Children's Books discussion

QNPoohBear says:

"books for kids who like to make things with their hands! The grandparents and book loving auntie need Christmas gift suggestions!"

I'm not 100% sure what she means, though. I know that there are a lot of craft books for all ages in the Juv. non-fiction, some of which focus on spending time outdoors in nature, others of which focus on stuff that might otherwise go in the trash.

There are also a lot of STEM picture-books.

Oh, and LEGO books.

Historical fiction sometimes gives how-to's. And many of the books by Eric Sloane like A museum of early American tools are fascinating for fans of blacksmithing and other lo-tech arts.

Then there's The Dangerous Book for Boys, etc.

a Craft theme back in 2020:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

I'm not sure what I mean either because when my mom asked nephew 2 when his cousin was into, she got "He likes to make things with his hands." Engineering stuff maybe? He liked blacksmithing at Boy Scouts camp.

I've met kids who are budding engineers and I just answered their questions with "What do you think?" (rather than I don't know!) and they answered their own questions. Then I sent them back to the teacher with a "You have a budding engineer in your class!"

B&N recommends
Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and Build

Fun! I love how you turned the question back on them, too. :)

Cheryl wrote: "Fun! I love how you turned the question back on them, too. :)"

I did the same thing when I messed up the weaving. "Oops! Did you see what I did wrong?" (Tips of the trade from a museum educator - always use an the opportunity to teach them something!)

:smiles:

book:Autumn and Winter Activities Come Rain or Shine: Seasonal Crafts and Games for Children|36549224]


Originally published in German in 2012 (and called Draussen und Drinnen, inside and outside), this 2017 translation by Anna Cardwell (and published by Floris Books of Edinburgh) is an excellent and fun autumn and winter activity resource (although it does majorly bother me how in the section on feather crafts, there are quite a number of "playing Indian" types of activities). Still highly recommended (with many ideas for crafts and activities both inside and outside that are not only fun but also celebrate nature, although for me, yes, all of the activities featuring Native Americans/Canadians should be avoided, need to be skipped).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

OK "making things with his hands" in my nephew's case means woodworking and metal working and things like that. He'll like shop class and maybe go on to a trade school. His stepdad got him The Dangerous Books for Boys but I'm not sure he's used it.

Google AI has a few recommendations
Woodshop for Kids: 52 Woodworking Projects Kids can Build by Jack McKee

The Kids' Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids and Parents to Build Together

The Guide to Woodworking with Kids: Craft Projects to Develop the Lifelong Skills of Young Makers

The library has a bunch of woodworking books.
Stanley Jr. Woodworking is Awesome: Projects, Skills, and Ideas for Young Makers - 12 Fun DIY Projects for Ages 8+
This one looks good!

Ah... he may already have Quick & Easy Whittling for Kids: 18 Projects to Make with Twigs & Found Wood (Fox Chapel Publishing) For Ages 8-14 to Learn How to Carve - Full-Size Patterns for a Ship, Whistle, Bird, Dog, and More a Boy Scouts book.

Earth, Water, Fire and Air: Playful Explorations in the Four Elements


Published by Floris Books, Earth, Water, Fire and Air: Playful Explorations in the Four Elements (with my edition hailing from 2010) was originally presented in German by Walter Kraul in two separate volumes, as Spielen mit Wasser und Luft (1984) and as Spielen mit Feuer und Erde (1985) and that the English language text for Earth, Water, Fire and Air: Playful Explorations in the Four Elements (which obviously combines Spielen mit Wasser und Luft and Spielen mit Feuer und Erde into one) has been translated by Donald Maclean. And yes, Earth, Water, Fire and Air: Playful Explorations in the Four Elements has an absolute treasure trove of fun, engaging and also educational crafts and activities using the so-called four elements (namely water, air, fire and earth), with each section featuring about twenty odd ideas, both indoor and outdoor, both simple and also more complicated ones. A nice combination of text, of diverse activities and images, although the lack of decent and itemised instructions for basically all of the activities is a frustrating (and especially so for the more complex ideas being presented.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thank you both for the additions to the list!

Cheryl wrote: "Thank you both for the additions to the list!"

You can find Earth, Water, Fire, and Air by Kraul, Walter (2010) Paperback on Open Library.

There is also an astronomy for young and old book by the same author (Astronomy for Young and Old: A Beginner's Guide to the Visible Sky) that I would love to get my hands on.

Geeky LEGO Crafts: 21 Fun and Quirky Projects


Excellent and fun looking LEGO craft suggestions (21 in total), using only LEGO bricks and no figurines and accessories (yay), nicely varied, ranging from easy to difficult, with simple visual instructions (and yes, I would have loved a book like this as a child and as a young teenager when I was always busy building with my LEGO bricks). Do not really like how David Scarfe calls his book Geeky LEGO Crafts: 21 Fun and Quirky Projects because for one there are more than science and technology based LEGO projects being featured and that for two "geeky" for me has bit of a negative connotation (and thus, four and not five stars for this book but still and definitely recommended).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm always looking for new LEGO project ideas, thanks!

Cheryl wrote: "I'm always looking for new LEGO project ideas, thanks!"

What is best is that the projects only use LEGO bricks and none of those figurines.

Make Your Own Zoo: 35 Projects for Kids Using Everyday Cardboard Packaging


Tracey Radford's Make Your Own Zoo: 35 Projects for Kids Using Everyday Cardboard Packaging (2015) (and which I found and read on Open Library), this book should in my humble opinion inspire hours and hours (if not even days and days) of imaginative crafting fun for not only children (from about the age of six to twelve or so) but also for their parents, using the suggestions and the detailed but always very easy to follow instructions provided by Radford in Make Your Own Zoo: 35 Projects for Kids Using Everyday Cardboard Packaging to playfully and cooperatively, collectively (in other words parents and children crafting and playing together) create all kinds of cutesy and adorable zoo animals as well as zoo enclosures, zoo habitats and the like from cardboard egg cartons, tubes, cereal boxes etc. (so that Make Your Own Zoo: 35 Projects for Kids Using Everyday Cardboard Packaging of course and wonderfully so also promotes and totally celebrates recycling).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Manybooks wrote: "Make Your Own Zoo: 35 Projects for Kids Using Everyday Cardboard Packaging..."

Definitely a good find! Anything that 'upcycles' and 'makes' has got to be a winner!