The American Boy's Handy Book: What to Do and How to Do It

If you want information on how to make fishing traps from the 1900s this is the book for you. Otherwise pass.

My 9 year old son found this book at our local library and we've had it out every since (I think we're on our third renewal). I'm breaking down and buying him his own copy. We also have the very popular 'Dangerous Book for Boys', but my son greatly prefers this book instead. The Original Boy's Handy Book is chock full of nature and outdoor craft and project ideas. Everything from knot tying, to kite making, to building a snow fort or a boat. This book is full of things to do for the outdoor oriented boy. Here's what my son has to say about it: "It's a really cool book because some things you can put into a science fair, some things you can do for a school project and some things you can just do for the fun of it. If you have the materials, you can build some really cool things from this book. Sometimes I like to take things from this book and modify them and sort of make them my own creations. This book is great for any kid that has access to wood, light and occasionally a piece of glass or a fish bowl."

My Dad bought the paperback for me when I was a kid which I still have but when I spotted this book in hardcover at a local book shop I HAD TO GET IT. I honestly cannot say that I ever took this book into the woods or off to the mountains with me when I was a boy but I guarantee that it inspired and informed many of my daydreams and misadventures. I bought myself a copy, my nephew a copy, and a copy for my Dad. I recommend you do the same.

In 1949, I was given a 1890 hard bound addition of this book. Ican not begin to tell you how many of the projects in this book gaveme so much fun and a sense of achievement to complete.To this day, I'll thumb through the pages and remember a time when life was a lot easier and childredn were allowed to be children.

I had a copy of this as a kid and read and re-read it to the point that the cover was more tape than original material. A wonderful guide to doing things yourself, and a welcome antidote to today's passive consumer paradigm of childhood. A fair number of the materials called for are hard if not impossible to find today, but the spirit of adaptation and improvisation that imbues this book will inspire the reader to find substitutes. Some parents may suspect the fair number of projectile- launching devices described, but the book is infinitely less violent than most child-oriented television shows and never fails to stress safety. My friends and I learned a lot of practical mechanics and crafting skills, developed our hand-eye coordination, and never shot anything more fragile than a plastic figure. We did a heck of a lot more damage to each other and our environment playing soccer and broomstick polo. My own future children will unquestionably have a copy of _The American Boy's Handy Book_ when they're old enough.