Paper Crafts for Valentine's Day

Children's Literature - Barbara Wheatley

The origin and significance of Valentine's Day, from Emperor Claudius II of Rome and the Roman priest Valentine to the first printed Valentine cards in the 1800s, begins this book from the series "Paper Craft Fun for Holidays." Eight fun and old-style crafts are included which require tracing, cutting, folding, coloring, and assembling. Each craft begins with a short description of how the craft can be used in your celebration and how the item became important as a part of Valentine's Day. A hanging cupid figure, a heart sculpture, and a Valentine heart crown are three projects that children could do with minimal help from an adult. The two card projects consist of the easier pop-up heart card and the more intricately cut lacy heart card, which may require help for younger children to complete. The final projects are more detailed and consist of more steps, beginning with the heart flowers, where readers can make bouquets of flowers on stems to put in a vase. The Valentine heart pop-up puppet and the Danish woven heart basket are the most difficult projects but can be completed by children with some help. Each project includes a detailed list of materials and supplies needed along with step-by-step instructions and photographs. The one confusing part of the book is that each project requires the reader to trace a pattern from the pattern section, yet each pattern must be enlarged before using. The book does not instruct readers on how to enlarge the patterns, and readers may not know to do so since there are no grids to enable hand enlarging, and each one needs a different enlargement percentage, making this a shortcoming of the book. A table of contents, index, and book and websiteresources complete the additional sections of the book. Reviewer: Barbara Wheatley

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3

While the end products-from pop-up cards to heart baskets-are not spectacular, these eight crafts are simple to complete, with easy-to-follow instructions. A color photo of the finished piece is included. The book opens with a two-page history of Valentine's Day; brief notes on the holiday symbols and traditions (cupid, hearts, lacy cards) introduce the projects. These standard crafts, which allow for minimal personal touches, would be usable in a classroom or group setting.-G. Alyssa Parkinson, Highland Township Library, MI