Made by Me by Jane Bull

Bull, Jane. Made by Me. New York: DK Children, 2009. 64 pages $14.99 ISBN 9780756651633

Plot Summary: Made by Me is a book of crafts for girls. It includes projects that involve embroidery, knitting and sewing. The book starts out giving ideas for setting up a craft space and recycling things to use as storage for supplies. There are really cute ideas for making storage. There are lots of pictures and diagrams on how to embroider, the different types of stitches, how to knit, and instructions for projects. Some of the projects include a doll and doll clothes, a knitted hat, both sewn and knitted bags.

Critical Evaluation: DK books are known for their books full of pictures, and in this instance the more the better. There are a ton of great pictures on technique and pattern instructions. The projects are definitely very girly, so it may not appeal to all girls. The level of the projects is for the beginner and aimed at younger girls, but would definitely suit tweens with minimal craft skills.

Reader's Annotation: Cute projects are easier to create than you think!

Author Bio: Jane has been writing books on art and creating things for children and adults for thirty years. She lives in London with three children and spends a lot of her time testing her crafts on her children.

Genre: Non-Fiction, Craft

Curriculum Ties: Good for an art class or home ec.

Booktalking Ideas: I think just showing the book would be a good way to talk about it. Show them what crafts they can learn to make.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 7 to 14

Challenges: None

Reason for including: I think kids should be given every opportunity to be creative, and sewing is an excellent way to be creative. Although it is aimed at younger girls, I think the projects would appeal to tweenage girls.