Traditional crafts from Mexico and Central America

Gr 3 Up-One of the better titles in support of a multicultural curriculum, this series entry gives a very brief background of the area, and then provides directions for making eight traditional crafts. The felt appliqués intended to bring to mind the reverse appliqué work of the Cuna Indians is the only craft duplicated in other books on Latin American crafts, and it is the least evocative of the actual work. The directions and pictures are clear and enticing; there are full-color photographs of the completed projects as well as of the original handiwork that inspired them. A list of supplies needed precedes each project, and each one is followed by suggestions for additional activities. A list for further reading of fiction and nonfiction titles about Mexico and Central America, all quite recent, is included. Judith Corwin's Latin American and Caribbean Crafts (Watts, 1992) has 10 crafts and 5 recipes, but it lacks the color photos, and the crafts are generally further removed from their ethnic originals. Jeremy Comins's Latin American Crafts and Their Cultural Backgrounds (Lothrop, 1974; o.p.) has more detail and more challenging projects but looks less appealing. Anita Ganeri and Rachel Wright's Mexico (Watts, 1994) is attractive and has quite a bit of cultural information but only two recipes, two craft projects, and a Spanish vocabulary game.-Pam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Eight fairly simple craft projects in each book are inspired by the traditional crafts from African and Latin American cultures. For each project, brief background information about the source culture and art is provided, followed by somewhat abbreviated instructions. Color photographs of finished projects and the traditional work are frequently not detailed enough to be informative. Bib., glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.