5 comments about Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book Vol. 2 (Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book).

1. Author, artist, transpersonal psychotherapist and business person all describe what Monique Mandali is, but do not tell you who she is. I've been privileged to meet Monique and I know that she is a seeker traveling her path. Her walking stick is her love for all, especially children. Ms. Mandali offers a series of four coloring books for children and adults. There are three different delights in the original Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book series, each consisting of 22 designs. While the original three books in the series contain designs by the author, the latest (and perhaps greatest) has 25 peace mandalas from children all around the world. The Peace Mandala Coloring Book is very special because the mandalas are designed by children unencumbered by the pressure of adult living. Further, they bring a variety of spiritual as well as geographical cultures to bear.

   Monique Mandali has given us something special. Not only do we find drawings to color that can aid in health and serenity...Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book Series is additionally special because they represent the best part of Monique Mandali, her love!




2. I purchased the whole series. At times different forms call for my attention and the additional selection is definitely appreciated. The variety is quite good. They range from simpler to complex, with open spaces which leave room for my own variations. The author's designs seem to create a sacred space in which the individual's own light can shine, even if all they want to do is simply "color" a bit. I would expect this flexibility to make them accessible to people with widely varying skills: children, many disabled persons, the elderly, the imaginative and the gifted artist, as well and most of us who are somewhere in between. Yet they are undemanding so that no one need miss out on the calm center and its healing.



3. I recently discovered the Mandala and being the inquisitive person that I am I decided to try my hand at creating my own. This is just one of the coloring books I orderd by this author. Very enjoyable!



4. A wonderful book...big designs (not to complicated) gives enough room for coloring paterns...just be careful with the markers, pages are thin and colors go through it(luckly there is one design per page only)...have fun.



5. Purchased as a gift but would be embarrassed to give it. Very few Mandalas for $10.00. Very overpriced!

5 comments about Disney's FamilyFun Crafts: 500 Creative Activities for You and Your Kids.

1. I have bought Family Fun magazine for years just for their craft section. They have great crafts for all ages, many made of inexpensive and easily available materials. I have not only used the crafts with my grandkids but also use them with my Sunday School class, with an age range of 4-13 years old. Many of their crafts make easy and attractive gifts for children to give at Christmas, etc., and they have a collection of things to make for school parties. I highly recommend this book.



2. this book only has about 20 crafts and almost all oif them use thread or pipe cleaners. They should have all of the supplies in the book but they make you go to the store and buy it. The crafts are not interesting and very boring. I suggest you don't buy this book.



3. Contains a good range of projects to keep the little ones interested and on-focus.



4. As an aunt of two nieces and two nephews and a volunteer library assistant, I've gone through MANY craft books, trying to find a good one since the girls especially seem to love creating their own toys.
   This series, and the other books in it, are WELL WORTH the money and shipping time, and what were what originally got me started shopping on Amazon.com.
   It's got plenty of illustrations and photos, the kids in it look like they genuinely enjoy the activities instead of just posing for the cameras, and the materials for most, if not all of them are cheap and easy to find for the most part at your local Wal-Mart, K-mart or craft shops.
   I recommend the entire series for busybody moms, dads, grandparents, godparents, aunts and uncles everywhere, as crafts and building together area GREAT way to bond with your little ones, and I have yet to see an unsafe craft in the books, so no worry about hazards either. Unless of course.. your kid has a taste for glue. XP



5. I bought this book quite a few years ago to entertain my grandchildren when they visited. The crafts are so easy and so much fun for all ages that I ordered a new one for my daughter-in-law to use with my grandson who is 3. Would recommend it to anyone who enjoys quality time with their children.

5 comments about Clay Characters for Kids.

1. My 8 y.o. daughter and I are on cat #3 in her planned family of 5. I agree with other opinions that there could be a little more details, but we're adaptable sort of folks, so we just ran with it and used our imaginations. Other figure books are too detailed in sculpting for kids so I think this is a great place for a kid to start especially as a project to share with a grownup.



2. This was my first polymer clay book. I got it because my 8 year-old daughter had a play date with two other girls, and it was raining "cats-and-dogs". I found that, with my supervision, the girls were able to make figures that they were really proud of. No previous practice! But, Oh Oh(!), by the end of the play date the girls were watching mom make figures of her own, and shamelessly ignoring the little ones! That was over two years ago, and polymer clay has become one of my passions. This book is great for introducing the fun and versitility of polymer clay, and is great for kids with adult supervision!



3. This book and one other were birthday gifts for my 15 year old grandson, so I e-mailed him to get HIS opinion.
   He was very concise,"I'd say both rate around four stars out of five, or an 8 (scale of 1 - 10)"
   I had seen some of Maureen Carlson's work so I figured the book would certainly be a good introduction to clay figures.



