Shark Week.

I received an e-mail this week with the subject line: Storytime -- Now with 100% More Shark!

It should go without saying that this is the kind of e-mail that makes my day, but in case it doesn't: THIS IS THE KIND OF E-MAIL THAT MAKES MY DAY.

It turns out that the Reading Room Association of Gouverneur planned all of their Head Start storytimes this week around a shark theme, using two picture books and a nonfiction title.

Smiley Shark by Ruth Galloway
Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure by Viviane Schwarz
Incredible Sharks by Seymour Simon

For songs, they used:

To the tune of "Farmer in the Dell"-- one section of a song from Jean Warren:
The sharks live in the sea
The sharks live in the sea
Heigh-ho, watch them go
The sharks live in the sea

To the tune of "Wheels on the Bus"-- the shark sounds action song from Mary Davis:
The mouth on the shark goes snap, snap, snap (snap fingers)
The teeth on the shark go clap, clap, clap (hold palms together and clap hands sharply)
The tail on the fish goes whoosh, whoosh, whoosh (press hands together and wiggle them forward)
The people in the water shout "Shark! Shark! Shark!"

And that would be cool enough. But Linda went one step further and wrangled up an Air Swimmers Shark. Apparently, you can buy a remote-controlled shark-shaped helium balloon that floats through the air as though it's swimming through water.

(How cool is that! To see it in action, check out this video.)

Style points to Gouverneur, and best of luck with the rest of their shark week!

Edited to add: And here's the floating shark. According to Linda, "A few of the kids were startled, but one little girl said, 'It's not real, it's just a balloon, and sharks don't live in the air.'"

(Unless you're living in a B-movie. Then, all bets are off.)