Children’s Book Related Crafts

March 5 – Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Day

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celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-look-up-henrietta-leavitt-cover

About the Holiday

March has been designated by the Expanding Your Horizons network as a time to increase awareness of and promote programs for girls and young women in the sciences and engineering fields. Giving girls interested in pursuing careers in science and engineering more access to resources and opportunities for education will benefit all.

Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer

Written by Robert Burleigh | Illustrated by Raúl Colón       

 

Henrietta Leavitt loves the stars. Every night she sits on the front porch and asks herself what were in the early 1900s unanswerable questions. How high was the sky? How far away are the stars? She traces the form of the Big Dipper to the North Star and feels that the stars are trying to tell her something.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-look-up-henrietta-leavitt-student

Image copyright Raúl Colón, text copyright Robert Berleigh. Courtesy of simonandschuster.com

As a young woman she takes an astronomy class—one of the few women to do so. She learns about light years, planets, and the vast distances that fascinate her. After graduation she takes a job at an observatory, and while it houses a large telescope to study the sky, Henrietta is not allowed to use it. She and the other woman who work at the observatory are only there to record, measure, and calculate data, not to have new ideas.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-look-up-henrietta-leavitt-studies-star-map

Image copyright Raúl Colón, courtesy of Simon & Schuster

But in doing her job, Henrietta begins to notice a pattern in the brightness of certain stars. She discovers new “blinking” stars. Taking careful measurements, Henrietta finds that a star with a slower “blink” time—the time it takes for a star to go from dim to bright, or from off to on—contains more light power than stars with faster blink times. But what does this mean? After more study she realizes that the blink time can determine the true brightness of any blinking star, even those far, far away.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-look-up-henrietta-leavitt-makes-notes

Image copyright Raúl Colón, courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Henrietta has made a breakthrough in astronomy! By knowing the true brightness of a star, astronomers can figure out the star’s distance from Earth. Henrietta publishes her star chart in a magazine, and it helps other astronomers measure first the Milky Way and then galaxies they didn’t even know existed! Henrietta is an astronomer–one who advances her beloved science! Even as she grows older Henrietta continues to look to the sky, to ask questions and dream.

More information about Henrietta Leavitt and her discoveries, Internet and print resources on astronomy and other women astronomers, a glossary, and more are provided on the final pages.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-look-up-henrietta-leavitt-sees-stars-in-sleep

Instead of first presenting Henrietta Leavitt as an adult already working as an astronomer, Robert Burleigh chooses to introduce her as a child, when all she had were questions and dreams about the sky and the stars. It’s a fitting emphasis for a picture book aimed at children who themselves are only just discovering the questions that will guide their lives.  Burleigh’s style is simple and straightforward, revealing pertinent facts about the working conditions of a woman scientist in the early 1900s, but emphasizing Henrietta’s internal contemplations that led to her important discoveries. It’s good for children to see that one does not always need to be the “astronaut” rocketing to the Space Station; the life of the mind is just as noble and needed a pursuit.

Raúl Colón’s watercolor and ink illustrations echo the theme of dreams and contemplation with soft muted colors and antique, sepia tones. Brightness on the pages comes from the points of light that fill the skies and Henrietta’s mind. As a child and young woman, Henrietta sits and stands in the glow of the stars and, one imagines, her own thoughts.

Ages 4 – 8

Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books | ISBN 978-1416958192

Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Day Activity

CPB - Star Coloring Page

Be the Star You Want to Be Coloring Page

 

Everyone has “stars in their eyes”—dreams and hopes for what they will accomplish in life. Decorate this printable Be the Star You Want to Be coloring page to show what’s in your imagination and in your heart.

March 3 -World Wildlife Day

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Actual Size by Steve Jenkins Picture Book Review

About the Holiday  

Sponsored by the United Nations, World Wildlife Day celebrates the many varieties of wild animals and plants that make up our earth. It is also a day to raise awareness of the ways in which conservation of natural resources and sustainable development benefits people and all the world’s species. The theme this year is “The future of wildlife is in our hands.” African and Asian elephants are the main focus of the 2016 global campaigns.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says: “On this World Wildlife Day, I call on all citizens, businesses and governments to play their part in protecting the world’s wild animals and plants.  The actions taken by each of us will determine the fate of the world’s wildlife.  The future of wildlife is in our hands!”

