History Corner: Take Kids Back a Few Decades for Summer FUN!

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge,from Partners in Crime Book Tours, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them, all opinions are my own.

For some of you, you still have another month, or tow of Summer vacation-lucky you!

In the South, Summer vacation is winding down, 

and that means the kids are getting uber bored, right?

So today I've got 2 books that can bring the fun back to Summer, 

and also provide some fun education for kids, involving math and STEM!

Stick Sketch School: An Animal Artventure - Mastering the Art of Stick Figure Critters 

by Billy Attinger and Rachel Kochackis

Stick figures are hotter than ever. 

The biggest web comics are produced in stick figure format, and they are hugely popular in social media. But the best part about stick figures is that anyone can draw them! Billy Attinger showed how to draw stylized stick figures in his popular Stick Sketch School, and now he's back showing the world his stick figure animals. Take an "artventure" around the world: learn to draw stick animals in the jungle, the Arctic, the rainforest, the Outback, underwater, and more! 

You'll even learn how to draw extinct animals and fantasy animals in stick form. Each spread features a grid to show the reader how to draw the lines, how to add movement, expression, and more. Ideal for the visual learner and accompanied by tips and tricks from stick artist Billy Attinger, the book shows how to make your stick animals personal, recognizable, and unique!

Review:

This ia a super FUN book that kids can use to not only learn to draw, but to see how Math shows up in nature via shapes and proportion. Most of the figures have 3 phases, and are super EASY to learn how to draw! Miss Grace picked it up quite easily, and the collage below shows some of her favorites:

As you can see, you start simple and then you can add more features and depth, or keep them as they are and make easy fun cartoon characters, Kids can illustrate their own stories and reports quite easily with this book, so it's not only perfect for Summer fun, but for continued use during the school year! I love it when that happens!

Another book that carries the education and fun into the school year:

Rubber Band Engineer: Build Slingshot Powered Rockets, Rubber  and Rifles, Unconventional Catapults, and More Guerrilla Gadgets from Household Hardware
by Lance Akiyama

"Whoa, that shot a lot farther than I thought it would!"

Shooting far, flying high, and delivering way more exciting results than expected are the goals of the gadgets in this book. Discover unexpected ways to turn common materials into crafty contraptions that range from surprisingly simple to curiously complex. 

In vivid color photos, you'll be guided to create slingshot rockets, unique catapults, and even hydraulic-powered machines. Whether you build one or all 19 of these designs, you'll feel like an ingenious engineer when you're through. Best of all, you don't need to be an experienced tinkerer to make any of the projects within. All you need are household tools and materials, such as paper clips, pencils, paint stirrers, and ice pop sticks. 

 Oh, and rubber bands. Lots of rubber bands. 

 So grab your glue gun, pull out your pliers, track down your tape, and get started on the challenging, fun, and rewarding journey toward becoming a rubber band engineer.

Review:

This is a really great book that doesn't require a whole lot of supplies! You can start with what you have at the house, or that is readily available for a base model, and then make better models that LAST. Every projects also includes suggestions and tips to really bring the projects up a level, that even adults will have fun making! We both LOVED how clear the photos are instructions are!

Just look at how they lay out what is needed! No questions there, very clear!

You can literally let the kids have at this book without you, if they are around age 10. All of the projects are based on simple Science and STEM concepts, and teach  kids, really without them realizing it. Which makes it really great for homeschoolers, especially those studying motion and physics! The simple crafts easily explain motion, weight and energy conversion, but in a fun cool way! Who knows, it just might inspire a future engineer!

About the Authors:

Author Billy Attinger is an artist, entrepreneur, and creator of successful brands, including Stick World(r), an iconic collection of stick figure art whose multi-million dollar program has been licensed and sold successfully throughout major retailers around the world. Billy resides in sunny Southern California where lives with his wife and three beautiful children, whom he credits as the major source of inspiration for his lively, playful, and humorous style. His company, Inconceivable Studios, as well as his portfolio, can be viewed at www.billyattinger.com and www.inconceivablestudios.com.

Author Rachel Kochackis was a pionieer in early digital warfare (video games) and was part of the original Stick War think tank (high school Spanish class) with Billy Attinger. A consistently misunderstood frequent flyer to the school psychologist, she helped co-found the faux-rock band The Roach Motels. She has enjoyed success writing books and screenplays and currently resides with her three trilingual dogs: Victoria, Chloe Osita Horachata, and Jasper.

Lance Akiyama combines tinkering and education into a single aspiration: to create a better world by inspiring the next generation of innovators with exciting hands-on projects. He has created project-based learning tutorials on Instructables.com, started an after-school engineering service, and is currently employed as a STEM-based curriculum developer for Galileo Learning. Lance spends his free time designing elaborate plans for advanced contraptions, keeping journals in cryptic backwards writing, and attempting to fly by strapping paper wings to his arms and leaping from rooftops. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area. He is the author of Duct Tape Engineer (2017), and the upcoming in 2018, book DIY Ballistics Engineer.