Cardboard Boxes

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4Crafts can be created from easily found scrap material with a limited number of supplies. Just a few paints, paper, scissors, and a pencil can transform cardboard boxes into a train, car, ship, or into a puppet stage with puppets to perform in it. The same supplies can help create a game, a snake, or a wagon from plastic cups. A one-page introduction appears in both slim, full-color titles. "Before you start" provides readers with an overview of the books' organization and a caution to ask for adult help when using sharp scissors. Each project idea is limited to one double-page spread, with a photograph of the finished product and labeled illustrations of the necessary ingredients on one side; directions appear on the other page. No text accompanies the clearly numbered, step-by-step, pictorial instructions. (The wavy lines of these illustrations make them appear to be computer-generated.) Though not wholly original, the easy approach of these self-contained titles makes these craft ideas accessible to a wide audience.Maria B. Salvadore, District of Columbia Public Library