DIY Book Cover Craft for Kids + Get FREE Books

This shop about a DIY Book Cover Craft has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company, Kellogg Company, J.M. Smucker Company, and The HERSHEY’S Company. All opinions are mine alone. #StartSchoolLikeAChampion #CollectiveBias

It is no secret if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook that my girls love to read. Not just here and there, but all the time, day and night, in the car and at the dinner table. In fact, I often have to tap them on the shoulder to get their attention since they often can not hear me calling them because they are so engrossed in a book. Recently my mom gave my 10 year old books that she read as a child and that my sister and I read as well. She is only allowed to read them in my room because they are so old so I will catch her, cozy in my bed, reading away. Because of the love of reading in this house, and because I truly believe all kids will love reading if they find the right books, I love programs that reward books to kids! So when I found out that Scholastic Books and Walmart were doing a Start School Like a Champion program, I had to head there to stock up on Back to School essentials I use anyway! While I learned all about the program, my kids made a DIY Book Cover Craft for kids that they promise will get kids interesting in books!

The program is awesome, and simple, and ONLY at WALMART!  For every participating item purchased from brands like Coca-Cola®, Kellogg’s®, HERSHEY’S, and ©/® J.M. Smucker, kids can get a free Scholastic book! As the US Olympic team succeeds in Rio de Janiro at the 2016 Olympic Games, I want my kids to succeed in starting the school year right! So getting a book for products we stock up on anyway is an awesome bonus for us! So as I purchased my Eggo Waffles, my Minute Maid Apple Juice Boxes for the kid’s lunches, my HERSHEY’S candy for a sweet treat and my Folger’s coffee for my morning wake up call, I knew that each one would equal a new book for my kids!

Here are the basics on getting your book once you have made your purchases:

1. Buy any participating Coca-Cola, HERSHEY’S, Kellogg’s, or J.M. Smucker product at Walmart between 6/29/16 and 9/30/16. For a full list of participating products, refer to StartSchoolLikeAChampion.com.
2. Join or log in to Kellogg’s Family Rewards.
3. Upload your receipt within 30 days of purchase.
4. Choose or donate your free book.

This program is awesome! It runs until September 30, 2016 and you can earn up to 90 books!! Imagine getting them all and donating most to the school library or a kid’s charity! What an incredible way to teach kids to pay it forward!

Let’s face it, though, if your kids are not big on reading, it is hard to sell them on new books. So I talked to my avid readers and asked them what they would do to encourage other kids to read! They all said that making a book feel like their own helps and that DIY Book Covers are fun to make and turn the book into their own creation! I thought that was awesome so I let them show me how to make them! Not only is this a great craft for kids, it helps protect the covers of books from damage, which I love!

DIY Book Cover Craft for Kids

You will need:

9 x 12 construction paper for small books, larger for larger books.

Tape

Scissors

Marker, colors and other decorations.

1. Wrap the paper around the book to measure to make sure the construction paper is large enough to cover the book.
2. Once you know the paper will wrap, fold it over and put it on a hard surface to color and decorate.
3. Once decorated, fold the paper over the book.
4. Put a piece of tape on the cover and the back so the paper will stick to the book. Not too large, though, you don’t want to damage the cover when you take the paper off later.
5. Wrap the edges around the flaps of the books, cutting the corners at an angle so they fit easily.
6. Tape the edges and you are done!

This really is a super fun craft for kids and they will reach more for ‘their’ book that they worked so hard to decorate!

As the kids and I watch the athletes around the United States that are participating in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic games, we are also getting ready to go back to school. It makes sense that team USA sponsors Coca-Cola®, Kellogg’s®, HERSHEY’S, and ©/® J.M. Smucker have teamed up with Scholastic to create the Walmart exclusive “Start School Like a Champion” program. For every purchase at Walmart of the participating products I already use, I will be able to claim one Scholastic book. Talk about an athletic success to promote reading!

I hope I have at least helped you find a way to encourage your kids to love reading as much as mine do! What products are you looking to purchase for your books?