Green Crafts: Become an Earth-Friendly Craft Star, Step by Easy Step! »

A self-taught crafter, Megan Friday enjoys doing anything creative—including knitting, sewing, paper crafts, cooking, and photography. Megan was an early childhood educator for 12 years before taking some time away to raise her son and daughter. Megan is delightfully married to a graphic designer and their family resides in Boulder, Colorado.

Do you enjoy making crafts and taking care of the planet? Well here’s your chance to do both! With this helpful book as your guide, you will never look at discarded cans, newspapers, and cereal boxes in the same way again. Transform baby jars into fanciful tealight holders and use the lids to make quirky refrigerator magnets; give your worn-out plastic water bottle a lift with the help of some ribbon and glue; turn an old glass bowl into a decoupaged work of art; or jazz up a plain t-shirt with an earth-friendly message. Projects include a comprehensive materials list and easy-to-follow step-by-step illustrations and instructions. And full-color images of finished crafts will spark ideas and have your creativity soaring in no time. Being green has never been so much fun!

School Library Journal

Gr 4–7—This is a book for children who wish to display their environmentalism proudly. Many of the 16 green-themed crafts involve decorating household items with environmental slogans. Some of the projects suggest ways of recycling used objects, while others have crafters use new materials to make reusable items. Side notes explain how each craft helps protect the environment. The projects are targeted for ages eight and up and are at a good difficulty level for that group with some parental assistance. The finished works are attractive, but the projects lack variety. One third of them involve painting or gluing something on some kind of bag, and four more use the same techniques to decorate a jar, bottle, or can. Attractive photographs and clear line drawings of individual steps in the creative process enhance the text. The written instructions, however, are printed in a tiny font on colored backgrounds and are a little difficult to read. Anna Alter's What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe? (Holt, 2009) has a wider variety of crafts all made from recycled items, but the illustrations are a bit juvenile for this age group.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT