My library system has one central location and 9 branches.  To make storytime programming easier for all involved, we use storyboxes.  These are “storytimes in a box”.  They contain everything a storyteller would need for a successful storytime including books, videos, fingerplays and crafts.  Ideally, there should be enough variety that the box can be used for infants/toddlers, preschoolers, and lower elementary ages.   Here’s the latest storybox I put together for rotation.

I’m Lost!  Find Your Way with These Fun Stories!

BOOKS:

The Missing Chick by Valeri Gorbachev
Don’t Get Lost! by Pat Hutchins
Oliver Finds His Way by Phyllis Root

Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack by Barbara Anne Skalak
Where is Home, Little Pip? by Karma Wilson
Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek

Looking for Luna by Tim Myers
What’s the Matter, Bunny Blue by Nicola Smee
I Lost My Dad! by Taro Gomi

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
Bunny My Honey by Anita Jeram
Otis and the Puppy by Loren Long

Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton
Lost Sloth by J. Otto Seibold
Dog Gone! by Leeza Hernandez

Nini Lost and Found by Anita Lobel
Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons
Itsy Bitsy Baby Mouse by Michelle Meadows

If a Chicken Stayed for Supper by Carrie Weston
Sheep Take a Hike by Nancy Shaw
Lost! by David McPahil

FLANNELBOARDS:

Little Mouse is Lost

For this one, I just use my Little Mouse, Little Mouse flannelboard, and change the story a bit.

I asked my friend Little Mouse to come visit me.  But I have been waiting now for a long time and he still isn’t here!  I think Little Mouse ended up at the wrong house!  Can you help me find him?
(Put all colored houses on the board with the mouse hiding behind one, then say this rhyme:)
Little Mouse, Little Mouse, are you in the _(color)_ house?
(Lift off house to see if mouse is there.  Continue until Mouse is found.)

Little Lost Joey

Pattern and Story taken from: Briggs, Diane.  Preschool Favorites: 35 Storytimes Kids Love.  American Library Association,  2007.  Pg 87.

He asked a duck if she’d seen her
As she was waddling down the road.
The duck looked around in her area
And said, “I can’t find her, dear, no.”

He asked a funny platypus
If his mommy he could find.
But the platypus shook his duck-billed head
And said, “I just don’t have the time.”

Next he asked a koala
With a sweet, little teddy bear face
If he had seen his mommy
And the koala said, “No, not a trace.”

Next came a chubby old wombat
And the joey asked her too
And when she couldn’t help him
He just didn’t know what to do.

It was then that a kookaburra
Flying high and as free as can be
Said, “Sonny Jim, dry up your tear drops.
She’s napping right under that tree.”

Sonny Jim jumped for joy
And ran to his mommy with glee.
He hopped in her pouch
Like a fuzzy old couch
And they jumped away happily.

Lost Larry

From: MacMillan, Kathy.  A Box Full of Tales: Easy Ways to Share Library Resources through Story Boxes.  American Library Association.  2008.  pg 113.

Before storytime, hide these pieces around your storytime area.

You know, my friend Larry was always losing things.  He would leave his socks lying outside on the lawn, or his hat in the car.  He could never find anything!  One day, his mom said to him, “Larry, if you’re not careful, you’re going to lose your whole self one of these days, piece by piece.”  And do you know what happened?  HE DID!  Can you help me find him and put him back together?
Have children search the storytime room until all the pieces are found.
Who has Larry’s head?  Can you bring it up to the flannelboard?
Repeat with other pieces.
Look at that!  Silly Larry is all in one pieces again.  Thanks for your help!  I bet Larry will be a lot more careful about losing things from now on.

OR

Start with the pieces in a bag.  Take the bag around and have children pick out a body part, or piece of clothing.  You can also use Larry’s torso in this version if you would like.

You know, my friend Larry was always losing things.  He would leave his socks lying outside on the lawn, or his hat in the car.  He could never find anything!  One day, his mom said to him, “Larry, if you’re not careful, you’re going to lose your whole self one of these days, piece by piece.”  And do you know what happened?  HE DID!  Can you help me find him and put him back together?

Who has Larry’s head?  Can you bring it up to the flannelboard?
Repeat with other pieces. 
Look at that!  Silly Larry is all in one pieces again.  Thanks for your help!  I bet Larry will be a lot more careful about losing things from now on.

MOVEMENT, SONGS, AND FINGERPLAYS:

Police Officers Cheer
Who will help us when we’re lost?
Police Officers!  Police officers!
Who will help us get home, whatever the cost?
Police Officers!  Police officers!
So if you’re lost, look and see.
Police Officers!  Police officers!
Who are good friends to you and me?
Police Officers!  Police officers!

From: MacMillan, Kathy.  A Box Full of Tales.  American Library Association.  2008.

Lost at the Grocery Store
If you are at the grocery store,
And you suddenly you can’t see your grown-up anymore,
Here is just what you should do:
Find someone who works at the store
And he or she will help you!

From: MacMillan, Kathy.  A Box Full of Tales.  American Library Association.  2008.

Read a Map
(to the tune of “Brush Your Teeth”)
When you wake up in the morning, it’s a quarter to one,
And you want to have a little fun:
Read a map, cha-cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha-cha-cha
Read a map, cha-cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha-cha-cha

…quarter to two, and you don’t know what to do…
…quarter to three, and you don’t know where to be…
…quarter to four, and you’re trying to get out the door…
…quarter to five, and you’re helping mom and dad drive…
…quarter to six, and you want to go to your friend Nick’s…
…quarter to seven, and you want to find the 7-Eleven…
…quarter to eight, and you’ve got to be somewhere that just can’t wait…
…quarter to nine, and there’s a place you just can’t find…
…quarter to ten…   fold up your map and go to bed!

From: MacMillan, Kathy.  A Box Full of Tales.  American Library Association.  2008.

My Dog Ran Away
My dog ran away! My dog ran away!
Oh, what can I say? My dog ran away!
I looked up high,
I looked down low,
I looked to the sides,
And in a circle like so.

I looked in the cupboards,
I looked in the drawer,
I looked under the bed,
And I looked on the floor.
I’ve looked in all those places I said,
But – what’s this>  He’s on my head!

From: MacMillan, Kathy.  A Box Full of Tales.  American Library Association.  2008.

On Top of Spaghetti
(to tune of “On Top of Old Smokey”)
On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze.

From: Scout Songs

Cock-a-Doodle-Doo
Cock-a-doodle-doo,
My dame has lost her shoe!  (Point to shoe)
My master’s lost his fiddling stick, (Pretend to play the fiddle)
And doesn’t know what to do, (Hold out hands and shrug shoulders)
And doesn’t know what to do, (Hold out hands and shrug shoulders)
And doesn’t know what to do, (Hold out hands and shrug shoulders)
My master’s lost his fiddling stick, (Pretend to play the fiddle)
And doesn’t know what to do. (Hold out hands and shrug shoulders).

From: Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute

Lost Child Game
The adult plays the role of a mother and the child plays the role of the police officer. Mother pretends to cry and says, “Oh, dear, I’ve lost my child, can you help find my child?”
The police officer says, “What does your child look like?”
The mother describes  the child’s hair color, clothing, eye color, etc.
The police officer walks around the circle and chooses one child he thinks fits the description and brings the lost child back to the mother. That child is the next police officer and the game continues.

From: Hummingbird Educational Resources

I Am a Ghost Who’s Lost His Boo
I am a ghost who’s lost his boo,
my boo is gone from me,
and I’m without a single clue
to where my boo might be.
It makes me mope, it makes me pout,
it almost makes me moan,
a ghost is not a ghost without
a boo to call his own.

My boo was piercing,fierce and loud,
I used to strut and boast,
for I was positively proud
to be a gruesome ghost.
But now that I’m without a boo,
I find it rather weird,
There’s little for a ghost to do
whose boo has disappeared.

Although I hover here and there,
and haunt a hundred rooms,
it seems there’s no one I can scare
unless my boo resumes.
I am a ghost who lost his boo,
alas! A boo I lack,
if you should find my boo,
then you had better give it back.

From: Kid’n’Kaboodle

Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone
Oh where, oh where, has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long
Oh where, oh where can he be?

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
He fetches a ball, he’s the best pet of all,
Oh where, oh where can he be?

Oh where, oh where have my little pets gone?
Oh where, oh where can they be?
Woof! Bow-wow! Oh, here he comes now!
My dog is back home with me.

From: Parents.com

Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn’t know where to find them.
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home.
Wagging their tails behind them.

If I Were Lost
If I were lost inside a zoo
I think that this is what I’d do,
I’d say “Giraffe, please look around,
your head so high above the ground.
Will you point out to me the place
where you can see my father’s face.”

From: Alphabet Soup

CRAFTS:

Little Kitten Who Lost His Mittens Craft

Materials needed:
–        Kitten with Lost Mittens Craft Template
–        Length of ribbon, string, or yarn
–        Paper
–        Crayons or Markers
–        Hole punch
–        Scissors
–        Glue

Copy and cut out the cat shape and the mittens.  You can do these in different colors, or leave them blank so children can color.  Glue the cat head to the body.  Line up the mittens with one side of the cat body.  Punch a hole through both the mitten and the cat.  Repeat on the other side of the cat body.  String the ribbon across the back of the cat and have the ends dangle down through the holes on the front of the cat.  Tie the ends of the ribbon to each mitten.  Now the child can pull the string behind the cat, and have the mittens go from lost (far away from the cat’s body) to found (mittens close to the cat).

Craft from: Catch the Possibilities and A Mommy’s Adventures

Mazes
The mazes I used with this box I just found online.  They are no longer available, but any easy maze for kids would be a great activity with this theme.

Hidden Pictures
I used Highlights magazine to find some fun Hidden Picture Puzzles (find the “lost” objects!).