A dreamer’s handbook for kids—and parents—offering practical resultsAll kids love the idea of a hideaway—a place that is theirs, no parents allowed. But how on earth can they actually build one? In Forts for Kids, an inspirational yet practical guide, David Stiles, the most trusted authority on DIY building projects, shows them how.Assuming no previous experience from the fort builder, the book starts with the basics for kids and their parents: how...

A treehouse is a wonderful idea, but how in the name of creation do you actually build one? In this delightfully illustrated handbook, David Stiles, the unofficial world grandmaster of the treehouse, shows how.Not assuming anything about the treehouse builder, Stiles starts with the basics: how to nail, how to buy wood, what kind of screws and nails to use.Then it's on to an A-frame design so simple that it can be built in a weekend out of four sheets of plywood, followed b...

This revised paperback contains exact plans for building dozens of real projects with young people, such as a clay castle, a scooter, a treehouse, a swing, and a raft just like Huck Finn’s. Newly-added projects include a Mobius strip and a jungle railing for your treehouse. Hours of weekend fun –half the fun is in the perusing of all the possibilities.David Stiles is an industrial designer who has appeared on many television programs, and whose playground designs have won awards fr...

Here is the very best of backyard building: Popular building authors Jeanie and David Stiles—whose treehouse once garnered a spread in Architectural Digest—have gathered dozens of original plans for treehouses, playhouses, and sheds, as well as a summer house, tea house, garden arbor, and functional workroom.Backyard Building will cover backyard accessories, the fundamentals of tools and materials, and useful tips based on real-life questions from the couple’s popu...

Build your own treehouses, swing sets, skate ramps, Ninja courses, and more!Kids and families of all ages are rediscovering the great outdoors, including their own backyards. It is more important than ever to be able to entertain our kids at home, teach them about nature, and give them a great time building, exercising, staying in shape, and working together. All of these actions help foster independence, confidence, and growth. In Do-It-Yourself Backyard Playg...

This book explores the kinds of Christian service or diaconia that develop in non-institutionalized practices for supporting survivors of indigenous ritual servitude or Trokosi in Africa. Drawing on empirical research from Ghana, it examines the possibilities of freedom, equality, and dignity for liberated Trokosi and the manner in which these women’s experiences constitute a repudiation of dominant patriarchal family systems. With close attention to the work of indigenou...

“Nostalgic and timeless, convenient and functional. You name it—or need it—and it can be found in this seemingly all-inclusive ‘how-to’ tome of more than seven hundred projects.” —David Stiles, from the IntroductionPractical Projects for the Handy Man, Third Edition, is the perfect book for any model maven, do-it-yourselfer, or just plain grown-up kid. Originally published in 1913 by the editors of Popular Mechanics Press, this gigantic collection of activities an...

The Earth is laid waste by a devastating blight that destroys the world's food supply. Mass starvation wipes out millions almost overnight. Society collapses and those who survive must contend with renegade groups striving for naked power. A new currency comes into existence—precious food and the force of arms that helps get it at any cost.Returning from a deep space mission, the crew of the Aquila crash lands in the Nevada desert and finds that the world they knew no longer exists....

This book presents Peter d'Agostino's World-Wide-Walks project, providing a unique perspective on walking practices across time and place considered through the framework of evolving technologies and changes in climate. Performed on six continents during the past five decades, d'Agostino's work lays a groundwork for considering walks as portals for crossing natural, cultural and virtual frontiers.Broad in scope, it addresses topics ranging from historical concerns including traditi...

The lethal plant cancer know as Earthblood had destroyed life on the planet in a matter of months, leaving a barron wilderness road where markers are corpses and cities are death traps. Into this nightmarish world the crew of the United States space vessel Aquila returned, a world of grim hunger andd sudden death.The surviving crew members reunite after harrowing journeys to find family and friends, determined to fight and defund their place in what's left of a world gripped by madn...

Learn the fundamentals of rocket stove design that powers the oven, and choose between one of two designs to build. A Black Oven, which reuses an existing gas or electric oven and a White Oven, which can be made using 2 x 200lt (44 gal) drums. Most materials required for the build are cheap and can be easily found. In fact, you may have some of them laying around your home, just crying out to be used.Tim Barker and Joel Meadows take you through a step-by-step guid...

You've captured a moment in time—now learn to draw it! Discover the ins and outs of using a very modern tool to help with a timeless art.Photographs are valuable reference tools that most artists use. Complex subjects are generally easier to draw from photos—plus other factors, such as weather, movement, and lighting, can make drawing from life nearly impossible. Children and animals, for example, rarely sit still when you want them to, making it much easier to dra...