Customer Reviews

Papertoy Monsters: Make Your Very Own Amazing Papertoys!

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for my 9-year-old nephew for Christmas, and it was a great success--except that I spent three days making papertoy monsters for him instead of watching him do it himself! The concepts are absolutely great. The monsters are so original--they are inspired by a combination of manga, skateboard culture, and mythology and folktales. Some, like Lil Vamp, are inspired by a folktale but brought up to the modern day, but others, like Polyphemus, are identical to their original source (in this case, The Odyssey). Others still are completely original creations. The stories about each monster are really good and super fun for kids to read aloud, and my nephew was thrilled to provide me with each step of the instructions to build each monsters.

However, when he tried to pop the paper pieces out himself, he couldn't help but rip the paper with his little hands, and it was too hard for him to apply glue very accurately to very small areas, pull the paper together, and hold it long enough for it to adhere. A 9-year-old with excellent motor skills and a very long attention span might be able to do the easiest of the easy patterns. I don't have kids myself so I may not be the best judge, but this 9-year-old would have gotten very frustrated and sad if he hadn't had his auntie around to make a bunch of monsters for him.

That said, as an adult I admit I was sort of glad that I got to make the monsters because it was so fun. The pattern pieces are clearly labeled, the instructions are excellent and very clear, and it was really easy to put them together with a very good quality glue stick. There's a great glossary at the front containing some basic hints for constructing the monsters, and there's a list of contributors at the back giving the name of the designer of each monster pattern (lots of different designers contributed), a bio, and a URL for their own websites. This is a great collaborative project. I think my favorite thing about it is that the monsters are really edgy but the written and illustrated content is totally acceptable for little kids and doesn't talk down to them.

Length:: 2:26 Mins

I love that Castleforte and others have created this book for there are but a few papertoy books out there. The idea of having each toy pre-printed was awesome (especially b/c of the toll printing papertoys can have on my printer ink). The creativity of these artists always amazes me and there are vast amounts (50) and kinds of toys for everyone (ie: don't let the name "monsters" scare away young girls - there is something in here for you too).

However, there are a few problems I had with the layout. Although the toys are pre-perforated, it is quite difficult just to punch them out - I had to use an x-acto knife (not an option for kids). I don't think kid-friendly scissors could be as exact as necessary in order to cut out some parts of the toys either, so any cutting would have to be done with parental supervision.

Also, the toys are printed on thinner paper (thinner than an average piece of cardstock). My craft glue tended to make the paper disintegrate, so I would suggest using double-sided tape or glue dots for construction. I also agree with another reviewer that this is not a book for younger kids - the toys are just too difficult for children to handle. I would suggest an age range of at least 10 years old (probably more like 12 and older). Also, remember that there is no CD-ROM included in this book, so any mistakes are permanent (no re-printing). Since the toys are double-sided, it is quite difficult to make practice copy, too.

I read about this book in one of my magazines AND I was looking for something different to get my 8 year old grandson for his birthday. WELL this book did the trick. He played with it more than I'd ever expected.....All the 'monsters' need adult help to build...but that was good!!!! Now he's onto somethIng else, but he can pick the book up and start again.
A WONDERFUL ITEM!!!! and cheaper than I thought!!

The Papertoy Monsters is a large set of punch out, standup cardstock monsters. They are well detailed and punch out cleanly. My son loves them. The only negative is that they require a very careful hand to punch, glue, and assemble them. I don't think that a child under age 14 would not be able to do it effectively. It does, however, give me some bonding time with my 8-year old as we "build" the monsters together. That's worth much more than the book costs.

Bought this for my nine year old grandson, but he wasn't as interested as his seven year old sister, who is more into arts and crafts. We worked together on a few of the monsters and found them to be a bit challenging, even for an adult. You have to have some fairly good fine motor skills.

I don't leave reviews ... ever. But I could not stop myself from letting everyone know that this is truely an awesome book. I can not think of one thing that would it better. Making the monsters pop-out was ingenious because little people would not have the patience to do this amount of cutting. The backstories on the monsters are creative and halirious. The folds have been pre-scored, enabling the monsters to turn out so precise. I have 2 boys, ages 6 and 8. The 6 year old has needed some help with intermediate and advanced monsters but the 8 year old has been able to do every level. We have all enjoyed this project so much. Thank you!

I bought this for my almost four year old thinking the picture would make him laugh or inspire his drawing. I never thought we would have a 40+ monster collection going that battle, raid, and have epic battles with rainbow, playmobil knights, and play dough cans.

Truly, I never ever want to see the words "insert tab 478" again. I never thought I would agree to one-monster-a-day as a limit for each fully functional adult in our household. The instructions are clear, the colors vivid, the craft is entertaining, and he has loved, loved, loved this book. Finally, this is really quite accessible and portable. All you need is a glue stick (we used elmer school glue stick) and some time. No printing, etc, and the paper is ridged for easy folds. Very well designed.

We are a pretty gentle family (no media, no scary stuff) and although some of the monsters are kind of scary, it hasn't scared him.

I don't think I've ever spent so little for some much ongoing entertainment value.

PaperToy Monsters is a book full of punch out paper monsters that can be assembled with nothing but glue. There are four sections of monsters: Monster Legends, Earth Ocean and Space Monsters, Mutant Food and Thing Monsters, and Human Monsters. There is also a nice paragraph describing each monster's story and a set of templates in the back of the book so you can design your own monster. The PaperToys come in Intermediate, Easy and Advanced difficulty and I was able to complete both an intermediate and an easy monster without much trouble and I'm one of the least crafty people ever. It was a lot of fun.


Appropriateness:
I would recommend this book for kids ages ten and up (although younger kids will be able to help and play with the monsters). Any younger and the parent will end up doing most of the work. How to books are great for kids to work on reading carefully and following directions.

My 10 year old daughter loves Papertoy Monsters: Make Your Very Own Amazing Papertoys! and has spent hours cutting out and creating the original monsters. This simple book was one of her favorite x-mas presents.