Nanette’s Baguette and Craft

Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems and companion Craft

Nanette has a love for baguettes.  A huge love.  So when her mother gives her some money and sends her off to the bakery to pick one up all by herself for the first time Nanette is thrilled.  Minus a few distractions she makes it there and purchases the coveted baguette.  However, can Nanette resist the temptation to eat it on the way home?  This book is so much fun and everything you would expect from Mo Willems.  The text is full of so many “ette” words that it makes this book a blast to read aloud and personality is just oozing from the pages.  Plus, the surprise ending will have little ones in giggles.

Click here to purchase “Nanette’s Baguette”  *affiliate link

 

Nanette’s Baguette Inspired Box Theater Craft

I was so intrigued by the bright illustrations that seemed 3D, and yet very flat at the same time.  The cover of the book especially seemed to have so much depth to it.  I did a bit of research and discovered that Mo Willems personally made the whole set for this book out of paper when he was creating it!  Fascinating right?  Below is a short video that gives you a behind the scenes look at the process.

I was so inspired that I knew I HAD to create a Beyond the Book craft with this book and it HAD to be a 3D bakery because the bakery is the center of all the action in this simple story.  Then I thought, why not make it a bit of a theater with puppets for the three main characters so that children can go “beyond the book” through reenacting it!  Perfect!  It was so much fun to make and I am so pleased with how it turned out.  Perfect for imaginative play and “Nanette’s Baguette” play writing!

Supplies needed:

• cardboard box (the type with flaps to close it)
• construction paper
• glue stick
• packing tape
• crayons
• scissors
• wide popsicle sticks

Steps:

1.  Place the box upright so the four flaps are facing up and cut off one of the two long flaps along its crease. ( Then cut the top two thirds of the short flaps off the box that are on either side.  Make sure the part that is remaining is adjacent to the long flap you left.)
2. Tape the long flap to the short flaps that you just cut to make a support so your theater box stands up.  (I would recommend clear packing tape for this part)
3. Now pull the two flaps on the bottom of your box out.  (I marked them with arrows in the photo.)
4. Tape these flaps to the side flaps from step 2 using strong tape. (I tried masking tape here and replaced it later with clear packing tape for a cleaner look.)
5. Now you are ready to create your theater opening for the box which also creates the awning and counter for the bakery.  To do this cut a sideways, uppercase “I” in the middle of what was once the bottom of your box with scissors or a box cutter.
6. Bend each newly created flaps outwards and your should have a rectangular opening with a flap to be an awning and a flap to be a counter.  (The photo shows what it will look like from the back)
7. Now is the fun part.  Cover your bakery in construction paper and decorate.  You can use the book as inspiration as I did to make one with a similar look or you can be creative and do your own design.  (Don’t forget to put a baguette on the counter!)
8. To make the popsicle stick puppets I just used construction paper, glue and crayons.  I thought they turned out pretty cute in the end.  Nanette, her mother, and the baker are the three main characters of the story and they hold it up well on their own so they are all I did.  You could do the minor characters to though as well if you want.

It was so fun to see my little guy’s face light up when he saw this bakery.  It is bringing us a lot of joy and I hope your littles enjoy it as well.

If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.