Jingle All the Way

Blue Yellow Minimalist Meet The Team Instagram Post - 1Bring on the color, fun, decorations, and wheels…the jingle trucks are here! Author Hinna Shahid visited our library’s story time, and brought her two fantastic books to share: My First Jingle Truck, and Riding on a Tuk Tuk (Vah Masti Books, 2022). Both of these wonderful books take the reader on a journey through the landscapes and culture of South Asia. Hinna brought six signed copies to give away, which was amazing!

Jingle trucks are famous in South Asia for their elaborate patterns, details, calligraphy, and paintings. Each truck is unique to the driver, and represents pride in their work as well as their dedication to beauty. The truck’s dangling chains earn them their famous name. A tuk tuk is a smaller three-wheel truck, used for zipping around the roads quickly.

We decided to bring Hinna’s book to life by decorating step-inside jingle trucks! Our trucks were white office file boxes. We cut the bottoms out, then used that extra cardboard to fashion the cab of the truck. A pair of ribbons tied to the handles of the box acted as suspenders to hold the truck in place. Then we brought TONS of decorating supplies out of our art cabinets.

The biggest hit were bookmark tassels left over from this event. I also learned that many jingle trucks have “Horn Please” signs on the back. So I created those as well!

The office filing boxes we used were a bit of a splurge (a package of 20 costs $50 on Amazon. However, copy paper boxes work as well if you have room to store them. The  boxes fit drivers of every size:

Large…

Medium…

And small!

When the trucks were complete, Hinna handed out jingle bell bracelets to each driver (again, purchased on Amazon, a box of 48 were $33). To keep your budget low, you can buy packs of individual jingle bells (typically a pack of 50 runs about $6) and hand out just a few per driver.

After rush hour ended, I caught up with Hinna to chat about her awesome books!


Please tell us a little about yourself!

I am a Physician Scientist working in the healthcare industry and a mother to a 3-year-old toddler residing in New Jersey.

Both of your books My First Jingle Truck and Riding on a Tuk Tuk were released in 2022. How did these books come about?

My upbringing involved extensive travel around the world, with one of my favorite destinations being my grandparents’ home in Pakistan during the summer. During those trips, I was fascinated by the multitude of three-wheel vehicles known as Auto Rickshaws and the vibrant, hand-painted Trucks that adorned the roads. Among my cherished childhood memories is the joy of riding with my grandmother on a Tuk Tuk to explore the local bazaar. The experience of zipping through the narrow streets, feeling the wind in my hair, and being enchanted by the delightful aroma of spices is something I still hold dear.

As I witnessed my own son growing up in the United States, I wanted to share my childhood reminiscences with him by reading books together. However, during the COVID pandemic, while searching online, I was unable to find a book that captured those memories. This inspired me to embark on a journey as a children’s book author, which began about two years ago. As a determined mother on a mission, I set out to share my treasured recollections of South Asia with the world.

Your books are on wheels! That’s fantastic! How did you decide to add those?

In my quest to introduce my son to the rich tapestry of South Asian culture in an enjoyable manner, serendipity struck during a family trip to London. There, I came across books equipped with wheels, and a creative idea took shape in my mind. Inspired by this discovery, I resolved to incorporate wheels into the books, transforming them into captivating and interactive pieces for young readers.

Are there any illustrations or locations in the books that are significant to you?

Within the pages of the two books, numerous stops and locations hold significance as they are drawn from a blend of my cherished childhood memories and recent journeys to India and Pakistan. Among these, Agra, India, holds a special place in my heart, for it is there that the awe-inspiring beauty of the Taj Mahal was brought to life.

What are you working on now?

I am currently immersed in several exciting projects for my next books. At the moment, I am exploring captivating new themes and storylines that will engage young readers and spark their imaginations. I’m also delving into more diverse cultures and settings, aiming to introduce children to different parts of the world through the magic of storytelling. Stay tuned for more updates and exciting developments from me as a children’s book author. There are wonderful adventures and heartwarming tales waiting to be unveiled. Your continued support and interest mean a lot, and I can’t wait to share these new stories with you soon!


Many thanks to Hinna Shahid for coming to our library and donating books to our library visitors! See you on the road! 

Pastries On Parade!

What do you think…is this too much pink? Display alllllll your fabulous frills with a delicious donut float, then join a march around the library. Today, we’re celebrating frosting, filling, glaze, and sprinkles. And yes, we have parade footage!

We read The Great Doughnut Parade by Rebecca Bond (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). It begins with Billy, who has innocently tied a donut to his belt for convenience. His little life hack triggers a chain reaction of followers, from farm animals to a marching band! Billy is unaware of it all, and finishes his day calmly sailing his boat and dreaming with his delicious donut.

You’ll need:

  • 1 wheel assembly (more on this below!)
  • An assortment of boxes
  • Art supplies for decorating
  • Yarn
  • 1 donut parade float template, printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
  • Scissors, tape, glue, and hot glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating

Our wheel assembly is exactly like this pig parade float, except that we substituted toilet paper rolls for tape boxes. Simply glue or tape various boxes to the top of your wheel assembly, then decorate! In addition to the donut template, we offered construction paper, straws, fabric flowers, paper crinkle, crepe paper streamers, craft ties, stickers, and muffin cups. We finished it off with a yarn pull string. And then my friends we MARCHED!


Song: Marching Music on the Tramp by John Philip Sousa. Original source: Music by Nesrality from Pixabay. Created in iMovie.

Tiger Tales

It’s story time, and this sweet tiger is eager to read! Best of all, the book is all about your favorite things. It’s art and autobiography, mixed into one!

We read Read to Tiger, written by S.J. Fore and illustrated by R.W. Alley (Penguin Group, 2012; read here by Super Mega Toy Squad). A little boy is trying to quietly sit and read, but an effusive and playful Tiger keeps interrupting with everything from chewing gum to karate. Will Tiger ever settle down? Well, maybe if the book happens to be about his favorite thing…TIGERS!

You’ll need:

  • A large tissue box 
  • Construction paper
  • Paper cup
  • Glue, scissors, stapler, and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

Wrap the tissue box in orange construction paper. Your tiger stripes can be black construction paper, drawn on with markers, or you can use self-adhesive foam like we did. The tiger’s muzzle is a shortened paper cup. Add ears, a white tummy, a tail, and some hind legs. Finally, overlap two rounded strips of construction paper around the front of the box so the tiger can cradle the story book. Done!

Our book was about 4″ tall. We folded and stapled together some sheets, then filled the pages with drawings of our favorite things…favorite bird, holiday, weather, number, dessert, color, drink, fruit, animal, etc.

Finally, in keeping with the spirit of the book, story time kids could come “read” their book to me (with a few additional tigers in attendance, of course). And please note the awesome sparkle stem eyeglasses on the tiger on the far left…

This story time was special for another reason, but we can’t do a reveal right now! Stay tuned, and in a few months, all can be shared!