Paper Animals
Published: December 5, 2016 by Kane Miller Books
Goodreads Summary: In this book there are 14 different animals, with step-by-step instructions and different levels of difficulty, which will help you become an origami expert. Once you have all the animals ready, fold the giant boat at the end of the book and take all the passengers on board! Included are thirty pages of patterned paper, with printed fold lines. Develops hand eye co-ordination. Learn a form of communication without language. Focuses patience and increases self-esteem. Well-suited to a classroom of 30 or more students. Creates and manipulates basic geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, and triangles. Reflects the ingenuity and aesthetics of Japanese culture; children gain appreciation of a different culture, opening a doorway to exploration and increased tolerance. Learn the ancient art of origami! In this book there are 14 different animals, with step-by-step instructions and different levels of difficulty.
My Review: I have always enjoyed origami, so this book made me feel a bit nostalgic. The first half of the book features pictures of the finished products and directions. The second half of the book includes origami paper that is tailored to each of the animals in the front of the book. So, for example, there is a lion instruction page in the first half of the book, and there is a page of lion origami paper at the end of the book that includes dotted lines for folds and a lion face! My three-year-old is absolutely obsessed with this book. We do one paper animal per day, and we put the animal inside of the giant book (included in the back of the book). He is too young to do the folding himself, but he cheers me on as I fold the paper. I would recommend this book to upper elementary schoolers through adults. Even as an adult, I found some of the paper animals to be very tricky.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: In high school, we were required to give a speech that included very specific instructions for participants. I made an origami crane and my peers followed my instructions at their seats. It would be fun to use this as a model for the speech activity. As an alternative, students might create their own origami animal with instructions! This would be hard to do, but it would be great fun!
Discussion Questions: What aspects are important when we give instructions? How did the authors of this book make the instructions easier to follow?; Which animals proved more difficult to make, and why?
Read This If You Loved: Activity Books; Origami
Recommended For:
