Stick Man Craft for World Book Day

“Oh Stick Man, oh Stick Man, beware of the glue!”

Stick Man is a very popular book in our house. We love reading it, we know the words off by heart, and my children love the BBC animation too.

So, with World Book Day coming up, and my love of nature crafts, it felt like the perfect choice to turn Stick Man into a fun craft activity.

This Stick Man craft for kids is a simple, low-cost World Book Day craft using sticks, leaves, foliage, paper or cardboard, and a little bit of imagination. It is perfect for children who love collecting sticks on walks and turning natural treasures into something creative.

Why make a Stick Man craft for World Book Day?

World Book Day is a brilliant opportunity to bring favourite stories to life through art and craft.

This activity links beautifully to storytelling, nature, outdoor learning and imaginative play. Children can collect real sticks, build their own Stick Man family, and create a picture inspired by the much-loved story.

Julia Donaldson’s books are brilliant for children because they are full of rhythm, rhyme, repetition and memorable characters. They are the kind of stories children want to hear again and again, and before long, they start joining in with the words themselves.

Stick Man is such a popular story because it is funny, gentle and full of adventure. It follows a simple stick who just wants to get back to his family tree, which makes it perfect for talking about journeys, family, seasons, nature and storytelling.

This craft is a lovely way to combine a book activity with time outside, making it perfect for World Book Day, home learning, nursery, reception, primary school, forest school or a kitchen table craft.

You will need

• Sticks in different sizes

• Smaller sticks for arms, legs and noses

• Paper or cardboard for the background

• PVA glue

• Leaves or foliage

• Googly eyes

• Scissors, optional for adult use

• Pens, pencils or colouring materials, optional

Step 1: Go on a stick hunt

Start by going for a walk around the garden, park, woodland or outdoor space.

We had lots of fallen sticks in the garden from the windy weather, so we collected a few different sizes.

You will need:

• one stick for Stick Man’s body

• one stick for Stick Lady’s body

• three smaller sticks for the stick children

• small thin sticks for arms, legs and noses

Try to collect sticks that have already fallen rather than pulling them from trees. This is a lovely chance to talk about respecting nature and only taking what we need.

Step 2: Choose your Stick Man family

Once you have collected your sticks, choose which ones will become each character.

Stick Man can be the biggest stick, then you can work your way down in size to make Stick Lady and the three stick children.

Before you start gluing, make sure your sticks are clean and dry. If the sticks are wet or muddy, the glue may not hold properly. You can wipe them clean and leave them somewhere warm to dry. Some of ours needed to go on the radiator for a little while before we could use them.

Once they are dry, they are ready to become your Stick Man family.

Step 3: Choose your background

Grab a piece of paper or cardboard for your background.

You could use white paper, coloured paper, recycled cardboard, or the inside of an old parcel box.

It depends what you want your background to look like. Cardboard works really well if you want a natural, recycled craft feel.

Step 4: Start building your figures

Lay your sticks onto the paper or cardboard before gluing anything down.

Start with Stick Man as the biggest figure, then build the rest of the family around him.

Use smaller sticks for arms and legs. You can snap them carefully to size, or ask an adult to help.

Arrange the sticks until you are happy with how the family looks.

Step 5: Glue the stick figures down

Once you are happy with your Stick Man family layout, start gluing the sticks onto your paper or cardboard background.

We used PVA glue for this part. PVA works really well because it holds the sticks in place and dries clear.

Start by sticking down the main stick bodies first.

Then add the smaller sticks for the legs, arms and noses. You can carefully snap sticks to make them smaller, or an adult can help if the sticks are tricky to break.

It does not need to be perfect. The different shapes and sizes of the sticks are what make each character feel full of personality.

Once everything is glued down, leave it flat to dry properly so the sticks stay in place.

Step 6: Add foliage and details

Next, we added some foliage around the outer edges of our picture because we wanted Stick Man and his family to be in a garden or park scene.

We used natural materials we had found outside, including fern and conifer.

We also used some conifer to make Stick Lady a little skirt.

Each character was holding an ivy leaf, which could be seen as a heart, a balloon or a little natural treasure.

This is where children can really make the picture their own. They could add leaves, grass, bark, flowers, seed heads or little bits of greenery to create their own Stick Man scene.

Step 7: Bring your characters to life

The final part is adding the little details.

We added small pieces of conifer to Stick Man’s head and arms.

Then we added googly eyes to each character, which instantly brought them to life.

You could also draw on little smiles, add extra leaves, create a family tree in the background, or add speech bubbles with words from your favourite part of the story.

A craft for every season

This Stick Man craft works beautifully for World Book Day, but it could also be adapted for any season.

In spring, you could add blossom, fresh leaves and little flowers.

In summer, you could add bright green leaves, grass and seed heads.

In autumn, you could use crunchy leaves, acorns and warm colours.

In winter, you could use bare twigs, evergreen leaves, pinecones or even add a snowy background.

Just like in the story, Stick Man can travel through the seasons, making this a lovely seasonal craft activity for children.

Safety note

Children should be supervised when collecting and snapping sticks.

Only collect natural materials that are safe to touch and that an adult recognises. Avoid unknown berries, mushrooms, poisonous plants or anything sharp.

Remind children not to put sticks, leaves or natural materials in their mouths.

Adult help may be needed when breaking sticks, using scissors or applying glue.

Easy ways to adapt this activity

For younger children, you could collect and prepare the sticks first, then let them choose where to place each character.

For older children, they could design a whole scene from the story, make different characters, add a background, or write a short sentence about their picture.

In a classroom, this could become a lovely group display. Each child could make their own Stick Man, then all the characters could be placed together in a big woodland or family tree scene.

A simple World Book Day craft

This Stick Man craft is a lovely way to celebrate World Book Day and bring a favourite children’s book to life.

It is simple, low-cost and full of natural materials. Children can collect, arrange, glue, build characters and use their imagination while connecting with a well-loved story.

It is perfect for World Book Day, book-inspired crafts, nature crafts, outdoor learning, forest school, early years activities, primary school art and seasonal craft projects.

Happy creating

I hope you enjoy making your own Stick Man craft.

Grab some sticks, collect a few natural treasures, add a little glue and bring this much-loved story to life.

Happy creating.

Love,

Kerry xxx