ABOUT THE BOOK:
Thomas the Tank Engine. Hot Wheels. Mike
Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That
Go. Kids’ fascination with vehicles is insatiable. In Project Kid: Crafts That
Go!, that excitement is translated into more than 60 inventive craft projects
for parents to make with and for their children.
The book is organized into seven chapters: City, Rails, Sky, Space, Water,
Country, and Dirt. There are police cars and ice cream trucks; circus trains
and submarines; helicopters, rocket ships, cement mixers, and school buses. And
because the car-obsessed kid doesn’t just want a new vehicle to play with—he
wants a racetrack, his very own driver’s license, maybe even a child-sized gas
station—each chapter includes not only toys but also thematic clothing, decor,
accessories, and more. Projects feature clear instructions and step-by-step
photographs wherever they are needed, easy for both kids and non-crafty adults
to understand.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from the publisher's website}:
Amanda Kingloff is the author of Project Kid and the former lifestyle director at Parents magazine, where she oversaw all DIY content for the brand. Before joining Parents, Kingloff worked for lifestyle personality Katie Brown, producing and starring in Katie Brown Workshop on PBS, co-writing and co-crafting Katie Brown’s Weekends and Katie Brown’s Outdoor Entertaining, ghostwriting Brown’s New York Times syndicated column, and more. She has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC News Now, Lifetime’s I Do Diaries: Beg, Borrow, and Steal, and many local television news programs. She lives with her husband and two children in Brooklyn, New York.
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MY REVIEW:
This is another great resource for parents, educators, scout/youth group leaders, librarians, and teen and adult crafters who are seeking to make something for a special youngster in their lives.
The book is divided into seven chapters under the umbrella of 'things that go'—City, Rails, Country, Water, Dirt, Sky, and Space. The author's introduction reveals her philosophy of how kids develop and learn. The 'Material World Craft Supplies 101' section includes labeled photos and definitions of the craft supplies. The author shares helpful tips for 'How to Craft with Kids' in the next section. I appreciated her note on safety where she warns that hot-glue guns and utility knives should only be used by adults and stored away from the children's crafting area. I could not agree more with her advice in this area. As an adult I can't tell you how many times I have burned my fingertip(s) when I was learning to use a glue gun.
The next sections in the book are the chapters on the projects. For some of the chapters the author has labeled illustrations of the types of equipment or machinery included in the chapter. For instance, in the 'Dirt' chapter, there are illustrations of a crane truck, cement truck, and dump truck. Each illustration includes typed labels for the main parts of that particular piece of equipment. For example, on the dump truck we see 'dumping bed' and 'flat bed'. On the cement truck we see 'bumper, mixing drum, flatbed, exhaust pipe', etc. I love the inclusion of vocabulary development in this craft book!
All of the projects include colorful photographs, a list of supplies, a photo of the finished project, and stepped-out instructions. The hand models in some of the stepped-out photos appear to be teens and adults, especially when using sharp materials or a glue gun. The other photos show children as the hand models.
Care was taken to provide a broad variety of projects which will appeal to boys and girls and the varied interests of children age five to eleven or twelve, I would say. I guess those of you who know anything about me won't be surprised to learn that my favorite projects include the fabric/sewing projects: Bejeweled Headlight Purse, Cowboy's Companion Stick Horse, and the Hanging Rocket Hideaway which is perfect for middle-graders and tweens.
The author has outdone herself on the cuteness and kid-appeal of her Sassy Circus Train, Pint-Sized Ice Cream Truck, Road Trip, Modern Mobile Home, Night Light-House, Yellow Submarine, Big Dig Terrarium (with real plants!), Airplane Control Tower, School Bus Pencil Holder, Rocket Control Panel, and perhaps my favorite project in the entire collection—the Fire Truck Lamp.
The Back Matter of the book includes 'A Crafter's Toolbox', a list of tools/materials sorted by type such as cutting tools, adhesives, fibers, papers & fabrics. Many, and perhaps the majority, of the projects require specialized materials which will need to be purchased ahead of time. Some of the projects use recyclable materials that most families will have around the house such as paper towel and toilet paper tubes, cardboard, plastics from foods, food and shoe boxes, etc.
Highly-recommended! I borrowed this book from the non-fiction collection at our local public library.
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Thanks for suggesting another great craft book that will appeal to boys and girls. There aren't as many that boys would like and I appreciate that you're featuring some of them.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great book! The crafts projects sound clever and appealing to young readers. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteLike this targeted craft book for kids who are into cars, trains, ice cream trucks, helicopters etc. So many fun ways to use their imaginations. Great share today!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds terrific for car and truck obsessed kids, and there are plenty of those. What a great concept. Thanks for telling me about this one.
ReplyDeleteYou are helping parents plan their kids' summer with this selection. Hands on activities are always a favorite and this one has the potential to be a favorite of many. Thanks for featuring on MMGM. I'll be looking for a copy.
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