Transform a book into art

What can I use if I can't find an old paperback, child-safe scissors, or collage pieces?

If you don't have an old paperback with an unbroken spine, swap in a thick magazine or a flexible hardcover and, if you lack child-safe scissors or collage papers, use blunt-tip adult scissors with supervision and cut shapes from scrap colored paper or magazine images to glue into the windows.

My folds aren't staying sharp and some pages tear when I fold or cut windows—what should I do?

To keep folds sharp as instructed ('press firmly to make a sharp crease'), run a ruler or the back of a butter knife along each fold, pre-score thin pages with a blunt tool to prevent tearing, and mark every fifth page lightly in pencil before cutting the small window shapes to keep them aligned.

How can I adapt this folded-book sculpture activity for younger or older children?

For younger kids, simplify by folding only a few pages and using pre-cut windows and stickers instead of scissors or glue, while older children can fold the whole book, cut more intricate window shapes every fifth page, and paint detailed designs on the folded edges.

What are some ways to enhance or personalize the finished folded-book sculpture?

After painting the folded page edges and gluing collage pieces into the cut windows and onto the cover, personalize it by adding battery LED tea lights inside the windows, varnishing painted edges for extra shine, or arranging folds into layered fan, heart, or star patterns and attaching a decorated title strip to the front cover.