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To Dogs, With Love by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Ishaa Lobo, is a sweet thank you to our four-legged companions that give us so much. This book reminds readers of the unique healing that dogs bring to the life of a child as pets and as therapy animals. Dogs bring comfort to classrooms, hospitals, legal settings, prisons–any setting where children face challenges and benefit from the “calm and connected” presence of the enduring devotion of humankind’s best friend.
To celebrate the publication of To Dogs, With Love, I created a cardboard roll craft. After all, toilet paper rolls are ubiquitous in every household! I had fun fashioning dog faces inspired by Ishaa’s adorable illustrations and figuring out ways to make therapy dog vests and little wheels for a two-legged friend. Here are directions for a kid-friendly version of these cardboard creations:
Materials:
Cardboard rolls
Cardstock or construction paper in different colors
Paint or markers
Scissors
Glue stick and hot glue
Directions:
Dog face: On cardstock, draw a heart-shaped face and cut out. Draw and cut out tear-shaped or pointy ears. Position and use glue stick ti adhere ears to your doggy head.
Dog body: trim the cardboard roll to the length that you want. Decorate your dog’s body (cardboard roll) with paint or markers.
Tail and legs: Cut out two strips from a different cardboard roll. These strong, curled pieces will become the legs that can support the body. Fold the end of each strips to make feet. You can cut out a tail from the same roll or from cardstock.
Put it all together: This requires an adult and hot glue! Adhere all the pieces to make your new canine companion.
For Maria Gianferrari, dog love is the most pawsitive medicine of all! To Dogs, with Love is Maria’s seventh book featuring beloved canine characters, following Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness, Operation Rescue Dog, Hello Goodbye Dog, Officer Katz and Houndini, and the Penny & Jelly series.
Ishaa Lobo is the illustrator of The Mystery of the Love List by Sarah Glenn Marsh; To Dogs, with Love byMaria Gianferrari; and There’s Always Room for One More by Robyn McGrath. Her next book, Bigfoot’s Big Heart, written by Sarah Glenn Marsh, will be released next year. See her work at ishaalobo.com.
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PROJECT: Make a moving puppy puppet with fasteners!
How do we learn to savor the present, untroubled by the past, unworried about the future? In this delightful, meditative book, author Maria Gianferrari shows it’s as simple as being like a dog: “Stretch while you rise. Wag your body. Greet the day and everyone you love.” Being A Dog is a perfect read-aloud for littles, who will love mirroring the motions of the sweet pup illustrated by Pete Oswald.
To celebrate this book publication, I wanted to create something full of movement: something that will wag, romp, nap, munch, sniff and stretch just like our canine hero. Why not a moving pup-pet with fasteners that allow for pouncing paws and a thumping tail?
Once kids get a hang of folding these Origami Flyers, they won't be able to stop! The good news is flinging these flyers won't damage your walls or furniture and they pair perfectly with my upcoming nonfiction picture book, FLIP! How the Frisbee Took Flight.
Materials:
The list couldn't be simpler! Origami paper. To make one origami flyer, you will need 8 pieces--4 in one color, 4 in another. I recommend a happy medium--about 15 cm x 15 cm. That's big enough for kids new to origami, but not so large as to be too floppy to fly.
Instructions:
Watch these 2 short videos, and follow the folds!
Check out www.margaretmuirhead.com for more information about Flip! You can pre-order your copy at Indiebound, Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or at your favorite neighborhood book shop.
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