Stores Books

Excellent book to teach kids woodworking. Well organized so you can just have fun with them.

NAILING DOWN A HOLIDAY PRESENT FOR THE YOUNG CARPENTER ON YOUR LIST

A family partnership has waved a magic wand over how-to books and brought out a present not only for the holiday season, but for all year long -- "The Kids' Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids & Parents to Build Together."

"We hope to share enough tips, give enough good advice, and create enough enthusiasm to allow parents and children to develop basic carpentry skills," Barbara Robertson, former director of education at the Williams College Museum of Art, said of her book.

With her husband J. Craig, an experienced carpenter, and her daughters Camille and Allegra, the family has come up with projects to help children master basic woodworking, beginning at age six with adult supervision.

"Most kids can learn to hammer at age six and our kids could use saws by age seven. Eight-year-olds can do a beautiful job with simple power tools like drills, as long as a parent is right there working with them," she said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee.

While some parents don't allow children to use tools, hoping to avoid blackened fingernails and Band-Aids, this also means that many children don't get to master the use of simple tools at a young age.

The first section of the book, "Setting up Shop: Getting to Know Your Tools," introduces beginners to basic woodworking. Robertson covers hammering to block planing, and introduces simple projects to reinforce those skills.

The second section, "Down to Business: Building Your Own Projects," offers 12 kid-friendly projects from simplest to most challenging. Burgeoning carpenters begin with string art, a project that builds nailing technique, and progress to full-size lemonade stands and puppet theaters.

The book is written in clear, precise language that is accessible to both children and adults.

Robertson's upbeat instructions are interspersed with tips addressed to parents. Robertson's daughter Camille addresses her tips to kids. There is an emphasis on safety, creativity, and experimentation.

"Everything gets nailed backward the first time. The trick is knowing how to take a nail out and start over again," Robertson says. "Mistakes are part of the learning process. Making them helps kids learn that mistakes are OK as long as you don't give up."

"The Kids' Building Workshop: 15 Woodworking Projects for Kids and Parents to Build Together" is published by Storey Kids. It is available on amazon.com.

Robertson directed the Williams College Museum of Art's education department for more than a decade. She coordinated hands-on workshops, community outreach programs, museum tours, and installations. Under her leadership, the museum was recognized with the 2000 Distinguished Cultural Institution Award from the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education for its "instructional excellence and innovative approaches to art education."

A must read for anyone who grew up in Western Pennsylvania or Eastern Ohio who remembers Isaly's Dairy Stores. While not from that region, I have eaten a few Klondike Bars in my time and enjoy Mr. Butko's work on the Lincoln Highway and Diners. This is well researched looking at company records and interviews with Isaly family and coworkers. The book is filled with excellent photographs from the start of Isaly Dairy's to today. Great gift idea for family or friends who enjoyed a Skyscraper Cone, Chipped Ham, or a Klondike.

Brian Butko is a brilliant writer whose love of a subject comes alive in his books. I have never read a book that more comprehensively and eloquently relates the ethos of a region and its people. This book is a great read for anyone who is interested in the history and culture of these wonderful eateries. It also provides an incredibly insightful glimpse into the world of small business management. I grew up on Isaly's products, and this fascinating book takes me back to my youth.

Would you like to know what knights wore for jousting or what it was like to live in a castle with turrets and a drawbridge?

This book has all that and more. Not only can you find out how to design a shield, construct a siege catapult and make a checkerboard and pieces, there are authentic recipes for knightly dishes. You can also take a quiz to see if you have what it takes to be a dragon slayer. (although dragons are rather cute and these days we don't slay them, we display them. As in cute little dragon statues.)

This book has fun information about:

Armor and Weapons
Making a Helmet
Becoming a Knight
Making a Knightly Sword
Heraldry
The Castle and Manor
Making a Castle
Food
Knightly Pastimes
Tournaments
Chivalry
A Knightly Code of Honor
The Crusades

There is also an interesting diary of Robert Fitzwilliam an 18 year old squire.

"Sir Richard answered five challenges to joust and broke four lances. His helm nearly came off during one pass, and his opponent's horse ran wide at another."

