Nothing like some puppet-powered funEasy crafts for children often can be misleading: Sometimes "easy" assumes a certain level of skill, and other times it's so dumbed-down that the results are disappointing. That's why we love the can-do spirit and great projects in Noel MacNeal's book, "10-Minute Puppets" (Workman, $11).
MacNeal, a puppeteer and production consultant for Sesame Workshop, will help you and the kids produce a colorful world of characters -- starting with the 30 puppets that you'll create with his step-by-step instructions, and then, no doubt, the dozens more you'll be able to craft after you've grown your puppet wings.
The ideas include a basic brown-paper-bag owl; an envelope bird (which "comes in handy when you're waiting in line at the bank," he writes), and on to shadow puppets, the sock puppet on the book's cover and a kid-size dinosaur made from a cardboard box children can place over their heads.
Dozens of templates in the book provide helpful guidance. But it doesn't stop there. The book covers all the building blocks to produce a puppet show. He has instructions for easy-to-build stages (starting with a blanket draped over your arm, with child and puppet on your knee, then moving on to an actual puppet theater) as well as dramatic pointers on plot and story structure.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
How to treat cold kidsFrostbite can occur during any winter outdoor activity, especially fast-moving ones such as sledding or ice-skating, says Dr. Tom Krzmarzick, medical director of the emergency department at an Ohio children's hospital. Here's his advice for treating children affected by the cold:
• Remove wet clothing and give children warm, dry clothes.
• Soak the area in warm, never hot, water (under 108 degrees).
