Song “Pirouette, cacahuète” · the coloring pages on this refrain
The paper man and the unicorn
Made of patched cardboard and folded paper, hat and all, the little man dances with the unicorn amid the confetti.
- Recommended age
- Ages 4 and up · 20 to 40 minutes
- Themes
- Storybook scenes, Unicorns
A cardboard man
The little man is made of odds and ends: a head of folded cardboard strips, a folded paper hat decorated with a star, a body made of a patched cardboard box covered with stitched-on patches and a star, arms and legs of knotted string. His nose is a paper cone tied on with a bit of string. He dances, arms in the air, with the unicorn, who laughs with its eyes closed. Confetti and little swirls fly around them.
A funny little house
“Il était un petit homme, pirouette, cacahuète, il était un petit homme qui avait une drôle de maison” — “there was a little man who had a funny house”: in the French song, his house is made of cardboard, its stairs of paper. Here, it is the little man himself who is made of cardboard and paper. And his paper nose, tied with a bit of string, recalls the mailman in the song, who broke the tip of his nose and had it mended with pretty golden thread.
Patches and stitches
The little man’s body is a patchwork: patches sewn on with small stitches, each one a separate area. It is the most fun part to color, one patch at a time. The string arms and legs are thin, with knots: a sharpened pencil helps. The unicorn is made of big simple shapes.
One patch, one color
Each patch on the body can take a different color, like a real patchwork: time to bring out the whole box. The cardboard of the head and hat stays in beige or light brown tones, so you can recognize the material. The confetti gets every color, with a single little touch each.
A word for the grown-up: sing “Pirouette, cacahuète” up to the golden thread, then suggest your child color the little man’s nose yellow, like the thread in the song.
Coloring pages that go with this one
More pages from the same theme, age or season — the ones you print right after.
