Paper Plate Whale inspired by “Walk of the Whales”

Are you looking for a fun craft to make with your children for Book Week? These cute paper plate whales puppets were inspired by one of this year’s CBCA shortlisted Early Childhood books, “Walk of the Whales,” written and illustrated by Nick Bland.

“When all of the whales in the ocean leave their home to walk around on land, people don’t quite know what to think. But soon shopkeepers go out of business, farms are flooded with water and salt, and people shout horrible, anti-whale words. That is, until, a smart little girl decides to ask the whales what everyone can do to help.“

Walk of the Whales is a fun way to introduce the serious topic of pollution to small children. The children at my school absolutely loved the humour infused into this book; whales riding bikes, wearing human sized helmuts! What’s not to love! But it also prompted serious discussions of how the rubbish got into the ocean in the first place, and what we can do to fix the problem. Today we are going to make our own whales, using paper plates.

To make your paper plate whales, you will need the following craft supplies:

Supplies:

• 1 paper plate
• 1 popsicle stick
• Colour paper
• Paint or felt tip pens
• Scissors
• Grey lead pencil
• Sticky tape

Step 1

Fold your paper plate in half and cut along the folded line, to create 2 semi-circles. For this craft we will be using 1 of the semi-circles, unless of course you would like to make 2 whales.

Step 2

Draw 2 “v” shapes, similar to the example below, onto your semi-circle and cut out. This will form the shape of your whale’s body and tail. Shape the tail of your whale further, by cutting a third “v” shape into the end of your tail, to create a fish tail look.

Step 3

Decorate your whale with paint, felt tip pens or colour paper. I painted my whale grey and added a paper circle for the eye. I added more detail with a black felt tip pen.

Step 4

Make a whale spout, by cutting a small square of colour paper; my paper is 6cm x 6cm. Cut a fringe in your paper about two thirds of the way down. Roll the paper into a small tube with the fringe on the top, secure with a piece of sticky tape. Curl the strips of paper around a pencil, to give the paper a splashing effect. Tape the the whale spout to the back of your whale.

Step 5

Turn your paper plate whale into a puppet, by taping a popsicle stick to the back of your whale. And you’re done! Doesn’t he look cute!

My daughter Zoë had lots of fun making her own whale. She decided to use felt tips pens instead of paint and it look great! It’s such a fun and simple craft to make. We hope you have fun making paper plate whale puppets too!

Looking for a “The Snail and a Whale” craft to make? Why not add a little paper snail to your whale puppet’s tail.

Or if you are looking for some more crafts inspired by this year’s shortlisted books? Take a look here: | Paper Cup Rocket Inspired by “Stellarphant” | Cat Collage inspired by “Winston and the Indoor Cat”

And if you would like some Book Week display inspiration take a look at my “Wizard of Oz” display here: Dreaming with Eyes Open Book Week Display 2022