Gluesticks and Greasepaint

When a kid runs up to you excitedly demanding seven clothespins, two yards of elastic cord, a funnel, tempera paint, and a clean, empty jar, you know she has gotten her hands on a quality craft book. The following craft and performance titles have been field-tested on a small, captive audience on rainy days this summer, and, luckily for those kids, most of the books are winners in their own way. We assessed the following craft, drawing and performance series titles on the basis of: availability of materials, clarity of instructions, number of illustrations, and usefulness of the crafts.

Gr 3-6–This hybrid of how-to-draw and subject exploration fails on both levels. Each book introduces a single technique–perspective in Airplanes, shape in Cars, positive and negative space in Dinosaurs, proportion in Horses, use of focal points in Knights, contrast in Monster Trucks, line in Spacecrafts, and shading in Wizards–and illustrates, in four steps, how to do it. Four spreads of practice exercises (in five steps each) are then interspersed with narrative spreads covering such topics as “The Golden Age of Flight” (Airplanes) and “Concept Cars” (Cars). No attempt is made to explain the “why” of the visual phenomena being described. For example, Dinosaurs states only that “Drawing the negative space helps you see the shapes of objects and their surroundings.” Also, small guide drawings make the exercises seem daunting, and the potential helpfulness of the graph-paper backgrounds is wasted by its placement on the diagonal. The writing is clunky and sometimes inaccurate. In Airplanes, for example, Lindbergh’s New York to Paris flight is described as having lasted 3,312 hours, or 138 days.

K-Gr 3–These books describe and explain concepts, techniques, and phenomena in art in a collaborative, first-person plural tone that uses accessible, well-thought-out phrases. Concrete visual examples are in the form of frequent and excellent reproductions of fine art in a variety of mediums. Although the examples are, for the most part, drawn from the Western canon, Egyptian, Japanese, and Native American art also make appearances. An exceptionally spacious layout gives each concept room to breathe. Even children who regularly employ the relevant techniques will benefit from the explanations and illustrations in these books. The authors also provide short but excellent lists of print and online further-reading. Respectable and respectful resources.

Gr 2-4–A bright, harmonious color scheme and catchy titles make this series catnip for the artistically inclined. Little to no contextual information is included, in favor of loading each book with 8-to-10 step-by-step drawings for kids to duplicate. Single-subject titles such as Cats and Horses demonstrate how to draw a variety of breeds in a variety of poses. The gendered titles include some lessons that both sexes will enjoy: Boy Stuff includes a dragon and Girl Stuff teaches how to draw a soccer player. Unfortunately, the instructional diagrams can be frustrating. The first few steps, in which the artist builds an armature of simple shapes, are easy, but most children will find the outlines that the artist uses to join the shapes and define the drawing difficult to duplicate. Secondary purchases where interest dictates.

Gr 3-6–The skills and crafts demonstrated in this series have application beyond the staging of children’s theatricals. The instructions in Costumes will come in handy any time a child wants to dress up for a performance, a party, or for everyday play. Makeup lists good tips for face painting in general, and Sets & Props includes instructions for turning cardboard boxes into all kinds of fun structures. Simple language, colorful page design, and detailed step-by-step photos invite children to gather some easily available household items, apply paint and some imagination, and put on a play–or just play.

K-Gr 4–Colorful photos; clean layout in a bright, primary palette; and large, abundant step-by-step instructional photos give these books great appeal. The 5-to-10 crafts in each book are functional and attractive. Art to Wear demonstrates how to paint shoelaces, and Clay Projects shows kids how to make a pencil holder out of an empty can, for example. Although the completed projects in the photos sometimes look a little too polished, most of the ideas do not rely on a child’s artistic ability, but rather suggest tracing a cookie cutter or using a picture from a magazine. This approach ensures some measure of success even for those who are not artistically inclined. Readily obtainable household materials and easy-to-follow instructions mean that children can do these crafts independently.

Gr 3-6–The crafts in these cheery books are not too hard, but not so simple as to be boring, and are made with a minimum of specialty supplies. Lively, upbeat covers feature photos of regular girls with big smiles. Inside, the subject of each book is first put into context, and then illustrated with seven-to-eight crafts. There is an emphasis on safety and on getting permission, and on responsibility–many projects incorporate reuse of household items that might otherwise be discarded (worn-out jeans, buttons, jars, newspapers). Fingernail Art includes hygiene instruction and ideas for making your own supplies (nail stickers, nail glitter). The completed crafts do not look perfectly perfect–the samples look like real kids could have made them, though those in Cupcakes and Cookies look a little unappetizing.