4. Fantastic book. It was hard to tell what it was like when ordering so I took a bit of a punt. But it was all I wanted and more. Fun clay characters for kids to make with polymer clay, with step by step instructions and clear photos, showing you how to make each element and then put them together.



5. This book is great for those kids that are creative and love to make things with their hands. The examples are good and instructions are very easy to follow. This opens up an entire world of abstract thinking when being creative.

1 comments about Kooky Carry-Along Coloring Kit (Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!).

1. We loved the carry-along coloring kit with the little coloring book and stickers, but the crayons didn't work well at all. Too light - when my 2 y/o colored with them you could barely see the marks. I tried coloring with them and pressed harder, and little wax pieces came off on the paper. The crayons are awful. The kit is still pretty cool so just replace the bad crayons with some Crayolas and you are good to go.

5 comments about Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist & Turn: Books for Kids to Make.

1. I used several ideas in this book to teach an afterschool bookmaking class for K-3rd graders. The books are eye-catching and pretty simple to make, although I did a bit of prep work for the kids.
   
   It was really wonderful to see how much the children loved their projects. They were extremely creative and innovative too, every child made the book their own by doing something interesting or different with the materials provided. This is in stark contrast to several adult bookmaking classes I've taken, where the adult students want to recreate the teacher's book EXACTLY.
   
   Anyway, I highly recommend this book to anyone is willing to spend some time making books with kids. Children older than 4th grade MIGHT be able to use this book independently, depending on their experience and motivation.
   
   Regardless, I think this book is wonderful for showing kids just how fascinating and rewarding it can be to make their very own books.



2. Good ideas for books to make with kids, and also some basic ideas to further explore in more complex books.



3. I recently purchased this book and have found it to be a terrific resource for teaching children how to make beautiful books.The instructions and diagrams are easy to follow and very clear. My favourite is the T.V. book. The children in my class had a blast making these books.



4. As a teacher, this book is a great resource for ideas to show students how to write and product there own work of literature. We used the book as the basis for a "Make a Book Night" sponsored by our PTA. Students and their parents attended a night of book making and story writing choosing from one of the many book ideas presented in the book. It was a great experience for one and all. If you love books, like to write poetry, stories or journals I highly recommend purchasing
   
   Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist & Turn: Books for Kids to Make



5. I was SO disappointed in this book. I'm an experienced card maker but thought there might be a simple idea that I could expand on. Not only were there no useable ideas, the pictures were awful and the explanations were pretty bad. I would hate to have to teach using this book! It was a total waste of money. I can't believe that Amazon recommended this book in an email to me because I had bought "similar items" before. It was NOT similar in quality nor content.

5 comments about D.I.Y.: Kids.

1. I think that writing this book with my mom was really interesting. Everyone will enjoy doing crafts with their family. There so many ideas in this book. My favorite projects were making stuffed animals and mod-podge purses. The stuffies are cute and cuddly and there's room for one in everybody's heart. The purses are very stylish and unique. This book is wonderful and you should definitely buy it.



2. Within minutes of opening this smartly designed treasure-trove of craft ideas, the DIY kids of all ages in our household were designing icons, party invitations, and clothes for a community of real and imaginary friends. Beautiful and practical, this easy-to-use guide also teaches that we can liberate ourselves from our roles as passive consumers to create personally expressive and useful works of art--for the ages or just for today. Of course, the concept of a graffiti couch has also sparked intelligent debate around the breakfast table. A family-bonding bible, with or without hot glue.



3. i just love this book! i have tons of arts & crafts books because i like to engage my children's creativity. this book is one of the best! it's not only a compilation of creative activities that children and even grown-ups will enjoy doing. it's also a testament to the ingenuity of children as it showcases dozens (or is it hundreds?) of beautiful, quirky and interesting things made by children. the activities in the book will also spark your mind to think of other diy activities. most of the materials required in the book can be found in any home with kids. some require the use of a computer. you can always modify the activities to use whatever you have on hand.
   
   the authors say that the book is for "families ... saying no to endless consumerism and yes to art, craft, and home-grown media." if that's you, then you must have this book! i'm buying the luptons' other books right now!



4. It's rare that I find a DIY book with more than two or three projects in it that I'm interested in. This baby only has two or three projects that I'm NOT interested. And most of the ideas are ones I'd never thought of before. If you're a crafter, you know how awesome that is!



5. I bought this as a birthday gift. After looking through it the recipients mom is really excited to get started on some of the projects.

5 comments about My Book of Pasting: Jigsaw Puzzles (Kumon Workbooks).

1. This is a fun book for children who like to keep their hands busy. Age range (4-6) is about right.



2. This is a nice book of jigsaw puzzles. There are 20 puzzles, and there are two pages for each puzzle. The first page has the colorful puzzle pieces that the child cuts apart. The second page is a guide that the child uses to assemble and paste the jigsaw pieces. The puzzles range from 4 to 12 pieces.



