Origami Paper Airplanes
Grade 4 Up-In each of these titles, Boursin, a paper artist, offers  more than two dozen models, rather arbitrarily rated for  difficulty. With few exceptions, the constructions in Airplanes  are all either original or variations on modern designs: winged  fliers; display models; and flying objects, such as an  eight-piece Frisbee. Instructions for creating a mix of birds,  fish, mammals, and insects can be found in Animals. Both books  open with instructions for several "base" folds; Boursin uses  standard origami notation in his clearly drawn step diagrams,  and also provides handsome color photographs of the intended  results. Airplanes will please origami novices and veterans  alike. Animals is likely to be less successful-not only because  some models require delicate scissors work, but also because the  dove looks as predatory as the eagle; the hen, the giraffe, and  the sheep will require distinctively patterned paper for  identifiable results; and, in general, Boursin's animals are so  stylized as to be unrecognizable. Furthermore, even some designs  rated "beginner" use challenging reverse folds or crimps. While  Airplanes will fly out of any library, consider Animals only for  deeper subject collections.John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.