Quick craft activity: make your own superhero costume

 

With World Book Day just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about this year’s costume! We’ll be posting more costume ideas later in the month, but in the meantime here’s something the kids can create all by themselves. We sent this to our Parakeet subscribers last year, inspired by the brilliantly brave and adventurous Super Cats by Gwyneth Rees (if you haven’t read it yet, we think you’ll love it). But, of course, there are some cracking superhero characters all over the children’s literature landscape, so you could adapt this for whichever hero your kids most identify with.

You will need:

• 2 toilet roll tubes
• Scissors
• Thin carboard e.g. from a cereal box
• Pencil
• Sticky tack
• A piece of elastic
• Paper, pens, paint or stickers to decorate

To make superhero cuffs:

1. Take one toilet roll tube and cut it open lengthwise. Then cut away about 2cm from one end of the tube, so that it’s not too long for your wrist.

2. Repeat with the second toilet roll tube.

3. Decorate both cuffs however you like.

To make a superhero mask:

1. Draw the outline of a mask on your cardboard and cut it out. It may be easiest to start with a rectangle that’s 15cm long and 7cm high and then add eye holes, a space for your nose etc.

2. To cut out the eye holes, you first need to make a hole in the cardboard that you can put the scissors into. Place some sticky tack behind one of the eyes and push your sharp pencil through the cardboard to make a hole, before putting the scissors into that hole and cutting out the eye hole. Repeat with the other eye.

3. Use the same technique to make a hole on each side of the mask which you will use to thread the elastic through.

4. Decorate your mask.

5. Finally, thread the elastic through the first hole and secure firmly with a knot (you may need to ask an adult for help). Repeat with the second hole.

We would love to see your superhero creations! Tag us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

Parrot Street Book Club is a monthly book subscription for kids aged 5 to 11. Each monthly parcel includes a new chapter book to keep and a fun-filled activity pack created to accompany it. Find out more and subscribe here.