Best Children's Papercrafts Books
Kids love origami—and what could be cooler than transforming a piece of paper into Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Yoda, or R2-D2? Star Wars Origami includes a foreword by Tom Angleberger, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back , and is scheduled to be published at the same time as Angleberger’s upcoming book, The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee . A Look Inside Star Wars Origami.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It will be a great use of time if you like Star Wars as my son does!"
"It was a Christmas gift."
"Lots of fun!"
"Great price for this oragami book!"
"My grandson loves it."
"This book is huge, and has several origami designs within."
"My kids absolutely love this product!"
"Would've given a better rating if it had came with a set of folding papers."
This affordable kit includes everything needed by beginners to master the age-old art of paperfolding.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The paper is great - lots of colors, and plenty of sheets - and the "Easy Origami" book that is inside was definitely helpful for learning, although it takes some experimentation as it lacks photos of exactly what some of the folds are."
"I would definitely recommend this product for other kids (or adults) who want to learn something fun or need a short, simple project to do with their kids!"
"I actually got this for my 7 year old son, but he quickly gave up."
"Great set for my daughter who's 6 years old."
"The bright sheets of paper and wide range of choices were a hit for him and I. I would recommend this for a beginner - if a 6 year old with a short attention span can do it so can you."
"This kit provides everything you need to begin creating different origami shapes, birds, and animals. However, two of the three instruction books are not useful for beginners."
"I have done origami for years and even I was not able to follow the majority of the patterns!"
"I tried to like this, but the paper is just too small for beginners."
It's everything you need to rule the skies.If you already have The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes, try to beat our time and distance records and join the Klutz Captain's Club!Comes With: 40 sheets of custom-designed paper Have fun. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"However, we were disappointed that it came used, I thought I bought a new book, it was for a gift, but I will try to get another one later: according to the front cover, there should be 40 colored sheets (there were only 33) inside the book's custom folder that holds the papers, three were paper plane folded at the pages; the cover itself was worn and slightly scratched, but now I see that I had bought it used...very disappointed!"
"This is a lovely beautifully illustrated and well written book loaded with useful information and training on how to make a variety of paper planes (paper included) and how each model has had its performance tested based upon empirical results."
"Purchased this for a gift for an 8 year old boy after previewing in a store (more expensive!)."
"Very cool!"
"We practice on computer paper before we make one with the nice paper provided."
"Here's what she said -. "Tamara [the boy's mother] told me he immediately started making them when he got home, was making one in the car the next day before school and took it to the babysitters for after school. And the next day, "We made almost every style, 2x for one that was a "fast" flier."
"Lots of planes to make up and his parents hadn't shown him before how to make paper planes from left over printer paper. Phil has a fifty year old Uncle who would probably appreciate it as well."
"The designs on the heavy paper included in the kit are fun and the tips for perfecting the trajectories make the flying very interactive."
Best Children's Clay Craft Books
Clay Lab for Kids features 52 hands-on projects made with clay, all of which get kids working creatively, and thinking three dimensionally.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"With budgets getting smaller and smaller, this has some cost cutting ways to do a clay projects with the kids on a dime if only I were that lucky more like a penny these days."
"This book has a lot of great ideas."
"This book is an excellent resource for educators, parents, camp directors or anyone working with children."
"Easily accessible materials and creative ideas to get kids excited about sculpture!"
"This book, along with a package of polymer clay would make a great gift."
"A must-have book for Art Teachers who love to teach 3-D!"
"I've known Cassie for many years and this book is just a sample of her awesomeness and creativity."
"Like getting new ideas."
Best Children's Woodworking Books
So now it’s even easier and more fun for kids to handmake a bench for their own workshop, create a DVD storage cube that spins, build a doggie diner, or craft adjustable stilts, a box with a secret drawer, and many other long-lasting items. Praise for the first edition:
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The projects include: A workbench (4'x2' and 30" tall), miter box, tool box, compass tool, bench hook, assorted bird houses, a squirrel feeder, standing cat scratching post, dog house for a small dog, critter observation station, bike stand, 2 toy boats, rope ladder (like the kind you would use for a tree house), a scooter, 8' balance beam, baseball shelf (holds bat, glove and balls), curio-type shelf, jewelry tree, desktop organizer, study partner (holds your book open), table top easel, a heart box (the heart is added as a sort of handle, could cut a different shape, the box is like a shoebox), place card holders, key rack (holds keys), media tower for dvds or cds, travel checkers, airplane, drum, and a tesselation bird puzzle."
"Nice book and has easy projects for kids."
"This is a wonderful book to teach basic woodworking skills to kids and others who needs basic knowledge."
"Wonderful book with projects for all ages on many different levels of complexity."
"My husband teaches woodshop and likes the tips for his class."
"At first my 9 year old just looked at it."
"Grandson was excited about receiving this for Christmas."
"Grandson received for 2011 Christmas and has used for multiple of the projects, making presents for family members and friends."
