Recyclables (Let's Create! Series) »

Make a milk-carton cow or an egg-carton tree. Put a pudding-cup snout on a bear or paint bottles for bowling. Cardboard, paper, or plastic, throw-aways are important craft materials -- and recycling is a responsibility. So let's create with recyclables!

Kristin Harris - Children's Literature

The "Let's Create" series of craft books are reminiscent of another era. The projects and materials are unusual. The books were translated from Spanish, which may explain the unfamiliar supplies and old-fashioned projects. These twelve art projects are made from things people throw away every day, egg cartons, paper tubes, plastic cups bottles and Styrofoam trays. Tissue paper is glued onto a Styrofoam tray. Fish are cut out of Styrofoam and attached to make a deep blue sea scene. A milk carton is turned into a box with an image of the front of a cow on the front and the back of a cow on the back. An egg carton is cut up and reassembled to make a palm tree. A cardboard egg carton is soaked in water to make a bowling ball. Plastic bottles are painted and numbered to become bowling pins. The most intriguing project is a cardboard movie machine. A long sheet of paper with drawings on it is pulled through the box to simulate a television or movie screen. A paper towel roll is painted and turned into a jet airplane. Each project is on a spread that is illustrated with large photographs. Most of the supplies required for these activities should be readily available. This series of books was apparently developed for another culture and are not well adapted for a contemporary American audience. 2003, Gareth Stevens Publishing, Ages 5 to 9.