Easy Wood Carving for Children {book review}

With the Summer holidays looming I am beginning to collect ideas of days out and activities to keep my children busy. Like any children, they can get bored during the school holidays, so I like to have some ideas up my sleeves to bring out.

Easy Wood Carving for Children

Following on from the success of his previous book, Snitte: The Danish Art of Whittling, Frank Egholm seeks to extend the appeal of this traditional hobby to a younger generation in his new book, Easy Wood Carving For Children.

Wood carving is the ideal activity to help them reconnect with the outdoor world in a practical and meaningful way. Not only does whittling promote concentration, creativity and dexterity, but almost everything children need to get started is right outside their door, making this a cheap and eco-friendly hobby. The activities featured in this book aim to provide children with a basic understanding of how to use tools properly and safely, as well as demonstrating the many creative possibilities of working with wood.

My 8 year old is quite practical and loves to make things, especially if it involves spending time with his Dad. They’ve both had a good look through Easy Wood Carving for Children and picked a few projects they would like to make together. We’ve never tried wood carving before but we already have plenty of wood. We recently had a tree cut down in the garden, and also have a good supply of sticks picked up on walks through the local woods.

Easy Wood Carving for Children has a handy list of equipment. This just may be the best value hobby the 8 year old has ever attempted as all he needs is a whittling knife, some gloves and the wood. The projects are graded according to difficulty, and there are more than fifty fun whittling and wood carving projects, each fully-illustrated with easy-to-follow instructions.

Easy Wood Carving for Children: Fun Whittling Projects for Adventurous Kids by Frank Egholm; translated by Anna Cardwell. It is published by Floris Books, priced £9.99 and perfect for children aged 6-12. It is published on the 16th August.