This post combines 3 of my favorite things - animals, books and kids - so I'll try not to gush, but...well, no promises!
Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and end up making a purchase, I receive a small referral fee at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Studio Fun International, in partnership with the ASPCA, has released a series of books for kids, ASPCA kids: Rescue Readers.
Which of course begs the question...why didn't they think of this before?! It makes perfect sense for the oldest name in animal protection to be behind pet stories for kids!
In my previous life (you know, back before kids came into the picture) I was something of an animal activist. Kay has been raised on respecting animals the way other kids are taught to say "thank you".
In my previous life (you know, back before kids came into the picture) I was something of an animal activist. Kay has been raised on respecting animals the way other kids are taught to say "thank you".
So I was super-excited to get these books in the mail. (No, really...ridiculously excited. When I get books or craft supplies in the mail it's like my Christmas!)
There's a book for every age level, from babies and toddlers (a counting board book with too-cute photos) to early readers and even chapter books.
There's a book for every age level, from babies and toddlers (a counting board book with too-cute photos) to early readers and even chapter books.
Kay is at the early-reader stage but I still read them to her because, well, we just like to read together! We got a kick out of the stories being written from the point of view of the animals, especially "I Am Nibbles" about a guinea pig with a need to chew.
Why these books rock:
- The chapter books include a bookmark featuring the animal the story is based on.
- 4-5 percent of the proceeds go to helping real animals
- Animal care and respect is woven into every story, without being a forced topic.
I even used these fun books as an excuse to use my new Cricut machine. I came across this cute dog pail and wanted to give my own version a try.
Supplies:
- White pail (I got this one at SaveOnCrafts)
- White pipe cleaner
- Black vinyl
- Sharpie
- Brown craft foam or construction paper
- Ribbon
I used simple shapes to make the face - just circle and ovals. I cut them out of vinyl with my new favorite toy, my Cricut Explore machine .
Then I played around with adding them to the bucket to find the right spot for them. The version you're seeing is #2. The first one was off-center! (Oops - good thing vinyl is easy to remove!)
I was going to try to get away with no ears. Maybe I thought the handles would fill that place? Not so much. I showed my mother and she said, "Oh, what a cute reindeer!" Reindeer? Really? I would have said polar bear...Okay, ears it is, then! (To Kay's credit, she knew it was a dog right off the bat. Love that kid!)
The ears I made out of construction paper, but if you're looking for something sturdier I'd recommended craft foam. It just so happened that we didn't have brown craft foam. We had purple, but...no.
I added those on with pipe cleaners, just punching a hole through the top of the ears (sounds painful!), threading in the pipe cleaner and twisting them onto the handles.
I tied festive ribbons to her ears (once the face is added, the bucket is no longer an "it" but a "she" [wink]). I did my best to hide the pipe cleaners with the ribbon. Didn't work out so well, but I still love the result!
Unexpected bonus: the books fit in the pail perfectly. I'm seeing gift potential here!
Disclosure: I received this product for free as part of the Moms Meet program. All opinions and ideas are my own and I only recommended products I love!
Like what you see?
Then you'll love our newsletter! Exclusive giveaways, freebies and all the best in playful learning!
Join us here!
