Busy grownups generally appreciate quick ideas for kids to be
creative. In 20-Minute Crafts, part of Kathie Stull's Hand-On Crafts
for Kids series, parents learn they can provide a few general
supplies like foam sheeting, wooden cutout shapes, craft sticks,
paints, Styrofoam balls, and chenille stems, then let youngsters go
to town constructing an assortment of useful and just-for-fun
projects. Masks, frames, fans, pencil toppers, decorative magnets,
holiday and party decorations, and many other kid-friendly ideas
abound. The volume could have used better organization: the table of
contents is bewildering, and there is no immediately discernible
sequence of projects. The overtly commercial angle is a bit
off-putting too: each project is "sponsored" by a major craft
manufacturer, though the materials lists do call only for generic
supplies. Also, the book claims to be geared to 7 - to 12-year-olds,
but most kids at the upper part of this age range will consider
themselves too sophisticated for most of these projects. Younger
ones, however, will probably enjoy them, and even a well-coordinated
5-year-old can handle many of them with adult supervision. --Amy
Handy
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