Books

“Giraffes Can’t Dance” by Giles Andreae
“Rumble in the Jungle” by Giles Andreae
“Where’s My Mom?” by Julia Donaldson

I Went to the Jungle

This can be sung to the tune of London Bridge but I just said it.

I went to the jungle one day, jungle one day, jungle one day
I saw a lion on the way
And this is what he said…. ROAR

(repeat with elephant, monkey, bird, crocodile)

Down in the Jungle

I passed out scarves so we could wash along with the animals (just make sure they don’t do the brushing their teeth part!).

Down in the jungle where nobody goes
There’s a big fat elephant washing his toes
With a rub-a-dub here and a rub-a-dub there
That’s the way he washes his toes

Down in the jungle where there’s nobody there
There’s a great big lion washing her hair
With a rub-a-dub here and a rub-a-dub there
That’s the way she washes her hair

Down in the jungle if you look in the trees
There’s a cheeky monkey washing his knees
With a rub-a-dub here and a rub-a-dub there
That’s the way he washes his knees

Down at the river, if you look underneath
There’s a great big crocodile brushing his teeth
With a rub-a-dub here and a rub-a-dub there
That’s the way he brushes his teeth

Down in the jungle, if you care to take a peek
There’s a colorful bird cleaning her beak
With a rub-a-dub here and a rub-a-dub there
That’s the way she cleans her beak

Source: Miss Meg’s Storytime

Funky Spunky Monkey (tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The funky spunky monkey climbed up the coconut tree
(climbing motion)
Down came a coconut and bonked him on his knee
(wave hand down and slap knee)
Along came his mama and kissed away his pain
(blow a kiss)
And the funky spunky monkey climbed up the tree again
(climbing motion)

How it Went: I didn’t even realize I picked two Giles Andrae books until the morning of storytime, I thought about changing them because I like to use a variety of authors but ended up keeping it. Giles Andrae books are just so good! I’m happy I stuck with them because the kids really enjoyed the books. Quite a few knew “Giraffes Can’t Dance” and were excited to hear another Giles Andreae book. A lot of the songs were really interactive (animal noises, scarves) and the kids loved it! I also love when a flannel board can be used for more than one song, the kids never want it to go away. It was definitely a high energy storytime.