A Pumpkin in a Pear Tree: Creative Ideas for Twelve Months of Holiday Fun

In today's age of "No Child Left Behind" testing, and computer madness, this book is an anachronism. It is all about simple creative fun for children. The book is OLD in today's modern world, copyrighted in 1976, but for all that, it is surprisingly up-to-date. It has all the usual holidays like New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, etc. But it also has some creative ideas for other holidays, such as the "March to Washington" board game for kids to make for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Most of the crafts are made out of simple, cheap things that can be found around the house: egg cartons, cardboard boxes, vegetables and coins. Occasionally it falls a bit flat on the instructions for some projects. For example: "Dragon Toys-Tie spools, milk tops, and egg cups together with pipe cleaners or wire." I don't have the vaguest idea what that means. On the other hand, the most amazing suggestion for an Independence Day carnival was to hang a copy of the Declaration of Independence up and have people sign their names on labels to be stuck on the historic paper. The names were to be taken down later and used in a raffle drawing. That was so novel! The book shows its age a bit with "American Indian Day," rather than "Native American Day," but what the heck. The day is included with many games and crafts to enjoy. To sum it up, there are active games, quiet games, crafts and recipes all geared to children, with or without adult supervision. Totally retro, it should be re-released so more children could enjoy it.