At the start of each school year, I begin my first storytime with each class by talking about how we take care of our books. I try to make it fun and interactive, and not just me “lecturing” the kids, because even I would get bored listening to that. This year my blue-haired puppet Zeke is introducing the subject by taking out his favorite book, a miniature copy of How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food, that he keeps in his sweatshirt (it’s to big for his pocket). He tells us that he takes good care of his book, because he wants to be able to read it forever (and ever and ever and ever and ever). He then tells us HOW he takes care of his book: He doesn’t bend it, or rip the pages, or color in it with his crayons. He gets upset when I pretend to put it in my mouth, and he and the kids tell me why it’s not okay to do that. I ask if we’re allowed to sit on or stand on our books (“Nooooooo!!!!”), or throw them at our friends (“you might break something!” or “you might hit someone in the eye!”). I think the message is a lot more effective if the kids can take ownership of it, and tell ME how we take care of our books.
Today, when Zeke metioned that he doesn’t color in his book with crayons, the kids started yelling out other things we don’t use to color in books: “paint!” “pencils!” “markers!” “pineapple!”
PINEAPPLE???
Okay, technically, she’s right, we don’t want to get food on our books, but what made her think of PINEAPPLE??
missmaryliberry.com 
Kids love alliteration … her brain was focused on the beginning “p”s!