Fifty Things to Do With a Stick

By Author / Illustrator

Richard Skrein

Genre

Non Fiction

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN

9781911682561

Format

Hardback

Published

10-11-2022

Synopsis

A must-read for anyone with an adventurous spirit, a yen to whittle and chop, and a desire to get out into nature and play with sticks! These 50 achievable ideas for making and playing with sticks - all with beautiful step-by-step illustrations - make a great gift.

The next title in Pavilion's best-selling outdoor adventure series, 50 Things to Do with a Stick will introduce you to the joy of making something out of almost nothing. With a few gathered twigs and sticks, start with simple ideas such as making plant markers or tent pegs and work up to constructing a lantern or woven basket.

Working with wood is common to nearly every culture - it's nature's most adaptable raw material, malleable yet strong, and biodegradable. Until the 1960s woodworking was taught widely in schools, but since then has been in decline, robbing generations of the satisfaction of making useful things by hand. Richard Skrein begins by guiding you in choosing sticks and tools. Four chapters with evocative illustrations take you step by step through projects to use at home; to make music and decorative objects with; to play with; and to use out and about - the perfect accompaniments to a camping trip (2020 and 2021 saw unprecedented campsite bookings in the UK, and this trend is set to continue).

This is the perfect book for anyone wishing to be more self-sufficient. Find your inner explorer with these battery-free, no-emission ideas! Chapters include:
Home Sticks: cutlery, coat hooks, brooms, candlesticks
Stick Craft: jewellery, weaving, mobiles, picture frames
Stick Play: catapults, musical sticks, magic wands, story sticks
Camp Sticks: lanterns, ladders, stools, stick bread!

Download Extract

Reviews

Bursting with ideas for engaging activities, this is a book designed to build confidence and skill in using a range of tools. With plenty of practical advice and words of caution about safe and responsible usage and storage of tools, it is obviously written by someone with a great passion for and knowledge of this subject, but I am left wondering what age the book is aimed at.

The introduction contains a section of different species of tree, giving their Latin names, information about the type of wood it offers as well as some of the mythology and folklore associated with them in different parts of the world. A range of tools and techniques are also explored before 50 projects are presented which show step-by-step how to make games, decorations and useful objects, all accompanied by attractive illustrations.

A treasure trove of information and activity, this is a book which needs a lot of guidance/ supervision if given to children. Although I don’t believe in 'wrapping children in cotton wool' and spent much of my childhood playing in woods and fields, some of the tools and skills used here need to be handled very carefully to avoid accidents.

144 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher