I’m not sure how popular Wild Boars Cook is in other libraries, but but Nik and I have loved using it the last few years. One Saturday, only a few days away from storytime, I realized I had no activity planned. I needed something that was fast and easy to make.
Instead I made the most complicated activity to date. It even uses some basic sleight of hand. So here it is! There are a lot of parts so I’m only going to go over some main points. The short version of the story is there are four naughty wild boars who find a cookbook and make a really big pudding with a bunch of wacky ingredients.
Also: this was meant to be read WITH the story, which is kind of tricky. I put the folder on the ledge of our felt board stand and at times had to use a butterfly clip to hold up the book. Didn’t plan that part ahead of time.
It’s starts with cutting out a bowl, gluing it to a folder and laminating it. Then for the eponymous wild boars I glued down some Velcro to stick them on the front.
I made a slit at the top for the food. I handed out pieces to the kids, and when we got to that part of the story the kids would come up and put their ingredient in the bowl.
I cut open the side so I could easily get pieces out.
As an extra bit of cleverness, when it asks for “1 and half” puddles, I have a kid put one puddle in, and then I have this puddle with some Velcro that I “rip” in half.
And they needed a squid too. Hey, he kinda looks familiar.
I also want to point out that yes, I cut out twenty six bananas, laminated them, and then cut out 26 laminated bananas. But it was worth it because the kids thought it was hilarious. After every few bananas I’d ask “Is that enough yet?!” and the kids would say “Noooo!”.
Finally, I had the finished pudding already inside the folder. When it was done being “mixed” I pushed the tip up out of the bowl and had a kid pull the rest out.
Ta daa! The kids got a real kick out of seeing the completed dessert being magically pulled out of the bowl.
If you need some other books to go with Wild Boars Cook, check out my Food Tag on Shelfari. Or perhaps more accurately, my Mess Tag!
Very creative prop! I’ve not seen that story. I’ll have to check it out. :o) Thanks!