3. My Son is only 2.5 yrs old, but loves puzzles and also likes to use the glue and paste. Since it was too much for me to keep on buying wooden puzzles, I got this book even though the age range was different. He is enjoying them immensely (though I have to do the cutting for him).
   Cons:
   Since the puzzle pieces and the pieces in the solution page come numbered, with the first puzzle, he simply started matching the numbers and got it right in a sec! Since then I have him solve the puzzle outside on the table and then make him stick the pieces on the solution page. I feel this could have been avoided.
   One improvement would be to make it spiral bound so that you dont have to hold the pages while the kid is working!



4. The layout and the concepts of this book are excellent. The twenty assignments contain two different tasks--using scissors and assembling puzzles. However, I believe the recommended age is off especially assembling the puzzle part. I believe the appropriate age for this book is two-and-half to three-and-half. However, I wish Kumon would made a little more challenging by increasing to fifteen-piece puzzles or more. My daughter used to play with a fifty-piece puzzle when she was three. Her current challenge is one hundred-piece puzzle.



5. This book is lots of fun for kids to practice cutting & glueing. My 5 yr old son did it when he was 4 and is now doing it again. He can do it on his own now (with a glue stick.) The graphics & paper quality of this book is great. Keeps em busy!

5 comments about My Book Of Easy Crafts.

1. I am glad I purchased this workbook. However, some of the activities are a bit difficult for my 4 year old to cut out on her own. It has definitely helped to improve her skills in cutting with scissors. She usually needs my help/supervision, but I love giving her a variety of activities to do each day. The pages are thick enough and the illustrations are cute and unique.



2. This book has been a life saver for days my daughter dosen't want to play outside or says she is bord. Once we get started she dosen't want to stop! There are lots of things to make in this book, some are kind of cheesy like a paper ring but there are many really nice things that you can actually play with.Like a paper bird that you put 2 pieces of string in and make it race up the strings and a hen that flaps its wings.She is always very proud when she has completed a project and has to go around to show everyone her masterpiece.
   
   Cutting skills are needed with this book.So you can cut around all of the dotted lines and there are marked spots for glue and lines for folding.
   
   I can see even using the book to create your own projects from cardstock,this would be great for teachers!
   
   Thank you Kumon for putting out a kids craft book that is actually usable and has so many pages of projects!



3. My six-year-old has been working from this book non-stop since she got it, and she rarely has to ask for help. I am very pleased, since she's having a blast and it's not too complicated. The crafts are also cute and intriguing and they are not all the same, though there are sometimes more than one version of something (animal masks, for example). So far she has made finger puppets, rings, masks, a man that smiles or frowns depending on how you view him, a cool balancing eagle, etc. (I like that some of the projects deal with optical illusion, etc.) My only not-really-a-complaint is that I would prefer a different kind of illustration. I don't particularly like contemporary animation-like drawing with lots of gradients. But this is picky and doesn't affect my daughter's enjoyment of the book.



4. Very colorful, simple and yet detailed artwork. My almost 3 year old needs alot of help with these but he loves them. A good way to get your child away from the tv and using his hands to create something.



5. I was excited to see this workbook from Kumon, since my daughter (4 yrs old) has liked some of them in the past. Unfortunately, she has not been interested in doing any of these crafts. I think it's because she likes to think of the craft herself, and then follow through with her idea. She doesn't like crafts when there isn't a whole lot of creative thought needed.
   If your child is creative, it may not be the best workbook for you. If your child likes crafts, but sometimes can't think of what to do on his/her own, then this workbook may be a lot of fun. There are some cute things to make (in my opinion, not my child's!).

2 comments about Mixed-Media Collage Jewelry: New Directions in Memory Jewelry.

1. What a most wonderful book. Most artists struggle with sharing techniques with others. Here Janette Schuster and friends share full details on a number of magical projects that are so clear and concise, even someone who feels like they have two left hands, will feel that they can create and be happy with the results.



2. Wow ! What a fabulous book. Very well written, with easy to follow instructions. The art inside these covers is just so inspiring,
   as a Jewelry Designer I found this book gave me a whole new outlook at Altered Art Jewelry.
   I would highly recommend this book to all.

2 comments about Ms. Fix-It (Nick Jr. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!).

1. The crayons are a little dull but my son does not mind, he has filled this book with tons of color and enjoys talking about every picture.



2. I bought this for my daughter to take on vacation with us, in case she got bored. Loved the fact that it had crayons built-in. Hated the crayons themselves - they leave wax pieces on the paper if you press too hard and are very light if you don't press hard enough. Stick with Crayolas.
   
   The coloring/activity book itself is very cute.