Bringing Books to Life

We love to read books in our home. We have a few of our own, but most of our large piles are borrowed from the library. My kids love the library and often get hooked on a book or two and don't want to return it.

So we've taken a few of their favorite stories and made them come alive with a craft or activity of some sort. Be creative and let the imaginations soar to get those characters and rhymes to jump off the page and into your home!

Here are some of the ways we've brought our books to life.

Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak


A few years ago my daughter became obsessed with the children's book Where The Wild Things Are. It is no exaggeration that we read that book more than 10 times a day almost everyday for quite some time. Her love for the book was propelled by the way my husband would read the book with fabulous voices and sound effects each night at bed time.

Soon enough she and my husband had that book memorized in both English and Spanish and full on plays were being acted out. Several years later these night time story tellings and plays are still going on.

One day we decided to make a prop and chose Max's boat.

We used a empty diaper box, paper, wooden skewer, glue, tape and a pen to make the boat.

It was simple, frugal and added a lot of fun to the story telling! I'm thinking it's time to make another one, or two or four!

Disney Stories


Back in college I took a children's literature class. It was such a fun class. We got to read children's books, give book reports, and order from the Scholastic book order forms just like when we where in Elementary school.

One of the books I ordered was a Disney Stories Collection book.

My kids like all the short stories from the book that summarize the Disney movies (many which they've never seen).

This summer in our efforts to keep up on reading and learning the kids chose the story of Aladdin. We decided to make paper bag puppets of some of the main characters.

We used lots of papers, markers and glue. Again, nothing elaborate was done or used but everyone got to help create and bring the characters to life.

When done with the crafting I read the story and they played with the puppet characters.



I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Dr. Suess

Oh boy! My three oldest kids (7, 4 and 3) have this book nearly memorized! They love, love, love this book and we read it a lot. It's silly, creative, has a good message, and is a classic rhyming tale by Dr. Suess.

This time we got a little messy and did pudding painting (find out more about this HERE) to bring this story to life.

While reading the story to my kids I would stop every few pages and they would a picture in the pudding about what I was reading.

Don't forget to lick your fingers many times throughout this activity. That is what makes it the most fun!


How do you make books come to life in your home?!
Please share. I'd love to implement or even showcase your ideas here on my blog!


Want a book collection of your own at a great price?!  They have books for all ages and a huge collection to choose from. Books are my favorite to give and recieve! Check out this book club - it would make a great gift too.

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Teaching Kids Their Letters and How to Read

We are in deep into letter learning and learning how to read with my two middle children (4 & 2).  I've quickly learned that each child learns in their own way. My oldest daughter, now 7, was so excited and eagar to learn her letters and start reading. At a very young age she was asking me how to spell words, pointing out letters on signs and was reading on her own in no time. There was no need for coaxing or rewards, she just simply loves to learn. She was reading to her younger siblings at age 4.

His first book that he
read all by himself.

Our son (4) however saw no excitement or value in learning his letters. He moaned, he groaned and he struggled to get his letters and sounds straight. I have to admit that sometimes it was frustrating that he wasn't as eager as his sister to learn, but I could clearly see that it simply wasn't going to be as naturally easy for him so we took it slow, practiced every weekday, and even provided a prize incentive to motivate him. 

With lots of time and encouragement he finally mastered his letters and sounds and took his celebratory trip to the pet store to get his fish! It was a very happy day at our house. He is now learning to read and it is coming much easier than the letter learning did. He's proud and excited to sound out and read words (luckily with minimal whining). It's a fun time to see him learn to read.

Our third child (girl, almost 3) has a similar excitement in learning as her older sister does. She loves to sound out words, tell me what sounds words start with and continually asks me how to spell words. We are still working on her letters and sounds, but they are coming quickly and she actually knows more than I thought she did. She acts as though her "letter time" is gold and loves every mintue of it.

So whether your child resists or embraces learning patience and effort will produce a confident little learner in no time.

I wanted to share with you some of the ideas and resources I have used in teaching my children their letters and how to read.

* Flash Cards - You can get them at a dollar store or make your own. To start out I take 3-5 letters and focus on memorizing those for a week and then add more as time and progress is made.

* Make up some games - To make learning fun and applicable to life I often make a few slips of paper with a letter and then we around the house taping the letter to items that start with the letter. Play a memory game with letter matches that you make on paper, paint letters, use playdough to shape letters or write letters in pudding - just have some fun!

Star Fall

* StarFall - This a great website that focuses on all aspects of letter learning and reading. It has something for all ages and stages and is a very educational and helpful site. I take time each day to do the lessons and games with my kids, but like to also let them navigate the website on their own (which is quite simple to do). I love this site and highly recommend it. (starfall.com)

* Bob Books -Bob Booksare fabulous series of beginning reader books that has endless levels and series. We used some books in the series with my oldest daughter after she was well into her reading skills. I was impressed then, but am now even more impressed as I've been working with my son on the first book series and level. In my opinion, the books are expertly laid out to promote success in learning to read words and short simple sentences. Each book adds a little more depth and challenge. My son just read his first book all by himself tonight and it was such a thrill for him. I highly recommend this series! 

We were able to check out the first set in the series from our library or you can order the book from Amazon, HERE

* Phonics Books - We currently have a set of Fun With Phonicsbooks. The focus on middle vowel sounds and same endings. The books are fun for kids as there is wheel to turn as they review the letters and as you read the stories they can learn to read the simple three letter words that the book is focusing on.

I have not seen these books at the library, but you can purchase them HERE

*Wipe Off Books and Workbooks - With learning letters and how to read also comes the need to learn how to write letters and words. We like to to use wipeoff books and regualr workbooks to practice these skills. A few books we like are HERE.

My two oldest girls -2008

*Preschool Printables and Websites - As you know there is a plethora of resources on the internet to aid in teaching your kids to read and write. Here are a few others that we like:

No Time For Flashcards

Pre Kinders

Everthing Preschool

First School

I hope this information will be helpful for you mom's who have emerging learners and readers on your hands and has given you a  few simple ideas to mold into your own. I certainly had fun telling you about our learning experiences and would love to hear some about yours with your children. Any great websites, resources or ideas you'd like to share? Please don't hesitate, just leave a comment or email me, I'd love to hear!

Don't forget to sign up with Swag Bucks so you can earn Amazon gift cards to purchase these great learning tools for your kids!