The author is an assistant curator of armor at the Royal Armories at the Tower of London. He has acted as a consultant on the world of the knight for television and film and is also the author of several children's books on the subject.

~The Rebecca Review

After reading a few books about photography, I found this one of the most valuables. There is a large array of pictures explaining the different terminology in 35 mm photography, that had make this book my favorite and transfered to be my every day companion. While traveling to Hawai, I had the opportunity to read and immediately put in practice a few specific techniques. After developing the film, my wife for the first time approved of this hobby.

This is the most detailed, yet still readable, guide I've seen. It is actually the text-book for my photography class, and is recommended by the teacher. Good colour photos to illustrate points, and nicely laid out. I WILL be using all the manual settings on my camara soon!

My 3-year-old requests this book over and over and over and over again. We have hundereds of children's books in our home, but for some reason this book is my 3-year-old's favorite! She loves the storyline, the suspense, and the wonderful watercolor illustrations. And I love that it reinforces safety and problem-solving skills. Great book! Definitely worth purchasing!

I read this to my 4 and 6 year-olds and they loved it. Great learning for children on the do's and don'ts in getting lost.

Book is an excellent review of the material and information necessary to perform interventions with chemically dependent patients. Material is presented in such a way that the book can be later used as a reference guide when needing additional material for group presentations.

I teach addiction studies at a local university and find this book a great reference and hope to adopt it for one of my classes. It provides a great overview of the addiction treatment field without being too wordy or lost in theory. This is a well-written book which encourages the learner where many books are discouraging!

This is a deeply moving book. I had come to "know" Leo and although I knew that he was to die, I was so saddened when he did. I felt that I had lost a dear friend. Gordon Pimm's narrative brought the history of WWI to life and I enjoyed learning about Canada's role in that conflict; something that I never knew anything about before.

So sad, too, that Leo should die during the Vimy Ridge advance. I guess there was no good time to die...

Excellent collection of letters written at the Front during WW1 illustrated with original photos and historical background. Reading this 'story' is almost eery, because each letter reflects decisive elements of Canadian history that eventually made up Canada's distinct identity . It's almost as if Leo had read the history books that were yet to be written!

Lessons in Tanya leads the reader through every paragraph and page, illuminating the mystical, often allusive, Talmudic, Kabbalistic, and Scriptural verses and concepts. It fills many gaps in what the terse Tanya text assumes to be the reader's background knowledge.

A well-lit and accesible gateway to Tanya, and the most authoritative guide to its riches.

The Tanya is a must read for anyone who is searcing for satisfaction in life. It will guide the reader with practical advice on how to be a better person, and it will help you achieve your maximium potential in life.

"Little Bunny's Bathtime" is about a group of little bunnies who are having a bath. Well, all except one of them. He says he wants to keep playing, but he's not happy when he sees his siblings having fun, and he's left all alone. He tries various ways to get attention, but his Mom is busy giving the other bunnies their bath.

Will Little Bunny still be able to get a bath? And how will he get his Mom's attention? Readers will have a lot of fun finding out the answers to these questions as they admire the books sweet illustrations. These are some seriously cute bunnies. The story is sweet and funny and great for read-aloud.

This book has some of the cutest illustrations I have yet to find. Working at Kohls department store (in the children's department), I came upon this book while cleaning up the toy department. I was absolutely enthralled with how simple yet how sweet and adorable the little bunnies were!

This set is an excellent way to learn Portuguese--for both novices and advanced students of other languages. It's the ideal way to apply your knowledge of Spanish or French to a new context. But Living Language also provides a fabulous start for the beginner. The tapes are excellent, and complement the books quite well. Great job!

I used this book and the accompanying tapes before taking a trip to Brasil for a week. Having a background in Spanish, I was able to easily use this course. It may move a little fast at the beginning for those without a Romance language background. But by the time I got to Brasil, I was able to understand about 20% of the conversation, more if I asked people to slow down and I was able to express the thoughts that I needed to and make my needs known. The tapes are helpful...do not use this without them because it is good to hear the pronunciation which is different from Spanish. All in all, this is a great course for the money if you are attentive and have Romance language background.