I am always on the lookout for great picture books that have a fun message, colorful illustrations , a little humor, and appeal to a large age range. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, is a book that delivers. It appeals to my K through 4 students and my special needs students. I am a big proponent of bringing more literacy and the gift of story to all children. (Click on book title for a link to Amazon.com)

I look for ways to make the story come alive for students that are working on very basic communication skills. Visuals, sound effects, and a crazy enthusiastic reader (me) are all strategies that work! I don’t read at them, I include them in the story by getting them excited. This year I have a couple of student that respond really well to puppets. So I decided to make some puppets and “props” to help support the story in Dragons Love Tacos.

These sock puppets were sooo easy to make! I bought a really soft pair of socks from Target (the kids love the feel of these) and some felt sheets. It was really simple to make some wings and hot glue them to the socks. My husband helped me, and we made a stream of fire, and some fun little tacos for the dragons to eat.

 When the puppets talk to the kids, the kids are sometimes more responsive. The puppet can ask them yes/no questions, “what’s your name?”, and ask them questions about the story. It’s just so much fun! I really encourage you to try it. Watch for my Dragons Love Tacos book companion COMING SOON!

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