Children's Book Monday

A couple of weeks ago, as the sun was just peeking over the mountains that surround our valley, I slipped quietly into the boys' bedroom (all three of our boys share a room) and gently shook Corban's shoulder.

Then I shook harder.

Then I started gently poking.

Then I poked harder.

Then I gave his toes a little pinch.

He rolled over and opened one eye. Want to go for a walk with me? I smiled.

He nodded sleepily and quietly got up.

We walked out onto the trail just as the traffic began to pick up on the nearby highway- which really only means that instead of one car every five minutes or so, there might be two or three. ~smile~

And during that walk we talked about many things, but the one conversation that lasted the longest was his sharing of the intimate knowledge he had obtained by reading one of his cousins' books when he'd visited last. I'm not kidding, my boy described in great and mostly perfect detail the mini weapons of mass destruction he wanted to build.

And after my brow unfurrowed and my gaping mouth closed, a smile crept over my face at his animated descriptions, hands gesturing, eyes alight.

Pure joy for a boy. That's our review for today:

Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build Implements of Spitball Warfare
by John Austin

So we've borrowed the book from the cousin, and I'm flipping through this thing, checking out the bookmarked pages, examining carefully so I'm ready for the warfare to be practiced on me. (I'm not going to kid myself- I WILL be experiencing some warfare with my boys. I'm ready.)

This book is so much fun- and all of the "weapons" can be made with material you can find (mostly) around your home, from Shoelace Darts (need shoelaces, pins, drinking straws and scissors) to a Spoon Catapult (need binder clips, clothespins, rubberbands, tape and craft sticks, plus small, not-too-hard objects for ammo), everything a boy might need on a rainy day, or any other day, really, is put together in this book.

Now I'm thinking as I sit here, and I'm reminded of all the amazing weapons and experiments and inventions my boys have come up with on their own over the years, and true, a boy WILL find a way to make these things whether they have a book or not, but this one has certainly lit a fire under mine, and I love it.

Happy Reading, and pleasant warfare!

(My boys have also loved Backyard Ballistics- another marvelous book teaching the scientific nature of the craft, again with items you can (mostly) find around the house!)