Madera y Corcho

Gr 3-5-Using thin sheets of wood laminate, sheets of cork, Popsicle sticks, wooden clothespins, and toothpicks, as well as such adjunct materials as glue, paint, and glitter, readers will learn how to create 12 different crafts. Including such items as small trees and plants, a cork duck, hot plates, and an infant's bell toy, the crafts are interesting and attractive and might well inspire children to attempt them. The pictorial layout is open and inviting, and clearly numbered steps matched to clearly numbered pictures facilitate the creative process. Each double-page spread begins with a list of materials and tools needed. At the end of each set of instructions, there is a small box giving ideas for further development. Though the crafts are attractive and engaging, they are too hard for most children under nine years of age. The painting, as well, requires excellent fine motor skills. It is safe to say that almost all these projects would require significant adult help if they were to come out resembling the examples shown. A final page of suggestions, aimed at adults working with children on these projects, indicates the level of difficulty of each project. For libraries in elementary schools serving intermediate ESL students or Hispanic populations, this would be a solid addition. The standard Spanish is easy to understand and the attention to safety is laudable. Ann Welton, Grant Center for the Expressive Arts, Tacoma, WA