King Xerxes (Esther 6)

The king Xerxes is usually depicted with the sceptre that held the fate of Esther, but for this story we concentrate on the reading of the daily report, while they would have probably been scrolls, the idea that long past events can hold truth for the future, as they did for Mordecai, has a beautiful biblical echo to it. this craft takes that a bit further, using the idea of books holding treasure!

Print the PDF on as large paper as possible. The A4 version makes a book with the dimensions 95x70x20mm. Cut out around the model carefully. If possible score the fold lines, and fold all the lines including the place the cover meets the pages.

Start by sticking down the front cover, this just doubles up! Then sick down the ridges of the cover – you can see that I’ve separated the spine part here to make it easier. Stick down all the ridges before you continue.

Now you want to make the ‘walls’ of the pages. This can be a little tricky but it’s easier if you make sure the folds are sharp and the tabs are glued before you start – just use a glue stick that’s not too dry! Starting at one side of the spine stick the ‘wall’ into place against the spine and slowly work round.

When you have finished the craft give the children something to ‘hide’ in their books. Encourage them to take their books home and add them to their bookcase.

If you want an easier alternative for younger ones then simply print the book cover and paste it onto a box – alternatively cut a shape from foam to use as the inner book (if you have a lot of old books you could even use a real book cover!)