For more information on World Wildlife Day 2016 and to see what events are taking place in cities around the world visit wildlifeday.org

Actual Size

By Steve Jenkins

 

We know wildlife is all around us, but apart from our pets and the occasional mosquito we swat or bumble bee we avoid, we tend to see it from a distance. We watch birds flutter at feeders through a window, we see exotic animals at the zoo, aquarium, or wildlife parks, and point out cows and horses while driving. If asked how big the chickadee or elephant is, we’d say small and huge! But how small? How huge?

What makes Steve Jenkins’ book Actual Size so fascinating is that he shows readers on the page exactly how big or how tiny with scale drawings of each creature. The Atlas Moth on page 1 is so large part of one wing dips into page 2, where you hardly notice the dwarf goby—at a minuscule 1/3 inch long—in the bottom corner. As you turn the page you almost catch your breath to find the enormous 12-inch-wide eye of a giant squid staring back at you.

An ostrich with its egg and the whip-like tongue of the giant anteater are also here. And if you’re at all squeamish about spiders, you might want to avoid pages 12 and 13! The snout of the saltwater crocodile and the Goliath frog are both so long that they require a fold-out page! Kids will love putting their tiny hand against the gorilla’s and their foot on the African elephant’s.

Actual Size features 18 of the world’s well-known and unusual creatures, each described in more detail, including weight, habitat, diet, behavior, defenses, and more, at the end of the book.

Steve Jenkins’ striking collages, created from cut and torn paper, beckon readers to look closer at these awesome creatures.

Ages 4 – 9

Houghton Mifflin Books, 2004 | ISBN 978-0547512914

World Wildlife Day Activity

CPB - Wildlife Day Elephant Print (2)

Hands Down Best Elephant Print

 

A way to make the cutest elephant print ever is right in your hands! With a little paint and paper, you can create a wildlife print that’s as unique as you are. This is a fun activity to do with a child and parent or two siblings. Working with different size hands can make your print more interesting.

Supplies

  • Paper, any color
  • Paint, any color you would like your elephants to be
  • Paint brush
  • Black marker

Directions

In this print your palm creates the body of the elephant, your four fingers create the legs, and your thumb becomes the trunk.

1. Make the right-facing elephant:

  • Paint your left hand. Make sure to fill in all the creases on your palm and fingers.
  • Press your hand onto the left side of the piece of paper

 2. Make the left-facing elephant:

  • Paint your right hand. Make sure to fill in all the creases on your palm and fingers.
  • Place your hand on the right side of the paper so that your thumb touches the end of the thumb on the left hand print. Press your hand onto the right side of the piece of paper

3. You can fill in any thin or open spaces with the paintbrush if you like

4. Let the handprints dry

5. Turn the page so that the four fingers that create the legs of the elephant are facing down.

6. Draw a dot for an eye at the base of the thumb, an ear in the palm, and a tail at the back of the hand.

7.  To make the sun, dip your thumb in yellow paint and press it into the corner of the paper. Make little rays with the edge of the paintbrush.

8. Hang your print with or without a frame.

March 2 – Dr. Seuss’s Birthday | Read Across America Day

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The Sneetches and Other Stories Picture Book Review

About the Holiday

Read Across America was designed by the National Education Association as a day to raise awareness of the importance of reading and to motivate people to read more. What better day could they have chosen to celebrate the joys books can bring than March 2—Theodor Seuss Geisel’s birthday! With 46 children’s books to his name, Dr. Seuss is one of the world’s most beloved authors, and one whose imagination has entertained generations of readers.

For more information on the Read Across America program visit www.nea.org/grants/read-across-background.html

The Sneetches and Other Stories

By Dr. Seuss

 

If you love reading chances are Dr. Seuss has something to do with it! He wrote so many stories that there are fantastic and fantastical creations to fit everyone’s fancy! Today I’m reviewing my favorite collection of Dr. Seuss tales—I hope you’ll like it too!

The four stories in this collection touch on such topics as individualism, prejudice, stubbornness, fear, and just the ridiculous. Perhaps the best-known tale is The Sneetches, in which a community of Sneetches, some of whom sport stars on their bellies and some who do not, fall prey to a slick salesman and his star-on and star-off machines. The Sneetches run themselves ragged trying to be popular and keep up with the fad of the moment. In the end, Sylvester McMonkey McBean has made monkeys of them all and drives away with a smile and all their cash. He thinks they’ll never learn, but he’s wrong—the Sneetches are actually richer for McBean’s visit and become a closer-knit community.

