Snake Craft: Playing with Where the Sidewalk Ends

Booking Across the USA Project: Find Where the Sidewalk Ends at your local library or purchase using the affiliate links provided for your convenience.

As a child, some books just change the way you think about reading and look at the world. For me, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was an escape that let me imagine the possibilities of literature. Join me below for a snake craft that correlates with one of Shel Silvertein’s poems!

I can remember disappearing into Where the Sidewalk Ends for hours, reading and rereading the different poems, wondering what happened to the characters afterward. Shel Silverstein’s book was the first all-poetry book I had read and was a wonderful introduction to the world of poetry. It taught me that poems are approachable and come in all forms.

Universally Loved: Where the Sidewalk Ends

I have given Where the Sidewalk Ends as gifts several times. One time I gave my niece a copy for her birthday. Her aunt later told me that, when they were packing for a trip, she found the book nestled in among her clothes. Now if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

When my first son hit Kindergarten, I bought this book. We have been pulling it out ever since, sometimes reading groups of poems at a time. Other times, just reading one poem and talking about it later.

I write so often about books, I’ve put them in one central location and created a collection of all of my book lists! Find great reading book lists here.

Booking Across the USA

This week I’m joining 49 fellow bloggers, hosted by Growing Book By Book, for Booking Across the USA. For this project, we’ve all chosen an author from our state to highlight and do a book-based project. Living in Chicagoland, I chose Shel Silverstein from Illinois.

It’s completely impossible to pick a favorite poem from Where the Sidewalk Ends. For me, it changes daily. But for Booking Across the  USA, my children and I chose “Boa Constrictor.” My oldest son is absolutely obsessed with snakes!

Snake Craft: Boa Constrictor

Oh yes, snakes are a favorite in our house. So when I mentioned doing a snake craft to go along with Shel Silverstein’s poem “Boa Constrictor,” my boys were thrilled.

“Well, what do you know? It’s nibblin’ my toe.” – Shel Silverstein

For this easy snake craft, you’ll need:

• Playdough
• Sequins or Gems
• Googly Eyes
• Piece of Cardboard (can be from a cereal box)

This is such an easy snake craft… but one my boys enjoyed doing. The next day, they went crazy with this idea … but that’s for another post.

Instructions for snake craft:

• Grab your piece of cardboard to work on. You’ll be glad the project is already set up something study to dry on (Translation: No crying kids when the project breaks because you had to pick it up.)
• Roll out the playdough into a long tube. It’s completely up to your kiddo how fat or thin they want to make their snake.
• Shape the snake into a relaxed S shape so it will be stable when it dries and not roll over.
• Decorate with the sequins or gems. (Make sure the sequins are well-pressed in or they will fall off after the playdough has dried.)
• Add two googly eyes at the top of the snake.
• Let it dry.

Our snake craft is currently residing in the craft room and seems quite happy in its new home.

I write so often about books, I’ve put them in one central location and created a collection of all of my book lists! Find great reading book lists here.