Crafting with Recyclables

April 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Illustrated with bright diagrams, drawings, and a sprinkling of supplementary color photos, each title contains a helpful table of contents, a list of required tools, and step-by-step numbered instructions. In Duct Tape, a valuable introductory section details prerequisite steps for making fabric strips and sheets needed later in the projects; crafts include fringe flowers, a place mat, a reversible belt, a tissue box, and a stadium cushion. Sherri Bell-Rehwoldt's The Kids' Guide to Duct Tape Projects (Capstone, 2012) follows a similar format but with more succinct text. Several of Rau's crafts overlap with projects described in Richela Fabian Morgan's Tape It & Make More: 101 Duct Tape Activities (Barron's, 2013). Projects in Recyclables include a CD/DVD sun catcher, a scrap-paper bowl, mittens recycled from a sweater, and a secret treasure book box. Some of these projects require the use of a blender, electric drill, light kit, or washing machine, and the instructions are not always easy to follow. Winter Crafts is much narrower in focus than the title suggests; projects are targeted to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve/Day. Beginning crafters may have difficulty understanding the limited directions for creating the ribbon wreath's chenille stick coils and for finishing the top of the dreidel. In Rau's volumes, suggestions for when to seek adult assistance are provided, but they are printed on the reverse side of the title page. These books offer worthy ideas for scout groups, elementary classes, and individuals. Suitable for updating, expanding, or refreshing craft-book collections.-Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OH

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