Tag Archives: pipe cleaner glasses craft

Let Me Finish! by Minh Lê, illustrated by Isabel Roxas (2016).

Could there be a more perfect summer reading tribute? This picture book is about the joy of reading—alone. Only in this case, the main character can never get to the alone part. That’s because this lively, clever story is full of spoiler alerting animals. Without the alerts and just the spoilers. Any reader can relate.

(click image(s) to enlarge)

All the boy wants is to dive into and finish his book without being disturbed. But no matter how hard he tries, some animal who loves to read comes along and spoils all the juicy parts.

So he finds an unspoiled book and sneaks away. But things don’t go as planned.

Can we talk about Isabelle Roxas’s illustrations? The oversized glasses. The grape rhino. In a cave, in ice, or in a jungle, the colors and patterns pop on the page. And the hide and seek animals! There’s more to those yellow tree trunks than at first meets the eye. There are so many storytelling details like that. The art starts in muted, earthy tones of yellow and brown. And when things get going, when something crucial changes, the palette turns to blues and purples. There is so much style and substance in this artwork.

That dragonfly there? He’s important. He’s the only one who doesn’t get to give anything away. But if he’d finished his sentence, he would have. Let’s just say our main character is about to engage in the story in a pretty big way.

This book celebrates the way reading can be an immersive experience. You might just get soaked.

Thanks to Isabel Roxas for images!

+

You know what every reader needs? Reading glasses. And not necessarily the kind that help you see better. The kind that let everyone know you’re reading alone and not to be disturbed (or have the story spoiled).

So, I give you pipe cleaner Do Not Disturb Glasses!

All you need is pipe cleaners, that staple of kids crafts, and a pair of scissors. Then, shape and bend and and twist and cut away!   A kid can make the glasses while a grownup is probably better suited to make the letters (and make the cuts). But anyone can wear them once they’re done! You can even custom-size a pair to its owner. One tip is to connect the letters to one another to form a kind of base/underline. That way, you can more easily twist them onto the glasses. Another tip—the round lenses are actually a double layer of pipe cleaners in order to keep the front edge tidy, not showing the fastening of letters to lens.      Big thanks to my dude, Todd Davis, for crafting the glasses with more finesse than I could ever muster.

 

I’m giving away a copy of Let Me Finish! that’s autographed by both Minh Lé & Isabel Roxas! (And there will be a few other goodies in the winner’s envelope as well.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Here’s to soaking up the rest of summer reading!