Is Your Mama a Llama? Reading Guide & Activities | Ages 12 Months-8 Years

Turn storytime into an opportunity to read together, create together, and grow together with this printable companion guide for Is Your Mama a Llama?, written by Deborah Guarino and illustrated by Steven Kellogg.

Designed for children ages 12 months through 8 years, this guide helps you enjoy the story at your child’s developmental level—without turning reading time into a lesson or quiz. Start by simply enjoying the book together. Then, return to the story whenever you are ready to explore its rhymes, animal clues, playful guessing, and the different ways animals and their babies are alike.

Inside this guide, you’ll find:

• During Reading Tips to make the story more engaging through repetition, animal sounds, playful guessing, and opportunities for your child to join in
• Age-appropriate After Reading Questions for:
• 12–18 months
• 18–24 months
• Ages 2–4
• Ages 5–8
• Guidance showing where to ask each question, which skill it supports, and how it helps your child learn
• A complete materials list and step-by-step directions for an animal-themed craft
• Opportunities to build vocabulary, rhyming awareness, animal knowledge, prediction, listening comprehension, descriptive language, and problem-solving skills

About the activity

The activity gives children an opportunity to create while practicing fine-motor skills, following directions, creativity, and noticing the features that make different animals recognizable.

It also provides a natural way to keep talking about the animals in the story, how babies are similar to their parents, and the clues Lloyd uses to figure out which mama belongs to each animal.

The goal is not a picture-perfect craft—it is the connection, conversation, and fun of creating something together.

This guide is a good fit for families who want to:

• Make a rhyming story more interactive and playful
• Encourage children to listen for and predict rhyming words
• Build animal vocabulary and knowledge
• Practice using picture and description clues
• Compare how different animals look and move
• Strengthen prediction and problem-solving skills
• Build story recall and listening comprehension
• Enjoy a hands-on activity connected to the story

Please note

This is a digital PDF download. No physical book, printed guide, or craft supplies will be mailed.

You will need access to a copy of Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino and Steven Kellogg to use the reading portions of this guide. The book may be borrowed from your local library or purchased separately.

Adult help may be needed for portions of the craft, depending on your child’s age.

Recommended ages: 12 months–8 years

Format: Printable digital PDF

Length: 19 pages

Included activity: 1