What+are+craft+and+how+to+books+and+why+are+they+important?

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What are craft and how to books and why are they important What are experiment and activity books and why are they important? What are life-cycle books and how might these be used in school? What are concept books and who might enjoy reading them?==

by Heather Vandermillen
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**Craft and “how-to” books** teach children new skills, like knitting, cooking, and sign language. They can walk students through the steps of creating a kite, a Pinewood Derby car or a collage. “How-to” books also encompass sports, exercise and the performing arts like dance and drama. Obviously they are popular with children because they are fun. But they also valuable teachers.

Recently President Obama stressed the importance of hands-on learning that teaches children to be the “makers and creators of things, rather than consumers”. A joint program between the the Institute of Museum and Library services and the MacArthur Foundation will create 30 new hands-on learning (YouMedia) centers across the county. These centers will be modeled after the Center at the Chicago Public Library. Craft and "how to" books also allow kids to learn about their world in a hands on way. Very few children will have access to these YouMedia centers but all children should have access to “how to” and craft books.

“How to” and craft books require kids to follow directions, break large tasks into smaller steps and to organize time and materials; skills essential for success in school and life. The Common Core State Standards which were recently adopted by Massachusetts requires that children beginning in grade three “Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence instructions).” (Common Core, Literacy, p.19)

Craft and “how to” books are often undervalued as reading tools. However, some elementary children may not feel inspired by reading for its own sake but are deeply interested in doing things with their hands. These books teach the value of reading in a practical way. Boys in particular, who are known for their high energy levels and are as a group less interested in fiction than girls, may enjoy reading as a means to creating.

Aside from reading, craft books can also develop mathematical skills by teaching measuring, weighing and geometry. //The Big Book of Building// shows kids how pyramids, igloos and arches are created and lets them build simple versions using common household object. Cook books reinforce fractions. (How do you get ¾ of a cup if you only have a half cup measurement and quarter cup measurement?) Knitting, crochet, sewing and origami all involve measuring patterns and shapes.

And of course craft and “how to” books teach art, design and building skills that have practical and aesthetic value. //Making Amazing Art! 40 Activities Using the 7 Elements of Art Design// gives kids a hands on introduction. Each chapter covers one aspect of design (line, shape, texture, color, value, form and space) and includes an activity that highlights the element. The instructions are clear and the illustrations (colored drawings) are helpful. The activities in this book don't require unusual or expensive supplies (the most unusual item is a rubber paint roll) so children will be more likely to actually try the projects.

Craft and “how to” books can also be an interesting way to teach cultural diversity. //Traditional Crafts from Japan// by Florence Temko is one of a series; each book illustrates how to make traditional crafts from a specific country. The books teach children why these crafts are culturally significant and where you might see them. For example Koi Nobori is a fish shaped wind sock flown on Children's Day in Japan. //How to Make Holiday Pop Ups// has ideas for Christmas, Chanukah, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa and the Persian New Year. It also has the standard American holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Mother's Day. Again the instructions are easy to follow, there are step by step illustrations and the supplies are not unusual or expensive!

**Activity books** often contain craft projects but also include other activities like, puzzles, games, songs and experiments. //The Dangerous Book for Boys// and //The Daring Book for Girls// are popular activity books that teach everything from how to tie a sari to how to send a message using semaphore. The books also have stories from history, chess rules, a tree identification guide and campfire songs. //Knights and Castles: 50 Hands-on Activities// is an example of an activity book that is centered around a theme. It gives children an enjoyable history lesson while they build catapults, play games and learn Medieval table manners. Children who enjoy reading on a particular subject, for example Arthurian Legend, will often enjoy activity books like this one that encourage further exploration. Books like //Knights and Castles// are also helpful for teachers interested in drawing children into the distant time periods and cultures.

