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Category Archives: Picture Book Crafts
the thing about yetis + edible play dough yeti craft!
The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel (2015).
The title of this book refers to yetis plural, but we get to follow one particular yeti and his little furry buddy to illustrate all the things about yetis.
And the thing is, yetis love winter. They are abominable snowmen after all. But let it be known this pair is not abominable at all! Cute and zany are the words that come to mind.
(click image(s) to enlarge)
They’re downright childlike! Our yeti loves hot chocolate and snow castles and pretending to be Godzilla. Our yeti plays in the snow with human kids in the most good-natured way.
He may be built for the cold, but winter can be a bit much even for him—our yeti gets pretty poofy when his fur finally dries after a day in the drifts.
Our yeti can even become down in the dumps with all that snow.
Which leads us to a little known fact: yetis love summer! Our yeti loves sand castles too!
This is a book for winter and dreaming of summer. Or for summer and dreaming of winter. Or really, any time you feel like following a sweet, cute-pie yeti who likes to pretend he’s Godzilla.
Big thanks to Penguin Young Readers for images!
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The minute I saw this book, I thought, “Yeti craft!” And then I thought, “Edible yeti craft!”
These sweeties are made from edible play dough. And while I wouldn’t recommend eating them whole (definitely not!), if little hands get in little mouths, this recipe makes it safe. I also took edible to heart and completed the craft with candy. Everything is edible!
The play dough was very simple to make and so therapeutic to play around with.
What you need:
For the play dough:
A 12 ounce tub of whipped topping (I used Cool Whip)
3/4 of a 16 ounce box of cornstarch
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Bowl
Wooden spoon
For the big yeti’s face:
2 Blue candy melts
2 mini chocolate chips
Dab-N-Hold edible adhesive
1 pink Sweet Tarts Chewy
Toothpick
For the little yeti:
2 mini chocolate chips
1 pink gummy candy
2 blue Sweet Tarts (earmuffs!)
Winter setting:
Toblerone snow capped chocolate mountains
Powdered sugar (or flour or mini marshmallows…)
Summer setting:
Sweet Tarts Chewy candies (or any colorful candy for sand)
Seashell chocolates
Orange/yellow gummy sun
You can, of course, play around with all this and make it totally your own with what you’ve got on hand.
To make the play dough, I followed this recipe from Kids Activities Blog. Combine a whole (thawed) tub of whipped topping and the olive oil and then add in corn starch mixing with a wooden spoon. You can add corn starch bit by bit until it gets to a consistency that’s easy to work with. Then, shape your yetis by rolling a big ball of dough and squishing it into an oval. Then taper the top part slightly. Next, roll three small tubes of dough and adhere them to the respective yeti’s heads as hair.
For the faces, luckily all the candy sticks right into the dough! It’s that simple! For big yeti’s eyeballs though, I used Dab-N-Hold to adhere the mini chocolate chips in place. Finally, use a toothpick to carve simple mouths into their faces. That’s it! Then rip open some bags of candy and set whatever scene you’d like!
Voila!
Putting them in snow was so much fun (and worth the clean up). I also can’t help but smile at little yeti’s candy earmuffs.
And we can’t forget a summer scene too! Yetis also love the beach.
My favorite detail is that chocolate mountain range. To yetis!
pom pom panda gets the grumps + pom pom panda craft!
Pom Pom Panda Gets the Grumps by Sophy Henn (2015).
Sophy Henn‘s debut, Where Bear? was exceptional. (See my post on what makes it A+). And her second picture book does not disappoint.
Pom Pom is cute as a button. He’s in a mid-century-inspired world with colors that pop while remaining pastel.
(click image(s) to enlarge)
But he can’t find his blanket, his hair’s all messed up, and it’s generally a rotten day. You know the kind. To this, Pom Pom says, “Harrumph!”
He takes it out on his friends when they try to play with him. He yells, “Go Away!” which is kind of like a “harrumph” blown up. The whole page explodes in red and Pom Pom’s friends are smart enough to flee.
Pom Pom is left very very alone. He realizes his mistake—that he let his grumps get the better of him. You know the feeling.
He repairs. He plays with his friends. And then, well, something small happens. Again. This may not be the end of Pom Pom’s journey. Because really, don’t we all have to learn things over and over in order for them to stick?
Thanks to Sophy Henn for images!
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This is a book that calls out for a craft! That cute Pom Pom! This one’s super easy to make too.
What you need:
Black construction paper
White computer paper
Scissors
Pencil
Fabric glue (Elmer’s might work too)
One large white pom pom (like this)
Shave off the sides of the pom pom with scissors to make a more square-ish shape for Pom Pom’s head.
Cut out ears, a tiny sliver of a mouth shape, and the main eye patch shape from black paper. (I traced from the book, which always helps.) Then cut out white u’s from white paper. Glue all the parts in place.
You can cut out some starry shapes as well for Pom Pom’s background if you like.
Voila!
You might also be interested in making a Beekle character!
24 days of story: picture book advent calendar + printable template
I’m so excited about this project: an advent calendar that brings picture books to life! Count down all 24 days to Christmas by reading a seasonally-themed picture book and an activity that goes with it—and I promise they’re super simple. Scroll down for the details!
