D.I.Y. Dollhouse: Build and Decorate a Toy House Using Everyday Materials

Gr 4 Up—A descendant of Betsy Pflug's Boxed-In Doll Houses, Henrion's guide will inspire crafters to pick up cardboard, scissors, paint, and glue and get to work on their own miniature wonderlands. This offering has everything today's imaginative young people should want: photographs containing dreamy textures and patterns, clear instructions, and easy-to-find supplies. Eight chapters cover different areas of a home: living room, bathroom, bedrooms, kitchen, and an outdoor patio. Detailed building instructions for furniture and objects provide enough information for kids to copy what they see or make their own magic. Projects include a toilet, a washing machine, a sun umbrella, and a variety of chairs, tables, beds, and lamps. Makers will need just the most basic supplies to get started and then they can gather cardboard, discards, or inexpensive materials (empty creamer cups, tea boxes, bottle caps, beads, old magazines, and fabric scraps) to decorate. However, in the "Teenager's Bedroom" section, a poster on the wall of the room features a golliwog—like figure, a truly unnerving decision.