Keep your eyes open…you might just spot a unicorn in the library!
We read Do You Believe in Unicorns? by Bethanie Deeney Murguia (Candlewick Press, 2018). It might look like a horse in red hat, but the book’s narrator isn’t quite convinced. I mean, it could be a horse who thinks its hair is messy, likes the color red, or is trying to keep its head dry. But if you truly believe…then yes, it’s definitely a unicorn!
You’ll need:
- 1 pony head template, printed on 11″ x 17″ paper
- A 11″ x 27″ piece of white poster board for head (plus extra for the horn)
- 2 rectangles of white construction paper for ears (approximately 2″ x 3.5″)
- Construction paper for mane and forelock
- 2 wiggle eyes
- 2 black dot stickers for nose
- A 41.5″ piece of PVC pipe for stick
- A 35″ piece of ribbon for the reins
- Hole punch
- Packing tape
- Stapler, scissors, tape for construction
- Markers for decorating
- Hot glue
Our unicorn is the stick horse we designed for this story time project. With an additional horn, of course. Our horns were 9″ long, and constructed from extra poster board. I stapled two, 3″ tabs of poster board to the base, then folded the tabs outward and hot glued them to either side of the horse’s forehead so the horn stayed centered.
Once we completed our unicorns, we rode forth in the library, including trotting through a magical hoop of flowers (which you might recognize as the slightly deconstructed door from our Hobbit event)! Those talented unicorns even took a stab at a theater performance!
And for the record, I do believe in unicorns.
What could be better then a big brilliant sunflower? Why, a sunflower that also shares good thoughts and positive messages with everyone! It’s a colorful craft project with a lot of heart, much like the author of this very special story time book.
In the story, Hubie the Horse uses a dented bucket for his sunflower, so we snagged these cute mini buckets on Amazon. But a box, paper cup, or flower pot works just as well. We also added green crinkle paper around the sunflower’s base to steady the stalk. Now for the message butterflies!
Color and cut the butterflies from the template, then add a tag with a positive message on it. You can attach the message butterflies directly to the sunflower, or you can do what we did and turn them into magnets! Our magnetic butterflies attached to the metal buckets, but we also slipped paperclips on the petals for the butterflies to rest on. Gift a message butterfly to friends and family, and they can proudly display them on their fridges!
As a nod to her marvelous sewing skills, we had a drawing for a GIANT stuffed horse at story time. Here’s our happy winner…she was quite enamored, and her Dad emailed me later and shared that she insisted it sleep next to her that night.
This story time was full of love, laughter, positivity, joy, and delight. This was very intentional, as it was also a celebration of Barbara herself, who passed in February 2024. Hubie has a special place in my heart, and I was extraordinarily honored to share her final book with our community.
One last magical thing. Barbara’s husband Mark came to the event and brought copies of Hubie for every family! It was incredibly generous, and I very much want to thank him for coming and celebrating with us. Kids weren’t even waiting until they left the library to enjoy the story of sweet Hubie the Horse.
It’s beautiful, botanical, and inspiring…find your little light in the darkness with this lovely garden box illuminated with shimmering votive candles!
While this was a quiet and simple project, it was incredibly cozy and the kids absolutely loved it. Our story time can sometimes get a 