Category Archives: Picture Book Projects

These Royals? Totally Rocked It

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these royals rocked it

You don’t need to wait until coronation day to rock the royal look…be bold, resplendent you EVERY day!

We read Princess Hair by Sharee Miller (Little, Brown, 2014). Princesses of course wear crowns, but what about the hair underneath that sparkling circlet? In this fun rhyming book, a number of different hair styles are paired with various principals of princess positivity…puffs play pretend, twist outs twirl about, kinks love to think, curls wear pearls, bantu knots bake a lot, braids throw parades, and so on!

You’ll need:

  • 1 crown
  • An assortment of construction paper
  • 2 paper cups
  • Poster board (ours was 15″ in diameter)
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating

First, the crown! We purchased “Gold Foil Crowns” from Oriental Trading Company ($5 a dozen), and provided both large and small sheets of construction paper to craft hair. If you desire texture to your locks, here are our 3 favorites…the accordion fold, and 2 types of curls achieved by wrapping the construction paper fringe around a marker or pencil:

crimp & curl If you’d like to make a beard, fringe a sheet of construction paper and attach a mustache. Tape a piece of twisteez wire to the back, then loop the wire around your ears to secure the beard in place.

beard constructionThat takes care of the crown and hair, but we wanted to go big with the bling…so we also made bejeweled collars and bracelets! The collar is a folded circle of poster board (we used gold) with the center cut out so kids can slide the collar over their heads.

royal collarThe bracelets are paper cups (again, we used gold) cut to fit the kids’ wrists. We decorated everything with large gemstones, sparkle stems, textured metallic paper, gold embossed foil seals, and scrap pieces of gold poster board. I went with a textured neckline for my design…

collar with red jewels   And Katie went with a bold metal block for hers…

collar with green jewelsResplendent, indeed!

Turtle’s Terrific Town

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turtle's terrific town

Why go to town, when you can BE the town? One turtle ventures forth to find the answer!

We read The Town of Turtle, written by Michelle Cuevas, and illustrated by Cátia Chien (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018). Turtle lives a quiet life with only his shadow for company. But he dreams of a big, beautiful town full of light and laughter. So he decides to build one on his shell, complete with houses, gardens, parks, a library – even an ice-skating rink! Exhausted, Turtle falls asleep, and his dream ventures forth to other animals, telling them of the amazing new town. Enchanted, they move in. When Turtle awakes, he is surprised to find exactly what he always wished for – a lively town of happy friends, riding right on his back!

You’ll need:

  • 1 corrugated cardboard base (ours was 7″ x 10″)
  • 2 toilet paper tubes
  • An assortment of small boxes and tubes
  • An assortment of construction paper
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating

turtle tableFirst, build your “turtle table.” This is a corrugated cardboard base with 4 toilet paper tubes halves attached to the bottom. We used heavier weight poster board for the head and tail, but construction paper works too. Then, gather assorted boxes and tubes to create a town!

finished turtle townWe offered patterned paper and construction paper to decorate the boxes. The windows and doors are old mailing/file labels and dot stickers. Some green pom-pom shrubs finished the look. But some kids opted to simply decorate their boxes with markers. Really, anything goes!

Two questions: 1) Does this project remind anyone of Terry Pratchett’s Great A’Tuin; and 2) Have you seen this awesome cake version by Kayleigh’s Creations?

Love Grows Strong

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love grows strong

Nurture your garden of family and friends’ names with heart confetti, sprinkled from a watering can. Katie designed this project, and she upped the “awwww!” factor to eleven, folks!

We read Plant a Kiss, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds (Harper Collins, 2012). Little Miss plants a smooch in the ground, and it grows into a sparkly, gorgeous feeling of love. And what does she do? Shares it, of course! Beautiful book.

You’ll need:

  • 1 box (ours was 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” – a large tissue box works too)
  • Assorted construction paper (but definitely include green)
  • 6 green pipe cleaners
  • 1 name flowers template, printed on 8.5″ x 11″ white card stock
  • 1 small oatmeal container
  • A box cutter
  • 1 toilet paper tube
  • 1 strip of poster board (ours was 1″ x 8″)
  • Red poster board
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

family flower box

To make your flower box, fringe green construction paper and attach it to the inside perimeter of the box. Color and cut the flowers from the template, and write the names of  loved ones on them. Then tape each flower head to a green pipe cleaner and tape the stems inside the box. We added a crepe paper streamer and ribbon to the outside of the box as well, but this is optional.

watering canThe watering can is a small oatmeal container wrapped in construction paper. Use a box cutter to cut a hole for the “spout,” which is a toilet paper tube that has been cut down to 2.5″. Attach a poster board handle, and then decorate everything with (optional) color masking tape or markers. The final touch is heart confetti:

watering can heartsOur confetti was a blend of foam shapes, iridescent fabric hearts, and red poster board hearts (the construction paper versions were too light, and tended to jam in the spout). Drop your confetti in the watering can, and gently shake over your garden to share the love!