Spooner's Moving Animals or the Zoo of Tranquillity

Rating:
Summary: For Adults in Touch with their Inner-Child and with Patience
Review: I received this book as a gift at the age of 30. Although it looked like a children's book, I soon discovered, by reading the introduction and, later, the instructions that this was a book for adults who retain the childhood joy and excitment of constructing THINGS. The book consists of seven do-it-yourself, 3-D cardboard constructions which require detailed attention and careful instruction, the latter is well explained in the book and the former must be a personality trait. It is a humorous, fun and challenging book that requires patience and time to complete each of the projects. I do not recommend it for kids or adults with a two-minute attention-span. But if you or someone you know is likely to devote time and effort, whether for fun or procrastination (as was my case in the middle of a thesis), this book will supply a great deal of wholesome entertainment and give one a sense of fulfillment at the end of each accomplished project, especially if they work (all of mine did!). The actual constructions make for great gifts and they are certainly conversation pieces in any home as they are eccentric, funny and aesthetically pleasing. I regret that Paul Spooner does not have more such fun currently in print for those of us who enjoy learning a little physics while we build silly gadgets that bring a smile to anyone who encounters the finished product and some pride to those who bothered and enjoyed building them.

Rating:
Summary: For Adults in Touch with their Inner-Child and with Patience
Review: I received this book as a gift at the age of 30. Although it looked like a children's book, I soon discovered, by reading the introduction and, later, the instructions that this was a book for adults who retain the childhood joy and excitment of constructing THINGS. The book consists of seven do-it-yourself, 3-D cardboard constructions which require detailed attention and careful instruction, the latter is well explained in the book and the former must be a personality trait. It is a humorous, fun and challenging book that requires patience and time to complete each of the projects. I do not recommend it for kids or adults with a two-minute attention-span. But if you or someone you know is likely to devote time and effort, whether for fun or procrastination (as was my case in the middle of a thesis), this book will supply a great deal of wholesome entertainment and give one a sense of fulfillment at the end of each accomplished project, especially if they work (all of mine did!). The actual constructions make for great gifts and they are certainly conversation pieces in any home as they are eccentric, funny and aesthetically pleasing. I regret that Paul Spooner does not have more such fun currently in print for those of us who enjoy learning a little physics while we build silly gadgets that bring a smile to anyone who encounters the finished product and some pride to those who bothered and enjoyed building them.