2016 (Kane Miller)
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher
The creative possibilities of origami are endless: from simple designs like a boat to much more complex ones like a giraffe.
On page two of Paper Animals, it talks about how practicing origami brings calm and patience. With 14 different animals you can make, it also brings fun. Paper Animals provides not only the directions, but the paper for making these animals and a culminating sailboat for their transportation. The animals get more difficult to make as you move up. Each design is rated either low, medium, or high for difficulty. The book starts with a simple cat and dog design. With each step, you get directions and illustrations to show how to fold the paper. Dotted lines show where to fold the paper and continuous lines show the final fold. Animal designs include a mouse, a butterfly, and perhaps most difficult, a giraffe.
Paper Animals would be a fun way to work on reading and writing procedural text. Having craft activities, like origami, also gives students who may struggle academically a chance to be leaders. They are so excited to go from desk to desk to give advice and support. As you can see by the cover, Paper Animals is a boatload of fun.