These designs are VERY adorable - all of them. I've made the frog and the bunny so far, and will make more. But, I've come to the conclusion that yarn gauges in Japan are certainly NOT the same as U.S. gauges. The yarn must be lighter in Japan.

With both items I've had to use a lighter yarn than 'medium'. The frog - HAD to use TLC Amore. It was the only 'loopy' yarn light enough. The bunny - had to go way up with the hook size. A gauge for the patterns would have benn VERY helpful. A bit of a struggle getting the proportions right - but very worth the effort.

I agree with some of the other reviews...the patterns could be difficult for a beginner, but what isn't? I made the little punk duckie in an evening, and he's adorable. Once you get the gist of the book and understand how the patterns are written and what the design is supposed to look like, you can pretty easily figure it out or go to your LYS to ask. All in all, I love this book!

This is the first amigurumi book I purchased. I like the look of the toys and I like the simplicity of the charts that are used. I've made several of the toys and have adapted some patterns to make my own patterns. My 11 year old daughter, who has never crocheted before, finished the duck (with prompting) in a very short time and is excited for the next one. She's making the tiny bear now.

On the down side, I've found that some of the directions are difficult to understand. I'm a long time knitter, so I understand shaping and such, but I've only just started crochet. The butterfly wings completely stumped me. I thought I understood what was being illustrated in the charts, but it didn't look at all like the finished product in the picture. I kept expecting to have an "aha" moment, but I finally just "did my own thing", based on previous knowledge, and finished the pattern--not rocket science, and maybe I'm just thick or something.

The pictures are nice and they're great idea starters. I would prefer that the patterns be put alongside the color pictures, rather than the pictures grouped at the beginning and the patterns at the back of the book. However, this isn't enough of a distraction to downgrade an excellent volume of creativity.

I'm very glad to have this book as my introduction to amigurumi. It's a great medium and I'm enjoying it, thanks to this author's introduction.

This book itself is darling with photos that will amuse and inspire, yet the instructions would be difficult for a beginner. If you are a crocheter already, you can figure things out on your own, but several things were left out that are needed if you are just starting to create Amigurumi. Perhaps there were elements lost in the translation, so be prepared to just go from the photos. I bought Amigurimi World right after this one and would have to recommend the latter much more for it's simple, complete directions.

This was about one of the third books I bought when I started crocheting amigurumi stuff. While I would have to say there other books I like better, its still got some cute animals in here. The symbols are not hard to understand just different then following most patterns. There are some parts of the patterns (arms and legs) that dont specify how long they should be but I assume that leaves room for personal taste. While there some patterns I will make i'd have to say for me its about a 50-50. I'll most likely make at least half of what the book has to offer.

I loved the Amigurumi I have crocheted so far and they look very professional. Mostly have used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn.

The only problem is that in some places it does not tell you the total rows of a arm or leg and just takes you to where the next X rows are all the same and not what X is. Usually I make it a little long and compare the product to the image before taking off a few rows.

This book has great illustrations, I am the type of person who loves to see pictures - this one has plenty which will give you the inspiration to keep crocheting these cute little characters. You will be inspired to create your own versions of what is listed in the book,the ideas are endless. The projects are not time consuming, materails are easily acquired and the end result is complete satisfaction. I have had the book for one week and made four animals so far.

The animals in this book are very stylish and varied. There are 19 patterns including frogs, seals, ducks, lions, and butterflies. The patterns are written graphically which is very easy to follow and there is a page demonstrating how to use them - if you are unsure. The reason this did not get 5 stars is that I have to guess how many chains go in the foundation row, and there seems to be a couple of omissions in one of the patterns. But that does not really detract from the excellent design and cuteness.

I was a little iritated when the first pattern in it (the cover pattern) didn't tell you how many rows to crochet for the legs or arms of the bears, very odd... and then my bears have all turned out huge. i wish it was more specific about the yarn.. I used the smallest clover ergo hook i could get, 2.5mm and some Red Heart Super Saver. I saw someone else make one of these bears with SPORT weight yarn and it turned out the right size.. I guess I'll have to try sport weight but I thought "medium" was worsted!