**Experiment books** have have similar hands-on approach as craft, “how-to” and activity books but tend to be centered around science or math. These books teach children basic and complex science concepts. Experiment books can have a variety of science projects across disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology) rolled into one book or can specialize in one discipline like //Awesome Animal Science Projects//. Some clever books will use a hobby or sport to hook kids. //Goal! Science Projects with Soccer// is part of a series of books that teaches science and mathematical concepts through sports. Experiment books help put science concepts into action making them easier for children to understand. Again the Common Core State Standards expressly mentions the use of experiments as part of the Reading Standard for Literacy in Science and Technical subjects (Common Core, Literacy, p.62) Experimentation is also an important part of learning geometry and applied mathematics. Of course though experimental books are often bought to support the school science curriculum many kids check them out for pleasure.

**Concept books** are generally designed for toddlers to beginning elementary school children. They explore basic concepts, groups, and ideas, such as color, numbers, letters and feelings. While these books seem simple, grasping the concepts are an essential part of the educational process. The Common Core State Standards requires children in kindergarten to be able to be able to identify upper and lower case letters of the alphabet, count numbers in a set and identify shapes (Common Core, Mathematics, p. 10.) Because children's grasp of these concepts varies greatly it's important to have a range of books on each concept. //Usborne's Very First Numbers// is a straightforward book which goes through numbers 1-5; each page has one number and then the same number of animals, 1 penguin, 2 monkeys, 3 owls, and so on. The pictures are attractive and large enough for children to easily point and count. //Alphabeep: A Zipping Zomming ABC,// is a more complicated concept book, geared toward preschool and early elementary children. The book goes through the alphabet but each page has a detailed illustration of a city scene with cars, buses and people in action. Then there is a sentence or two describing the action but always using the key letter:

Aa is for Ambulance that makes alarming sounds. Shrieking, wailing, whooshing by, it's in a rush to help someone.

Still other concept books might tell a simple story like //Miss Spider's ABC//, which is an alphabet books but also describes the preparations for a surprise birthday party ( “Lady Bugs Laugh and Moths Mingle”). The pictures are full of vivid colors and children will also learn an amazing variety of bugs!

**Life cycle-books** are about the the lives of animals and plants. Many trace the actual life-cycle from seed to plant or from baby to adult. //From Seed to Maple Tree// and an //Elephant Grows Up// are both well written and illustrated examples of this kind of life-cycle book. Other books in this category might follow the day to day experiences of an animal, like //Knut// the story of a polar bear raised by a scientist. While children enjoy reading these books for pleasure life cycle-books, like experiment books, are valuable resources for the school science curriculum. Children in Massachusetts study the life-cycles of both plants and animals in grades three to five (Science, p. 49) Often children will grow a bean plant or observe the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. But larger animals and plants, dangerous animals and exotic animals can't be brought into the classroom. Life-cycle books, along with visits to zoos and aquariums and botanical gardens, can help children make the connection from their bean plant to a maple tree or their butterfly to an elephant. These books can also help children better identify the signs they are watching for in their experiments. One interesting observation is that books about animals tend to breeze by mating and conception with a vague sentence or two while books about plants do explain pollination. But life cycle books can be a useful introduction to information on sensitive subjects like human reproduction and death.

**School Library Media Specialists** can encourage the use of "how to", craft, activity, experiment, life-cycle and concept books by setting aside a table where they can display books and allow children to try an activity from a book. For instance one week you could try code books. On your display you might have mystery books that involve code, a nonfiction book about codes during war time and the "how to" book, //Top Secret: A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing.// Select one or two of the codes in the book. I like the pencil skytale, on pages 52-53, the rail-fence cipher, on pages 54-55, the dot cipher on 108-110 and semaphore on page 38. Write some messages for kids to decode and let them write their own message and have a friend decipher them. Make a bookmark with the Morse code key one side. On the other side put the name of the books on your display (include the book and page numbers you took your activities from). Change your activity regularly. Make sure to make a bookmark or list for each activity so kids who weren't able to check out a particular book can get in on a later visit. You can also record the circulation data for each book before and after each display to see if your activities are encouraging kids to check out the books and to keep track of which ideas are the most popular.

__**Craft and How to Books**__

**Caney, Steven.** //**Ultimate Building Book.**// **Philadelphia: Running Press Kids, 2006.** This giant book has information, history and photos of various structures like an arch or a vaulted ceiling and then a building project using basic supplies that illustrates the key principles of the structure. Each project gives an age range. The projects could use more detailed instructions but it's sure to inspire creativity. The photos are in black and white so it's not as visually interesting as it could be but color photos for a book this large would have made the cost prohibitive. Glossary and Index.

