Flannel Friday: Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Fall is the perfect time for an owl-themed storytime. For me, that means busting out one of my perennial storytime favorites, Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. But I wanted to go beyond reading the book this time, so I decided to try and make a flannel out of it. Here's how it turned out:

Not too bad, right?

First, I made the Sarah, Bill, and Percy owl. To do that, I created a template that you can find here.

Then I cut out the shapes in white felt and made the beaks and feet out of tan felt. Here's an owl put together:

I also knew that I wanted the owls to be fluffy just like the book illustrations, so I took cotton balls, pulled them apart, and then glued it down on top of the felt. Then I glued on the googly eyes and beak. Lastly, I took a q-tip with some black acrylic paint and lightly went over the cotton to create a feather pattern. For Sarah, I had some leftover false eyelashes from my wedding day that I just trimmed down and glued on. Needless to say, this is optional!

Percy and Sarah

Bill

For the tree, I just free-hand cut out the trunk, branches, and leaves. Then I used the black acrylic paint again to create texture.

For the Mommy Owl, I use one of our Folkmanis Owl Puppets

I hide her somewhere by my chair and at the part of the story where she's supposed to appear, I have the children close their eyes and wish for her to come home just like Sarah, Percy, and Bill do in the story. Then I bring Mommy Owl out and have the kids open their eyes!

Lisa at Libraryland is hosting this week's Flannel Friday. You can find the round-up over on her blog! For more information on Flannel Friday, check out their website, Facebook group, or Pinterest page.