And out of nowhere a Book Review

On a recent trip to Sydney I made a visit to the Kinokuniya bookstore. I don't know why Sydneysiders would buy books anywhere else but this may be because of the nostalgic Tokyo feel it produced for me. The store's range of Japanese craft books was wonderful, as too the Japanese magazines or emooks. I love the gifts included with these but managed to keep my purchases to a very conservative 3 books. Paper Wonderland was one of the 3. I have always loved paper crafts and used sites such The Toymaker and Sloth Paper Toys to find cool models to build; a favourite in the Whizzme household on rainy days. Paper Wonderland attracted me by it's cute characters that didn't seem too tricky for a primary school child to make. The fact that you get 32 models to build for only $24.99 confirmed it came home.


On a recent rainy day we spent a few hours happily making some of Michelle Romo's toys. The Tiger, the Alligator, the House, the Bear, the Elephant and Owlbert. 

 

The instructions have pictures to follow and the cutting is straight forward. Miss Whizzme (now 9) had no trouble with cutting and folding but did require some assistance with gluing (this has more to do with a lack of patience though than a lack of skill!). 

 The book uses double sided tape to secure the models, but we found using glue (Martha Stewart's Decoupage glue sealer) easier and more forgiving if you didn't stick it right the first time.

Not being one to just make characters, Miss Whizzme wrote a short play- Tigerella, that was later performed for Mr Whizzme. Not a bad way to spend a wintry morning.

BOOK DETAILS
Paper Wonderland.
Published in 2010, the book has 5 sections; The Neighborhood, The Forest, The Ocean, The Jungle and The City.
All models are shown completed and in pictorial instructions.
The book's pages are slightly thicker than normal giving the models some weight.
Along with the 32 models the book contains lovely illustrations that can also be cut out and used.
Finally, Ms Romo supplies an address for the Paper Wonderland website where there are more free toy templates and paper craft ideas.

If you can't make a trip to Kinokuniya they do deliver within Australia. Otherwise, Paper Wonderland can also be found on Amazon, Book Depository or the Crowded Teeth online store.