Crafts for All Seasons - Creating with Paper

K-Gr 5-Each of these poorly conceived books features 14-to-16 craft projects, all with step-by-step directions and excellent full-color photos. Recycling is for the older age range, as it includes such projects as juggling balls, a "FotoFish" picture frame, and a "letter-perfect pencil holder." Salt Dough offers instructions for making belt buckles, candle holders, and "key kritters." Paper includes simple ideas such as "a circle of friends," a Halloween mask, cutouts of boats and butterflies, as well as more elaborate projects such as jewelry, furniture, and pinwheels. Some of the projects in all of the books are a little impractical, such as salt-dough bookmarks and using lightweight paper for masks. Many of the directions are not specific; for example, the directions for baking salt dough don't mention it can take two-to-four hours and supervision. Also, some of the steps are difficult, such as cutting a fish from Styrofoam, and no tool for doing so is mentioned or shown. Finally, not all of the materials needed are readily available.-Cathie Reed, The Montessori School, Lutherville, MD

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