Illustrate a Famous Book!

What You Need:

• Picture book
• Paper
• Pencil
• Crayons or markers
• Stapler, string, or brass clips

What You Do:

1. Pull out an unfamiliar book and sit down somewhere comfortable with your child. Without opening the book, look at the cover. Ask your child what the picture makes them think of. What’s happening in it? Looking only at the picture, ask them to predict what they think the story will be about.
2. Now tell your child you’re going to read them a story, but just this one time, they won’t be able to look at the pictures. Instead, ask them to use their imagination, and come up with images in their mind while you read. 
3. During the reading, stop periodically and ask questions. For example, “Why did Sally go outside when her mother said not to?” Try to incorporate questions that require kids to make predictions as to what will happen next. 
4. Once you’ve finished the book, tell your child they're going to illustrate it! Now’s the time for discussion.  While adults can often remember what happened in a story long after they’ve finished reading it, this is a skill that young kids need help developing. Give your child some prompts. Ask what happened first and then let them draw it. Ask what happened next, let them draw it, and so on. As they finish each picture, help them by writing some text below their illustration, using the words your child used when they retold it to you.

Bind the story and make a cover. If they like, you and your child can compare their version to the original and see what’s different.