As we move into Fall, many parents are taking their kids out into the woods for one last hike or walk before winter sets in.  Here are some old-school books with intriguing wood and forest activities.  These are also great to read before heading out on a camping trip.

• The Field and Forest Handy Book: New Ideas for Out of Doors first published in 1906
• Camp-Lore and Woodcraft
• Wildwood Wisdom first published in 1945
• Woodcraft and Camping first published in 1963
• Boy Scouts Handbook 1911 edition

These are the kind of books you leave laying around and the next thing you know your child is teaching YOU a bunch of old wisdom.  Gives a nice glimpse to the past too.

Kids and parents building wood projects together is a great bonding experience and teaches kids things they can not learn any other way.  Sometimes parents need  a little help choosing projects that will hold the interest of their children yet not be overwhelming to build.  The book The Kids’ Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids and Parents to Build Together has 15 great projects to serve as suggestions and guide.

In addition to projects, the book also introduces tools and teaches their use, then applies them to the project for a great learning sequence.

Tools by Taro Miura is a 52 page book with clear and uncluttered drawings of tools.  First a set of tools are shown by themselves along with their names, then they are shown in use.  It is not strictly woodworking, some sets are for mechanics, some for sewing, and even some for watchmaking.

My Little Red Toolbox by Stephen Johnson is more of an activity than a book.  It contains pop-out tools that can be used.  If you want to introduce a young child to the idea of tools but aren’t ready to give him or her real tools just yet, this can be an good place to start.

Not all of the tools are woodworking related, but most are.

(There is a choking hazard warning for kids under 3)

Toolbox Twins by Lola Schaefer and Melissa Iwai is a 32 page book depicting the toolbox twins (Father and son) working together with tools to fix things around the house.  It includes woodworking as well as plumbing and mechanics.  The illustrations of Father and son working together are fantastic and build a great bond when read between Father and son.

The rhyming text and sounds help make this a fun read.  It is different from some of the other books I have recommended here.  It isn’t about the specific tools, rather is centers a bit on the satisfaction of doing work to make something better.

The Toolbox by Anne & Harlow Rockwell features a wooden toolbox that is identical to the common classic tool totes we often build early on with our kids.  They are timeless and classic.  This board book (not real wood, but cardboard for young hands) has 24 pages that feature the contents of the toolbox and the jobs they do.

The drawings are clear, yet simple without any background clutter.  My son at 2yrs old loves this book.  The focus on hand tools is nice.  Hand saw, hand drill, claw hammer, bench plane, wrench, folding ruler, pliers, oil can and a few others are all covered.

There are two books in this series by Chris Monroe.  Both of them are just a lot of fun.  Comical to read and look at.  It is not all woodworking, but it IS troubleshooting and tool using, which is always good.

1. Monkey With a Tool Belt
2. MWTB and the Noisy Problem

They are listed as being K-3, but younger kids will enjoy them too.  This clever thinking, gadget laden monkey is pretty entertaining, even for the adults who read them to their kids.

Tools by Holly Mann is shaped and styled like a book, but contains tabs you can pull that change the colors of the images in the book.  This book is not limited to woodworking tools, but has a little bit of everything in it.  Only 8 pages, but the activity can keep kids going back to it to play.

Old MacDonald had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman and Ashley Wolff is a cute book for toddlers through Kindergarten. From a tool point of view this book shows a lot of woodworking tools along with the names. It shows them in use, and in place in the shop. It also builds on a catchy tune you may have sung with your child a few thousand times but substitutes in tool noises in place of animal sounds.

The drawings are great, the tools authentic and many of the tools are old-school so they are generally the kid safer versions they might actually be using in the workshop.

The 32 page book is available in hardcover or soft and is listed as an age 4-8 reading level, but my son is just under 2 and loves it.  Knows it by heart….and yes, sometimes I hum it to myself when I am in the workshop by myself.

The Cabin that Moose Built by Cherie B Stihler is a great book for kids or parents who like woodworking.  The book is mainly a growing poem about a moose and his friends who are trying to get a cabin built before winter.  It covers most of the phases of construction in a simple way, from layout, to walls, to electric. plumbing, and painting and wallpapering.

The artwork is great in that it shows a fox using a chisel, a bear using a drawknife, and many others.  And of course there is a healthy dose of hammering.

The reading age is 4-8, but my two year old enjoys having it read to him and pointing to all the tools the animals are using.  For a woodworker’s kid, it will bring a lot of smiles and good opportunities to talk about tools and expand the story.  My son often relates parts of the book back to me when we are in the workshop together.  I was using the drawknife the other day and he said, “Daddy’s using drawknife … like da bear does.”  This sentence alone made every penny spent on the book instantly worth it.

Boy Mechanic Vol 1&2 are a great collection of homemade toys and tools from the early 20th century.   There is a wealth of fun things to be made with kids.

Mousetrap powered race cars are a fun way to combine woodworking with other materials to make cars that are a lot of fun.  Learning about work and energy at the same time is just an added bonus.  The book Mousetrap Racers: Complete Builder’s Manual takes a lot of the frustration and guesswork out of it.

The Great Book of Wooden Toys is full of over 50 projects for building wooden toys like planes and cars and trucks.

Making Furniture & Dollhouses for American Girl Dolls is a book that teaches you to make dollhouses and furniture for the popular American Girl Dolls or other 18″ dolls.  This can be a great way to build a girl’s interest in woodworking.  The scale is not too delicate for small hands.

A Treehouse is really the ultimate woodworking project for a kid.  It literally involves constructing a space that is THEIRS.  This book makes a great start to the build:  Build Your Own Fantasy Treehouse. Summer is half over, time to get to it.