# Looking for a 1970s era kids craft book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 26, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924 "2026-07-26T01:27:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/1 "2026-07-26T01:27:09Z")
Just saw a scene in a movie in whixh Fred Astaire makes a “beanstalk” out of a rolled-up newspaper which reminded me of a Scholastic Books book from the 1970s that explained how to make those things and other paper crafts. Anyone remember the title- something like “How to Make Dinglehoppers and other stuff”? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/2 "2026-07-26T09:04:13Z")
Was it the **KnowHow Book Of Paper Fun**? Here it is on [eBay](https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/205047970702). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/3 "2026-07-26T09:10:38Z")
My (admittedly) cursory Google search suggested it is: – **“[How to Make Flibbers, Etc.: A Book of Things to Make and Do](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394800370?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback)”** by Robert Lopshire 1964 though so not sure given what the OP said. Also not Scholastic Books I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/4 "2026-07-26T10:43:15Z")
That’s it! Thanks. Guess the book stayed avaliable at school book fairs until the 1970s ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/5 "2026-07-26T10:43:28Z")
Thanks but no. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/6 "2026-07-26T10:55:38Z")
That’s a shame, as that newspaper tree is definitely in there. [![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bfbcc2_2ecedd7dcaa74bd7993982dd71ba735e~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_498,h_665,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/bfbcc2_2ecedd7dcaa74bd7993982dd71ba735e~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg) ](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bfbcc2_2ecedd7dcaa74bd7993982dd71ba735e~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_498,h_665,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/bfbcc2_2ecedd7dcaa74bd7993982dd71ba735e~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg) Oh well, you found it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/7 "2026-07-26T11:02:50Z")
I had the “Knowhow Book of Paper Fun” as a kid (and all the other Usborne Knowhow books except the book about Detection, which I also read when I borrowed it from my school library) and I also read “How to make Flibbers, Etc.” at the age of 6 or 7 in my after-school daycare. (Incidentally, that’s where I learned about the word “etcetera”). I tried some of those crafts back in the day. They were fun to make. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/8 "2026-07-27T14:31:08Z")
My mom got us a subscription to Craft of the Month magazine in the early 70s. Lots of stuff made out of milk cartons, plastic jugs, egg cartons, etc. Of course, nothing we made ever looked like the picture! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/9 "2026-07-27T14:42:46Z")
FYI, the movie was Let’s Dance, in which Betty Hutton co-starred. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/10 "2026-07-27T23:18:02Z")
A mysterious accidental mispost? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/11 "2026-07-27T23:28:50Z")
No - I did mention a movie in the OP ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-1970s-era-kids-craft-book/1031924/12 "2026-07-28T02:47:29Z")
I loved loved any paper crafting books as a kid. I bought a partial set of old Things to make and Do books. By the looks of the artwork I think they are 1960s early 70s at most. But the crafts were fun for my kids. My kids especially like folding paper crafts. I had baskets full of little boxes and origami creations. One year we found a pattern for a 8 pointed star you made with narrow strips of paper by weaving and folding. I bought a couple rolls of plain paper adding machine paper. That did the trick. We made dozens and decorated the Christmas tree with them. It was fabulous. From memory. What a fun memory. Thx.