Free Stuff for Crafty Kids on the Internet

Kids are irresistibly drawn to the Internet, and of course parents want to make their children's time online both safe and productive. This worthwhile guide scores on both counts, providing essential information on general Web navigation and usage, excellent safety pointers, and hundreds of URLs for many types of youth-oriented craft sites. Since it's organized by category, users can easily pinpoint a particular interest, from various paper crafts to polymer clay, rubber stamping to doll and teddy bear making, even magic and juggling. All the sites offer free downloads (generally project instructions and/or coloring pages); those that also sell craft products are marked with a shopping cart symbol. TV shows are perhaps inescapable when it comes to kids, but the authors give TV a refreshingly minimal presence, listing only those TV-related sites that offer coloring pages or craft activities. Parents will discover plenty of Web sites of interest to creative grownups, too. --Amy Handy