Are you looking for inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Join us as we celebrate National Creativity Day on May 30th! This special day was established in 2018 in order to recognize and pay tribute to artists who create, innovate, and explore their ideas. If you are in need of ideas and inspiration for your own creative endeavors, feel free to place a hold on one of the children’s books listed below or search COSMOS for additional resources.
All descriptions are provided by the publisher.
Book Recommendations:
Summer Crafts Across Cultures: 12 Projects to Celebrate the Season by Megan Borgert-Spaniol
“Summer is a season of celebration! Join the fun with thirteen festive crafts that celebrate holidays from around the world. Create a hibiscus straw to commemorate Juneteenth. Braid puzzle piece friendship bracelets to mark the International Day of Friendship. It’s always the season for crafting!”
– Provided by Publisher
How to Make a Picture Book by Elys Dolan
Everyone has a story to tell — and now you can learn how to tell it in your own picture book, using this helpful, humor-filled guide from an award-winning creator. Have you ever wanted to create your own story–and capture it for posterity? Elys Dolan brings her comic touch to the process by portraying her narrator-self as a friendly worm named Bert (it’s quicker to draw than a person!). How do you come up with something to write about? Build and flesh out your story? Use color and space effectively? From combining two favorite things to form a story idea to interviewing your characters to physically putting a book together, the author walks readers through some surprisingly comprehensive beginners techniques that may have something to offer even seasoned storytellers. This witty, fun, conversational, step-by-step guide–part picture book, part activity book–is packed with prompts, exercises, tips, and jokes. So find your inspiration, grab your pens and pencils, and get making.
– Provided by Publisher
Cut & Color Crafts for Kids: 35 Super Cool Activities that Bring Recycled Materials to Life by Kimberly McLeod
“Turn Ordinary Objects into Cool Toys, Decorations, Gifts and more with Ready-to-Cut Templates! Just cut out the templates in the back of this book, color them and let your imagination run wild! Use them to create fun robots or silly monsters out of cardboard and clothespins. Transform paper rolls into an Awesome Paper Rocket or a set of Pretend Watches. You can even use egg cartons to make toy boats or a small-world jungle, desert or enchanting castle. You’ll also find tons of fun bonus ideas to spark your creativity! Like building a chalk race car track for your Really Cool Race Car. Or using ice pop sticks to make playful puppets for your egg carton scenes. Every project includes at least one cutout with visual step-by-step instructions so the crafts are easy to make. With this collection of 35 simple and fun activities, and a handy pair of scissors, you can create exciting possibilities with everyday items!
– Provided by Publisher
Create Joy with Crafts by Ruthie Van Oosbree
“Would you like to add more joy to the world? Get crafting! Create a joke jar to help people when they need a laugh. Craft a set of bamboo chimes to make cheerful music. Stitch a cute pocket “hug” to remind a loved one you care. These fun crafts will help you spark joy in your home, at school, in your community, and beyond.”
– Provided by Publisher
Easy Paper Crafts for Kids by Catherine Woram
“Easy Paper Crafts for Kids is divided into four vibrant chapters containing 45 fun products. The first chapter, Cutting, features decoupage, collage-making, and mosaics, while Folding contains simple origami projects as well as cute hanging mobiles, classic paper planes, dress-up hats, and fans. In Printing and Painting, kids can look forward to paper plate masks, treasure maps, and marbling paint techniques. Finally, Modeling contains a paper-mache pig, doll’s house furniture, and a supersonic cardboard space rocket.”
– Provided by Publisher
Create, make, discover, play, experiment, invent, laugh, think, share. This book is all about feeding your curiosity and discovering what you love to do
– Provided by Publisher
