Monstergami - Tapa dura

This colorfully illustrated book of origami teaches the child to make 18 different monsters. I like how the parts of the monsters can be interchanged so that once a child learns to make the basic shapes, he can combine the parts to make different monsters. It is more than just a follow-the-direction book.-- (11/12/2014)

Kids who are hooked on Tom Angleberger's series can fold a host of monsters to threaten their Origami Yodas. Starting with the easiest-to-fold Imp and progressing through 16 other monsters to the daunting-looking Sky Sprite, Mitchell arranges the book as a progression. Most readers, though, will want to skip right to the three awesomest, those featured on the cover, with their prominent teeth and fangs; the remainder of the monsters are pretty generic and look much alike. Cleverly, however, these monsters use at least two squares of paper each, meaning that their bodies and heads can be mixed and matched to create new creatures. As with most origami books, this one begins with a two-page introduction about folds and the symbols that will be used in the instructions, which are easy to follow even for beginners. Each project features a full-color photo of the finished model followed by numbered steps that are both written and visual. Since many of the models share basic body parts, readers will need to flip back and forth, as directions are not repeated for each separate project. And origami paper is a necessity -- the teeth, fangs and eyes only pop with two-sided papers. Those who have caught the origami bug can have some monstrous fun folding and mixing and matching. (Nonfiction. 8-14)-- (10/15/2014)