Again, I give you Tiny Mama, a book based on an idea that came out of one of Alden’s school projects.

The project was to do a “cereal box book report,” inventing a kind of cereal that in some way related to a given book and using the various panels of the box to do a summary of the book, list the main characters, etc. Breaking down literary criticism into its most basic and palatable elements. Alden went the extra mile by inventing a tiny paper doll cutout named Tiny Mama as the cereal box prize. But we were also smitten with the idea of letting kids design their very own cereal. And so we included an activity sheet with the Tiny Mama mailing. If you are so inclined, you can click HERE to print it out on your own printer. If your printer accepts card stock, all the better. (Also have a look at the Bobbledy Books Activities Page for more such projects).

We’ve heard from several parents that their kids have accepted the challenge.

For example, Jackson’s mom sent us a photo of his box of Henry Crunch, a cereal inspired by the Henry Huggins books by Beverly Cleary. Note that there is a dog inside. Loyal fans will remember that Henry has a dog named Ribsy.

And here, from Ellie is a reimagined box of Cap’n Crunch. Personally, I much prefer this design scheme to the original and am thinking of sending this along to the folks at Quaker Oats (a Division of PepsiCo, apparently).

Also, “Tastes Really Yummy Good,” is pure marketing gold. In fact, I’m going out to buy a box right now.

If your kids have made their own cereal boxes, please send them our way!

And if you are longing to own a copy of Tiny Mama, we won’t stop you – you can buy it HERE.