Publishers Weekly
A colorful roundup of titles present the rudiments-in style. Animals emerge from delicate cut-paper snowflakes in Zooflakes ABC by Will C. Howell. Crafted from white rice paper, each circular design ("A is for Alligator," "B is for Bear") stands out against black discs on saturated color spreads. Back matter offers a brief paper-cutting tutorial; endpapers exhibit all 26 flakes.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 5-For those familiar with snowflakes made from folded paper, Zooflakes will provide a new take on this well-known craft. Each letter is illustrated with a six-sided, rice-paper cutout of six interconnected animals. Placed on circles of black paper and backed with brightly colored paper, some designs must be studied to determine where one animal begins and another ends, but the detail is such that it captures the imagination. A demonstration section at the end shows readers how to cut their own "zooflakes." Although the paper folding is complex, children who have created snowflakes should be able to master the intricate process. The only truly disappointing entry is "X is for fox." Nevertheless, the fascinating book design and unusual assortment of animals (newt, vulture, unicorn) will appeal to various ages.-Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Howell (I Call It Sky, 1999, etc.) adopts the classic, cut-paper snowflake technique to create 26 large, six-sided animal silhouettes, Alligator to Zebra. Each ring is white, without further decoration, set against a black circular background that is, in turn, surrounded by solid color to the page’s edge, and captioned with simple declarations: "F is for FISH. G is for GIRAFFE . . . " As there are eye holes and other internal cuts, at first glance each cutout looks dizzyingly complex, but closer inspection reveals that their lines are relatively simple: simple enough, in fact, that with the help of the instruction at the end and just moderate facility with scissors, children can create comparable "zoo flakes" of their own. Both "crafty" sorts and readers who enjoy poring over patterns and visual puzzles will find this engaging. (Picture book. 8-10)
