There really isn't a more satisfying feeling than being capable and knowledgeable in a situation where we need to make decisions and solve problems. Now you and your children can learn exciting, useful life skills with the help of the modern-day ranch family at Five Marys Farms! Filled with clear instructions and helpful illustrations, The Hands-On Ranch Book shows your kids--and you--how to
· start and tend a productive garden · make bread, maple syrup, candles, and dyes · tie useful knots · take care of horses, chickens, and other livestock · turn your talents into a home business · and so much more
Parents will love how The Hands-On Ranch Book encourages their kids to get outside and try new things. Kids will love getting their hands dirty as they observe, create, and share their new skills with others. This book is fun and educational for the whole family, including homeschoolers, homesteaders, and anyone who wishes their life was a little more tied to the land.
I don’t see myself owning or living on a ranch anytime soon (you never know tho!) but I thought this sounded really fun. There are some useful tips in here that can be taken and used in many different situations even if you aren’t on a ranch. Some great outdoor tips including how to use a compass, build a fire, find water etc and also some cooking and baking recipes and lots of other info. I did feel like the layout and information was a bit random and all over the place without much rhyme or reason. All in all, I always appreciate learning new things and I think anyone could pick up some useful tips from reading this.
I found this book while looking at the craft and hobby books on NetGalley, and I the title and cover alone had me smiling. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, I thought it was fantastic. The book is geared towards kids and young adults, so it is meant to be a great introduction to a lot of different topics. That being said, it doesn't go into great depths on any of them. It isn't a textbook or a wilderness guide, so much as an introduction to all sorts of topics. And, it does that job very well.
The book is broken down into four different segments, detailing Country Living, Do It Yourself skills, Animals, and ways to make your talents profitable. Each of those sections are then broken down into at least a dozen sections on everything from building a fire and finding water, to making maple syrup, and caring for common ranch animals. The sections on how to make wild earth dye and possible careers were my favorites. The recipes in the cooking section also looked delicious and the pie crust one is very similar to the one my Grandmother used to make.
The main reason I'm not giving it five stars is because this book would be infinitely better if it were illustrated or had photos. I'm hoping that the hardback version does - I read the ebook. But the section on tying knots and the sewing instructions would have been a lot better with a few illustrations or photos.
However, if you have a child or teen who is interested in ranch life, wilderness skills, or that sort of thing, I think this book would be fantastic for them.
4 Stars! This was a good book with plenty of useful information. I’ve never been interested in ranching but thought a lot of the things taught in this book were useful to know. This book is broken down into parts. Part 1 is titled ‘Country Living’ and has topics like predicting the weather, reading a map & a compass, building a fire, purify water and tons more. And that was just part 1. Part 2 is ‘Do it yourself’ and has topics like how to make wild earth dye, bread making/baking, cooking/grilling with a few good looking recipes, simple sewing fixes, creating an irrigation system and so much more. Part 3 was ‘Animals’ with topics on horses, chickens, cattle, sheep, rabbits and working dogs. The author takes you through everything you’d need to know on each of these animals, not only how to care for them but their anatomy, terms and the definitions, different breeds, and all the basics. Part 4 is ‘For Young Entrepreneurs’ with topics like putting your talents to work, raising animals for profit and interesting careers. A lot of good information throughout this book that everyone really should know. I’m probably going to get a copy for my nephew since he’s always looking to make money and loves animals. This book will interest him 100%! I definitely recommend this book for everyone since it’s all really useful information. *I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*
The Hands–On Ranch Book is a useful and accessible collection of practical advice and tutorials for daily tasks indoors and outdoors. Released 26th Sept 2023 by Baker Publishing on their Revell imprint, it's 160 pages and is available in hardcover, flexi-bound, paperback, and ebook formats.
The book is short, but it's well arranged and there are lots of good sensible tips included. The chapters are arranged thematically: country living (reading clouds, finding and purifying water, building fires, making a fishing pole + hook, and more), DIY (dyes, cooking, candlemaking, leatherworking, and more), animal husbandry (arranged by animal type), and some business/entrepreneurial advice aimed at young readers.
The illustrations are very simple and line drawn in black & white, but they are useful and illustrate the points well; for example with animal tracks.
Three and a half stars. It's a nice collection of useful tips. It seems to be mostly slanted toward younger reader (tweens to young adults), but all-ages will find useful info. It would make a good choice for public or school library acquisition, makers' groups, scouts, community gardens, small homesteaders, and similar.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the concept of this book, but the execution was lacking for me. There's a lot of information and how-tos packed into this book, but they're all fairly short. Each how to is approximately a page, sometimes just a few paragraphs. While some skills like trying a knot aren't super complicated, some of these others really require more explanation or information for people to learn the skill accurately. It's a helpful guide to flip through, but not what I'd go to to learn it all.
The Hands on Ranch Book is a good introduction to life on a ranch. It’s written with kids in mind so it could be appropriate and helpful for kids and adults alike. The book has helpful hints about things that aren’t necessarily common knowledge unless you lived around farms or animals. It’s basic enough that a beginner wouldn’t be lost. Recipes are also included that would be easy enough for a kid to do.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.
Thank you netgalley and the publishing company for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.
I loved everything about this book! I am personally a hands on person so for me this book was an eye opener and it really helped as well as gave perspective as to what it takes to have a ranch.
This is a well written. basic introduction for kids, to skills that have fallen by the wayside. Although I don't see myself owning a ranch, I wish. I do think this is a valuable resource, that has a lot of fun things to learn in it. I can't wait to share this with my granddaughter. Thanks to the goodreads giveaway from @RevellBooks for my copy!
I found this book way too light on details. Most of the things they try and explain how to do could be an entire chapter at least and instead they were just a few paragraphs. Just not enough information to really learn anything.