Well, this site has often touched on topics other than just bookselling. So why not making a book out of a piece of paper. The art of Origami is simply paper folding. Origami itself has long been associated with Japan but may well have started in China and they were the inventors of paper. Either way, it’s Japan that embraced the art of Origami. The designs can be quite simple, like the origami book that is presented below or complex items like buildings and animals. You can get special origami paper if you really want to get into it but it can also bee done with everyday paper, it’s just a touch easier to fold the paper many times when using the real stuff.
If you are ever in New York City around Christmas time, be sure to check out the American Museum of Natural History. They hang many complex origami pieces on the tree, itmes like crabs, lobsters and even dinosaurs. It really is amazing to see what kind of things can be made from folding pieces of paper and the nice thing is that even a young child can learn how to make a book from one piece of paper.
Here are a couple videos showing you how to make an origami book and another more complex one just for fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5eV3Qc_Y2U&feature=fvst
If your making books from a piece of paper with your children try using different colors, they get a little more interested. And origami is a great activity for kids, no glue or paint or other things that will make a huge mess. Just paper and creativity. You can find lots of very simple designs on You Tube, easy ones that the kids can follow and more complex origami shapes for yourself once you get the bug. One other nice thing about making a simple origami book with your kids is that it can help teach them about shapes. Folding a paper into triangles and rectangles is a great learning tool for young children.
