Our current display at the front of the department is arts and crafts books – of all kinds, for all ages. I picked out a few to mention below:
Knotting
by Judy Ann Sadler
I picked this book because I always thought it would be pretty sweet to learn how to tie all kinds of knots. Also, it had instructions for practical things like basketball nets, sports bags, and guitar straps, and I really like it when you can learn to make something useful yourself (I have dreams of knitting my own twine hammock).
Ça cartonne! : créations tout en papier et carton
par Gaëtane Lannoy
There are lots of cute crafts in this one, ranging from very simple (pencil holder made from playing cards) to pretty sophisticated (funny portrait books made from magazine cutouts). There are a lot of projects made to be either games or usable in some other way, which I think is pretty cool.
Kids’ Easy Quilting Projects
by Terri Thibault
I recently (along with some coworkers) finished a quilting project, and so I am both drawn to this book and alarmed at the suggestion that anything to do with quilting is “easy”. But the projects in this book are cute and accessible for kids with a minimum of knowledge of how to sew with a machine or by hand. I especially like the moon and stars mobile.
The Kids ‘n’ Clay Ceramics Book
created by Kevin Nierman, written by Elaine Arima
I also recently decided that I really want to take a pottery class and make my own pretty cups and bowls and mugs, so I picked this book to feature as well. It covers pottery both on and off the wheel, which is nice – not everyone has access to a pottery studio! It also shows techniques for decorating, finishing, and glazing, which is pretty cool – I never realized, for example, that burnishing was done with a spoon or a stone.
-Kayleigh, children’s staff
