The look of almost all of the critters is essentially the same. It is good for a beginner but even then I wouldn't buy it. I bought it online so didn't look at all the pictures/patterns first. You'd have more variety even as a beginner if you downloaded free amigurumi patterns from the internet. ( )

Ana Paula Rimoli's amigurumi books (crocheted dolls/toys), Amigurumi World and Amigurumi Two! are by far my favorite for the craft. Her creations are very cute and original. In this book you'll find a lot of mother and child or father and child patterns which basically consist of two sizes of a pattern with maybe a few differences in the look of the finished product. They range from owls to lions to hedgehogs to penguins. There is a lot in this book and most of it is cute!

My favorite patterns are the smaller dolls you can find towards the back of the book, the ones that can fit in the palm of your hand. I would love for her to put out a book of just tiny patterns. The ones in this book include a cupcake, ice cream cone, coffee cup, 7 little animals and some fruit. Those are my favorite patterns! I think using a smaller hook than required on some of the patterns in the front of the book might bring those down to tiny size as well. I did notice the apple towards the end of the book looks more like a tomato and my hedgehog didn't look like a hedgehog (probably user error) but besides that I found the patterns to be great looking!

This was the first amigurumi book I used and with practice my stitches got tighter and my amigurumi got better looking. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone that is interesting in amigurumi. Might be helpful to learn the basics of crochet before starting into amigurumi! ( )

Lots cute things in this one, including large and smaller versions of each animal as well as an extra chapter of mini-animals that can all be made on variations on the same pattern.

As the title indicates, these projects are indeed "seriously cute". I completed the puppy and elephant with no difficulty, as the instructions are clear and easy to follow, and now my kids want more of these. The many photographs help with placement of the different body parts. These patterns are great for using up scrap yarn, and it's easy to be creative with the patterns. My elephant ended up with contrasting ears, as I didn't have enough yarn in any one colour, but it still looks great. ( )

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/amigurumi-world-seriously-cute-crochet ( )