**Falick, Melanie.** //**Kids Knitting Projects for Kids of All Ages**//**, photographs by Chris Hartlove, illustrations by Kristin Nicholas. New York: Artisan, 1998.** Although there are a lot of newer books on knitting books for kid, Falick's book has plenty of clear illustrations demonstrating each stitch. There are also lots of projects that allow kids to start off simple and expand on their skills. It would be nice if they would reverse the images for lefties. Index, table of contents, list of yarns and where to buy them.

***Heller, Lora.** **//Sign Language for Kids : a fun & easy guide to American Sign Language.//** **New York: Sterling Pub., 2004.** **A well reviewed book with clear photos of children signing. Starts with the basics, numbers letters, then moves to family members, common words and eventually simple sentences. Index.**

**Henry, Sandi.** //**Making Amazing Art: 40 Activities using the 7 Elements of Art Design,**// **illustrations** **by Sarah Cole. Nashville: Williamsonbooks, 2007.** Beautiful book with great color. Each chapter explains a basic element of design and then an activity using that element. Most of the materials are easily available and there is a list of art supply companies in the back. Illustrated instructions, index and list of a list of museum web sites.

**Irvine, Joan.** //**How to Make Holiday Pop-UPS,**// **illustrated by Linda Hendry** //**.**// **Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1996.** This book has a great and diverse collection of projects for both well known American Holidays like Halloween to Hinamatsuri (Japanese Dolls' Festival). The directions are illustrated and easy to follow. There is table of contents with each holiday in the front and a chronological index to the holidays in the back.

**Janeczko, Paul B.** //**Top Secret A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writings,**// **illustrated by Jenna LaReau** //**.**// **Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2004.** This book explains codes and ciphers and gives instructions for creating them. It also has brief histories on the use of codes and ciphers. Brief index, list of books for further reading in back.

**Kilby, Janice Eaton, Deborah Morgenthal and Terry Taylor.** //**The Book of Wizard Craft: In Which the Apprentice Finds, Spells, Potions, Fantastic Tales and 50 Enchanting Things to Make,**// **illustrated by Lindy Burnett. New York: Lark Books, 2001.** This is mostly a craft book but also includes information on things like astrology and reading tea leaves.

**Rhatigan, Joe.** //**Soapmaking:**// //**50 fun and fabulous soaps to melt and pour**//**. Asheville: Lark Books, 2003.** Good instructions at beginning of book. Lots of projects including Popsicle, cupcake and eyeball shapes. Bright engaging photos. No index.

//**DK Children's Cookbook**//**, recipes by Katherine Ibbs, photographs by Howard Shooter. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2004.** Very clear instructions. Photos demonstrate many of the techniques. Index, glossary and list of tools have photos and tips. The only criticism is the way they list the ingredients with pictures makes it harder to keep track of which ones you've added.

**Temko, Florence.** //**Traditional Crafts from Japan**// **with illustrations by Randall Gooch. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2001.** Part of the “Traditional Crafts from” series. This explains the significance of and then offers projects to create simple versions of traditional Japanese Handcrafts. The directions are illustrated, there is a supply list at the beginning of each project. Metric conversion chart (directions are in standard measurements), glossary, list for further reading and an index.

**Watt, Fionna.** //**The Usborne Book of Art Ideas**//**, designed by Amanda Barlow and Non Figg. London: Usborne Publishing Ltd., 1999.** This book has over a nice variety of paint, ink, pastel etc projects. The instructions are not as clearly illustrated as Sandi Henry's book (see above), making it more appropriate for older children. However, the illustrations are lovely and sure to inspire young artists. Brief Index.

