Activities for Budding Literati.
Some ideas will work better for some books or ages than others. The important thing is to use what's on hand—especially your imagination!


1. Join a kids' book club
If your library doesn't have a children's book club, or know of an existing one, form your own with friends. (See Start a Book Club.)

2. Make a bookmark
Decorate a 2" x 7" strip of light cardboard as a bookmark. Punch a whole in the top and string it through with a tassel or pretty beads.

3. Create bookends
Paint or decorate large stones or fill a can or jar with stones or sand, close up tight and decorate it— anything heavy and solid will do.

4. Build Bookshelves
Even if you're not handy with wood, you can paint some wooden planks in bright colors and lay them on top of cement blocks. If you happen to be an amateur carpenter, have at it!

5. Make a card catalogue
Help kids keep track of the books they've read: cover or decorate an index card box, and use it to hold index cards of each book's title, author, characters, and plot.

6. Design a movie poster
Using poster board, pretend the book has been turned into a movie and design a poster advertising the film.

7. Design a board game of the story
Turn the story and characters (if appropriate) into a board game. Use a piece of posterboard as the board, index cards for the draw cards, buttons or painted stones for moving pieces.

8. Cook and serve a meal
If a book mentions food, or if it's set in another country, find a recipe and cook with your child. (See LitFood).

9. Play Library
Set up a play lending library (or book store), with your child as the librarian. Hold "story hour" for dolls, stuffed animals, and action figures. Create your own library cards.

10. Paint a T-shirt
Using fabric paint, decorate a T-shirt with a book's characters or title.

11. Compose a song
If your child is musical (aren't all kids?), write a song about a favorite book—to sing or even play on an instrument!

12. Create a diorama
Using a shoe box, create a diorama of a scene from a favorite book. If you need instructions try this web link: Make-a-Diorama.

13. Design a book cover:
Trim and fold a large piece of paper as if to make a book cover. Draw and/or paint a scene or characters from either a favorite book or from a pretend book that comes from your child's imagination.

14. Make a roadmap
If a book's characters take a trip, draw a roadmap of the trip. Cut out photos from magazines; you can even back them with cardboard, stand them up to make a 3-dimensional map.

15. Play "I'm thinking of..."
On a car trip, or any time, play 20 questions, and take turns guessing which book someone is thinking of.

16. Make a storyboard
Film makers use storyboards to outline a movie plot. Storyboards are a series of squares on a poster representing action sequences. Do the same with one of your favorite books.

17. Act out a scene
Choose a scene from a favorite book and ask your child or children to act out a scene. Make it as elaborate as you wish, with props and costume—or just keep it simple.

18. Make a face
While reading a story with a very young child, ask him to make a face of a character's emotions.

19. Dictate a story
Again, for a very young children, have her dictate a story to you. Write it in a "book" the two of you have created together (see #20 below).

20. Make a storybook
If your child writes, create a book by folding and stapling sheets of paper together. Ask your child to write and/or draw his own story.

21. Keep a journal
Encourage young readers and writers to keep a journal of their experiences as well as to write their own poems and stories.

22. Create family stories
Have your children tell, write, or draw your family stories: trips, pets, visiting relatives—any family event that sticks out in their minds.

23. Write a dictionary
For budding young readers, create a dictionary of words they've learned, complete with magazine photos or computer images. Use a notebook or create your own "book" with folded sheets of paper (see #20 above).

24. Relate everyday life
After you've read a book with your child, ask her to relate the story to something in her own life—a person or incident.

25. Design an ABC poster
Using poster board and magazine photos or computer images create an alphabet poster. A is for apple, or aardvark—or whatever!

26. Make a story doll or puppet
Choose a book's character and create a doll or puppet using popsicle sticks ...or a sock stuffed with cotton—or whatever you can think of. For ideas and help, try this terrific site: Enchanted Learning.