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Tag Archives: picture book crafts
all the wonders: a new place for kids’ books and another place to find me
Have you heard? There’s a new website for children’s literature called All The Wonders. It’s “a home for readers to discover new books and to experience the stories they love in wondrous ways.” And I’m happy to be a contributor!
You’ll still find me here at This Picture Book Life on Tuesdays of course, but you’ll also find my crafts and book lists over there sometimes too. I’m delighted to be part of the stellar team and I hope you’ll come along to relish the wonders of books through songs, podcasts, studio visits, storytime posts, videos, and more from these talented folks!
You’ll find picture book songs from Emily Arrow, Matthew Winner‘s conversations, art and book posts from fellow blogger Carter Higgins, videos from Blake Hamilton, and animation from Mike Cicciotello.
My latest picture book craft up today: Make Your Own Clay Alien to celebrate Your Alien by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Goro Fujita. And Emily Arrow’s got an amazing, adorable song with my little green guy in the video!
And my latest list: 12 Delightful Picture Books with Diverse Characters.
I hope you’ll come see All The Wonders!
Big thanks to Brian Won for designing the gorgeous logo and custom artwork for the site that I’ve included here.
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!
