The American Boys Handy Book

Each summer, millions of children complain, "There's nothing to do." Originally published in 1888, The American Boy's Handy Book resoundingly challenges this age-old dilemma by providing a huge number of ideas for fun and instructional projects for young boys. Everything from camping and kite building to raising dogs and building boats is detailed for the would-be adventurer and do-it your-selfer.

A manual of past times, which includes instructions for making kites, fishing poles, a blow gun, boats, and theatrical costumes, and for raising dogs, stuffing animals, stocking an aquarium, and camping. Contains small sections on recreational mind-reading and fortune-telling.

For Dan Beard, founder of the American Scouting movement, every scout worth his merit badge was expected to read this book, which includes instructions on how to build a fire, cook venison, prepare for a camping trip, use an axe and a saw, and more.

The bestselling book for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses*, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age old question of what the big deal with girls is. In this digital age there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a wonderful collection of all things that make being young or young at heart fun—building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the world's best paper airplanes. The completely revised American Edition includes: The Greatest Paper Airplane in the World The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Five Knots Every Boy Should Know Stickball Slingshots Fossils Building a Treehouse* Making a Bow and Arrow Fishing (revised with US Fish) Timers and Tripwires Baseball's "Most Valuable Players" Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg Spies-Codes and Ciphers Making a Go-Cart Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary Girls Cloud Formations The States of the U.S. Mountains of the U.S. Navigation The Declaration of Independence Skimming Stones Making a Periscope The Ten Commandments Common US Trees Timeline of American History * For more information on building treehouses, visit www.treehouse-books.com and www.stilesdesigns.com or see "Treehouses You Can Actually Build" by David Stiles

Will boys be boys? What are little boys made of? Kenneth B. Kidd responds to these familiar questions with a thorough review of boy culture in America since the late nineteenth century. From the "boy work" promoted by character-building organizations such as Scouting and 4-H to current therapeutic and pop psychological obsessions with children's self-esteem, Kidd presents the great variety of cultural influences on the changing notion of boyhood.Kidd finds that the education and supervision of boys in the United States have been shaped by the collaboration of two seemingly conflictive approaches. In 1916, Henry William Gibson, a leader of the YMCA, created the term boyology, which came to refer to professional writing about the biological and social development of boys. At the same time, the feral tale, with its roots in myth and folklore, emphasized boys' wild nature, epitomized by such classic protagonists as Mowgli in The Jungle Books and Huck Finn. From the tension between these two perspectives evolved society's perception of what makes a "good boy": from the responsible son asserting his independence from his father in the late 1800s, to the idealized, sexually confident, and psychologically healthy youth of today. The image of the savage child, raised by wolves, has been tamed and transformed into a model of white, middle-class masculinity.Analyzing icons of boyhood and maleness from Father Flanagan's Boys Town and Max in Where the Wild Things Are to Elin Gonzlez and even Michael Jackson, Kidd surveys films, psychoanalytic case studies, parenting manuals, historical accounts of the discoveries of "wolf-boys," and self-help books to provide a rigorous history of what it has meant to be an all-American boy.Kenneth B. Kidd is assistant professor of English at the University of Florida and associate director of the Center for Children's Literature and Culture.

In his memoir All-American Boy, Scott Peck poignantly relives the pain and isolation of growing up gay in a Christian Southern community. In this touching memoir, Peck finds a way through the pain from his childhood, growing up gay without acceptance in the Christian South, and through this emotional journey he learns to heal from those wounds. He doesn't hold back while reliving the time when his father, Marine Col. Fred Peck, testified before Congress that there was no place for his gay son in the military. This is merely one of the many big moments shaping the book and the author's life, on top of the religious influences that surrounded him since he was born. This is a "survivor's tale that in its universal appeal brings to mind the most compelling aspects of Gal and Shot in the Heart. Through the course of these scathing, inspiring, instructive pages, Scott Peck, writer and human being, grows into one hell of a terrific man" (Michael Dorris).

The American Girl's Handy Book was one of the earliest works written primarily for girls' amusement and enjoyment. It introduced original and novel ideas to open new routes for enterprise and entertainment for girls. The main goal was to engrave upon the girls' minds that they all have talent and the ability to achieve more than what they think is possible. During the time of this book's publication, it was unusual to promote girls to be inventive. But the writer desired to awaken this creative side in them by giving detailed methods of new tasks and amusements, to put them on the road they could travel and explore alone. Anyone curious about knowing the initiatives taken for girls' empowerment in the olden days will find this work beneficial.

From the author of The American Boy's Handy Book comes yet another guide to wholesome, imaginative fun. This book features dozens of indoor and outdoor activities, with simple instructions and easy-to-follow diagrams for building a backyard clubhouse, setting up a workshop, picnic games, papercrafts, and other diversions.