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Designed for kids, this origami book + papers + poster + nice box makes for a pretty impressive gift. I like how the book is really quite simple (fish seem to be pretty straightforward) so my children can figure things out on their own, and are so proud of their little aquatic creations. My kids love the papers that come with the set, which are really nice quality, easy to use, and many have lovely, traditional Japanese patterns on them.
Our family has long been fans of the “Beauty and the Beast” story — including the Disney live-action and animated versions, the Renoir film, and various storybook versions. Yet this book rivals them all, in several ways. The extended story is over 60 pages long, well-told and includes fantastic elements that many young fans have never heard before. Even when the origami is complete, the hard-cover, beautifully printed book is well-worth the price of admission. The magical vintage-style illustrations are charming and evocative — I really love them. And the printed origami papers and instructions are inventive and engaging, with clear instructions and illustrations that make them fun for beginners-to-advanced origamists.
We bought our son-in-law a set of wood carving tools not too long ago. Since then, our daughter has expanded his collection of tools and he got a pair of carving gloves for safety. Now, while they relax, talk, cook, or whatever, he has something to fidget with, and slowly but surely, he’s getting really quite skilled (in my opinion!). So, that’s why we got him this book, to give him some specific ideas of projects to work on. He’s been making some wonderful wooden spoons — some for daily use, and others as a keepsake and display. He said the instructions, patterns, and photos are clear and straightforward and have helped him get better than the projects he had been working on.
I’ve been writing about party decor for over a decade, and this book is a delight! Such clever ideas — kept simple and quick for anyone throwing a party later this week. I’m really impressed with the inventiveness, like the leaf garland that looks so like it came from Lord of the Rings. The watercolor garland is beautiful and elegant. I made a photo garland for a party, but since then, I’ve expanded it and hung it in my daughter’s bedroom as charming decor. The instructions are well-written and the step-by-step photos are helpful.
In the art classes I’ve taken, while I appreciated the examples shown and discussed, I often found myself a little lost as to actually getting the effects described, “You should do it like this” only goes so far, especially when the class is over and the teacher is only a distant memory. So I appreciate the approach offered in this helpful book, along with the super professional examples, including over a dozen larger plates, showing greater detail, at the end. This is helping me quite a lot, including my portrayals of light, shadow, and textures.
My kids think slime is the greatest toy since the ball. And I get it; I used to get big canisters of it and pretend my hand was that of the Creature from the Snot Lagoon. Ah, such poignant memories. Nowadays, though, I think it’s harder to find for sale, other than sold in small containers clearly designed more for making farting noises than actually as a toy that parents can, you know, handle the kids playing with for more than two minutes.
So are my kids to be denied the learning and growth offered by creating their own slime-covered hands? No, thanks to this book which shows how to make many kinds of slimey ooblecky stuff that, you know, is obviously wondrous in every respect. The (gloriously goopy) photos are fun and helpful, and the processes are well-described and not much more difficult than, say, alt dough (playdough’s saltier cousin). I think my kids learned a few things about the wonders of chemistry, and I am absolutely sure that they think this book is the greatest gift since the video game. Which is pretty darn epic, or so they say.
I have a young crochet-er daughter who is always looking for not-too-difficult projects that are, mostly, cute. So, being big fans of Peter Pan (thanks, Walt, and so sorry, native Americans), that’s where this book came in. She’s delighted. Some of the figurines are pretty basic, yet still cute, so everyone is happy. I think the story is re-told well, in charming fashion. Altogether, we’re very pleased with this delightful book.