Best Children's Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts Books
In this book by well-known modern quilters Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr along with their 11-year-old daughter Sophie Kerr, kids will learn how to navigate a sewing machine, make smart fabric choices, and use basic sewing tools. What quilter doesn’t have a secret wish for their daughter, son or grandchild to carry on the quilting tradition. This book comes from the new imprint of C&T Publishing, FunStitch Studio, and is designed to get young people interested and involved in sewing and home crafts. Sixteen fun projects at levels from beginner to advanced await the adventurous young person with an interest in sewing in this colorful and educational resource. Learn about fabrics, supplies, machines and the basics of sewing while creating projects that will be admired, used and worn. In this debut book written when she was 11, Sophie―daughter of Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio - guides her young counterparts through the process of sewing. She doesn't make them so complicated," she says.As parents, we like that many of the projects, such as the Zippered Tote and Insulated Lunch Bag, are practical for kids. Sophie obviously knows that boys like to sew too, and she's got plenty of guys pictured throughout the book, making things like belts and bags that can be enjoyed by ever kid. Lastly, her careful illustrations and picture really do make simple work out of sometimes intimidating tasks, such as installing a zipper. With 35 pages of valuable troubleshooting and safety tips, and 16 projects, including a lunch tote and messenger bag, your kids will be clamoring to go to the nearest fabric store. Eleven-year-old Sophie Kerr and her professional quiltmaker parents bring a stress-free and fresh approach to sewing for kids, making this a great reference book for young sewists. The bright photography of Sophie and her friends (male and female) sewing and using their projects is fun and engaging.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Lots of cute projects for my grand daughter to begin sewing."
"My granddaughters love this book!"
"Very kid friendly, especially good instructions, well-chosen projects."
"Great little book for beginner sewing, with lots of simple projects."
"Awesome gift for your beginner."
"This book is fun, inspiring, and offers a great start for a beginner."
Best Children's Model Building Books
LEGO Chain Reactions is packed full of ideas, instructions, and inspiration for 10 LEGO machines that spin, swing, pivot, roll, lift, and drop. Our team of experts worked with educators and 11-year-olds to invent the machines, then wrote a book that teaches the skills (and some of the physics behind the fun) kids need to create their own amazing chain reaction machines. Includes a 80 page instructional book with Klutz certified crystal-clear instructions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A lot of thought and effort went into the chain reaction concepts and resulting projects. The chain reaction projects aren't that at all. They are challenging in my view mostly because of the need for precision alignment between the paper parts and the Lego motion actuators the kids assemble to create the Chain the Reaction. The greatest joy my grandson experienced (and it was great joy) was the moment the first project functioned properly for the first time after several complete and partial failures (just as his patience was wearing thin) and then joy again once the chain reaction was rehearsed and easily repeatable so as to show his parents without failure. In summary, it appears that, assuming success along the way, the complicated chain reactions are fun for children to assemble, challenging to make fully, reliably functional and thrilling once they work for that first time."
"The Lego pieces supplied are mainly specialty pieces, to complete the machines. so your choices are - (a) buy the book, if you know the recipient has an extensive supply of excess Lego (b) buy the book, and the additional Lego you need (c) buy the book and get creative around what you can substitute for the additional required pieces - (book stacks are suggested in place of the towers, but I think would be unstable and difficult to get the components to align sufficiently for the machine to work)."
"Wow!"
"The second project requires 4 2x1 bricks, 10 3x1 bricks, 6 4x1 bricks "from your collection"."
Best Children's Antique & Collectible Books
LEGO Chain Reactions is packed full of ideas, instructions, and inspiration for 10 LEGO machines that spin, swing, pivot, roll, lift, and drop. Our team of experts worked with educators and 11-year-olds to invent the machines, then wrote a book that teaches the skills (and some of the physics behind the fun) kids need to create their own amazing chain reaction machines. Includes a 80 page instructional book with Klutz certified crystal-clear instructions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A lot of thought and effort went into the chain reaction concepts and resulting projects. The chain reaction projects aren't that at all. They are challenging in my view mostly because of the need for precision alignment between the paper parts and the Lego motion actuators the kids assemble to create the Chain the Reaction. The greatest joy my grandson experienced (and it was great joy) was the moment the first project functioned properly for the first time after several complete and partial failures (just as his patience was wearing thin) and then joy again once the chain reaction was rehearsed and easily repeatable so as to show his parents without failure. In summary, it appears that, assuming success along the way, the complicated chain reactions are fun for children to assemble, challenging to make fully, reliably functional and thrilling once they work for that first time."
"The Lego pieces supplied are mainly specialty pieces, to complete the machines. so your choices are - (a) buy the book, if you know the recipient has an extensive supply of excess Lego (b) buy the book, and the additional Lego you need (c) buy the book and get creative around what you can substitute for the additional required pieces - (book stacks are suggested in place of the towers, but I think would be unstable and difficult to get the components to align sufficiently for the machine to work)."
"Wow!"
"The second project requires 4 2x1 bricks, 10 3x1 bricks, 6 4x1 bricks "from your collection"."
Best Children's Beadwork, Fashion & Jewelry Craft Books
Kids can sew too! Best of all, this practical, attractive sewing book features finished projects that look like they were actually made by children.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unfortunately, so much of the sewing kits, books, and supplies are geared towards girls. Not only is it full of beautiful photographs that help teach sewing steps, I was pleased to see how many boys were included in the photographs--sewing just like their female counterparts."
"My 7 year old daughter loves this book."
"My daughter loves it and is always planning new projects to make."
"We can work on sewing projects together and the projects are easy enough for her to understand!"
"Grandaughter likes to sew things and this helped her make some projects."
"Such a lovely book!"
"Nice book but grand didn't really use it much."
"Fun projects."