Introducing the Friday Eve before Halloween, Final spooky book featured in this week’s MaiStoryBook Library Collection:

“Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Book Synopsis and Review

It’s a windy day for a witch on her broom~ especially for a witch on a broom without much room! As the wind pulls her belongings way down to the ground, the witch meets new friends, who what she has lost they have found. As in return, they board her flying broom, it isn’t too long before the whole broom goes *kaboom.* Into the clutches of a dragon the witch falls; can her animal friends save her, or is it all a lost cause???

Told in a steady rhyme to make for a rhythmic, catchy read aloud, this book is filled with spirited, light hearted suspense. The predictable, repetitive plot follows a pattern that kids will love to pick up on. Encourage your children to read along to the parts they come to recognize, and to predict the common scenarios in the story. Additionally, this book has a fantastic cast of characters, making it the perfect book for incorporating  different theatrical voices for different characters. As for the illustrations, the clear and colorful artwork will draw in the kids and immerse them in the reading experience!

Vocabulary List

• Wailed (p. 2) cried
• Clambered (p. 4) climbed
• Reeds (p. 10) tall green plants that grow near the water
• Bog (p. 14) wet, muddy ground
• Ditch (p. 17) big hole in the ground

Themes/Main Ideas

• Two is Better than One: Challenges are less daunting when you work together and use teamwork
• Kindness: Kindness is contagious; when you are kind to others, they are kind in return

YouTube Video: Guided Shared-Reading Read Aloud Example

Example of a shared-reading, interactive Read Aloud of “Room on the Broom” – how to subtly introduce the vocabulary list words within the text, ask guided questions, and spark conversation!

*~Check it Out~*

Subscribe: MaiStoryBook Channel for additional read aloud videos!

Magic Spell Pop-Up Cauldron Craft

Pretend you are a witch brewing a magic spell! What would you put in your cauldron? What would magically pop out? Concoct your own potion with your own special ingredients to create a special magical pop-up surprise! Check out the NEW DOWNLOADABLE CRAFT TEMPLATE for a Magic Spell Pop-Up Cauldron

Materials

• Magic Spell Pop Up Cauldron Downloadable Template 
• Scissors
• Color/Crayons/Markers
• Tape/Glue
• Pen/Pencil

Directions

• Choose and Print out a Magic Cauldron (Available in Black and White or Color) Different Cauldron templates include: blank for drawing, all lines for writing, half blank and half lines for writing and picture.
• Print out your cauldron choice and cut out the Magic Spell Sparkle and the Cauldron.
• Write Your name in the blank on the Magic Spell Sparkle piece.
• On the cauldron template, write or draw what items you are putting into your cauldron to make your spell.
• Color if you chose black and white. Leave the “Glue Space” blank because you will be covering it.

• FLAP PIECE:
• For the Cauldron flap piece- print out the color or black and white version and cut it out. Color it in if you chose black and white.
• Then fold the top mini flap down on the dotted line.
• Put glue on the back of the folded down mini flap, and glue it to the “Glue Flap” on the Cauldron Piece. When the flap is down, you should see the magic spell “Iggety, ziiggety, zaggety, Zoom.” When you lift the flap, you should see the spell ingredients you put in the cauldron

• “THEN OUT ROSE…” This is the connecting piece to connect the Magic Spell Sparkle piece to the cauldron. On the line or lines, write what came out of your cauldron after you put in all of the ingredients. “Then out rose _________”
• In the blank space, draw a picture of what it is.
• Then Glue the tabs to the back of the bottom of the Magic Spell Sparkle Piece, and the top of the cauldron piece. Fold down the “Then Out Rose..” smoke piece in half so that the bottom of the Magic Spell Sparkle and top of Cauldron line up and meet.

• Then tuck the folded smoke piece behind the cauldron. See VISUAL DIRECTIONS for example (click on the link at the top)
• When you lift the Magic Spell piece, your magic spell  creation will be revealed, and when you close the cauldron and magic spell piece it will look like a bubbling cauldron.

Finger Puppet Character Cast Craft

Halloween is *almost* upon us ~ can it be the end of the October already??? Traipsing through the neighborhood as I walk the dog on our daily nature walk, I witness houses deteriorated into haunted mansions, spider webs encroaching on gated driveways, and tombstones staked into the ground while ghastly limbs claw through the ground’s surface. Despite the recent heat wave, evenings still bring the crisp tendrils of chilly air, sending shivers down my spine ~ or maybe they’re just shivers of spookiness as I trek through the transformed neighborhood. In just 4 days, the sidewalks will be crowded with mini witches and wonderwomans,  sorcerers and spidermans~ giddy with sugar and the sweet thrill of tricking ~ or treat-ing, of course. What better way to prep for the Halloween festivities then to delve into this Halloween classic storybook *Room on a Broom.* With this Finger Puppet Character Cast Craft, spend an afternoon with your little one creating your own spooky stories of witches, talking animals, dragons, and magic spells! *Note: This craft will need more adult support*

Materials

• 2 gloves (preferably red)
• 1 piece each of green, brown, red, orange, black, yellow, white paper
• Set of markers
• Tape (or hot glue gun if you want to permanently stick characters into gloves)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• 2 googley eyes

Directions

For the 5 Character glove:

• Using brown paper, trace a *small* cat head. (make it proportionate to your child’s fingertips so it fits onto their glove) Draw on two eyes, the nose, mouth, and mini stripes. Cut it out.
• Using white paper, trace a *small* dog head with floppy ears. Draw on two eyes, nose, mouth, and brown spots. Cut it out.
• Using green paper, trace a *small* frog head with 2 bumps for eyes. Draw on two eyes, two nostrils, and green spots. Cut it out.

• Using green paper, trace a *small* parrot head with the beak sticking out on one side. Draw on one eye on the side of its head and add some green feather marks. Cut it out.

• Using brown paper, trace a witch profile, with a hooked nose sticking out on one side, a witches hat on top, a braid behind her head, and a mini stump under her head for her shoulders. Color the hat black, the stem red for her shirt, a red-brown for her braid, and draw an eye, a smile, and a brown wart on her nose. Cut it out.
• Tape *or glue* the 5 cut-out characters onto the left-hand glove on the palm-facing side, in this order to follow the story order: Witch on the thumb, then cat on the index finger, dog, parrot on the ring finger, and frog on the pinky.

For the Dragon Glove:

• Lay out the right-hand glove with the back-of-the-hand side facing up. Tape on two googley eyes, one onto the ring finger, and one onto the middle finger, right above where the fingers connect to the hand.
• Next, cut out a flame shape from the yellow paper, and draw on addition orange flames.
• To attach the flame, put a piece of double sided tape *or glue* on the bottom edge of the flame, and then turn it upside. Face the front of the flame toward you, and attach it to the top of the middle finger of the glove.

• Test the glove by putting it on and making a fist. The flame should be pointing out, right-side up underneath your fist.

Enjoy your Finger Puppet Character Cast Craft!

• Put on both gloves and use them to highlight the characters as you re-read the story.
• With both gloves on, re-tell the story *without the book* by putting on a puppet show. ~Create a mini puppet show stage with a ledge or some curtains~
• With both gloves on, create your own spooky, Halloween story puppet show  about witches, talking animals, magic spells, and dragons!

*~Overall, have some *Halloween*  fun acting out spooky puppet show stories using your very own colorful finger puppet character cast. Please comment below  – tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary  – or post on FaceBook to share your photos of your own *Finger Puppet Character Shows* and your own read aloud adventures! I’d love to hear from you!~*

*Check Back on Next Friday for our New Reading Adventure*

*~Until next time, Happy Reading~*