In What to Do with a Box by Jane Yolen & Chris Sheban, the box becomes a library, palace, nook, and more. You can unlock it with a key (imagining this as I've seen kids do this before!), invite dolls for tea, and paint and color in it. It becomes a racing car, a boat to sail to Paris, and a plane for adventures!
The text uses rhymes and short sentences or just a word, making it good for a read aloud. I really love the details of the illustrations. I have moved a LOT in my life (24 times or so!) and order off of Amazon all the time, so have lots of experience with boxes. The reality of shipping tape, stamps on the boxes, tracking stickers, recycle symbols, and more add to the concept of a BOX. It's almost like you can feel the corrugation!
I liked this quote from the book: "A box! A box is a wonder indeed. The only such magic that you'll ever need!" Of course, a great follow up to reading the book is the have plenty of boxes, tape, paint, and more available. See my suggestions at this post. I know we've had a whole cardboard city lined up in the living room for week's on end and hosted cardboard building parties as well. Lots of fun! (and low cost!) We enjoyed this book (probably 4 out of 5), though Not a Box is always a favorite. It's nice to have others to switch it up at times!
Like books about loose parts? Find my list here.
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