__**Activity Books**__

** Hart, Avery and Paul Mantell. **** //Knights & Castles// ****//: 50 hands-on activities to experience the Middle Ages.//** **Charlotte, Vt.: Williamson Pub., 1998.** **Children interested in knights, King Arthur and the like and teachers covering the Middle Ages will find games, crafts and even directions for sword fighting in this activity book. There is also information about day to day life like food and dress. Index and list of books for further reading.**

**Buchanan, Andrea J. and Miriam Peskowitz.** //**The Daring Book for Girls**//**. New York: Harper Collins, 2007.** A nice mix of activities that covers a range of crafts, skill, campfire songs, sleep over activities, yoga poses, history and even the periodic table of elements. The one down side is the lack of an index, although there is a detailed table of contents.

**Iggulden, Con and Hal.** //**The Dangerous Book for Boys**//**. New York: Harper Collins, 2007.** Like its sister book (above) this collection has a little of everything from how to make bow and arrow to information about constellations and famous battles, the rules of soccer, poke and rugby, and how to build a tree house. Again its one draw back is the lack of an index but it does have a detailed table of contents.

__**Experiment Books**__

**Benbow, Ann and Colin Mabley.** //**Awesome Animal Science Projects**// **,** **illustrations by Tom Labaff. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Elementary, 2009.** Projects for younger elementary school children explore animal behavior. Very basic glossary and index.

**Goodstein, Madeline.** //**Goal Science Projects with Soccer.**// **Berkely Heights, NJ. Enslow Publishers, Inc. 2010.** From the “Score! Sports Science Projects” series. These books use projects involving a particular sport to explain scientific principles. Glossary and Index.

__**Concept Books**__

**Kirk, David.** //**Miss Spider's ABC**//**, painting and verse by David Kirk. New York: Scholastic Press, 1998.** The vivid oil paint illustrations are both beautiful and humorous in this alphabet book that tells the story of insects planning a surprise party for a spider.

//**Museum ABC**// **by the Metropolitan Museum of Art** **. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 2002.** A beautiful alphabet book using art work from the Met to illustrate each letter.

**Pearson, Debora.** //**Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC,**// **illustrated by Edward Miller. New York: Holiday House, 2003.** An action packed alphabet book. Each page has a detailed illustration of a city scene with cars, buses and people on the go. Then there is a sentence or two describing the action using the key letter**.**

//**Usborne's Very First Numbers**//**, models by Jo Litchfield. Tulsa: EDC Publishing, 2008.** A cute, straightforward number has large pictures that allow toddlers/preschoolers to point and count.

__**Life Cycle Books**__

**//Knut : How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World//****, told by Juliana, Isabella, Craig Hatkoff, and Gerald R. Uhlich ; with photographs by Zoo Berlin.** **New York : Scholastic Press, 2007.** While not strictly a life cycle book, Knut touches on many of the basic needs, habitat and growth of this adorable polar bear who was raised by a human. The book also discusses the issues of animals raised in captivity and the philosophy of animal rights and animal rescue.

**Salas, Laura Purdie.** //**From Seed to Maple Tree Following the Life Cycle**// **illustrated by Jeff Yesh. Minneapolis: Picture Window Books, 2009.** Great illustrations and clear easy to grasp text follows the life of a maple from seed to tree.

**Suen, Anastasia.** //**An Elephant Grows Up**//**, illustrated by Michael L. Denman and William J. Huiett. Minneapolis: Picture Window Books, 2006.** Nice illustrations and clear easy to grasp text follows the life an elephant from birth through maturity. Discusses the make up of a herd and how mature male and female elephants live apart.


 * **I was not able to view this book personally but read several good reviews and thought it was an important addition to this list. -- HV**

__**Sources Consulted:**__

//Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies,Science, and Technical Subjects.// __[][|. Web, 21 October, 2010.]__

//Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.// __[]__ . Web, 21 October, 2010.

Massachusetts Department of Eduction. //Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework.// Octboer, 2006. __[][|. Web, 21 October, 2010.]__

Norton, Donna E. //Through The Eyes of a Child: An Introduction to Children's Literature,// seventh edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2007.

White House, Office of the Press Secretary. //President Obama To Announce Major Expansion Of “Educate To Innovate” Campaign To Improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Eduction.// September, 16, 2010. __[|http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/16/president-obama-announce-major-expansion-educate-innovate-campaign-impro.]__ Web, 21, October, 2010.