Crafty Story Times ~ by Christy Mihaly

Before my picture book came out last fall, I assumed that a writer's job description consisted more or less entirely of ... writing. 

This is me, not writing.

I was wrong.
In the months leading up to the release of Hey, Hey, Hay!, I embarked on a round of unfamiliar activities: designing bookmarks, arranging blog tours, setting up signings and school visits. Reading my book aloud to the mirror. 

"I'm reading in a frigid hay barn,
and now I need a CRAFT?"

I can do this, I told myself.
But then they said: you need crafts. 
What? 

Yes, friends. Crafts and other book-related activities are a popular element of book readings for kids--whether you're reading your own book or a favorite from the library shelves.  Librarians and educators know this. But many writers find the craft thing a little daunting. 

I have evolved from craft-skeptic to craft fan. I've created different crafts for bookstore readings, story times, classroom events, and a book festival, and learned a lot along the way. So I thought I'd share some tips and photos from my travels and from some picture-book-creator friends. 

Why crafts? 

This energetic class shows off
their drawings, or "readers' responses,"
to my reading

• Engagement: Kids get antsy when you ask them to sit and listen. You already know this. But if you haven't experienced a roomful of kids wiggling as you attempt to read to them, you may not fully appreciate it. I experimented with songs, participatory readings, etc. These are good. But, put a crayon in a kid's hand, and watch what happens.
• Fun: Kids like to create things. And you want them to have fun! One of my HAY audience favorites was a simple craft in which kids cut out tractor wheels and fastened them onto a paper tractor, then colored in the background.

  

  Displaying a completed
  craft after a reading

• Senses: Crafts use multiple senses, and the smells and feels help engage your audience. (One  feature of my HAY readings was a "sniff box" full of hay--kids loved smelling the hay.) 

  

  Jen Betton's Hedgehog Hat to go with
  Hedgehog Needs a Hug

• Skills: Crafting helps teach motor skills, problem-solving skills, and social skills. What's not to like?
• Souvenirs: A craft gives listeners a souvenir to take home and share. 

Tips for Crafts:

Sock Puppet Kipling for Love Mama

• Book Link: Link your craft to your story. Kids loved the tractors in my book, so I went with tractor crafts. Author-Illustrator Jeanette Bradley created an adorable sock puppet craft to go with Love, Mama, her picture book about a little penguin whose mama goes away on a trip. Directions and a description are here. 

  

  A Monster Drawing,
  for Maximillian Villainous

• Keep it Simple. Make it easy to explain. Margaret Greanias provided a blank frame on a coloring sheet for readings of Maximillian Villainous, her picture book about a young monster attempting to fit in. This was brilliant for the preschool set. Kids could invent and draw their own monsters--with googly eyes! Similarly, for Jen Betton's book, Hedgehog Needs a Hug, kids could cut out a hedgehog hat and color it in (photo above). See more hedgehog crafts and activities here.
  
• Allow room for creativity. Assure kids that there's no one right way to do it. Jessie Oliveros created a drawing project to go with her lovely picture book, The Remember Balloons. Children could draw their own memories.
• Make it fun, and maybe educational. Focus first on the fun. But if your craft or activity teaches something related to your book, that's a bonus. Author Hannah Holt's picture book for older readers, The Diamond and the Boy, describes how diamonds are created. She brought a crystal-growing activity to her school visits, and left it in the classroom so the students could watch the crystals grow.

Ingredients for Crystal Growing, an activity to go with
Hannah Holt's The Diamond and the Boy

Hannah Holt grew crystals on eggshells

💥Note that some books, especially those for older children, may be less conducive to crafts. In those cases, consider an art activity, allowing your audience free rein to draw or paint reactions to your reading. Or, try a readers' theater or skit or song or science experiment or other interactive activity. 

Are you a writer, educator, or librarian with craft ideas? Please share them in the comments! Thanks to all.

Five Ways To Make Your School Visit Interactive

By Janie Reinart

I had a lovely time with the students from Immaculate Heart of Mary School with my program, Finding the Words. Writing poetry is a fail-safe way for students to improve confidence in their reading and writing ability. 

When planning your school visits, engage students by making your time together interactive.  Here are five ways to accomplish that goal.

1. Send a video to get the students excited for your visit!

I created a riddle and incorporated it into my presentation. The first student from each class, who answered correctly, chose a prize ranging from a new journal to stationery. 

 2.  "Catch" that thought. 

Use a beach ball and toss to students to encourage them to be part of the discussion. What is poetry?

3. Group participation. 

Use these props for students to do a choral reading. G is for girls. B is for boys. Held up together means everyone copies the line and how you say it. Each group stands separately or together and repeats the line.

4. Must have writing time! 

The eight graders were so quiet, all you could hear was the sound of their pencils as they wrote at the tables. Woohoo! Music to my ears! Share your writing with the students so that they will share their writing with you.

    This touching poem was written by Alayna to honor her little sister. The line "Your eyes never got old" is the most poignant to me. The detail of "brown eyes" placed before that line makes a direct connection with our hearts.

Where’d you go?

About 8 years old

Brown eyes so big

Your eyes never got old

About 8 years old

Why did you go?

Your eyes never got old

You’re more beautiful than gold

Why did you go?

I miss you so

You’re more beautiful than gold

Your laugh never got old

I miss you so

Brown eyes so big

Your laugh never got old

Where’d you go ?

5. Post workshop activity.

Make a graffiti wall from shelf paper for each class.  The "paper wall" is placed on a table or taped to the wall in the classroom. Students use the wall as a group journal. I wrote three prompts, answered each prompt and signed what I wrote. Students are encouraged to do the same. This quote is from Kai, a third grader.

"Poetry is like clay pottery, you set it out to dry and it hardens into history."

 Thank you to the charming students and wonderful staff at IHM . We had fun writing and "Finding the Words". Share how you interact with students for your school visits.