construction materials, instructions, and emergency duct tape

Contents to build the gingerbread house included the cookie walls and roof, a gingerbread man, powdered sugar, and packages of assorted candy. Unfortunately, some of the cookies became cracked and crumbled during shipping, which made assembly much more precarious. A good portion of frosting included was utilized as a glue agent. Despite a few hiccups in the process, Marisa and Ariel powered through, piecing the cookies together one section at a time. The roof even sports two classy skylights . . . after a slight mix-up in what was supposed to be the roof and walls.

As they pressed the final piece together, the girls held their breath and backed up. When the walls showed no signs of buckling, they  shared a sigh of relief and a high-five. The structure survived, and was ready for a night of setting in the refrigerator.

The next day, Marisa and another intern, Meredith set out to complete the design of the gingerbread house. Ariel had already provided some intricate piping techniques on the door by writing “Horn Book” the day before.

Ariel adds some Horn Book flair to the house’s front

Marisa and Meredith placed gumdrops, M&Ms, powdered sugar snow drifts, peppermint patties, Tootsie Rolls, and other candy decorations around and on the house.

And now, equipped with the essential gingerbread house, The Horn Book office is ready to ring in a sweet holiday season!

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Owen is another big Ivy + Bean fan.

There are certainly fancier button-making kits out there for kids, but they cost twice as much—and, of course, they don’t feature pictures of this fab duo. However, I can’t quite see Ivy and Bean enjoying the button maker—it seems a tad tame for them. Wouldn’t they just use the pins to poke big sister/babysitter Nancy? Indeed, an online search led to an excellent list of the type of crafts and activities Ivy and Bean really find of interest. (And the materials involved are easy to locate—a banana, scotch tape, red twisty ties, and a soft place to fall, like a bed or sofa.) My advice? Forget the button maker and find a banana. Then check out even more neat Ivy and Bean activities on Chronicle’s website for free.

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Four pop-ups and quite some time later, we sat back and surveyed our work. Each of us had assembled a dragon, castle, Frankenstein’s laboratory, and jungle scene — with mixed success.

Some of our pop-ups worked better…

…than others.

Following the illustrated step-by-step instructions, we quickly learned that an unclear directive or ambiguous diagram could have disastrous results, as when one dragon’s tongue ended up protruding from beneath its jaw. The perforated pieces were so beautifully detailed that we had a hard time punching them out; Irene exclaimed in frustration, “I need tiny fingers!” while at the other end of the table I inadvertently ripped the head off a castle guard. After each pop-up, a “mini master class” invites budding paper engineers to explore the techniques further. Cindy doubted that merely following directions for the four main projects would give enough understanding of the concepts to go entirely DIY. Overall, we thought the pop-ups provided a good rainy afternoon activity for kids about age nine (rather than the suggested seven) and up.

With a minimum of parts, easy-to-follow directions, and a satisfying noisemaker, Frankenstein’s lab (featuring monster) was the biggest hit of the four projects.

Candlewick’s catalog copy for Pop-Up reads, “Do you delight in seeing an ingenious pop-up ‘pop’ but feel utterly daunted at the thought of making one yourself?” After spending an enjoyable afternoon with the book, I still feel daunted — but maybe not utterly so.

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