetie and giggle together.

Skidamarink was one of the first songs my daughter came home singing when she was in kindergarten, and I can see why she remembers it, because every year when I teach it to my Y5’s, they delight in singing it and doing the hand motions. I use this book as an introduction.

The repeated refrain is rather simple: "Skidamarink a-dink a-dink, Skidamarink a-doo, I love you." And continues…"I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening and underneath the moon.” Just the word skidamarink is fun for a little one to say. It’s one of those goofy words like supercalafragalisticexpealidocious, that feels fun tickling your tongue and can’t help but make a child smile.

The adorable illustrations featuring a roly poly polar bear and petite penguin will steal your heart. My students enjoy seeing what’s going to be revealed as I open the double-flap folds and they anxiously await in anticipation as the white, potato-shaped bear plops down on an ice cube... "skidamarink" and the green-hatted penguin skates to the edge of the page; another turn of the flap reveals "a-dink" and the penguin nearly falls off the ice. A second turn of the flap finds the penguin splashing in the icy blue water. The skate marks he’s left behind are heart-shaped. My students are encouraged to become book lovers through a combination of this well-loved song, adorable characters and creatively displayed page illustrations. They are also excited to learn and sing the song.

Story Telling Tips:

I let my students know when the Skidamarink-a-doo refrain is coming up by holding up a heart-shaped sign with the word on it. That's their signal to say that part with me. It gets them "tuned up" to learning the song.

Magic Trick:

I put a paper heart with a penguin and the word skidamarink on it, into my dove pan. I put the lid on (The magic words are Skidamarink-a-doo!) and when I take the lid off, inside is an adorable soft little stuffed penguin named of course, Skidamarink! After the story I toss him to each child and give everyone a turn to tell me what they liked about the story, song, or which character (polar bear or penguin) was their favorite. We take a minute to graph the results.

Skidamarink-a-doo-to-you

and your little ones.

Here's my bibliography for FEBRUARY: