Happy Birthday, David McPhail - June 30
These bookshelves in my basement hold the books by more than 300 authors and illustrators whose birthdays we have celebrated on the blog. They are all arranged in alphabetical order to make sure we can find just the right book each year when the birthday comes back around.
And these bookshelves, on the other side of the room, hold the books by the authors and illustrators we would like to one day celebrate on the blog. I collect books at garage sales and library book sales with the hopes that one day a family reading experience will happen so I can share it with you.
Over the years, I have collected over a dozen books by David McPhail. As June 30th approached, I pulled his books off the shelf and
The Glerp, a book I was given by the
Mazza Museum at last year's summer conference, caught my attention.
The Glerp eats anything. It will eat small things like ants and even big things like elephants! The more it eats the bigger it gets and the slower it moves. It doesn't feel too good either. This is a silly book that I knew my children would love and I had an fun idea that could bring the book to life. (
The Glerp was originally published in 1972 and rereleased in 1994.)
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| We started by drawing the things the Glerp eats on wooden blocks that represented their size. The ant was drawn on a teeny tiny block. The mouse was drawn on a really small block. |
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| My son drew spots on the dog. |
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| I sprayed all the blocks with clear acrylic to protect our drawings. |
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| An ant, a mouse, a dog with a bone, a lion, a cow, and an elephant. It was no wonder the Glerp felt sick after eating all these animals! |
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Next, I told my kids we were going to make the Glerp. We used our trusted slime recipe that we used for Elise Parsley's birthday:
Ingredients:
1 4oz. bottle of white glue (or 1/2 cup)
1 cup of warm water
1 tsp. Borax
1 drop of black food coloring
Instructions:
In one bowl, mix glue with 1/2 cup of warm water. Add 1 drop of black food coloring. In another bowl, stir and dissolve 1 tsp. of Borax in 1/2 cup of warm water. Next, add borax water solution to the glue mixture and stir. The slime will form quickly.
We made two batches of slime to make the Glerp! |
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| We had many open bottles of glue so my son measured a 1/2 cup of white glue to start the first batch of slime. |
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| I added one drop of black food coloring. That was all that was needed to turn the glue gray. |
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| My oldest son added the borax solution to the glue mixture. |
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| He mixed with his hands and the slime formed immediately. |
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| There was a little extra water. He picked up the slime and transferred it to an empty bowl. After playing with the slime for a few minutes it became more firm and less watery. |
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| I was worried the Glerp was going to eat me as I read the story. |
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| My children took turns adding the wooden blocks to the Glerp after I read each part of the story. |
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| The Glerp grew as he ate, so we stretched him. |
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| The Glerp felt sick. |
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| Fun! |
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| The Glerp was feeling better after he coughed up all the animals. My son gave him a mustache! |
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| I didn't want the Glerp to eat my kids so I trapped him in a jar. |
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| Your family would love this book! |
David McPhail published his first book in 1971 and since then has written and illustrated over 100 children's book including
Edward and the Pirates,
Andrew Draws, and
Mole Music. He has many new books coming out very soon,
I Hug (August 2017),
Who Loves Me? (December 2017), and
Hooked (February 2018).
Check out his latest book,
I Promise:
Links:
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