Homemade Picture Book Craft

Turn your recycle pile into a literary work of art.

Submitted by
Kayla Chong

Sick of reading the same book every night before bed? Mix it up and invite your kid to create her own storybook using magazine clippings and family photos. Watch out J.K. Rowling: There's a new author in town!

Author:
Your kid.
Stack of old magazines:
Make sure you've read 'em, 'cause your kid is going to rip them to shreds.
Photocopies of family photos:
In case your kid wants to create an autobiography!
Blank scrapbook or pieces of construction paper:
For the pages of the book. A scrapbook is a little pricier, but much easier to work with because you won't have to bind the pages.
Poster board:
To create a cover for the book if your kid has gone the construction paper route.
Yarn:
To bind the book.
Scissors
White glue
Markers

To begin, engage your child in an old-fashioned brainstorming session. Ask your kid what he wants his book to be about. Cats? Daddy? School? How annoying his little sister is?
Jot down his ideas. Encourage older kids to create a story with a beginning, middle and end. Preschoolers can just make a simple picture book.
Once he's got an idea of what he wants his book to be about, have him comb through the stacks of magazines and photocopied family photos to find pictures for his tale.
Help him cut out the pictures.
Then break out the scrapbook or construction paper and help your child paste the pictures into the book. He can either make a picture book or he can add a story and/or photo captions.
If he's more of a novelist than a photojournalist, help him jot down his story on each page. Limit the story to 10 or 20 pages. He's not writing War and Peace here!
If he's used construction paper rather than a scrapbook, poke a hole in the top left corner, and string the pages together with a piece of yarn. Tie in place.
Have him add a dedication on the front page. Don't be offended if he dedicates the book to the dog, he'll appreciate you some day. (Maybe not for 15 or 20 years, but some day!)
Work together on an "About the Author" for the back page.
When he's finished, invite him to "read" his story aloud to who ever will listen. Who knows, you may have a little Michael Crichton on your hands!