Fun and Simple Western State Crafts

* Reviews *

One of the newest titles in the Fun and Simple State Crafts series begins with an overview of the region of the United States, a U.S. map with the region highlighted, and specific facts and information about each state in a two page chart. Two crafts follow that highlight unique features or places. Reader aides include a contents page, an index, a patterns page, and a resources page that includes book resources specific to the states and general U.S. state web resources. The western states include Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada, each with their own history, culture, and specific landforms. Idahos Trailing of the Sheep Festival celebrates the history of sheep ranching in the state and is the inspiration for the Little Wooly Sheep project. Using clay, cotton balls, paint, yarn and other craft whatnots, children can create a sheep to represent those ranched in Idaho. Nevadas name comes from the Spanish word for snow-covered, so it is fitting that one of the crafts is snow skis. John Snowshoe Thompson used his Norwegian talent for skiing and his homemade oak skis to deliver mail to mines and towns in California, Nevada, and the Lake Tahoe area. Children can create a Mini Wooden Skis Fridge Magnet using craft sticks, paint, and strip magnets to remind them of this feat. The jackalope is a well-known mythical animal created by Douglas Herrick, and the eight-foot-tall statue of a jackalope in Douglas, Wyoming, is the inspiration for a statue project using clay, twigs, and a little paint. This would be an excellent resource while learning the states, or just for fun, and would make a good addition to any bookshelf. The author could have improved this book by including photos of each attraction or area of interest highlighted in the crafts, therefore giving the reader an opportunity to visit the area visually., Children's Literature