Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Bumper Book of Crafty Activities
Various Authors

Search Press
15 April 2012 / ISBN: 9781844487936
How-To Books/Crafts / Juvenile, various ages
Amazon

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

Ransack the house and have as much fun as you can imagine recycling. Vacations, school breaks and other occasions when you have too much time on your hands are a thing of the past with this great new book.

I wish I had had this book when I was a child; it would surely have been one of my favourites. This is the sort of thing any child who likes making things would love to own, and if you don't mind a bit of mess you should come in for a lot of peace (or at any rate the right kind of noise). In true Search Press style all the projects (over 100 of them) feature photographs and captions for a surely foolproof result. They show the children actually making them, and a wide variety of ages and races (as well as both sexes) are shown with the finished article. The book is divided into sections so you can choose what sort of craft you feel like today. Have a go at printing, origami, painting items, modelling with clay, making collages and greetings cards, get pasty with paper maché and turn various items into fun mosaics. Many of the items used are the type you find about the house or at least they are things that don't cost a lot. Most children will already have a wide range of things to draw with and other things can be found out of doors. This avoids the dreaded moment I remember from watching Blue Peter as a child when I realized that the average home was not awash with polystyrene ceiling tiles, sticky-backed plastic or foam covered hair rollers. Projects are taken from a number of different countries and civilizations, which will hopefully inspire Junior to find out more about them, and many of the items are actually attractive and useful. In all, I think it is about the best - and the biggest - book I have come across of its kind. If you have a child or need to buy one a gift I'd choose this.

 

 
Reviewed 2012
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