After Midnight

Take a nighttime stroll in your local neighborhood and…who knows? You might notice something you’ve never seen before! Light projects are always a hit at our story times, and this sweet story was the perfect companion to the craft.

We read Night Walk, written by Sara O’Leary and illustrated by Ellie Arscott (Groundwood Books, 2020). When a young child can’t sleep, their Dad invites them on a night walk through the neighborhood. From warm lights in windows to late suppers, the world can be a different place, even when you’re close to home.

You’ll need:

  • 1 large box (ours was 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” but a large tissue box works too!)
  • 1 small strand of LED string lights
  • Dark blue poster board
  • Construction paper and tagboard
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hole punch

This project is a simple diorama with silhouettes of buildings cut out of tagboard. Kids used hole punches to add windows to the buildings and “stars” to the sky:

To light the box, we used strands of mini LED lights scored from a holiday discount bin. First, punch holes in a rectangle of dark blue poster board, then push a light bulb through each hole. Use tape to secure the wires to the back of the poster board to prevent the light bulbs from wiggling loose.

In the above photo, you can also see how the end of the light strand is threaded through the back of the box. It leads to the strand’s battery pack, which we taped to the back of the box to make it extra sturdy.

Complete this portion of the project by taping the night sky to the back of the box!

Now add your tagboard skyline, then decorate your buildings with markers, construction paper, or whatever else is available! We also recommend adding cardboard trees, shrubs, sidewalk, whatever strikes your fancy!

When the projects were complete, we lined up all the boxes, turned out the lights, and everyone took a walk to enjoy and observe the little worlds we created!

Of Squirrels and Sweaters

Spring might just be around the corner, but there’s still time to bust out a cozy, super snazzy sweater. Especially if you’re a squirrel with a celebration to get to!

We read Squirrel’s Sweater, written by Laura Renauld and illustrated by Jennie Poh (Beaming Books, 2021). Squirrel is excited about the Winter Warmup party, but when she puts on her favorite sweater (knitted by Granny Gray) it’s considerably smaller and tighter then the previous winter. She asks her friends for help, but despite their best intentions, the sweater gets ripped and unraveled. Clever Squirrel has a solution though, upcycling the sweater materials to make a lovely, huggable heart pillow.

You’ll need:

  • 1 large tissue box
  • Construction paper
  • Red felt
  • Cotton stuffing
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

Our project is very simple! Use brown construction paper to cover a large tissue box, then add a tail, ears, and feet. Use another color construction paper (we went with red) to create a sweater for your squirrel, then add two arms that circle around the front of the squirrel like so:

To make the squirrel’s sweater extra dynamic, we offered a variety of colorful fabric squares for texture. We also attached wiggle eyes and a self-adhesive foam nose, but those are just as easy to draw on with markers.

We absolutely loved the sweet pillow in the book (and there are instructions for making your very own “no sew” pillow at the end of the book – awesome!). To create a mini pillow, glue two felt hearts together, then stuff them with cotton. Top off the look with an (optional) ribbon bow.

The heart pillow slides right into squirrel’s arms for a sweet hug, just like the story! Aww!

When Wily Woodpeckers Want Waffles

The story time diner is open, and delicious waffles await! Your mission: to get the woodpecker to the table…by any means possible!

We read Woodpecker Wants a Waffle by Steve Breen (HarperCollins, 2016). Benny the Woodpecker makes every attempt to taste the waffles at Moe’s Diner, but is consistently thwarted by a stern waitress. The other animals laugh at Benny, but he’s determined not to give up. He hatches an incredibly complicated plan to get into Moe’s (juggling, dancing, cannons, fireworks, etc.). The next day, a crowd of animals arrive to see Benny’s crazy plan in action, but he is nowhere in sight. The herd draws the intrigue of the diner customers, who step outside to stare at the animals…leaving the restaurant unguarded. Benny walks right in. Success! The delicious waffles are all his, and they are well worth the effort!

You’ll need:

  • 1 box (ours was 9” x 4 ½” X 4 ½” but a large tissue box works too!)
  • 1 smaller box that fits inside the larger box (ours was 4″ x 4″ x 2″)
  • 2 toilet paper tubes
  • A selection of construction paper
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

This is essentially a toss game, with the goal of getting the two toilet paper tube characters into the diner to enjoy waffles. We folded up the lid of a large craft box to create the sign for our diner, and couldn’t resist adding a large picture window, tissue paper shrubs, star stickers, and patterned wallpaper. The toilet paper tube characters can be decorated with construction paper and markers.

Inside the diner is a small box that serves as a table – just make sure there’s space around the table for the the toilet paper tube characters during the toss game!

Want to try another variation on the game? Have one person close their eyes and “guard” the diner, while another tries to sneak the woodpecker to the table without being heard!