Want to make some zines in honor of this cold, wintery, celebratory season? Check out the prompts below! They can be adapted for any age (including adults). 

• Write a 26-line alphabet poem on your favorite things about winter. Then illustrate it and turn it into a zine! Here are examples for the first three letters:

A is for the aroma of stew, bubbling on the stove.
B is for the blanket I cuddle under in the mornings.
C is for cold wind blowing across the desert.

• Create a comic zine about a fictional winter adventure! It can include inspired-by-real-life characters like your family and friends, and/or feature magical creatures like talking cacti or dancing snow people. The possibilities are endless!
• Write a field guide zine about what winter is like where you live. How does the weather feel? What does the desert look like? What kinds of animals are out and about? Is it rainy? Dry? Include illustrations!
• What was your winter break like? Did you celebrate any holidays? Take part in any traditions? Was it exciting? Were you bored? Write a memoir zine about your break, chronicling it for your readers (and your future self).

Several of these prompts were originally created for zine kits made in collaboration with librarians at the Dr. Fernando Escalante Tribal Library and Resource Center.

Want to share your zine with us? Drop it off, email us at pceducation@arizona.edu, or mail it to: K-12 Education c/o the UA Poetry Center, 1508 East Helen Street, Tucson, AZ 85721

You can learn more about Brave Books 2021-2023: Zines and Zine Libraries here.

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček.