All New Crafts for Earth Day

June 1, 2006
Gr 2-5 -These 22 projects range from clever and cute (finger puppets made from balloons) to mundane and forgettable ( -Soda Bottle Mouse -). The author dives right in with a promising -Earth-Friendly Crafting Box - but after three pages of instructions most kids will have lost interest. The remaining crafts are mostly two pages in length and include an illustrated supplies list and mostly clear directions. Materials include sequins, magnetic tape, pom-poms, and beads in addition to common household objects. For a more extensive collection of projects that seriously espouse the three R -s (reduce, reuse, recycle), see Laurie M. Carlson -s "EcoArt!: Earth-Friendly Art & Craft Experiences for 3- to 9-Year-Olds" (Williamson, 1993) or stick with Ross -s "Every Day Is Earth Day" (Millbrook, 1996)." -Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
These craft projects involve reusing containers and wrappings in new ways. The book offers step-by-step directions, presented in colorful cartooned sequences, for making such items as puppets, games, picture frames, and a trivet of a raft of pencils. Though some finished products may not seem worth the effort, most are easy crafts for kids who like to make things from scraps.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)