In The Zax, a North-going Zax and a South-going Zax are strolling along on their individual tracks when they meet face to face in the middle of nowhere. Neither one will move the slightest inch to the left or the right to let the other pass. They stand “toe-to-toe” in unbreakable stalemate, even if it means the whole world must halt along with them. “Of course the world didn’t stand still,” Dr. Seuss tells us. The middle of nowhere became somewhere. Buildings went up, people moved in, and a highway was built right over the Zax, who are probably standing there still.

Ah, the poor mother in Too Many Daves! If only she’d had a little more imagination and forethought in the name department she may have saved herself a lot of trouble. One after one, however, she named her sons Dave—all 23 of them! Too late she thinks of all the other names she could have used, and here is presented a list of names that far outshines any baby naming book on the market. Be ready for giggles when you get to “Stinky.”

My very favorite story is What Was I Scared Of?. It has just the right combination of spookiness and humor to satisfy any budding mystery buff. One night while picking berries the hero of the story spies a “pair of pale green pants with nobody inside them.” The pants begin to show up in the oddest of places, no matter how hard the storyteller tries to escape them. The pants are rowing on the river, riding a bicycle, and walking the same path. When the pants and the narrator peek around the same bush, however, they’re both in for a surprise. “Why, the pants were just as scared as I,” the narrator reveals. Instead of gloating or running away, our intrepid hero learns that feelings are often shared and he becomes a friend to the pants that once so frightened him.

Of course these stories are all told with Dr. Seuss’s inimitable word choice, rhymes, names, and rhythm accompanied by his whimsical characters and landscapes.

Ages 4 – 9

Random House, New York, 1961 | ISBN 978-0394800899

Dr. Seuss’s Birthday/Read Across America Day Activity

CPB - Reading Bug Book Plate (2)

I Have the Reading Bug Bookplate

 

There’s no better feeling than leafing through the pages of your own book! Now, to keep precious books from getting lost, you can dress them up with this printable I Have the Reading Bug Bookplate!

Supplies

Directions

  1. Print the I Have the Reading Bug Bookplate
  2. Cut out the bookplate
  3. Write your name on the line at the top
  4. Using glue dots or removable mounting squares attach the bookplate to the inside front or back cover

March 1 – National Pig Day

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The Three Ninja Pigs Picture Book Review

About the Holiday

Pigs inspire us! Whether we see them on a farm, have them as pets, or enjoy them as part of our entertainment—who can forget Wilbur or Babe or even the little piggie who went wee, wee, wee, all the way home, after all?—pigs are part of our lives almost from the time we are born. How did they reach this lofty state? By being smart! Pigs are one of the most intellectual animals, capable of high-level learning. In 1972 sisters Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave decided pigs needed more acclaim, and so National Pig Day was established. On this day pigs are celebrated with special events, parades, and parties at zoos, farms, and schools.

The Three Ninja Pigs

Written by Corey Rosen Schwartz | Illustrated by Dan Santat

 

The Big Bad Wolf has never encountered Three Little Pigs like these! When the sibling trio (two brothers and a sister) in this fractured fairy tale have had enough of the wolf’s bullying they take matters into their own trotters. Enrolling at the new Ninja school, Pig One begins to learn aikido, but with a “straw-house” attitude, he drops out before he acquires any useful skills. Pig Two has little more “stick”-to-itiveness with his Jujitsu training and quickly says “Sayonara” to his teacher. Thankfully, Pig Three has the steadfastness of a brick. She earns her black belt in Karate and is ready to rumble.

When the wolf comes huffing and puffing to the doors of Pig One and Pig Two, things go…well…you know…. The wolf chases the two brothers to their sister’s house, where this “certified weapon” stands prepared. She demonstrates her kicks and flips, which don’t scare the wolf. When he witnesses her mighty ability to split bricks with one chop, however, the wolf scrams.

How do these intrepid pigs top that? The brothers learn their lesson and—finally—their ninja moves. After graduation this fearless family makes sure that wolf will never return by opening a dojo of their own!

