The American Boy's Handy Book

Camp, explore, hike, discover, learn woodcraft—get outdoors and be at home in nature all through the year! There’s so much to do and discover with this truly Handy Book as a guide. Written for children in 1882, and valuable for kids or adults today, the author suggests projects, crafts, plans, games, and schemes for camping trips, hikes, or the backyard. It contains plans for 16 kinds of kites and hot-air balloons and fishing tackle, how to make and stock an aquarium, to construct a water telescope and how to camp out without a tent. Or in a hut made from pine boughs. How to build 10 kinds of boats, including a flatboat with a covered cabin. Iceboats, too. Squirt guns with astonishing range and authority. One-person canoes. Bird calls. Learn to teach a dog to retrieve. And much more. Daniel Carter Beard was a founder of the scouting movement in America and wanted kids to enjoy the out-of-doors as much as he did. In his books, Beard helped preserve invaluable folkways that can instill self-reliance and a deeper appreciation of nature—all while having a world of fun. This is truly a book for all ages—including adults.