{"id":46715,"date":"2026-08-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=46715"},"modified":"2026-08-14T09:36:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T16:36:27","slug":"make-fun-baba-yagas-assistant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/make-fun-baba-yagas-assistant\/","title":{"rendered":"Make: Fun! \/ Baba Yaga\u2019s Assistant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MAKE: FUN! AN INVENTOR, MAKER, AND TOY DESIGNER SHARES HIS FAVORITE PROJECTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Make: Fun!<\/em>
by Bob Knetzger
Maker Media
2016, 254 pages, 8 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that struck me about this collection of toy and game projects from former Mattel designer Bob Knetzger was how many of my favorite projects from the pages of Make: <\/em>magazine were his. Bob has contributed to the magazine for over nine years, and this collection represents a best-of from that run (with some original projects as well). WINK\u2019s own Mark Frauenfelder (founding editor-in-chief of Make:<\/em>) also contributes the book\u2019s introduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make: Fun!<\/em> features full step-by-step instructions for some 40 projects. They range from the very simple, fun, and ephemeral, such as the actuated \u201cOuija Be Mine\u201d Valentine\u2019s Day card and \u201cGnome Holiday Hats\u201d to a classic \u201cDiving Spudmarine\u201d bathtub toy to more elaborate builds, such as constructing your own \u201cKitchen Floor Vacuum Former\u201d and building a \u201cDesktop Foundry.\u201d Some of my favorite projects include the \u201cMonster Candy Snatch Game\u201d (think: Operation), the \u201cE-Z-Make Oven\u201d (think: Mattel\u2019s Thingmaker), and vacuum forming your own \u201cTiki Masks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make:<\/em> did a really nice job on the production of this book. The projects are well photographed, in full color, and the instructions are well laid out and easy to follow. And there are fun little \u201cgimmicks\u201d that serve the playful spirit of the book (a flip-book animation on the page edges, QR-code videos for some of the projects, and colorful templates and paper project components in the back). You can see the videos, view the templates, and find out more on the book\u2019s companion website<\/a>. I cannot imagine an imaginative, industrious kid (of any age) getting this book and not wanting to dive right in to building a number of these projects. \u2013 Gareth Branwyn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BABA YAGA\u2019S ASSISTANT \u2013 A PSEUDO FAIRYTALE THAT BLENDS PRESENT WITH MYTH<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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Baba Yaga\u2019s Assistant<\/em>
by Marika McCoola (author) and Emily Carroll (illustrator)
Candlewick
2015, 136 pages, 6.2 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have long been a fan of Emily Carroll\u2019s distinctive art style, which I was first introduced to in the video game The Yawhg. Her beautiful illustrations fit perfectly with Marika McCoola\u2019s wonderful pseudo-fairytale about a young woman named Masha. Masha feels out of place after her grandmother passes away and her father remarries a woman who has her own daughter. So, when Baba Yaga puts out an advertisement for an assistant, Masha decides to leave and try her hand at working for the terrifying witch of Russian folklore. Masha will have to use her wits and memories from her youth to thrive in her new profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story blends present with myth and memory, and these different moments are beautifully conveyed in Carroll\u2019s pictures, with different styles for each storyline. For example, when Baba Yaga\u2019s bear attacks Masha, she recalls fairytales from her childhood in order to figure out how to dissuade him from eating her. The style or art changes, with the panels outlined with geometric designs, and the internal images appearing as abstract watercolors. Later, when Masha remembers moments from her past, the images are frequently rendered in duller colors, creating a hazy appearance that appeals to our sense of what memory \u201clooks\u201d like. At other points, the panels spill over into each other, pushing the story quite literally from one section to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite thing about the book is Masha herself, who is plucky enough to stand up to Baba Yaga, and independent enough to pursue her own path. McCoola expertly weaves together folklore with a more modern spin, creating a fairytale for the modern world, and Carroll\u2019s lovingly rendered illustrations only add to the enchantment. If you\u2019ve ever wanted to run away from your life and become a witch (or a witch\u2019s assistant), this is the book for you. Curl up on a rainy day, and enjoy a story that makes you wonder where you\u2019ve been and imagine where you might be going. \u2013 Julia Pillard<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Books That Belong On Paper<\/strong>\u00a0first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair.<\/em>\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get the issues a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue No. 131<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47588,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[31],"tags":[2398],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46749,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46715\/revisions\/46749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}