Corey Rosen Schwartz has created a rowdy, rambunctious triple-pig threat in this uproarious rendering of the three little pigs tale. With perfect rhythmic limericks that are a joy to read aloud, Schwartz cleverly uses puns, funny dialogue, and one feisty piglet to chop the wolf down to size. Dan Santat’s illustrations are full of angst, action, and attitude. Legs kick, hands chop, boards and bamboo fly as the three pigs and their nemesis wolf nearly leap from the page in their battle.

Ages 4 – 8

G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2012 | ISBN978-0399255144

National Pig Day Activity

CPB - Pig Day pigs

Roly-Poly Pig and Piglets

 

Who doesn’t love hamming it up with a piglet? But let’s face it, having your own real pig just isn’t practical for everyone. Here’s a little piggie that you can make to keep you company on your desk or near your bed or anywhere it’s fun to play!

Supplies

  • Printable Pigs Ears Pattern
  • 2 ½-inch wooden spoon, available from craft stores
  • 1-inch wooden spool, available from craft stores
  • Pink yarn, I used a wide-strand yarn
  • Pink fleece or felt
  • Pink craft paint
  • Pink 5/8-inch or 1-inch flat button with two holes
  • Pink 3/8-inch flat button with two holes
  • Paint brush
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Black marker

CPB - Pig Day with spools (2)

Directions

  1. Print the Pigs Ears pattern
  2. Trace the ears onto the fleece or felt and cut them out.
  3. Paint the spool with the pink paint
  4. Let spool dry
  5. When the spool is dry, glue the ears to the spool, letting the ears stick up over the rim of the spool.
  6. Wrap yarn in straight layers around spool until the body of the pig is a little bigger than the end of the spool, which will be the face
  7. Cut yarn off skein and glue the end to the body
  8. To make the nose, glue the button over the hole in the middle of the spool
  9. Mark the eyes and mouth with a marker
  10. To make the tail for the large pig, cut a 4-inch long piece of yarn. Tie a triple knot in the yarn (or a knot big enough to fill the hole in the spool). Then tie a single knot below the first knot. Insert the large knot into the spool’s hole at the back of the pig. Trim the yarn in front of the second knot as needed.
  11. To make the tail for the piglets, tie a single knot in the yarn and another single know below the first. Insert one of the single knots into the hole. Trim yarn as needed.

February 29 – Haiku Writing Day

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celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-guyku-cover

About the Holiday

In honor of the shortest form of poetry, February—the year’s shortest month—has been designated as haiku writing month. While it may be the shortest form of poetry, a good haiku creates feelings and recognition far beyond its tiny size. Through objective words and unique juxtapositions, a haiku can make a reader experience a common event or emotion in a new and surprising way. February is National Haiku Writing Month, but you can write and enjoy this beautiful form of poetry every day of the year!

Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys

Written by Bob Raczka | Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

 

When you’re a guy sometimes the best moments in life are just that—moments. Observing insects or splashing in puddles doesn’t need pages of explanation. And feelings?—Yuck! But still, wouldn’t it be cool to describe these unforgettable moments creatively? Bob Raczka and Peter H. Reynolds have done just that in Guyku, which plucks the essence out of such seasonal activities as kite flying, raking leaves, swatting mosquitos, skipping stones, building snowmen, and more. Each haiku is a small gem that boys (and girls) will recognize and identify with.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-guyku-fishing

Image copyright Peter H. Reynolds, text copyright Bob Raczka. Courtesy of bobraczka.com

Peter Reynolds’ minimalist pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations highlight the brief poetry while giving each haiku individual boys who are curious, mischievous, determined, happy, and full of fun.Guyku stands up to multiple readings and will spark an appreciation for the joy in life’s fleeting moments.

Ages 4 – 8

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, New York, 2010 | ISBN 978-0547240039

Discover so many more books by Bob Raczka on his website!

Meet Peter H. Reynolds and view a gallery of art and books on his website!

Haiku Day Activity

CPB - Haiku Day Bookmark (2)

Cute-as-a-Button Bookmark

 

Sometimes you just can’t finish a book in one sitting, or you want to mark your favorite poem so you can go back and read it again and again. This bookmark is easy to make and will keep your page in style.