Gr 3-6–These well-organized books are designed to inspire readers to make their own music. Lively, readable texts are augmented by photos of children playing the instruments. Unfortunately, although the subjects are natural-looking and diverse, the photos are poorly lit and unstyled. A garish, flat color palette does not help, and one wishes for diagrams to help explain how instruments produce sound. One highlight of this series is the list of recommended Web sites and musical compositions at the back of each book. Many of the Internet resources are interactive, and the CDs listed include contemporary music and music from around the world as well as the expected Western classical selections. Drum lists CDs from Brazil, India, and West Africa alongside works by Bartok and Steve Reich; Piano includes CDs of compositions by Dave Brubeck and Erik Satie as well as, of course, Mozart and Chopin.

Gr 9 Up–This series, with its candid photos of diverse teens working on every aspect of productions brings high school musicals from the movie-theater screen into the realm of possibility. Although the authors do not downplay the complexity of staging a performance, they break each of the components into achievable sections ranging from how to select a musical for your school through returning borrowed prop items. Procedures, processes, tools, tips, and a lot of examples are provided, all with an eye to maximizing limited funds and ensuring a smooth performance. These books emphasize rules and planning, with special attention to the hierarchical nature of the production staff, stressing directorial vision and outlining how each area–technical, dance, music, etc., has its own leadership and structure. What this series does not have are instructions for creating costumes or building sets, and leads to resources for this kind of information are only intermittently provided in the back matter. However, since library resources about drama for this age group can be hard to find, this series belongs in the library of any school that stages musicals.

Gr 5-9–Even rock-and-roll know-it-alls will learn something from this series, which includes technical information about equipment and instruments and practical advice about overcoming stage fright or resolving disputes between band members. Copious examples and photos of bands drawn from a wide chronological and stylistic range ensure that every reader, from metalheads (Metallica) to Linkin Park fans will find something of interest here. Helpful diagrams (how a microphone works), clear photos of equipment, screen shots of software such as Garage Band, and discussion of up-to-date topics such as Facebook and Guitar Hero make up for writing that is occasionally a little sloppy. Women and African Americans are represented, but the books reflect the industry, and in popular rock-and-roll, white males do predominate. History of Rock Bands is by its very nature the weakest title. Chronology suffers as the author tries his best to draw lines of stylistic succession through a history that includes such hybrid genres as punkbilly and J-pop.

Every kid has a medium for self expression–whether it’s paint or clay, paper or song. Give them the techniques and the inspiration they need with a strong collection of books filled with creative ideas and practical information. Neither of the how-to-draw series reviewed here is a better choice than Doug Dubosque’s Draw books (Peel) or the titles in Lee Ames’s “Draw 50” series (Doubleday), but each of the other craft series reviewed here has proven kid appeal. ABDO’s “Rock Band,” their “Cool Performances,” and Rosen’s “High School Musicals” are useful, up-to-date choices.

Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Gr 5-7–These books provide clear, concise introductions to “accessible poetry.” They open with histories of their genres–for example, Concrete Poetry explains that the form began with ancient Greek poets. The representative poems are not child-friendly; one is by the 17th-century poet George Herbert and some are in other languages and not translated. The books also discuss composition mechanics and reader reactions and provide numerous examples. In Haiku, Bodden notes that the poetry evokes a sensory experience and offers this well-chosen quote: “Snow-silenced trees/shake heavy limbs–/a wet plop.” Each book has an attractive design, with plenty of white space and lovely, though unidentified, illustrations. A few black-and-white (or color tinted) photographs are scattered throughout the series; they are less successfully matched to the text. One glaring misfire in Haiku depicts people sorting through packets of mail; it accompanies a text that describes haiku’s growing popularity in Europe and America, but the connection between text and photo remains unclear. Each book includes a few simple activities. These simple introductions can be paired with collections of poetry and nursery rhymes.

Gr 8 Up–This series offers a comprehensive overview of literary periods and introduces readers to poets with a few pages of biographical information and a brief summation of critical response. The most useful section of each entry presents a sample poem (or excerpt), which is then explicated in terms of technique and themes.  The writing is somewhat uneven, and in many cases, truncated and oversimplified, though each of the books offers a well-written introductory statement. The formulaic presentation is balanced with plenty of photographs and colorful borders, type fonts, and fact boxes. These titles will find the most use with teachers looking to guide literary studies.