Instructional, Interactive Books Sure to Appease Every Child's Creative Interest by Various UT Authors on Creators.com

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Instructional, Interactive Books Sure to Appease Every Child's Creative Interest

These new activity books offer kids "klutzy" inventions ideas, Japanese "manga" comic instructions, Paul Frank's Julius-inspired fill-in scrapbook and plenty of history's "bad things."

"The Klutz Book of Inventions" by John Cassidy and Brendan Boyle; Klutz/Scholastic; 198 pages; $19.99.

The folks at Klutz have the recipe for super fun activity books down pat. Their new spiral-bound book includes 162 inventions that range from "Brilliant! Genius! And Deeply Dumb!" — in Klutz' own words. The vent pants offer an airy prescription for digestive problems, while the thigh-mounted cup holder gives everyone a shot of convenience with their coffee. Other inventions full of appeal include: a ball cap backscratcher, a leaf blower/hair dryer and even a quitter's convert-a-kit.

Klutz makes sure to tell readers that this is not an instructional book, and that the inventions are simply concepts meant to inspire and entertain. The writers admit to being huge supporters of big flops and grand failures; they completely promote the importance of creative face plants. So with that in mind, "The Klutz Book of Inventions" offers inventors-to-be lots of creativity with tons of lighthearted, imaginative fun.

"Manga for the Beginner Shoujo" by Christopher Hart; Weston-Guptill Publications/Crown Publishing; 192 pages; $21.99.

What's Shoujo? A Japanese-inspired drawing style populated by outrageously cool teen characters, including magical girls, J-rockers, Goth boys and cat-girls. From coloring to character development, artist/author Christopher Hart does a thorough job explaining and instructing young manga artists in the more realistic, less cartoon-like Tokyo-inspired shoujo practice.

Hart brings so many details to this book: how to draw the "leaping palm-heel strike," how to bring girls with hats and boys with eight different hairstyles to life, drawing poses with movement, and the key to successful illustrating.

Younger artists will enjoy Todd Parr's latest drawing/coloring book, "Create Your Own Planet! Doodle and Draw," (Chronicle Books, $14.99).

With 240 pages of black-outlined prompts, youngsters can design unique houses, bicycles, animals, pizzas, underwear, and anything else they can imagine to populate their own new worlds. Colorful stickers are also included to add zest to the hand-drawn pages.

"The Book of Bad Things" by Count Droffig; Kingfisher Publishing; 64 pages; $19.99.

Kids already looking forward to Halloween will certainly find much to love in "The Book of Bad Things: A Sinister Guide to History's Dark Side." This unique book traces Count Droffig's hunt for a much-feared book reputed to have been present at many bad happenings in history, from the Black Plague to the Titanic sinking. As readers pore over the sometimes creepy, always fascinating pages to help Count Droffig, they'll explore scary topics ranging from mythical monsters to lost cities, disastrous predictions to extinction events, all while traveling through history.

Nine-to-12-year-olds, and even older age groups, will also have fun with the book's interactive elements: decoders, mini booklets, trading cards, flaps to open and even heat-sensitive ink.

A unique Halloween gift, "The Book of Bad Things" certainly does capture the sinister side of history, but in an appropriately frightening kid-friendly manner.

"All About Me: My World, and My Life (So Far)" by Paul Frank Industries; 32 pages; $12.99.

Paul Frank's line of retro-inspired designs has expanded to greeting cards, housewares, clothes, toys and even children's books. With wide-mouthed monkey Julius as the presenter, this zippy, red scrapbook for elementary school kids begins by asking readers for basic information — age, birthday, eye and hair color. The interactive book soon gets more imaginative with drawn-in frames kids can use to design their own portraits, even of their feet. Other prompts encourage youngsters to ask friends to contribute, and then harbors areas for kids to draw their homes and bedrooms.

School info, books, music, food favorites, sports sections and travel sections really personalize "All About Me," making it a fabulously hip and fun gift for any young child. Heck, I may even steal this one away from my first-grader, but I'm already stumped on the section asking what I want to be when I grow up.

To find out more about Lee Littlewood and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.