Clap Your Hands

I discovered this gem back in the early spring and immediately fell in love with it. I read it to my storytime...when I subbed at Tiny Tots...to my preschool visits...I lent it to Miss Pattie who read it to her toddlers...to her babies...It is Just That Good. I realized immediately we needed a copy and, in a stunning piece of providence, a copy was immediately donated!

There's no actual plot or definite narrative. The "story" is just a series of gaily dressed animals and children performing an unending series of delightful antics. The simple rhyming text encourages children to perform actions ranging from clapping their hands to performing somersaults.

This is my "review" of how best to use it in storytime! I start with the kids sitting show more on the floor, "Clap your hands," then we stand up and "stomp your feet./Shake your arms,/then take a seat." Which gets us all back to the floor. We do the next few couplets sitting on the floor, "Rub your tummy,/pat your head./Find something yellow,/find something red." For some reason, finding the colors gets more excitement than some of the later loud noises!

Some of the kids will stand up for "Reach for the sky" and so by the time we get to "Stick out your tongue/and touch your nose." it's pretty confused. I skip the couplet that calls for a kiss - some of the kids would just sit there, but a fairly large proportion of them would bury me in slobber. This works ok with babies or toddlers though, as the parents can kiss their kids who are usually more in their vicinity. I skip the tickle couplet too, for the same reason. After some rather dizzy episodes, I try to have the kids just turn around once for "Spin in a circle" and I only include the somersault if we have enough space - and if the kids are old enough for most of them to know how to do one! The excitement mounts with the animal actions and I had 20 kids yelling their names and ages simultaneously at me the last time I did it, so I would leave that one out, along with the telling a secret. Then things just go nuts with animal actions, jumping, crawling, flying, and finally waving good-bye.

I strongly recommend finishing storytime with this one; if you can get the kids calmed down and back in their places for another story after this, you're an amazing librarian and I will sit at your feet!

Verdict: A must have both for your general collection and professional collection. Happily, it's still in print! Go forth and purchase!

ISBN: 0-399-22118-2; Published January 1997 by Puffin; Borrowed from the library show less

This is one of those books designed for the fidgety story-time goer.

It's full of instructions - clap your hands, tell me your age, I'll tickle you if you tickle me, find something red, that sort of thing.

Great fun for kids to get to move around instead of sitting through a story, this might be a good way to end storytime!

But, because of those good points, board book format might not be the best way to go. The pictures are too small for moving around - you have to sit close to really see them - and some of the instructions are really too hard for the younger rip-up-books crowd anyway. You might be better off waiting a year or two and getting a normal edition instead.

Who said story time means sitting quietly on the floor? With the story Clap Your Hands that text encourages the reader (or listener!) to go through a fast and furious series of tasks. Readers will be patting their heads, doing somersaults across the floor, making silly faces, and jumping up and down! Even if the reader does not follow the directions, the energy of this story is visible on the pages, with illustrations showing wonderful movement and excitement. This high energy book will certainly entertain its readers.

A fantasy picture book done in rhyme with illustrations in colored pencil. The "story" (primary grades/beginning readers) children and animals doing silly things that the book tells them to. The reader is supposed to follow along with what the pictures are showing and the words say, like "clap your hands," "do a little dance," etc. The animals, who are dressed in human clothes, are doing all of these things excitedly with the children. There is no continuous plot, but this is a good "break" book when a class needs to move.

I found this incredibly charming book for my son over the weekend. I thought it was lighthearted and fun. My son was thrilled when I read it to him. We were stomping our feet and wiggling with the book. The pictures are illustrated with animals and children. The animals wore clothing, what a hoot! I don’t think Clap Your Hands could have been anymore perfect.

Once you read this, you'll never stop! Because your child will ask you for it over and over and over and over again. This is a book you don't just read, you move to it...right along with all the other characters in the book. Each character is beautifully drawn on a white background. It's excellent! It really adds to the book watching these characters move around the pages. Each character (like each child) has their own interprutation of the movement suggested on the page. It's great! So, stand up and read this book! You'll have a blast!

#1593 in our old book database. Rated: Indifferent.

Lively rhymes, detailed illustrations, and lots of opportunity to move along with the actions in the book. A good book for reading and playing with toddlers.