Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2016 is a weekly celebration of imaginative children’s nonfiction materials hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.
As anyone who’s ever worked with tweens and teens can tell you, crafts are majorly popular. Being able to express their creativity through different artistic pursuits is extremely important for many tweens/teens, and there’s something immensely attractive about being able to make something special with their own hands. I used to spend a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest in search of new craft ideas for tween/teen events.
There are a couple of factors that youth librarians or group leaders usually keep in mind when selecting craft projects for their participants – the activities must be simple and straightforward enough for everyone in the group to manage, they must be fast enough to be completed in a set amount of time, and they need to be CHEAP to construct, as most of us are working on shoestring budgets.
Lazy Crafternoon is a beautiful collection of 50+ fast, fun, beautiful craft activities and projects. There’s a real emphasis on using readily available, basic crafting supplies, which is always appreciated! The book is geared towards tweens/young teens, but a lot of projects would be popular with older teens or even “new adults” as well – I mean, who wouldn’t want a beautiful personalised mug to take to college, or beautiful little cards to send to a best friend?
The photography in this book is stunning, making the book extremely appealing, and most of the projects are pretty straightforward and clearly explained. I do wish the book included step-by-step photos – each project is photographed in its completed form, but newbie crafters would benefit from photos of the project at different stages.
Still, this is a beautiful crafting book that will likely appeal to tween and teens, featuring practical, easy to complete projects that young people will be thrilled to show off to their family and friends. Definitely worth taking a look at, particularly if you work with this demographic!
What a great book! I could have used this back when my daughter was a tween and I was co-leader with Brownie troop?
Aww, I was a Brownie back in the day! My mum was a leader, but I could never get the hang of calling her “snowy owl” 😉
That is too funny!?
You’re right, crafting is big with tweens! I’ll have to show this one to my daughter!
It’s lots of fun! I actually love how much kids are still into crafting these days, even with all the digital bells and whistles available. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction you get from making something with your own hands!
My 11 year old daughter is constantly on the hunt for books like this to check out. Thanks for the recommendation.
I hope she enjoys it!