5 comments about The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide.

1. This is not a book on ideas for how to build, but details on what Lego's are all about. You will find history and part number and many details that you wouldn't find just anywhere. A must have the the true Lego junkie!



2. this was a nice book that my son does not look at
   i continue to point him back to the book as it appears
   useful in making your own plans.



3. This is a back to the basics or what some call the tricks of the trade type book. I really enjoyed looking through it and learning new stuff. Great guide to all the pieces and naming conventions.



4. I've been building with Lego bricks for over 30 years. I bought this book to add to my collection not expecting to "learn" much but have something to share and refer to from now and again. I was very happily surprised after reading and learning a few new building techniques. While this book isn't exhaustive of every single SNOT or other advanced building technique (btw, there isn't one) this is a great single volume that is a happy addition to every LEGO enthusiast's library. I have also recommended this book for persons just starting or getting back into building. It's a great overview and introduction. I look forward to future volumes from the author!



5. I hinted quite strongly to my family that I wanted this book for my birthday, and I received it recently. It is everything I had hoped it would be: comprehensive, detailed, easy-to-understand and written by someone who clearly has a love of Legos.
   
   I especially enjoyed the extensive vocabulary chapter (I always instruct students that learning starts when we all "talk the same talk". . .having these common terms helps) and the Brickopedia. I also liked how the book begins with basic terminology and techniques and builds on the early concepts slowly. The images are crisp and the accompanying Web site contains more information beyond the book. Thank you, Allan, for a great read. . .and for making my favorite childhood toy something I enjoy even more as an adult.

5 comments about Forbidden Lego: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against!.

1. This book has piece by piece directions for building different objects. You use household items with the legos to make things work.



2. Forbidden Lego has some innovative and fun designs, and the description of the process Lego uses to design, approve and produce models is especially interesting.
   
   The models in this book would not pass this rigorous approval process, and the authors tell you exactly why - they might fire projectiles too fast or too quickly or require the alteration of an approved Lego piece. But the building instructions would also not pass Lego's quality control process, either. Some illustrations are missing the box that shows the pieces needed for that step, leaving the builder to search the diagram to find what has been added and where (Step 14 for the Candy Catapult, for example).
   
   The instructions are definitely for experienced builders, as they do not always show the intermediate building steps - you may have to partially insert an axle piece before placing an assembly on the main model, for example, and fully insert it after the assembly is in place. This shouldn't give experienced builders any trouble, but might be frustrating for younger builders.
   
   These models call for some parts that are uncommon, but the best thing about Lego pieces is their adaptability. It is possible to modify the models to accomplish the same function with other more common pieces. Advanced builders will enjoy this challenge, but it may frustrate those who want ready-to-build models. A similar challenge faces those of us who don't want to alter our Lego pieces to find a way to do the same thing with whole pieces.
   
   If you are considering this book for yourself, you'll know if you're the kind of builder who enjoys this kind of challenge. The completed models are worth the effort. If you are considering this as a gift for a young builder, you'll want to be sure they have an advanced builder around to help them out. If not, you might consider a book like Lego Crazy Action Contraptions: A LEGO Inventions Book (Klutz) which is not only geared toward younger builders, but also includes all the pieces needed to build the models.



3. I can't wait to send this stuffed inside my son's stocking for Xmas ... I'll include the requisite parts so he and his fellow airmen can have a blast



4. I was excited to get this book for my 12-year-old budding engineer. He was too, until he looked through it and saw that he would need to have a Lego robotics kit to make a good number of the creations. Since the kit is $250, that ain't happening, so back it goes.
   
   And as other reviewers mentioned, they show pictures of the pieces you need, but they don't label them with names or part numbers. It would be EXTREMELY hard to find the parts you need to build most of these projects. It's amazing to me that the authors would create such great projects but then provide such incomplete info, rendering their book virtually useless to most users. What a waste of the return postage!



5. The designs in this book are great! However, my son can't make most of them because he doesn't have the parts. If the writers had provided Lego part numbers with their designs, then it would be easy to order those parts. We talked to Lego and they tried to help, but couldn't because they can't tell exactly what part we are talking about! Without the part numbers listed in this book, the book gets only two stars.

5 comments about Everyone's Mandala Coloring Book (v. 1).

1. I've used this coloring book myself for years! I've given it to family and friends as gifts, as well as using in my holistic nursing practice with my patients. It is so popular with patients and family members, it is now even stocked in our hospital gift shop. The author is right: it works for all ages, children to the elderly. It is especially wonderful for anxious times of waiting---in a doctor's office, before surgery, for news on test results, for the repairman to show up, etc.
   Coloring these mandalas seems to have a magical effect on people. Relaxing, decresing stress. Makes everybody happier than just worrying and fretting. I highly recommend it!



2. As a Buddhist, mandalas have a special power. I have enjoyed coloring these mandalas. But I think these mandala coloring books are of universal interest. My grand-daughters approach each mandala with energy and fascination. I would recommend these mandala coloring books to everyone.