Supplies

  • Fleece or felt in your favorite color
  • Buttons of different colors and/or styles
  • Pony beads in various colors
  • Fabric or strong glue
  • Scissors

Directions

  1. Cut a strip of fleece or felt 1 – 1½ inches wide and 4 – 5 inches longer than the book you want to use it in.
  2. Glue the buttons onto the top of the bookmark
  3. Cut ¼ inch-wide by 1 inch-long fringe strips at the bottom of the fleece or felt.
  4. Slide pony beads onto the fringe strips (you may need to pull the fleece or felt through the bead with a tweezers)

February 27 – International Polar Bear Day

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Hush Little Polar Bear picture book review

About the Holiday

International Polar Bear Day was established as a day for people to learn more about these majestic animals and conservation efforts to protect them and their environment. You can celebrate by discovering ways to lessen global warming, which is believed to be a factor in the loss of polar bears’ natural habitats.

Hush Little Polar Bear

By Jeff Mack

 

A baby polar bear listens to the voice that tells him to “Hush, little polar bear. Sleep in the snow, and dream of the places where sleeping bears go.” The adorable polar bear, with its eyes shut tight, then dreams of sailing the seas while riding on the back of a whale, following a crab onto the beach, wading through a meadow and chasing butterflies, bounding after cows in a field, and having adventure after adventure. But who is the little girl on a sailboat, hiding behind a sandcastle, near the tree, and always popping up where the polar bear explores?

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-hush-little-polar-bear-with-whale

Copyright Jeff Mack, courtesy of us.macmillan.com

At the end of the book as the polar bear drifts through a window, kids discover that the traveling polar bear has been heeding the wishes of that mysterious little girl. As the bear takes its place cuddled up beside the young sleeper, readers may wonder—who is really dreaming, the girl or the little polar bear?

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-hush-little-polar-bear-on-beach

Copyright Jeff Mack, courtesy of us.macmillan.com

Jeff Mack has created a warm, fuzzy lullaby of a picture book, perfect for bedtime or any snuggle time. The lyrical text invites listeners to float along in the polar bear’s wake as it romps, swings, crawls, and flies through each two-page spread that presents the bear’s and the little girl’s dreamscapes as vividly as the best remembered dreams.

Ages 2 – 6

Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2008 | ISBN 978-1596433687

Discover more about Jeff Mack and his books on his website!

Polar Bear Week Activity

CPB - Polar Bear scarf

CPB - Polar Bear Banner

Polar Bear Scarf or Banner

 

Polar bears aren’t cold in the winter—and neither should you be! Here are directions and printable templates for making a cute scarf to keep you warm, or—if you’d rather—a banner to warm up your room.

Supplies

  • Printable Polar Bear and Igloo Template
  • 1 Strip of blue fleece 4 ½ feet long x 7 inches wide for the scarf
  • 1 Piece of blue scrapbooking paper for a banner
  • Pieces of white, black, blue, and purple fleece or scrapbooking paper to make the polar bear, igloo, snowflakes, and ice floes.
  • String or twine for banner
  • Scissors
  • Fabric or paper glue

Directions for Scarf

To make the fringe at each end of the scarf:

  1. Make 7 cuts about 4 inches long
  2. Tie a knot at the top of each fringe section

To make the pieces for the scarf or banner:

  1. Trace the polar bear and igloo sections from the Printable Template onto white fleece and cut out
  2. Trace the two ice floes onto blue fleece and cut out
  3. Trace the door of the igloo onto blue fleece and cut out
  4. Trace the polar bear’s scarf onto purple (or any color) fleece and cut out
  5. Cut out round snowflakes
  6. Cut out a small circle from black fleece for the Polar Bear’s nose

On one end of the scarf:

  1. Glue the smaller ice floe on one end of the scarf
  2. Tie the bear’s scarf around its neck before gluing the bear to the scarf
  3. Glue the polar bear onto the scarf with its feet on the ice floe
  4. Glue on the polar bear’s nose
  5. Make a small dot for the polar bear’s eye with a marker
  6. Glue snowflakes above polar bear

On the other end of the scarf:

  1. Glue the bigger ice floe to the scarf
  2. Glue the three pieces of the large igloo to the scarf, leaving a little space between sections
  3. Glue the small white door of the igloo on top of the last two igloo sections
  4. Glue the small blue door onto the white door
  5. Glue snowflakes above the igloo

