The Kids' Summer Handbook (Paperback)

by Ann Love (Author), Jane Drake (Author), Heather Collins (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up-Originally published in Canada as The Kids Cottage Book, this compendium of activities offers ideas galore for young vacationers. Six broad sections-Shoreside, Landside, After Dark, Hiking and Camping, Rainy Days, and Cottage Crafts-cover a wide range of nature investigations, water sports, arts and crafts, recipes, and safety information that varies greatly in both difficulty and age appropriateness. From crayfish trap to canoe strokes, raising monarch butterflies to building a tree fort, paper-folding to whittling, there is something for everyone here. The appealing format features lots of pencil illustrations and diagrams. Most topics fill one or two pages, with large green headings and green-tinted boxes containing lists of ingredients, ecology suggestions, or nature facts. The array of crafts, activities, and outdoor skills will make the book a useful tool for camp counselors and scout leaders. Children who delight in quiet activities will find a wealth of them as well. In fact, the book's only flaw is its inconsistency in advising adult help. Many of the materials' lists include "an adult helper," although often the directions fail to mention what kind of supervision is needed and when. A disclaimer on the verso of the title page absolves the author and illustrator from liability for damages resulting from "conducting the activities without proper supervision, or from ignoring the cautions contained in the text." Thus, the age designation.
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. The authors, who assume that readers will spend time during the summer at a lake, a river, a beach, or the woods, devote the first section of this book to activities for various outdoor sites. Some of the activities are translatable to urban venues; most are not. Most of the rainy-day craft projects will work anywhere, though a few call for materials not readily available (a dead whole fish with scales, for example). The authors note when adult help is needed, but often not prominently. The illustrations feature a lively multicultural cast, and directions are clearly visualized, especially those for whittling, knotting, weaving, and paper craft projects. Young outdoor enthusiasts may be attracted to this, but the book will be most valuable to an adult planning day-camping activities. Mary Harris Veeder --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (May 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395687098
• ISBN-13: 978-0395687093
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #399,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for bored kids on a hot summer day., June 16, 1999

By A Customer

I found this book to be wonderful. I bought it for myself because it looked cool. There's so muh to do. Kids can do things by the water, in the mountains, at night, hiking or camping, when it's raining or even if your stuck in the house. It has more than 100 activities. It offers things such as how to build a fire, how to make a tree fort, what plants to stay away from, several different games for different times and places, and many many different things.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I had to buy it, July 30, 2000

By	Janet Sawchuk (Fishers, In USA) - See all my reviews

I borrowed this book from the library. After reading the book I realized that this would be a book that we would use for many summers. It has several other ideas different from the "standard" books about what to do in the summer. I am a full time mom, in the summer the kids and I are eyeball to eyeball. I need new ideas all of the time. This book gave me new ideas.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Should Get This, July 22, 2004

By	Hi D "Book Lover" (WI USA) - See all my reviews

If you need ideas of things to do with kids this summer or the next then this book is for you... Lots of ideas that are useful, educational, easy, and use everyday items... I'll definately be keeping this in my collection...