Raising Readers and Writers

Preschool Parade: A celebration of books, activities, and ideas for parents and teachers of young children

What can you do with an empty cereal box? Make a book! Children love to be authors, writing their own stories, drawing their own pictures, and “reading” the books they’ve written. All you need to do is repurpose a cereal box using these step-by-step directions.

Materials

Empty cereal box

Scissors

6 sheets of 8.5 x 11-inch paper, either lined or blank

12-inch Ruler

Pencil

Stapler

Scotch or masking tape

Directions

1. Open up both ends of a cereal box and carefully pull it apart on the long, glued edge.

2. Trim the flappy ends at the top and bottom.

3. Turn the cereal box inside out and place the paper inside. You can use more than six sheets of paper, but it might be hard to staple. Use lined paper, blank paper, or a combination of both. I like to use a combination, lined paper for the text and blank paper for the illustrations.

4. If you used a large cereal box, trim the extra cardboard, first using a ruler to make a straight line near the edge of the paper.

5. Make sure the paper is straight and against the fold before stapling the edge. Three staples work best, one at the top, middle, and bottom, about a half inch in from the fold.

6. Cover the back of the staples with Scotch or masking tape to protect your child from getting scratched.

7. Bend back the cover of the book over the ruler, using the ruler to help create a crease so the book is easier to open. Now you have a blank book!

Note: There might be other folds, depending on the size box you used.

8. Children can design and decorate the cover with markers, crayons, and stickers.

9. Suggest to your child they create stories from their imagination or something that happened in real life, or they can retell a favorite book or Bible story. Once it’s completed, let your child take the lead in “reading” you their storybook!

10. Now make a book for yourself so you can take part right along with your children by creating a story, keeping a gratitude journal, or sketching a scene.

This simple activity is something you can do to instill a love of books and literacy, which will help your child succeed in school and in life. Plus, it’s fun!

#authorlife Sometimes there are setbacks—it’s all part of being an author. I learned last week the release date of my upcoming book, Where Did the Bible Come From?, which was supposed to be released on June 2, is going to be delayed. Now it’s tentatively planned for spring, 2027. I’ll let you know when I have an update!

I share book news (mine and other authors), articles about writing, giveaways and more on my Facebook author page. Would you please take a minute to “like” my page @AuthorAmyHouts or click here. Thank you!

Amy Houts is the author of 100+ picture books for children with a heart for faith-based books. To find out more about her, visit: Linktr.ee/amyhouts.