Circle time story time just got more fun with these moving and grooving titles. All of these story time books for kids encourage children to get up and wiggle, dance, and play.
16 Story Time Books That Invite Children to Move
The great things about this list are that the kids will:
- Be engaged in the read-aloud.
- Get exercise.
- Participate in repetitive lines and singing refrains.
- Learn about the ways their bodies move.
- Build lots and lots of oral language.
Dancing
Join the animals in The More the Merrier by David Martin. Each one brings their own moves to the dance party and the kids will love moving grooving with the animals.
Get ready to do The Hokey Pokey frog style in The Croaky Pokey! by Ethan Long. Not only will your little froggies be dancing, but they will also want read/sing along. The best part will be sticking out their froggy tounges to catch lunch.
How Do You Dance? by Thyra Heder showcases lots of dance moves from bopping to stomping. You are only limited by your imagination. Is there one best way? Nope. Dance however you feel comfortable. This is a great one for recognizing what makes us each unique and using our imagination. You’ll definitely want to turn on the music after reading and have a dance party.
Bear Moves by Ben Bailey Smith is a fun one to pair with How Do You Dance? Children will love to imitate Bear’s moves on the classroom dance floor. It would be fun to make a tinfoil disco ball for your reading area when you enjoy this book.
Hip Hop Lollipop by Susan Montanari is the story of a little girl who hip-hops her way to bed. This one works really well for building vocabulary and sequencing too.
Everybunny Dance by Ellie Sandall would be fun for spring storytimes. Your little bunny audience will be ready to join in on the dancing fun. Also, try Everybunny Counts by Sandall which invites a whole group game of hide and seek.
Lead into a dance party with Grumpy Monkey Party Time by Suzanne Lang. Grumpy Monkey has been invited to Porcupine’s party. But…there will be dancing…
Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig works well for the toddler crowd. Not only can children move to the beat, but they also get to solve simple clues to who is dancing on each page. Also check out Craig’s, Barnyard Beat.
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton is another good one for toddlers. You can even download the song that accompanies the book.
Moving
Bounce like a bunny. Bounce like a frog. Just bounce and bounce in Bounce by Doreen Cronin. You will definitely want to do some bouncy ball activities after reading. I like to bounce a ball to a student and have them name a food in a category. For example, pick foods. Then, the student bounces the ball to another student in the circle and they name another item in the chosen category. Other fun categories include circles, things that make noise, things you see outside, and things that bounce. Also, check out Cronin’s Wiggle.
“Apple Juice, Orange Juice, Gooseberry Pies –Monkey needs some exercise!” Sing, dance, move, and shake in Spunky Little Monkey by Bill Martin Jr.
Jump! by Scott M. Fischer has a repeated line, “Jump!” perfect for inviting little ones to jump and say the word at the same time. Plus, there is some rhyming fun and animal recognition.
Zoogie Boogie Fever! by Sujean Rim will invite kids to dance and jive as they enjoy watching the animals have a dance party at the zoo.
Make scary faces and do the chicken dance in Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas.
Keep the rhythm in I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison. Simple text and big bold illustrations will captivate attention and the kids will love to act out each page spread.
It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle will have the students running in place, ducking, climbing, and swimming amongst many more actions.
Color Dance by Ann Jonas is a book that explains which colors combine to make different colors. It begs for you to use with some color scarves that children can wave.
Printable List of Moving and Grooving Books
Traveling to the library? Heading to the bookstore? Take a printable list of the books above with you. Just click the purple button below to grab your downloadable list.
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Queen Coleman says
Great list. Thanks