The beauty is that you can do the activity without each book in case you or your library doesn’t have them. But ideally, it’s all about celebrating book-brought-to-life magic. (Of course your calendar can be in whatever order you like or with books you choose too!)
Each paper flag has a book title and a simple craft or activity—from making a paper snowflake to writing a letter to a friend to giving away something you own. And I put together a template you can print to make it as easy as possible!
What you need:
24 candy sticks (I got mine here in Los Angeles, but you can buy them online or use readily available candy canes as well)
Cup/container
Glue gun
Scissors
Marker (silver or whatever you like)
Optional: rice
Print out the template. Cut along the lines so you have 24 paper slips, one for each book/activity.
Fold each slip in half and cut a triangle shape out of one end (you can make some right and some left-facing flags if you like). Write the corresponding number on the paper (or save this step for last).
Using a glue gun, glue each paper flag around a candy stick.
Put your candies in a cup or vase or mug. I poured rice in the bottom to elevate the sticks so I could see more of those colorful stripes.
Voila!
Here’s how I’ve broken down the calendar (and remember, you can follow this without the craft part too).
No Two Alike by Keith Baker.
Fox’s Garden by Princess Camcam.
Dear Yeti by James Kwan.
At the Same Moment around the World by Clotilde Perrin.
Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky.
The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.
A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles by Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Wonderful Fluffly Little Squishy by Beatrice Alemagna.
Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Julie Morstad.
Julia, Child words by Kyo Maclear, pictures by Julie Morstad.
Santa Through the Window by Taro Gomi.
Peace is an Offering words by Annette LeBox, pictures by Stephanie Graegin.
Making a Friend by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal.
Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins and G. Brian Karas.
A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis.
A Letter for Bear by David Lucas.
Sparkle and Spin by Ann & Paul Rand.
Penguin & Pinecone by Salina Yoon.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier retold by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Jen Corace.
Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee.
Something Extraordinary by Ben Clanton.
Imogene’s Antlers by David Small.
Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jane Dyer.
I’ll be counting down the days, doing many of the activities. You can follow along on my Instagram @writesinla to see!
Wishing you a joyful holiday season full of books and other wonderful things!
You might also like last year’s 12 Days of Story: The Snow Queen Advent Calendar.
ghost picture books for Halloween + ghost flashlight craft
Ghost stories for Halloween! (None scary!)
I give you four super different and inventive picture books, each starring a ghost or ghosts (clockwise):
Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson. A friendly ghost story.
Ghosts in the House by Kozuno Kohara. A very whimsical ghost story.
Miffy the Ghost by Dick Bruna. A simple, sweet ghost story.
Ghosts by Sonia Goldie, illustrated by Marc Boutavant. A ghost story full of ordinary yet original household ghosts.
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This flashlight ghost is a fun and easy Halloween craft to make by day and play with by night. Spooky but cute!
What you need:
A large flashlight (non LED works better)
White paper
Tape
Black marker/Sharpie
A colored gel/cellophane
Draw a simple ghost shape on a piece of any white paper. Cut out the shape, leaving the negative spaced shape. Cut your white paper into a circle and tape it so the ghost is in the center of the flashlight. Tape a sheet of colored cellophane over the ghost. Draw two eyeballs on the cellophane with black marker.
Background music is from the Into the Wild soundtrack by Michael Brook.
Turn out the lights, turn on the flashlight, and float your ghost around the walls!
Happy Halloween!
one word from sophia + marshmallow giraffes from the decorated cookie
One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail (2015).
This book has a wonderful, sophisticated group of family members. It has loose, lively illustrations (aren’t they lovely?). And it has Sophia, who wants a giraffe for a pet.
Sophia’s one true desire is a pet giraffe. Her four problems are “Mother, who was a judge, Father who was a businessman, Uncle Conrad, who was a politician, and Granda-mamá who was very strict.”
Each family member’s occupation comes into play with how Sophia tries to convince them about the giraffe. Each gives her rhetorical advice that boils down to: use fewer words.
It’s so much fun to see Sophia make charts and graphs and poll her stuffed animals. Sophia is determined. Sophia is smart. Sophia is creative. We as readers have a feeling Sophia will come out all right in the end.
I rarely give away the exact ending of a book, but I just have to here. So, spoiler alert, Sophia gets a giraffe. I love that! In a book so rooted in exactness and elocution and making realistic arguments, Sophia ends up with a yellow, brown-spotted, very tall pet of her own. Of course she does. She said that one word from the title.
This is the perfect book if you want challenging vocabulary. If you want to craft compelling arguments. If you want [insert true desire here].
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Meaghan over at The Decorated Cookie is a whiz at making delightful food crafts. So when she agreed to make a real life marshmallow giraffe just like Sophia’s, I was thrilled!
So cute, right?!
You can see the whole tutorial over at The Decorated Cookie. And while you’re there, check out some of her recent creations like mini donut candy pops, birthday cake on a stick, and marshmallow cat faces! And she’s got a book too: Sugarlicious!
Big thanks to Meaghan for collaborating with me over our shared love of picture books and adorable, kid-friendly crafts! Also, marshmallows!
