A board book has a pretty clear job. Open it. Read it. Turn the pages. Read it again. And again. And, if you’re a toddler, perhaps taste a corner. Eventually, some of those much-loved books reach the end of their library lives. Pages separate. Bindings break. Copies wear out. The book is withdrawn and headed for the discard pile.
Except sometimes I look at those thick, colorful pages and think:
Wait. What else could this be?
Finding ways to reuse board books has become one of my favorite creative challenges, because a board book that can’t be a library book anymore can still become quite a lot of things.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks are probably the easiest thing to make with old board books, but they might also be my favorite. Just cut the pages into long strips, and that’s really all there is to it. The thick pages are already perfect for bookmarks, but the real fun is seeing what ends up on each one. A tiny piece of an illustration can suddenly look like something completely different. Half of a character might peek in from the edge, a few words can take on a funny new meaning, or a little patch of color and pattern can become its own tiny piece of art. You never quite know what you’re going to get until you make the cut. And I love that a book that was ready to be discarded gets to go right back between the pages of another book.
Board Book Blocks
An Ellison die cutter can turn board book pages into something completely different: building blocks. Using slot construction, the sturdy pages become pieces that slide together at the slots, allowing children to build up, out, sideways, or in whatever direction their creation takes them.
There is something a little magical about watching a handful of flat pieces turn into something three-dimensional. They might become a tower, a creature, a spaceship, or a structure that doesn’t need a name at all. Take it apart and the same pieces can become something completely different the next time.
The blocks are also easy to package into small sets, which makes them great outreach materials. A stack of flat pieces doesn’t take up much space, but once they’re in children’s hands, they can become something much bigger.
Art Materials
One of the easiest ways to reuse board books is to turn the pages into a whole new supply of art materials. Cut them into circles, squares, strips, triangles, or completely irregular shapes and combine them with the supplies already in the craft cupboard. Add a craft stick and a colorful shape can become a puppet, a wand, a flower, or a sign. Add pipe cleaners and suddenly there are antennae for an alien, legs for a spider, or ears for a wonderfully strange animal. Punch a few holes and children can add yarn, ribbon, or beads. Larger pieces can become the starting point for masks, collages, creatures, and mixed-media creations.
This is where the possibilities really start to multiply. Board book pieces also make wonderful additions to process art programs. A handful of board book pieces alongside craft sticks, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, yarn, tape, and glue is an invitation to experiment. There doesn’t have to be a sample or even a particular project in mind. Sometimes adding something unexpected to the art table is all it takes to spark a little imagination and see where it leads.
STEM Materials
Board book pages also make surprisingly useful STEM supplies. They are thick, sturdy, easy to cut into different shapes, and strong enough to become actual working parts of a creation. Cut out circles and suddenly there are wheels for a cardboard car. Larger pieces can become ramps for experimenting with motion, strips can be used as levers, and cut out shapes can become gears, connectors, or other sturdy pieces for engineering challenges.
What makes board book pages so useful for STEM projects is that they fall somewhere between paper and cardboard. They are easy enough to cut and punch, but sturdy enough to actually do something. That opens up all kinds of possibilities for building and experimenting and gives those old pages one more chance to be handled, tested, tinkered with, and turned into something that works.
And It Can Become…
Once you start looking for ways to reuse board books, it gets a little difficult to stop.
A board book can become:
- A simple puzzle: Cut an illustrated page into a few large pieces.
- A lacing card: Cut out a sturdy shape, punch holes around the edge, and add yarn.
- Storytelling pieces: Save interesting people, animals, objects, and settings that children can combine to invent new stories.
- Matching or sorting pieces: Colors, shapes, animals, letters, numbers, and familiar objects can become materials for sorting and matching.
- A puppet: Add a craft stick to a cut-out character and give it a brand-new story.
- Loose parts: Cut circles, squares, triangles, strips, and other shapes and add them to building and tinkering materials.
- Collage materials: Save interesting bits of illustrations, patterns, lettering, and color for the art table.
- Gift tags or ornaments: Use a die cutter to create stars, circles, hearts, or other shapes and add a punched hole.
- A garland: String colorful die-cut pieces together.
- Magnets: Turn small illustrated pieces into magnets for play or display.
- Story sequencing cards: Put a few unrelated images together and invite children to decide what happened first, next, and last.
- Small-world play pieces: Trees, animals, vehicles, buildings, and other images can become additions to block or imaginative play.
- Tracing shapes: Sturdy die-cut pieces can become reusable templates for drawing.
- Mosaic pieces: Cut colorful pages into geometric shapes for arranging and rearranging into pictures and patterns.
- Make-a-creature pieces: Collect eyes, legs, tails, wings, ears, and other interesting fragments and see what children create when they mix them together.
And I’m sure there are possibilities I haven’t thought of yet. Actually, I hope there are.
One More Look
Not every withdrawn board book should be saved. When looking for ways to reuse board books, anything dirty, moldy, or unsafe still needs to go, and libraries have their own policies for discarded materials.
But I’ve started giving board books one more look before they reach the recycling or discard pile.
Not, “Can we save this book?” Sometimes we can’t.
Instead, “What is here that we can still use?”
A withdrawn board book may have reached the end of its life as a library book. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it has reached the end of its possibilities.
(Photos courtesy of guest blogger)
Today’s guest blogger is Renee Kitson a Youth Services Librarian at the Mountain View Public Library in California. She loves creating hands-on programs that spark curiosity and encourage families to learn together. She enjoys sharing ideas that help make libraries welcoming, engaging places for children and their caregivers.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
If you are interested in submitting a guest post, please read and fill out our Guest Blogging Interest Form. We would love to hear from you!
The post Don’t Toss That Board Book! Transform It into Something Wonderful appeared first on ALSC Blog.
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