Author Focus: Eric Carle

 This post contains 2 separate Eric Carle inspired crafts. The first is a Little Cloud parfait, based on "Little Cloud". The second is a paper craft based on Mr. Carle's art technique and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". 

Little Cloud Parfait

This activity was part of an online Youtube series our library did called "Bookie Bakes".

In this series, we focus on an author and then I do a short demonstration on a book related snack to go along with this book.

It was inspired by this recipe from My Food And Family. 

Here's the link to our Youtube Video for this program. Keep in mind, we're no professionals when it comes to filming or being in front of the camera! 

If you'd like a copy of my script, message me or comment below and I'll be happy to share the information I collected! 😀

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Collage

This craft was supposed to mimic Eric Carle's art technique however, I did take a few artistic liberties to make this more library-friendly, of course.

For his collages, he uses acrylic paint over tissue paper. Then, he cuts out shapes and uses those shapes in his collages to make an image.

Ours was slightly different. 

Namely, instead of paint, we used oil pastels. This was because painting the tissue paper took a while to dry and I wasn't particularly excited to bring out paints in our story hour room while planning. 

Supplies for this were: 

• Half sheet of construction paper
• Tissue Paper
• Double sided Paper
• Liquid glue
• Tissue paper scraps cut into small squares
• Oil Pastels
• Scissors

Hardest part of the prep was sticking the tissue paper to the double sided paper without getting any wrinkles. 

The purpose for this, and why I'd recommend it, is that doing this adds stability to the tissue paper. Tissue paper is SO flimsy, without it, cutting and coloring it is very difficult, especially for the kiddos.

If memory serves, this is what I bought from Hobby Lobby to use for my double sided sheets. 

This is an example of what it looks like. Once the kids colored the tissue side and cut their caterpillar shapes out, it was just like putting a sticker down on a piece of paper! 

But that's all I've got! Happy planning!!

 

READ THE ARTICLE HERE: " 'Easter Miracle': Children's Author Eric Carle reconnects with lost Syracuse friend after 82 years"

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Black History Month Display

 Pictures of the Black History Month YA display. Only a small portion of the books from our collection are being shown on display. 

The bulk are waiting in the story hour room to be used for a book talk. After that, they'll be added to the display.

The 3D flowers that were used in this display were recycled from my 2019 Black History Month Bulletin Board that was set up in the Children's Department. 

 This was filled with notable African American's throughout history. 

Shout out to Astronaut Mae Jemison! We love her here at my library 😀

Feel free to use the backgrounds or sign I made in your own displays! 

Click here for my JF and YA African American authors list!

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First Lines Bulletin Board

This interactive bulletin board is all about guessing which first line goes in which book.

It was simple to design and create the pieces for but it did take some time. Browsing shelves for the great first-liners was fun though. 

I chose to spotlight 30 different books that were in the collection. A few are newer, more obscure titles that your library might not have. Others are popular or classics that kids might recognize and have fun with.

CONSTRUCTION

Each first line was printed on it's own half-sheet of paper. 

These were printed off onto colored cardstock paper and cut in half. What do I call them? ... flaps?

I wanted mine to be colorful so I used an assortment of colored paper. Once they were cut, I arranged them in the order I wanted and stuck a little number to the top of each. 

If several kids are at the board, looking at the first lines, then having them numbered helps. 

So each half-sheet was each creased an inch from the top using a ruler and stapled to the board at the very top.

This is so kids can lift the flap to see which book goes along with the first line!

Here are links to the pieces I made:

Click here for the first lines flaps I created.

Click here for the answer inserts that go behind the flaps.

Click here for the answer sheet of what line goes with what book.
 

 As an extra....

I made worksheets that could be taken home or completed here that were for matching the first line to the book. 

Obviously, I couldn't add all 30 lines to a front and back worksheet, so it's just 20 of the more popular titles. If printed front and back, it's 10 lines on the front and 10 lines on the back.

Hopefully it's not TOO easy!

Click here for a link to the worksheet printable.

And that's all I have! Happy bulletin boarding!

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Author Focus: Norman Bridwell

 During Covid, our library did a series of Author Focus videos in a series called "Bookie Bakes".

The idea of this video was to focus on a children's book author and then I would demonstrate how to make a quick and easy snack to go along with the series. 

This handsome lug got to come with me to the library. Of course we brought a few of his toys and played fetch in the children's department. 

 One reason Clifford was among the first authors we focused on is because, most children and adults would easily recognize Clifford the Big Dog. He’s become one of the more famous storybook characters, like the Cat in the Hat or Curious George. 

Readers are drawn to his lovable and gentle personality but he’s so big, Clifford just naturally gets into trouble sometimes. These books are funny but filled with good ideas and values that we want to pass along to young readers such as kindness, helpfulness and thankfulness.

Easy Dog Treat Recipe

This recipe comes from MissMollySays.com. It uses peanut butter, oatmeal and banana's for a pet friends dog treat recipe. Click her for the link. 

And actually, I chose this recipe to use for this online program because I had used it previously, here at the library!

For that program, I had brought in all the supplies to make and bake the treats. Kids were given the

option to take their treats home to their own dogs or donate to the local animal shelter.

Some were bagged and put in a doggie book display

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