AGES:  Prereaders, beginning readers, older readers

MATERIALS:  Colored construction paper, felt pen, cellophane tape, thumbtacks or masking tape

The children cut pieces of colored construction paper into 1 x 6 strips and store them in a handy container -- a rinsed frozen juice can will do.

After finishing a book, the reader writes the book title on a paper strip, then overlaps and tapes the ends to form a link.  The first link is anchored with a tack or masking tape to a starting point:  a corner of the ceiling, a bedpost, the top bookshelf.  The second paper strip is linked through the first, the third through the second, and so on as the chain lengthens.

Keep the chain gong until your children reach a goal or lose interest.  Perhaps you can save a long chain for a party decoration or put it around a Christmas tree that has no electric lights (or the paper will be a fire hazard).