3. As much as I really love this book, I'm afraid that I could only give it five stars, since that's all Amazon allows for it.
   
   I had this book when I was a kid of about 8 or 9, and I'm finding just as much pleasure in coloring the pages in it now as I did back then.
   
   When I was a kid, I never cared for coloring books featuring well-known cartoon characters, or characters from children's shows like Sesame Street, Blue's Clues, or Barney. To me, those kinds of coloring books came with restrictions on how to color. Bugs Bunny is always to be colored grey. Oscar was colored green. Barney was to be colored purple. You could color other items in the pictures any color you wanted. If the character was playing with a ball, as long as the ball had no distinct features identifying it as a tool used in a specific sport (like baseball or basketball), then you could color it any way you liked.
   
   With this coloring book, and others like it, there are no rules. You can color it any way you feel comfortable coloring it. I remember spending countless hours coloring in it, while listening to an audio cassette tape recording of a movie I liked, that I recorded from the TV. Sometimes when I look at the pages in this book, I can picture myself back to when I was 8 or 9, sitting at the little desk we had in the dining room for me, listening to the cassette tape.
   
   A lot of the mandalas are great for coloring again and again. I may order another copy or two, just to recolor some of the mandalas I've already done. I also have a program on my computer that allows me to draw my own mandalas, and sometimes I'll turn to this coloring book, as well as the other three in the series, for inspiration or ideas.
   
   I highly suggest getting this coloring book for anyone who still likes to color, or if you have kids who are like I was, and really don't care for coloring books featuring cartoon characters. This book is really more of a challenge to the imagination than any coloring book featuring a specific set of characters. It's an easy, yet difficult book to color. The spaces in the mandalas are big enough for children to color, with a few smaller areas that might be hard for children, yet not so for adults. The real difficulty here is deciding which color to choose.



4. Very few Mandalas to color for $10.00. I bought this as a gift but I would be embarrassed to give it. Way overpriced!



5. This book completes the series of Mandala coloring books by this author. Well worth the money spent.

5 comments about My Book Of Easy Crafts.

1. My almost 5-year-old daughter and I have been quite pleased with some of the Kumon books (including the ones the emphasize reading skills, such as the short vowels and long vowels practice books), and I was excited to find this Kumon crafts book. The basic skills that a child will need before doing the activities in this book are the ability to use scissors (safety scissors for younger children of course) and glue. The crafts in this book get progressively difficult over the pages and there are 40 activities in all. The activities are geared towards improving fine motor skills and enhancing brain functions. The paper quality is impressive - it's thick enough that cutting and pasting can be done with relative ease and the finished crafts are able to withstand frequent play.
   
   The colors are bright and the various projects are engaging so that a child would be keen to complete this craft - an example would be finger puppets, a bobble-head dog, a walking robot, flapping rooster, space travel, and many more fun and engaging crafts. My daughter still needs help with the more complicated cutting projects but she managed the gluing quite well with some instructions. This is a great project book for independent learners, and also perfect for parent-child bonding. Older siblings can also do some of these crafts with their younger siblings. Highly recommended!



2. The crafts in this book include masks, finger puppets, games, toys, etc and all are bright, colorful and quickly constructed with just glue, scissors, and some pretty easy folding. Full instructions are included for each project. Adults will likely have to help some but young kids will enjoy watching the process even if they can't fully participate. The crafts are all printed on sturdy paper and do not lend themselves to photo copying so teachers wanting to do these projects as a class will need to purchase a book for each child.



3. 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!).



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. 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 comments about Everybody Loves Wubbzy (Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!).

1. Pretty upset because i thought this was a DVD. It was under the DVD section, but turns out its just a coloring book! :/



2. I would not know how this product was because it was never shipped to my house. I dont think it was the senders fault I believe it to be a mail mix up. It went to my sister-in-laws house down the road from me. I just gave her the product for her daughter.



3. I bought 12 with the buy 3 get 4th free promotion. With crayons, free shipping, and taxes, every favor was less than 3 dollars. Everyone got something nice to take home instead of a bag of junk. Awesome!



4. When this was purchased I thought it was a reading book but it was a coloring book. The kids do not care they love Wow Wow.

5 comments about Candy Bouquets, Delicious Designs.

1. The candy bouquets in this book are very simple designs. Nothing that is really going to wow anyone. Maybe it's better suited for children with adult supervision.



2. I found that the book was a great help to me in making the candy bouquet. Has many other helpful hints. Was easy to readand the pictures were a great help.



3. I expected creativity and crafting fun but found this book dull, arrangements plain, and techniques primary. It was a waste of money. Some of the materials the author used are inappropriate for edible gifts.



4. I absolutely love this book, it is easy to follow and lots of fun to use.



5. I would love to rate this item once I get it. I ordered it 5 wks ago and I'm still waiting for it!!

5 comments about Eric Carle Animal Lacing Cards: 10 Cards & Laces.