Even though it isn't written in they way most English patterns are it is still very easy to follow, more so than the English way of writing crochet patterns. There are a few places where the pattern is uncompleted, but the author encourages each person to make it their own. So you can make the arm and leg lengths how you want them. Everyone who's seen the finished products loves it and wants one.

i really like the designs, presentation and pictures in this book. the reason that i'm giving it only 2 stars is that some of the instructions on the patterns are incomplete. like the first pattern on page 50/51. when you get to the arms and legs, the instructions only indicate 3 rows. you can tell from the pictures that there are more than 3 rows, and it probably won't be too hard to figure it out, but my feeling is that after paying for a pattern book, i shouldn't have to decipher incomplete instructions. (especially on the first pattern listed) the missing instructions are disappointing, but it is still a book with cute ideas and at least can be used for inspiration.

This is an awesome book - the toys are very easy to make, and there is a good variety (bears, ducks, frogs, cats...) There are a lot of beautiful colour photographs. The patterns are given using symbols, which I found much easier to follow than traditional crochet patterns. I have already made two of the dear little bears, and plan to get a lot more use out of this book! Excellent for any level of crochet experience.
Libby

I like the way the patterns are written in a symbolic fashion. A quick glance at the book and you know what to do. I found myself wishing for more crochet books written like this and have translated a couple of other patterns into this style. The straight forward directions made me realize how easy it can be and how needlessly complicated other pattern books are. The book is full of full color photos of each pattern taken from multiple angles and the patterns come later with a small b&w photo for reference. I would buy any book from this author (Tamoko Takamori).

I have not tried this type of crochet before and I have been crocheting for over 40 years. But I picked up my hook and some scarp yarn and had 2 animals created in a flash. The animals got 2 thumbs up from my 18 and 21 year old daugthers with them begging me to make them for friends with new bubs on the way. I love the no written instruction type instructions as I believe that any young crocheter will just look at the simple pictures for each round and power on ahead. No deciphering long wordy explainations that bog most new crocheters down.Each round has a stitch count, a diagram of what to do in a round and detailed and consise instructions at the beginning of the book. I think that we may see a whole new generation of crocheters who started with these animals. I have been making stuffed toys from many books on the market recently, even translating knit ones to crochet, but the ones the kids like to pick up and cuddle are the Amigurumi from this book. I can't wait to try them all.... and it is a great way to use up the stash.I think IMO that these are for the young and Funky(but apparently if you still use the word Funky you are dating yourself) They have proved very very popular here!

I, unlike the other 2 reviewers, have a high opinion of this book. If you can crochet in the round, you will find this book easy to follow. If you can't: take a lesson then try again. One reviewer mentioned the symbols used. Although the symbols are not commonly used in a lot of crochet books, the symbols are clearly defined on page 5 of the book and are easy to understand. There are only 4 symbols to learn. It isn't that hard! So if you want to create cute crochet animals, give this book a try. It's a lot of fun.

Wow... what an awful book. If I could choose no stars, I would.

Black and white pictures, directions are incredibly difficult to follow, and every single animal looks the same. And they're all ugly.

Sounded so good too.

I should be ashamed of myself for buying this book. Once I find the return labels, this puppy is going back.

The way the patterns are written are completely non standard. Rather than something like 3 sc, 2 hdc, (whether written out US or British style), or a charted stitch key (the way Japanese patterns are diagrammed out in xxxx rounds), the author made up these little stick figure things that I have NEVER seen anywhere. The lines are written 2 (stick figure thing) 1 (double headed stick figure thing) for an increase. Seriously, this is absolutely useless for the beginning crocheter. None of the symbology translates to any other pattern type, so there is no point in memorizing them. Some of the designs are okay, but I passed on the book, because of the oddball directions.