From the moment the Old-Green-Grasshopper started playing his music, the audience were spellbound. He made beautiful sounds by stroking the top of his hind legs up and down against his wing.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
• 1 six-egg carton
• Scissors
• Green paint
• Pencil
• Green card
• Emery board
• 2 small green pom-poms
• PVA glue
• 2 googly eyes
• Green pipe cleaner
• Craft sticks
Top Tip! If you don’t have any craft sticks you could use a pencil, twigs or chopsticks
1. Cut your egg carton in half so that you have three compartments in a row: this is going to be your grasshopper’s long body. Paint it green and set it aside to dry.
2. Next, it’s time to make your grasshopper’s large hind legs. Draw a V on the green card; you want each outer line of the V to be 10 centimetres long and 1.5 centimetres wide. When you are happy with your shape, cut it out using scissors. You can then use this first hind leg as a template for the second one by drawing around it on the card. Then cut out the second one. Make sure you are careful when using scissors, and ask a grown-up to help you.
3. Using scissors, carefully cut the emery board in half; you might need to ask a grown-up to help you with this. Then take ne of your legs and turn the V upside down. Glue one piece of the emery board to the right-hand part of one f the Vs. Do the same for the second leg, but glue the emery board to the left-hand part of the V.
4. When the paint on the body is dry, glue the pom-poms to the front, and then glue the googly eyes to the pom-poms. Finally, make the pipe cleaner into a U shape and poke the ends through the front section of the carton, behind the eyes, giving your grasshopper antennae.
5. Glue the hind legs to the back section of the egg carton: one on each side. When the glue has dried, use the craft stick to rub along the emery board on the leg to make a noise.
GET CREATIVE! If you’re feeling arty, decorate your grasshopper!
James and the Giant Peach, published in 1961, was the first children’s story from the world’s number one storyteller, Roald Dahl. A new edition of the iconic tale is now available in paperback (Puffin £6.99) complete with fuzzy stickers and beautiful new cover artwork by Quentin Blake. James’s Giant Bug Book is the perfect companion book for young fans, packed with fascinating facts about creepy-crawlies and fun activities to try at home.
Craft idea extracted from James’ Giant Bug Book, published by Puffin, paperback RRP £7.99. Illustrations by Quentin Blake.