Monthly Crafting Book Club: Sir Pete the Brave

            Hey folks! It's one of my favorite times of the month: Monthly Crafting Book Club time! I mean, it does combine two of my favorite things: childrens books and crafts, so what's NOT to love? 

            This month's theme is Pete the Cat! If you haven't at least heard of Pete the Cat, you've either been living under a rock or don't have young kids. For our selection, we chose Sir Pete the Brave, which is an “EZ reader”. I forgot to check a regular storybook out at the library and the only other Pete book we own is the special Easter one. Anyways...

            I feel like Myka will be ready and wanting to start learning sight words soon, so I've been buying and borrowing a lot more EZ reader-type books lately. Pete the Cat seems to be one of her new favorites, so it just made sense. Sir Pete the Brave takes us on a journey of brave Sir Pete looking for the missing Lady Callie. Complete with a dragon and adventure, any young kid is sure to love this story.

            Another one of Myka's newest favorite things is puppets. So, going along with our craft from last month's post, we made some craft stick puppets! I may have gone a little overboard...

Recommended for: Ages 2-6+

What You'll Need:

-Sir Pete the Brave printable

-Cardboard

-Glue stick

-Sharp scissors

-Hot glue gun

-Craft sticks

-Hook and loop tape (aka Velcro)

-Push pin (optional)

(For the record, our ink is almost out. These aren't the way the colors should look.)

*First, print out the printable from above and cut out your pieces.

*Next, glue your pieces to the cardboard. (We used some that was going in the recycle bin anyways i.e. pizza boxes)

*Carefully cut your pieces and characters out. They don't have to be perfect. ;)

*For your character pieces (Lady Callie, Sir Pete, the horse, and the dragon), hot glue a craft stick to their backside. (You can use regular glue, of course. I'm just really impatient and have an unhealthy obsession with my hot glue gun.)

*For your other pieces, glue small pieces of the hook and loop tape as needed. (Make sure the “poky” side is facing out.)

*This is optional, but I thought it would be fun to stick a push pin through the oar and boat so you can actually row it. ;)

            Voila! I've been on a felt board kick, hence the using Velcro on the backs of some of our pieces. You can move them around as needed for each “scene”. This is a fun activity to bring the book to life...or even come up with your own adventures to act out!