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Tag Archives: picture book craft
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!
fred + milky matcha rice candy lollipops from thirsty for tea
Fred by Kaila Eunhye Seo (2015).
Like Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing, this is a book about growing up and losing something magical. But it’s also about the possibility of regaining that magic. Because of a young girl. Because of a lollipop.
(click image(s) to enlarge)
Fred lives in a small town where he is “quite different from everyone else.” You know it from the illustrations. He carries a green lollipop. He’s in color (those black and red stripes). He also sees furry, monstery creatures. They’re his friends.
Being different (and sometimes strange) doesn’t bother Fred. He’s too busy being with those monster-buddies.
But then Fred goes to school. He makes new friends. He forgets the furry, monstery ones from his childhood. He has a routine. He isn’t different or strange anymore. Sometimes he feels alone though and we know why because we can still see Fred’s old friends, though now they’re black and white like his surroundings.
And then one day a girl shows up, holding a lollipop the way he used to. She sees Fred’s friends. She reminds him of what he’s lost. But of what’s also still there. Waiting.
This is a wonderful book about staying connected to your imagination and never outgrowing lollipops and friendly monsters and magic.
Big thanks to Peter Pauper Press for images!
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In the spirit of Halloween and nourishing our childlike imaginations, I asked my dear and uber-creative friend Bonnie at Thirsty for Tea to whip up some lollipops like Fred’s. And she did!
In her signature style, they match Fred’s lollipop beautifully. Plus, they’re made from tea. Of course! Bonnie’s calling this recipe milky matcha rice candy, which can also be coiled into lollipops if you like. (I like!)
These treats look like the perfect combination of sweet and creamy with the earthiness of matcha green tea. That vibrant green!
Head over to Bonnie’s post to get the recipe and see more gorgeous photos of her process!
(Disclaimer if serving to kids: matcha contains caffeine.)
You might also like Bonnie’s last picture book treat: tea-icing donuts from Please, Mr. Panda!
the wonderful fluffy little squishy + tulle pom pom craft!
The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy by Beatrice Alemagna (September 2015).
First, the neon pink in this book! You’ll see it on the opening endpapers and it is bright bright bright! Then you can watch for it throughout the story. On little Eddie’s jacket. And then, in the conclusion, on the wonderful fluffy little squishy for which the book is a quest. That neon pink connects these two characters. It tells us they were meant to be united.
(click image(s) to enlarge)
We immediately love and know Eddie because she thinks she can’t do anything (who can’t relate?). And that she has a big heart. When she hears “birthday—Mommy—fuzzy—little—squishy” from her sister’s mouth, she wants to give her mother something very special. She sets off to look for that very fuzzy little squishy thing that she believes must exist.
“The whole book stems from the character of Fluffy. One day, out of nowhere, I drew this kind of electrified dog and I instantly felt the need to tell its story.”
—Beatrice Alemagna
Eddie searches her town, going to store owners who might have just the thing. I love Eddie’s independence and her relationship with the shopkeepers, each of whom gives her something for her journey (a clover, a rare stamp). (Oh, and look out for tiny spots of hot pink on some spreads—I’m looking at you especially, antique shop.) But of course, as in real life, there’s one adult Eddie is not friendly with. Because he’s a meanie! (And kind of scary!)
“I always want to tell the same story: a fragile being that finds great strength within himself.”
—Beatrice Alemagna
And just like those magical times in real life, it is in the moment of wanting to give up that Eddie finds what she’s been looking for. The exact embodiment of those words she heard. Fuzzy and little and squishy (and neon pink!).
Eddie still has obstacles to overcome after that, but with the help her shopkeeper friends’ tokens, she does overcome them. Eddie discovers that she is good at something: finding an awesome gift for her mom.
That Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy and Eddie. They are the heart of this book. And this book has a lot of electric pink heart!
Big thanks to Enchanted Lion Books for those first three images!
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This is a book that cries out for a craft. A wonderful fluffy little squishy for your very own! And it turns out hot pink tulle is the perfect material for making one. (If I can make one, that means it’s easy to do too.)
What you need:
A roll of tulle (I found mine at a Joann craft store). Pink!
Two pipe cleaners. Pink!
Construction paper. Pink!
A small pom pom. Pink!
Two googly eyes.
Plus, scissors, fabric glue, tape, and a book. That’s it.
Wrap your tulle around a book (I used the very book!) 20 times. (You can make a smaller fluffball by using a smaller book.)
Slide the oval of tulle off and tie a length of tulle around its middle to make a kind of bow. (Don’t knot it too tightly—you’ll need to be able to stick a pipe cleaner under there later.)
Cut through the rounded parts on each side so the tulle sprays out in all directions, then trim it all around to be a bit more uniform. (You can be messy, which is great. Just be careful as well.) Here’s a tulle pom pom tutorial that may help.
Insert one pipe cleaner into the knotted tulle in the middle of the pom pom. Hook it around and secure it. (Be careful as those pipe cleaner ends are sharp!)
Make the face by cutting a square of pink construction paper and rolling it into a cone; then flatten it. Glue on googly eyes and a pom pom nose. Tape or glue a halved pipe cleaner to the inside of the cone. Insert the other end of the pipe cleaner into the knot of tulle length and secure it carefully so it sticks.
Voila! Wonderful fluffball!
Speaking of pink picture book crafts, you may be interested in my Rude Cakes post.
feathers: not just for flying + handmade book craft from avery and augustine
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen (2014).
Birds are the only animals with those special plumes. But did you know that feathers have many other functions besides flying? I’d never thought about it before, but this book brings just that to light.
(click image(s) to enlarge)
Feathers keep warm. Feathers cushion like a pillow. They provide shade or float or clean or hide. Feathers are incredible, no?
Along the way, kid readers will learn a lot about specific kinds of birds, perhaps one or two they’ve seen before in person!
Big thanks to Charlesbridge for images!
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When I think of kids books and stylish, beautiful photos, I immediately think of Michelle at Avery and Augustine. And she’s joining me here to share a handmade book craft that has a learning bonus. Over to Michelle!
Hi, I’m Michelle of Avery and Augustine. Thank you to Danielle for inviting me to collaborate on this post! I’m excited to share a simple project to go along with this wonderful book. My daughter Avery and I made our own little feather book to summarize what she learned from Feathers. Summarizing is an important academic and life skill that helps children recall the salient information from what they read in their own words and in a way that’s meaningful for them. This is a skill that they will use time and time again throughout their school years and especially when they hit high school and college.
To make the book, cut one piece of card stock and several sheets of paper in half, lengthwise. Fold them in half and punch holes along the fold of your pages (a group of pages is called a signature or section in bookbinding). We used this Fiskars 1/8 inch circle hand punch tool. You can also use a regular-sized hole punch to make it easier for young children to do the sewing on their own.
Cut a piece of yarn and wrap one end of it with tape to make it easier to pull through the holes. Sew the yarn through the holes of the book, using a simple stitch. Tie a knot at the top hole of the book, stitch your way down, then stitch your way back up, filling in the blank gaps. Tie a knot at the last hole to secure the yarn. Cut out feathers from colored paper (I did it freehand, no template) and attach them to the front of the book.
When we were done making our book, Avery paraphrased the important points from Feathers and drew pictures for each. It’s good to practice summarizing books regularly and it gets easier the more you do it! If you need another reference, a great DIY book tutorial can be found on this blog.
You can see Michelle’s work and read about her two young children and their first forays in cooking, art, and everything in between at Avery and Augustine.
