Boxes are incredibly useful
and somewhat mystical things. Without boxes, birthdays would be less exciting,
we’d have a heck of a time on moving day and Schrodinger would have no problem
knowing if his cat were dead or alive. Thankfully, we have boxes and my new
picture book, Do Not Open The Box!, is a story about one boy and a box. Benny
comes across a very large box with a sign on it that says “Do Not Open.” Benny
is curious and thinks of all kinds of things that could be in the box, both good
and bad, and has to decide whether to give in to temptation and open it.
There are many books about
boxes and their plots are as different as the number of things you could find
in a box. For example, Too Many Toys by David Shannon, Not A Box by Antoinette
Portis or The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli tell very unique stories about
what kids do with boxes.
Writing Exercise:
Put a box on a table. Ask
students to write two lists of what they think could be in the box. One list
will be things that would realistically be in the box. The other will be a
fantasy list of what they’d like to be in the box. Examine the differences
between the possible and the impossible.
Art Exercise:
The students can pick an item
from each list and draw a picture of a dragon eating cupcakes or monsters
reading textbooks.
Timothy Young has been an
animator, puppet maker, toy designer, sculptor, art director and graphic
designer. He’s designed for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the Muppets, The Simpsons,
Disney, and Universal Studios. Tim is the author/illustrator of 6 picture books
including Shadows On My Wall, The Angry
Little Puffin and the highly acclaimed
I Hate Picture Books!. His latest, Do
Not Open The Box, will be released on January 23rd, 2016. He lives with his
family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Find out more about him and his books
at www.creaturesandcharacters.com
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