Halloween is around the corner, and that means lots of fun crafting opportunities, especially if you have children. Why this particular holiday brings out the crafter in many of us is hard to say. Maybe because it is just a fun and silly time of the year. This sort of silly fun is exactly what Zombigami: Paper Folding for the Living Dead by Duy Nguyen is all about, a new book I was recently sent to review from Sterling Publishing. It is zombies. It is origami. They both merge together in a crazy how-to book filled with wacky characters like Suzie Gravemaker who you can make using paper and traditional origami paper folding techniques.

The book has a brief introduction that includes paper, glue, and folding tips and then jumps into the 13 projects. Each includes step by step illustrations and some brief text for each folding step. There is also a full color photograph of the finished item with the addition of a spooky background. After the projects section, there are 13 perforated pages, one for each project, that are mini-posters you pull out and hang up. To top it off, the back cover has a pocket full of 50 sheets of origami paper.

This book is spiral bound and retails for $9.95 US and $11.95 CAN, and is obviously geared toward children. I’m guessing kids around 8 or so and up would be able to handle the folding as well as the freaky text inside. For example, the Phineas Gouge character is described as someone “who can take an arrow to the head and still try to eat you” (Nguyen 27). Of course, crafty adults will also enjoy this, especially if you enjoy origami or paper arts. Considering the cost of this book and the fact that it has the supplies included and ready to go, I think there is a lot of fun packed between its pages.