World's Best Origami book review and giveaway!

World's Best Origami
by:  Nick Robinson

ISBN: 9781615640539, Alpha Books
Published: November 2010
Retail price:  $19.95 hardcover
$9.99 in ebook format


When I received World's Best Origami, I never expected my children to swipe the book before I even got a chance to crack the cover.  My children had gotten a taste for origami last summer at Vacation Bible School, where we made doves to represent the Holy Spirit. To be quite honest, I wasn't confident in my origami skills and begged my husband to take some personal time off from work to assist me with helping 40 kids fold their papers into glorious representations of the Holy Spirit.  


The main reason I begged him to help me was because I couldn't follow the diagram of the origami model I had found online.  It took me a long time to fold my paper to look like the diagram and even longer to have my dove look beautifully folded.  That is one thing that is so nice about World's Best Origami is that the diagrams are easy to follow.  It even says things like "this is how your model should look" meaning if it doesn't look exactly like that, you did something wrong!  Finally an origami book for paper folding dummies like me.


I also like the way World's Best Origami is organized.  Each chapter is divided into items that you can fold.  For instance, Chapter 4 shows how to fold various flowers and Chapter 6 deals with containers.  The whole first chapter is devoted to how to fold and what various symbols mean while reading diagrams.  Don't skip the first chapter!  You'll be lost and you want to be sure that you are following the directions correctly.  There's even an index in the back if you are looking for a specific origami model to fold for a project.


Another convenient aspect of the book is that you can choose origami diagrams based upon difficulty.  Of course, as you fold through the models, you gain skills that only build upon each other for more difficult models later.  


My husband and kids made a water lily.  Even my 5 year old!  They really enjoy origami and I love that this book provides so many different models to fold.  It is an educational boredom buster on a rainy or snowy day.  There's a Difficulty 5 Angel that I think would be fun to try to fold.  I'm sure she'd look beautiful on our tree. 

Buy it:  World's Best Origami is available via Penguin Group USA's website for $19.95 hardcover and $9.99 ebook (Epub or Adobe  Reader).


Win It:  Want to win a copy of World's Best Origami by Nick Robinson?  I know you do!  This contest will run through January 1, 2011 at 11:59 PM and the winner will be chosen via Random.org on January 2.  Open to US residents only who are 18 or older.   Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email asking for shipping information.  If winner does not respond within that time frame, I will have to choose a different winner.  Shipping will be the responsibility of the sponsor. 


Mandatory Entry:  Tell me if you are an origami folding pro or if you are a novice like me.  Leave a comment indicating your paper folding abilities.  You must complete this entry for extra entries to count and you must either leave your email or let me know that your email is available in your Blogger profile.  I can't contact you if I can't find you!


Extra entries:  There are four ways to get extra entries - 1 entry each action.  Please leave a comment for each entry.

• Visit Nick Robinson's website and come back and tell me something you learned about the author.  

•  Follow me via Twitter (right side bar) and tweet about this contest.

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• Subscribe via email (right side bar)

If you already follow or subscribe, just let me know in a comment.   Please share this contest since this book would be a great resource for a teacher or homeschooler.



Disclosure:  I was provided with a complimentary copy of World's Best Origami by Nick Robinson for the purposes of review.  I was not compensated for this blog post.  The opinions are 100% my own or are derived from my family's experience with this book.