So I'm in my neighborhood branch library returning a stack of overdue children's books and the staff behind the counter are in a dither. "They're such good books!" they say. "It's a shame to withdraw them." I express curiosity and learn that the books in question are due to be pulled for lack of circulation. "If someone would just check them out..." the nice lady hints. I catch her meaning and whip out my card.
What are these treasures I've rescued from the jaws of the library book sale and recycling spree? Two fine DIY crafts books. ("They really should be shelved with the adult books," explain the staffers, since "children look at them but don't check them out.")
It's hard to imagine Disney today allowing the publication of The Pooh Craft Book, "inspired by A.A. Milne" but written by Carol S. Friedrichsen (E.P. Dutton, 1976, ISBN 0-525-37410-8). It consists of detailed patterns and instructions for producing stuffed versions of Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and the gang which are cuter than most of what you'll find at the local Disney store. I haven't tried making any of them so I can't swear that the patterns are foolproof -- my clumsy childhood experience with sewing felt suggests that it's not as easy as it looks -- but they look plausible.
Toys Made of Clay by Hannelore Schäl and Ulla Abdalla (Children's Press of Chicago, 1990), on the other hand, seems designed to intimidate no one. Children and grownups alike will think "I could do that!" when they see the intentionally crude figures on its pages. But however simple, the pieces are real toys, some for imaginative play and some for simple games (rules included). There are even several toy ovens and fireplaces intended for cooking with real fire, something no American toy designer would dream of (the book was originally published in Germany, where I guess echtes Feuer doesn't provoke so many visions of litigators dancing in the flames). And the idea of building marble chutes out of clay is so compelling I can't imagine why I didn't think of it when I was a kid.