Directions for Banner

  1. Cut a point at the bottom of your banner
  2. Follow the directions above to trace the pieces of the polar bear and igloo from the printable template onto scrapbooking paper
  3. Follow the directions above to glue the pieces of the polar bear and igloo to your banner
  4. Attach string or twine to back of banner to make a hanger

Picture Book Review

 

February 26 – National Tell a Fairy Tale Day

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CPB - There's a Wolf at the Door

About the Holiday

Today we celebrate the long tradition of oral and written stories that have captivated both children and adults since earliest times. While many of the fairy tales we love began as lessons in good manners or avoiding danger, they have remained popular and a part of our culture that we pass down to children through the generations. These tales stand up to traditional treatments as well as variations that turn the familiar plots on their heads.

There’s a Wolf at the Door: Five Classic Tales

Retold by Zoë B. Alley | Illustrated by R.W. Alley

 

There are big books of fairy tales and then there’s There’s a Wolf at the Door! In this oversized graphic-novel style picture book, that big, bad wolf who is so familiar in children’s stories follows his nose and his hungry stomach through 5 classic tales.

In “The Three Little Pigs,” the wolf starts out with much confidence and bluster. He huffs and he puffs, but in the end he’s outsmarted by the third little pig. In quite a fright he follows the sign to “Greener Pastures” where he finds Barry, a shepherd boy with an unfortunate aversion to boredom. The wolf suddenly finds himself accused of eating sheep, but quickly realizes he can turn the boy’s foolish cries to his advantage. He doesn’t count on the crafty sheep, however, who thwart the wolf’s plans while their shepherd runs around in circles, screaming.

The wolf finds his escape on a path through the woods marked “To Granny’s House.” On the path he meets up with Rhonda, a fashionista who loves red clothing and appreciates her strange companion’s sense of style. While they walk toward Granny’s house together, discussing coats, hats, and flowers for Rhonda’s hair, the wolf gives Rhonda the slip and runs a frightened Granny out the back door. Rhonda scares him off with a well-aimed red shoe and a grab at Granny’s stolen nightgown. Not wanting to appear so naked, the wolf pulls the white wooly rug around his shoulders and hightails it to a peaceful meadow.

Here a family out for a picnic discovers him napping. The little girl mistakes him for a poodle, but her mother believes he is a sheep. When he tries to menace them with a display of fierceness, the unimpressed family simply calls him rude and wanders off to find another picnic spot. Who does he spy a short distance away, but Barry the shepherd and his sheep. Disguised under his rug, the wolf creeps up on the flock, who are not fooled. This time as Barry runs away, the sheep use his crook to toss the wolf around.

As the wolf catches his breath by the river, he receives a package from Rhonda, who has learned to be kind and considerate from her experience with the wolf. Inside, he discovers a new outfit, and he is once again restored to his dapper self. Hearing that the nearby house is full of unattended goslings, the wolf devises a plan to capture them and take them home for dinner. While these goslings may be rambunctious and disobedient to their brother Alphonse, when threatened they work together to foil their pesky visitor.

In the end the wolf decides that perhaps he’s better off as a vegetarian and readers leave him contemplating a shortcut through the woods to Farmer McGregor’s Garden.

Using clever inside jokes, humorous asides, sassy heroines and heroes, and a woebegone wolf out of his depth, the husband and wife team of Zoë B. Alley and R.W. Alley have transformed these well-known classics into unique, rib-tickling stories for a new generation. The comic strip style drawings fit the droll tone of the tales perfectly and are full of details kids will love to point out. While older children will enjoy reading this book on their own,There’s a Wolf at the Door also makes for an exciting read-aloud storytime.

Ages 4 – 8

Roaring Brook Press, 2008 | ISBN 978-1596432758

National Tell a Fairy Tale Day Activity

CPB - Fairy Tale box

Treasure Box of Imagination

Whether it’s gold, silver, jewels, pirate loot, or just bits of nature or knick-knacks, our favorite things are our treasures and fuel our imaginations. For Fairy Tale Day make your own Treasure Box

Supplies

  • 1 small wooden box, available at craft stores
  • Gold acrylic craft paint
  • Craft gems
  • Paint brush
  • Hot glue gun or strong glue

Directions

  1. Paint your wooden box with the gold paint
  2. Let the box dry
  3. Decorate your Treasure Box of Imagination with gems