Paper Fabric Book and Fun Kit.      Fantastic Jewels. Jane Fleetwood-Morrow and Jaclyn Shoub. Illustrated by Bill Kimber. Toronto, ON: Somerville House Publishing, 1996. 24 pp., $12.95. ISBN 1-895897-60-2. Subject Heading: Jewelry making-Juvenile literature. Paper Fabric Book and Fun Kit.      Fabulous Doll Fashions. Jane Fleetwood-Morrow and Catherine Heard. Illustrated by Bill Kimber. Toronto, ON: Somerville House Publishing, 1996. 24 pp., $12.95. ISBN 1-895897-61-0. Subject Heading: Barbie dolls-Clothing-Juvenile literature. Grades 2 - 7 / Ages 7 - 12. Review by Harriet Zaidman. *** /4

Kids love crafts, and a craft instruction book complete with the materials provided for the projects makes a perfect gift. Two such kits included in the Paper Fabric Book and Fun Kit series are Fantastic Jewels and Fabulous Doll Fashions.

      Fantastic Jewels is a craft kit for making painted fabric pins or necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The kit includes paper fabric, patterns, beads, wires, decorative cords, and earring hooks, as well as a glaze. The small, colourful book and materials are enclosed in a cardboard shell snapped into a hard plastic case.

      The book is twenty-four pages long and the instructions are explicit and well laid out. The item to be made is pictured on the left, along with the materials needed. Important points to remember as the child works are highlighted before the instructions begin. The steps are clearly numbered, and include admonitions to make sure the work surface is covered before work begins.

      The projects are readily accomplished by a competent child or a child who is being assisted by an adult. The crafts are pleasing to kids, and feature contemporary jewellery styles. But adults supervising the project must remember to inform the kids that these projects cannot be completed in one sitting. The instructions quite clearly state that glue and paint must be left to dry overnight. The work may have to be collected neatly and put aside so that the next step will be as successful as the first.

      This project book is a good buy for kids to use at home. The price is reasonable, considering the cost of buying instruction books and materials separately.

      For kids who like to dress Barbie-type dolls, Fabulous Doll Fashions will provide hours of challenge, fun and success making doll clothes.

      This kit contains instructions and materials to make a sun hat and dress, shorts and a halter top, a garden fairy costume, a glittery ball gown and a nightgown decorated with a teddy bear. It includes paper fabric, pattern pieces, glitter, rhinestones, elastic thread, glue and coloured tissue paper.

      Just like Fantastic Jewels, the kit includes a plain, small twenty-four-page instruction book and the materials in a cardboard shell, all encased in a snappable plastic case. The instructions are numbered and clearly illustrated. Appropriate warnings about safety are included. The projects are easy to accomplish, and kids will learn elementary skills in pattern cutting as they work. Again, adults must remind children that paint and glue must be left to dry overnight for the projects to turn out as intended. Impatient kids who want to dress their dolls may find it difficult, but the results of waiting are worth it.

      This, too, is a worthwhile kit for home use. Children who complete these projects should be able to use the pattern pieces to cut fabric scraps and learn to use a sewing machine.

Recommended.

Harriet Zaidman is a teacher/librarian in Winnipeg.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © 1997 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364