Jewish Holiday Origami

I teach K/1 and will probably not use many of these origami projects with my students. The projects take more manual dexterity than my little guys have. I can see intermediate grades using this book more than I will. The projects are fairly basic and useful for craft variety.

This slim paperback volume includes instructions for 24 Jewish origami projects, along with a black and white photograph and a brief explanation of each project's historical and spiritual significance. The introduction provides basic information about origami and explains how Judaism can be expressed through this ancient paper folding art. The table of contents lists the projects by level (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) and by Jewish holiday (Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot). While not nearly as attractive as Florence Temko's Jewish Origami, Jewish Origami II and Bible Origami, which include full-color photographs and diagrams as well as origami paper, Stern's edition is more comprehensive and content-rich - a worthwhile addition for libraries that collect Jewish craft books. For ages 8 and up. Reviewed by Rachel Kamin

Books devoted to themed origami, like hearts, fairy tales, flowers and dollhouses, have always held a special fascination and charm for paperfolding enthusiasts and have attracted some of the world's great origami designers. Florence Temko blazed the Jewish and bible origami trails. Now, Joel Stern has created 25 festive models for his new book, "Jewish Holiday Origami". The models in "Jewish Holiday Origami" are well-designed and diagrammed, easy to master and ideally suited for diorama displays. The three dimensional pyramid may be one of the best 11-fold pyramids ever created! And with a few more creases, it is transformed into a Purim pastry! All in all, Stern's designs are a pleasure to fold. Clever maneuvers abound and a crease here and repeated crease there often yield hidden surprises and delights. Many of the models like the wine glass, pastry/tart, pyramid, candles, human figures with display stand, book, frog, goat face and meat bone can be folded and enjoyed all year round, adding to their versatility and timelessness. Models in "Jewish Holiday Origami" are conveniently indexed by experience level (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and by holiday (Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Purim, Passover and Shavuot).

What a great idea, superbly executed! By following Stern's simple steps, enhanced with 'this is how it should look' photos, one can decorate and learn about the Jewish holidays. I'm looking forward to putting the Four Sons on the Seder table according to who's who. There is even 'Two Zuzim." Each origami object is rated according to difficulty so that the 'craftsman' does not immeditely get frustrated by starting with the more difficult ones. Here is a craft item that adds fun to the teaching of the Holidays. Each origami object is accompanied by a simple but complete explanation of the meaning of the holiday and the object's place in it. Some of the objects even have movable parts, like the Torah and dreidel. The book itself is a perfect gift. I'm looking forward to teaching my grandchildren about the Holidays while having fun folding paper.