So it looks like this post has been sitting in my draft folder since…2019! I knew it had to have been a while, since I haven’t done any tween-specific programming since leaving my old branch. But it’s still a fun activity, so I thought it deserved to finally see the light of day. I’ve written about manga club here on the blog before, if you’re looking for more program inspiration.
I ran a monthly tween manga club, and while it was a few years ago now, I remember it being a really fun, casual program where tweens met to share what they’d been reading, watching and playing in a safe, supportive environment.
We wrapped up each meeting with a simple craft like this manga collage bookmark.
- Discarded manga and manga magazines
- White cardstock (or repurposed file folders!)
- Glue
- Scissors
- Coloring supplies
- Masking tape / book tape
- Modpodge (optional)
That’s it! Everything you need to make these bookmarks you’ll likely already have in your library. If you don’t have enough discarded manga (we seem to go through Pokemon like they’re going out of style, thanks to very eager young readers), you can find scans of manga pages online and print them out to very similar effect.
Cut your cardstock or file folders into long strips.
Have participants cut images out of manga and glue the images onto the cardstock, and decorate as desired.
Then, use strips of tape to “laminate” and reinforce the bookmarks, making them sturdier and more durable, or cover them with a thin coating of ModPodge.
Sometimes the best programs are the simplest, where kids can chat and socialize while also making something creative and low-stakes.
Looking back on this craft makes me want to try running a tween manga club again…! Do you offer any tween-specific programming at your library?