Flannel Friday: A Perfect Nose for Ralph by Jane Breskin Zalben

Since I have started using more flannel boards with my preschoolers and fewer at the large drop-in story times, I've found myself more drawn to adapting picture books and longer stories that the older (and smaller) audiences can appreciate. Last week, we talked about noses at preschool story time, and I wanted to share a book called A Perfect Nose for Ralph by Jane Breskin Zalben. The only copy in my entire library system is a tiny little book, so I was glad to be able to share it on the flannel board to make it more accessible.

The story is pretty simple, so it lends itself well to easy flannel board transitions. Ralph the panda is a beloved stuffed animal who loses his nose in an encounter with the family cat.

Reggie, the little boy who owns Ralph, decides to try and find a suitable replacement nose.

He tries a button...

a wooden peg....

a cherry...

two snaps...

a ball of yarn... 

and a cotton ball.

Finally, he decides to make his own nose for Ralph, which looks almost exactly like the one he lost - the perfect nose for Ralph.

Though I only made pieces that matched Ralph's noses in the book, this concept could be easily adapted for lots of other noses. For a food theme, Ralph could have noses all made out of food. For a colors theme, there could be different colored noses. It might even be fun to use a different animal, or even a person, instead of the panda, depending on your theme, interests, and availability of clipart. This is probably the easiest flannel to make - and one of the most versatile!

This week's Flannel Friday host is Brooke from Reading with Red. For more about Flannel Friday, visit the official site.