Snake Storytime

Home Themes

 

Books Poetry Flannelboard
Puppet Fingerplays Craft

 

Books:

Top


Rattlesnake dance by Jim Arnosky. 
New York: Putnam, 2000. 
A rattlesnake slithers into a cave and shakes and wriggles in a rattlesnake dance of pure bliss, while other hissing snakes join the underground ball.

Hide and snake by Keith Baker. 
San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1991. 
A brightly colored snake challenges readers to a game of hide and seek as he hides among familiar objects.

The greedy python by Richard Buckley ; illustrated by Eric Carle. 
Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio USA: Distributed by Alphabet Press, c1985. 
A greedy python eats to excess, finally eating himself. 

Verdi by Janell Cannon. 
San Diego, Calif. : Harcourt Brace, 1997. 
A young python does not want to grow slow and boring like the older snakes he sees in the tropical jungle where he lives.

Do you want to be my friend? by Eric Carle
New York, Crowell [1971] 
A mouse searches everywhere for a friend. 

Snake supper by Alan Durant; illustrated by Ant Parker. 
New York: Western Pub. Co., c1994. 
A hungry snake slithers through the forest swallowing up the animals in its path until it runs into an ingenious elephant. 

Small Green Snake by Libba Moore Gray; illustrated by Holly Meade. 
New York: Orchard Books, c1994. 
Despite his mother's warning not to wander, Small Green Snake wiggles away to investigate the new sound from across the garden wall. 

I need a snake written by Lynne Jonell; illustrated by Petra Mathers. 
New York: G.P. Putman's Sons, c1998. 
A young boy really wants a snake of his own, and after his mother reads a book about snakes and takes him to a museum and a pet store to see some, he finds his own pet "snakes" around the house. 

To bathe a boa by C. Imbior Kudrna. 
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, c1986. 
At bathtime a youngster has to struggle to get his recalcitrant pet boa into the tub. 

The snake that sneezed, by Robert Leydenfrost. 
New York, Putnam, c1970 
Recounts how Harold, the snake, gained fame and fortune. 

The day Jimmy's boa ate the wash by Trinka Hakes Noble; pictures by Steven Kellogg. 
New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, c1980. 
Jimmy's boa constrictor wreaks havoc on the class trip to a farm. 

Snake alley band by Elizabeth Nygaard; illustrated by Betsy Lewin. 
New York: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, c1998. 
When the Shhh-BOOM, Shhh-BOOM, Shhh-BOOM of the snake band begins to sound a little monotonous Snake suggests adding Frog's cha-BOP, or maybe Cricket's chew-up chew-up. 

April showers by George Shannon; pictures by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. 
New York: Greenwillow Books, c1995. 
A group of frogs enjoys dancing in the rain so much that they seem not to notice a snake sneaking up on them. 

Lizard's home by George Shannon; illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. 
New York: Greenwillow Books, 1999. 
When Snake starts sleeping on the rock where Lizard lives, Lizard must figure out how to get his home back. 

The snake: a very long story by Bernard Waber. 
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, c1978. 
A snake goes on a very long trip only to face a big surprise at the end. 

Mouse count by Ellen Stoll Walsh. 
San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1991. 
Ten mice outsmart a hungry snake. 

Little white duck lyrics by Walt Whippo; music by Bernard Zaritzky; illustrations by Joan Paley. 
Boston: Little, Brown, c2000. 
Based on the song of the same title, a little white duck causes a commotion in its pond.

 

Poetry:

Top


I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor

Oh, I'm being eaten,
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor
A boa constrictor;
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor
And I don't like it one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh, my,
It's up to my thigh
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmfffffffff…
~Shel Silverstein~

 

Flannelboard:

Top

The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra
H. W. Wilson, c. 1987

Use "Rattlesnake, Mouse, and Coyote: A Mexican Tale" which tells the story of how the mouse saves the rattlesnake, only to be caught by the ungrateful snake. Coyote comes along to save the day. Full size patterns are included along with directions for performance.

 

Five Little Snakes

Five little snakes
Hid under Mom's chair
My brother grabbed the red one,
Leaving four there.

Four little snakes
Swinging in a tree.
The blue one slipped and fell,
Leaving only three.

Three little snakes
Wondered what to do.
The yellow one took a nap,
Leaving only two.

Two little snakes
Basking in the sun.
The brown one slithered off,
Leaving only one.

One little green snake
Lonely as could be;
Went looking for some fun,
And came and played with me.

Remove one snake at a time from the board, and put the green one on your shoulder when you remove it.

More Possibilities:

Little White Duck 
The Greedy Python
The Snake that Sneezed

 

Puppet:

Top

Verdi fingerpuppet or Verdi plush puppet

 

Fingerplays:

Top


A Snake!

Here's a box  Make a fist as if holding a bunch of flowers
And here's a lid. Cover with palm of other hand
I wonder whatever inside is hid?  Pause and peek
Why, it's a SNAKE! Quickly throw up hands

 

I am a Snake

 

I have no legs. I have no arms arms down close to body
I can take off my skin  pretend to pull off skin
I wiggle my tongue like this  wiggle tongue
I'm very, very thin hands on ribs, slide them down
I can open my mouth so wide open mouth
And eat my dinner whole  rub tummy
I can curl up nice and tight,  squat down low
Or stretch out like a pole  stretch up tall

 

A Boa Constrictor

 

A boa constrictor  Move right hand
May look like his sister move left hand
But don't make a fatal mistake:  shake both hands "no"
A boa constrictor  move right hand
Can look like his sister move left hand
and still be a dangerous snake!

 

Snakes
~Carla Cotter Skjong~

 

Snakes slither on the ground 
Snakes slither all around make slithering motion with hands
Some are short, some are long,  hold hands close together, then far apart
Some have fangs, some have none.  point to eyeteeth, then shake head

 

Craft:

Top

Paper Snakes.

Let the children color a paper plate, or a large circle of paper with markers or crayons. Draw a large spiral on the circle, then cut out along the drawn line. Draw eyes and attach a small yarn tongue at the inside of the spiral, to make the snake's head. 

Storytime crafts by Kathryn Totten. 
Fort Atkinson, Wis.: Alleyside Press, c1998.

This book includes a paper bag snake puppet pattern.

 

Thank you to Cindy Benson for this wonderful program.
This page added on April 8, 2001.

1