Amazon.com (ISBN 156247667X, Spiral-bound)

When it comes to miniatures, kids and grownups have very different tastes. Kids are unlikely to relate to the elaborate Victorian highboy and delicate crocheted tablecloth in Grandma's dollhouse, but they'll delight in the itty-bitty accessories that fill this clever book. A yogurt lid, cardboard jewelry box, and lollipop sticks become a bed; a mini loaf pan, clip-on earring backs, and crumbled Styrofoam make a bubble bath in a claw-foot tub; and a vending-machine prize capsule, a pizza-box lid support, and a bit of screen become an ingenious barbecue grill, complete with wafting smoke (a wisp of cotton) and grilling hamburgers (dried lentils). Excellent directions with step-by-step drawings on gatefold pages make everything easy; good color photos show off the finished project. Most items require only basic craft supplies and throwaway materials, and most can be handled almost entirely by older kids, as long as they have a reasonable amount of patience; younger ones will naturally need more supervision. Very occasionally a grownup's help is definitely required (ironing, cutting screen); these steps are clearly marked for adult involvement.

Now, what's a girl to do with all this cool little stuff? She can create wonderful miniature tableaus around her bedroom, or she can, of course, outfit a dollhouse. Or she can simply turn to the back of the book, where a fold-out section turns into a stand-up room, ready to be filled with her own tiny treasures. --Amy Handy