“Memoirs of a Goldfish” by Devin Scillian with Fishbowl and Puppet Craft

Creative Wednesdays

One of my favorite projects to with children is creating projects that correspond to their favorite books. The little girl I am currently caring for loves the adorable book, Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian.

So I helped her make a paper plate fishbowl and puppets of the characters in the book. The child is an amazing artist so I let her draw the characters in the book herself. But you can trace or draw the characters yourself to help the child in your care.

Memoirs of a Goldfish, a goldfish in his bowl alone, counting the number of times he swims around in his bowl. Day one, two, and three passes and to his surprise he gets some company. Things only go from bad to worse however, as more additions — a garden of water plants, Mervin the slime-eating snail, Fred the grouchy crab, two guppies named Rhoda and Clark, and an angelfish named Cha-Cha — make the bowl ever more crowded. Driven to distraction by his new bowl-mates, the goldfish finally breaks down, shouting that the bowl is his, and he wants it back! But when it appears that his wish has been granted, and he finds himself alone again, he discovers that solitude isn’t everything he’d hoped — especially as he can’t stop worrying about his companions! It’s a hysterical book that I highly recommend.

Click here to see our video of using the puppets while reading Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian.

You Will Need:

Paper Plate
Blue Glitter Paper
Construction Paper
Craft Sticks
Stapler
White Glue

What to Do:

1. Trace the paper plate on the back of blue glitter paper and cut out the glitter paper to make the back of the fishbowl.

2. Cut out the center of the paper plate so that the white rim of the paper plate will be a frame for the fishbowl. Glue and staple the paper plate rim to the glitter paper. Do not attach the bottom of fishbowl so the puppets can swim up and down in the fishbowl from below.

3. Cut fish and seaweed shapes out of the construction paper and glue to the glitter paper.

4. Draw and cut out a goldfish and any other characters from the book from construction paper.

5. Use a stapler to attach the goldfish and other characters to craft sticks to make them puppets.

6. Have the puppets crowd the fishbowl like in the book.