The Book: Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman

 What’s It About?

Cinnamon was a princess with pearl eyes, a long time ago, in a small hot country, where everything was very old. Cinnamon did not talk and could not see. Mango trees, a parrot, and a beautiful room in the palace do nothing to help the teachers who try to make her to speak. Can a man-eating tiger do so, and exactly who will end up in the belly of the beast?

Who’s The Author?

Neil Gaiman is probably one of those authors that you don’t know you’ve heard of. He’s fairly prolific, being the brains behind Vertigo’s Sandman, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Stardust, a couple of the best recent Doctor Who episodes (The Doctor’s Wife amirite?), American Gods and way too many others to mention.

Why Is It Awesome?

Gaiman has written a number of books for young children and teens and what I love about all of them is he never talks down to his audience. His customary humour makes it incredibly fun to read aloud with sentences like ‘ He was huge and fierce, a nightmare in black and and orange. He moved like a god through the world, which is how tigers move.’

Another thing I love is it’s not a typical picture book – it sort of trails off at the end, which can lead to some fascinating discussions with your child about what they think Cinnamon did next.

The Play: Tiger Stripe Bubble Wrap Painting

Since we were going for Cinnamon’s idea of what a tiger might look like, I wanted something a little more abstract. I saw this craft over at Red Ted Art and I loved the texture that the bubble wrap gives the tiger stripes and decided to give it a shot!

What You Need

• Paper/Canvas (something to paint on)
• Cereal Box
• Orange, black and white washable paint
• Large Cardboard Tube (like from inside a alfoil box)
• Bubble Wrap
• Sticky Tape

What To Do

1. Use the sticky tape to secure the bubble wrap around the cardboard tube, leaving a hand hold at either end.
   
2. Open up your cereal box to make a sort of tray. This is to pop your paint into before rolling.
   
3. Squirt the paint in the box in thick lines, alternating colours. You want this to be approximately the same width as your bubble wrap.
   
4. Take your bubble wrap roller and roll it in the paint. Gently roll it onto the paper/canvas.
   
5. Repeat until you are happy with the result!