1. This toy is a good buy for a kid who is learning to use lacing cards. My Niece will have a good time playing with this product. Thank you.



2. I bought these cards for my 3 year old son and he loves to use the laces in the cards. I love how colorful the cards are and the wonderful artwork on them. He loves that he knows the characters from his favorite Eric Carle books. Also they are made out of very sturdy material and easy for him to do by himself.



3. I took this box with 10 cards and 10 laces to a religous gathering where kids had to sit quietly. to my surprise this was such a hit that not only my four age son and 16 months daughter enjoyed doing it but other kids ages from 4,5,6 and 7 years old pick up those cards from me and start lacing it. Age four do need help to get the conncept down but age six were doing it all by them self and once they will finish with one card they would want to get any other card so they can do a different design. A MUST HAVE. I'M BUYING MORE TO GIVE AS A GIFT. Perfect gift for BOYS AND GIRLS.



4. Beautiful colors, beautiful artwork, and much more creative than just following an outline. For an older child, teach them chain stitch, back stich, alternating colors... kind of pre embroidery!



5. My kids are loving these during church when they need a quiet activity that keeps them thinking and occupied. My seven-year-old boy and my two-year-old girl both enjoy lacing them.

5 comments about Fashion Studio (ArtLab).

1. My daughter loves to draw and is into fashion design. She loves this toy! She has drawn multiple outfits and loves to show them off and pretend to be a designer. It could come with a little container or something for the pieces, but if you have ziplocks, you are good to go!



2. I found this item to be just "OK",it did not hold mine or my daughters interest for very long & we did not think that the traced & completed projects looked very realistic in comparison to the klutz book "my style studio" which produces finished products that are much more realistic, even for people like myself for whom drawing is not a strong point. My personal advice is to go for the Klutz released book "my style studio" instead.My Style Studio: Design & Trace Your Own Fashions (Klutz)



3. Reviewed by Sophia (age 6) and Madeline (age 7.5) McElroy for Reader Views (1/09)
   
   Sophia: It is really fun! I like making the fashions. I liked drawing them and coloring in the outfits. My favorite dress to draw is the ball and red carpet fashions. I learned how to draw faces, shoes and skirts.
   
   Madeline: I was surprised how good I could draw the fashion stuff. We made paper dolls out of the fashion studio using yarn for hair, fabric for clothes and pipe cleaners for leggings. The book is good because it shows you how to create different fashion outfits. The light box is easy to use and you are able to trace the different outfits and that makes it look cool. My friend likes to create fashions with us too! I learned to draw different clothes and styles. I also learned how to make different hair styles, eyes, noses and mouths. This is a great gift for anyone who likes to draw or wants to learn how to draw.
   
   Parent: What an awesome kit! I would have loved to have had this as a young person. I enjoyed doing the drawings as much (maybe more at times!) as my two daughters. The age is set at age 7+ and is a good recommendation. My youngest was 5.5 when we got it and she had a bit of hard time with the tracing of the silhouettes and such. But, she kept working at it and was able to do some amazing fashion! "Fashion Studio: Lights Camera Fashion!" by Sara Easterly is a wonderful art tool for endless fun and creativity. Every time we come back to it, we create something new and exciting. I can see keeping this in our house until the children are grown; maybe I will keep it for myself!



4. I bought this for my 9 yr old, she loves to draw girls and loves fashion. She's been creating outfits and different girls by changing their hairstyles and haircolor. I would recommend this for any girl, my younger daughters also love it.



5. Ok, so the only thing holding back my rather reserved fashion-designer-hopeful teen is that she cannot draw well, but can dream up outfits and fashion until the cows come home. Enter this light-box and acetate design templates that can be TRACED, and we have a happy camper. This 12 year old has even set up a corner desk in her room - opposite her school desk - devoted to her fashion. So when school work is finished, she moves to her design desk and she can tack up photos ripped from fashion magazines and then design her own outfits. She hangs her favorite ones. Just a few colored pencils, extra paper for the lightbox and she is a the designing-teen. This was under our Christmas tree, and was a complete surprise to her. She's spent lots of happy hours focused on her designs. I too, think that focus, fine motor skills and just plain old imagination are all benefits of this product, when in the right hands. It's so nice to see my daughter use this and not tire of it. Mostly it pleases me because the TV is off and so is the computer! It's 2009 and a low-tech set of colored pencils and a battery operated light box is keeping her creative juices flowing! The AA batteries have not yet been replaced, but when they are, it will be well worth it! If you have a daughter (or son) interested in fashion, this is a very nice tool that promotes creativity.

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

1. 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!



2. 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.



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. 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.



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

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

1. I love this book. It gives me a number of inspiring ideas that can be adapted for anybody's use. Simple, easy to use, good illustrations. Now if only I can find the time to make all the books I want to....



2. 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.



3. 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



4. 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.



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