Tag Archives: Dan Santat

Searching for Sasquatch

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sasquatchA sasquatch is on the loose, and it will take 2 resourceful kids to find him! Our story time teams ventured into our gallery to find a hidden sasquatch. One team member had no idea where he was hiding. The other team member knew exactly where he was hiding, but could only give directions by saying “Hot” or “Cold.” The prize was a personalized “Certificate of Merit for Sasquatch Catching,” and a sasquatch ornament to take home! This activity was part of To Be Continued, our story time for kids ages 6-8.

ornament and certificateWe read The Imaginary Veterinary Book 1: The Sasquatch Escape, written by Suzanne Selfors, and illustrated by Dan Santat (Little, Brown, 2013). Ben Silverstein, age 10, has been exiled for the summer. While his parents work through some troubles, Ben is sent to stay with his Grandpa Abe in the town of Buttonville, middle of nowhere, USA. Once bustling, Buttonville is quickly sliding into disrepair after the enormous button factory shut down. But things are not what they seem. A giant bird swooping through the night sky looks a lot like a dragon. The “bat” Grandpa’s cat dragged in? It breathes fire! Eventually, Ben and his new friend, Pearl Petal, learn that the old button factory has been converted into a top secret hospital for Imaginary Creatures. And Ben accidentally lets the sasquatch out. Can Ben and Pearl catch the sasquatch before the whole town discovers the secret?

You’ll need:

First, print the big sasquatch. You can simply cut it out, or you can reinforce it with some  tagboard or poster board. Since my sasquatch was going to get a real workout, I reinforced it with tagboard and added a triangular base.

front and back of sasquatchHere’s a shot of the base from the side. I secured it with hot glue, but tape works too!

base of sasquatchTo play the game, divide the kids into teams of 2 (rather than let them team up with their buddies, I had them put their names in a box and randomly drew to create the teams). The first team member hid his/her eyes while I hid the sasquatch in the gallery. The second team member watched me hide it, so he/she knew exactly where it was. When I said “Go!” the teams started to search for the sasquatch. The first team member proceeded through the gallery, relying on the second team member to direct him/her towards the sasquatch using the words “Hot” (i.e. getting close to it) and “Cold” (i.e. moving away from it). Teams ran twice so each kid got a chance to find the sasquatch AND be the one to give directions.

When we were finished, everyone received a “Certificate of Merit” for catching the sasquatch – which is exactly what Ben and Pearl earn in the books! The frame clipart I used didn’t extend to a full-size page, so I trimmed the certificate down to 8.5″ x 9.5″.  I also fancied up my certificates with an embossed gold foil seal.

certificateKids also received a mini sasquatch ornament. Basically, it’s a smaller version of the big guy with a piece of twine taped to the back:

taped ornamentYou could, of course, give each kid a “full-size” sasquatch. Totally up to you!

I tend not to incorporate food into many of my programs because of food allergies, but another fantastic prize would be a bar of chocolate. In the book, a chocolate bar is an essential tool in the “Sasquatch Catching Kit” (along with a tranquilizer dart, blowpipe, net, fog bomb, and a sasquatch calling whistle). Just don’t ask the sasquatch any questions. It’ll make him angry.

A final word about The Sasquatch Escape. Not only did my story time kids love this book, my son and I are currently blasting through the series. They are funny, fantastical, unusual, and terrific to read-aloud. As one boy in the program said about halfway through the book, “This is the BEST book I’ve ever heard!” Absolutely worth checking out!

Imagine That

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long-haired rainbow yakI’d like to introduce you to my imaginary friend Roy, the long-haired rainbow yak. Perhaps you have an imaginary friend too? No? Well, we can certainly help you find one!

We read The Adventures of Beekle, The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat (Little, Brown, 2014). On a far away island where imaginary friends are created, a creature with no name is born. He waits, along with the other imaginary friends, for a child to pick him and give him a special name. But it never happens. So our unnamed hero sets off to find a child on his own. He arrives at a big city and is disappointed at what he finds (no kids eating cake, people in a hurry, and everyone appears in need of a nap). Climbing to the top of a tree, he searches for his friend. No one arrives. He is sad. Suddenly there is a shout! A little girl needs help retrieving her drawing from the branches of the tree. A friendship is born. Alice names her new friend…Beekle. I love this sweet, touching, and beautifully drawn book.

Depending on the type of friend you make, you’ll need:

  • 1 small oatmeal container – OR – 1 box (mine was 4 ½” X 4 ½” x 6”)
  • 1 – 4 toilet paper tubes
  • Construction paper
  • A variety of art supplies (more on this below)
  • Markers for decorating
  • Scissors, tape, glue sticks for construction
  • Hot glue

Katie and I made 4 example friends to demonstrate the various oatmeal container, box, and toilet paper tube leg combinations. We did have one request for paper towel tube legs, which we happily granted. Here are the example friends:

yak sidepurplecrocpinkie birdOnce the kids decided on their friend’s body shape and legs, we steered them towards 2 tables (and 2 windowsills) piled with art supplies, warmed up our two hot glue stations (staffed by Katie and myself) and invited them to let their imaginations soar!

You can use any art supplies you’d like of course. Or even go with the simplicity of white construction paper and markers. But just in case you’re interested, here is the list of all the art supplies we provided, pulled from the depths of our storage closet and drawers…

The resulting friends were imaginative and utterly delightful. We managed to capture the majority of them in our temporary photo studio. You can click on any of the thumbnails below to open a larger image. The toilet paper tube legs were very popular, but check out “Cowmoo” and “Rose” rocking some alternative leg styles!