| Product: |
How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas - Fiona Watt |
| Date: |
30/09/07 (118 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: The stickers!! Great for fans of ballerinas and princesses!
Disadvantages: Some of the drawings are too detailed and intricate for the avereage 4 - 6 year old.
- Introduction -
Having been delighted with a couple of other Usborne Activities books relating to things to 'make and do' I was expecting to be just as pleased with some of the 'How to Draw' Usborne Activity books that I bought for my niece who is a huge fan of everything to do with princesses, fairies, ballerinas etc..
- The book -
At the beginning of the book as you would expect there is a Contents page which is very easy to use.
As with the majority of books in this series, there are 17 things to make, which I have listed below:
~ Little princesses
~ Princesses in pretty dresses
~ Princess castle
~ A family photograph
~ Dancing princesses
~ A princess sleepover
~ A princess and a frog prince
~ A royal carriage
~ Princess bride
~ Sweet ballerinas
~ Barrelinas at the barre
~ Swan Lake
~ Sugar Plum Fairy
~ Leaping ballerinas
~ Firebird ballerina
~ Ballerina paperchains
~ Hairstyles, crowns and tiaras
In the centre of the book there is a double page spread of topic related stickers (150 stickers) that can are easily peeled off and either used on the 'makes' for the things in this book or just generally stuck on anywhere and quite honestly anything!
Most of the craft activities take up a double page spread. There are drawings of the finished item which in my experience looks a whole lot neater than the ones a 3-5 year old can make but it gives a great idea to the child and more importantly the not-so arty adult, as to what it should look like! I think that it would be better if Usborne included photos of perhaps more child-like representations of the finished product.
Each activity is very, very simply explained in step-by-step, numbered sections with an accompanying drawing of most of the stages, which I found to be really useful for both of us.
- Resources that you will need -
Anyone with children in the house will already have many of the resources needed to make the fairies and mermaids and if you don't the items listed don't cost too much money:
~ paint and paintbrushes
~ felt tip pens
~ pencils
~ glue
~ chalk pastel
~ chalk
~ different coloured paper
~ tissue paper
- Our thoughts on the book and activities -
Adult help is dependent upon the age of the child. Up to approximately 7 and I still help with the more 'fiddly' aspects of making some of the things although the vast majority of the drawing can and should be done by the child.
I have been a fan of Usborne activity books for many years as they often offer new and exciting art and craft activities for the not so arty adults like me. However I felt that the drawings were often too intricate and detailed for the under 6 age group, e.g. the princess bride looks very pretty but the end result by the average 5 - 6 year old is not resemble it AT ALL!
The step by step guide of what to draw and how to draw it is helpful but the drawings although initially look quite child-like and simple aren't that easy for young children to copy from (unless they are particularly artistically gifted!) and are quite obviously done by adults.
Saying that, she has had lots of pleasure in making many of the simpler princesses and ballerinas and more so with the stickers which she has used on a number of her individual masterpieces!!
The book gives helpful little tips on how to extend your artwork, for example if you want to paint shadows under your dancing princesses, use very watery paint and for a darker skin tone add a little blue paint to a mixture of red, yellow and white.
It also gave both of us some helpful tips on drawing, I include myself as I am a self-confessed hopeless artist!
- Price -
The paperback version that I bought, ISBN: 0 7460 6361 X was £4.99. However on Amazon they are available from just 25p just in to account P&P charges. However the used ones may not include the stickers!!
- Usborne Activities Books -
Usborne have a huge range of activity books available. They have a wide range of 'make and do' activity books but not as many 'How to Draw' books, the titles of which I have listed below:
How to draw……
~ Fairies and Mermaids
~ Animals
~ Trucks and Tractors
~ Dinosaurs
~ Christmas
- Final Thoughts -
Most Usborne Activities books are a great buy for any adult who is looking for inspiration in fun arts and crafts activities.
This is a lovely book for any child who is mad about ballerinas and princesses. Despite the little gripe I mentioned earlier in the review, it would make a lovely gift for a 5-8 year old if you don't want to break the bank!
I would have liked to haveadded some photos which would have given you a good idea of the way each activity is displayed and the types of things that are on offer to make.
Summary: Another popular book in the Usborne range
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