Paper Crafts for Halloween

April 1, 2009
Gr 2-4-This book is attractively designed with orange borders, pale background pages, and a colorful top-edge border reminiscent of rubber stamp designs. The introduction gives a two-page history of the holiday from ancient times (Celts/Druids) to modern-day traditions. The eight simple projects include making a flying bat, a haunted house, a scarecrow jumping jack, and goofy goggles. Each one has lists of materials needed, step-by-step instructions, and color photos or illustrations. The inclusion of patterns to enlarge as well as a paper-folding key makes it easy to duplicate these activities. A good choice for enhancing Halloween sections."Augusta R. Malvagno, Queens Borough Public Library, NY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2009
Grades 2-5 Filled with cultural facts, titles in the Paper Craft Fun for Holidays series offer much more than just basic project ideas. Each slender volume begins with a brief history of the holiday and its traditions, and additional anecdotes introduce each new project. Most of the crafts rely on patterns that appear in an appended section, along with instructions for enlarging each on a copy machine. Kids will probably need help with this first stage, as well as some of the more complicated folding techniques, but theyll enjoy piecing together these appealing projects. Included in Halloween are directions for making a haunted house with ghosts, a scarecrow that performs jumping jacks with the tug of a string, and goofy goggles that can be worn for trick-or-treating or for dressing up year round. The combination of classroom-friendly projects with solid cultural lore makes this series a first stop for teachers seeking holiday-themed craft ideas.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
With paper, scissors, crayons, and a little glue, children can make and decorate eight ornamental holiday-themed crafts. Each book includes a brief introduction about the holiday's background. Some patterns that have to be copied and enlarged or transferred to cardboard are appended. The projects' directions can be difficult to interpret. Reading list, websites. Ind.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)