Reprint. Orig. publ. New York, NY : Scribner, 1890 ( )

In a world where this week's headlines include "Banff lodge fined $27K for destroying barn swallow nest with eggs", it seems odd and rather appalling to find a book with chapters on how to collect birds' nests and eggs, and how to rear wild birds (baby owls, Farley Mowat notwithstanding, are much harder to domesticate than baby hawks, and it's quite handy to have a tame hawk tethered in the garden to keep down the depredations of free-range chickens). This was the world of Sterling North, Farley Mowat, and Mark Twain.

You can also learn how to construct fire balloons, how to light a gas jet with the static spark from your own finger, and many other dangerous enterprises. Or build your own boat and sail it. (But learn to swim first, the book advises.)

The chapters on hunting and trapping could be useful in the "SHTF" scenario that "preppers" are fond of invoking. Meanwhile, we can fly hand-made kites or put on shadow-puppet shows. The script and patterns for all characters of Puss In Boots are included. ( )

I had three boys and before that three sisters, what did I know of being a boy or what to do with boys - thank goodness for books like this. Not only did it help me with activities to do with my boys it also gave me a feel of how boys think. This was also an invaluable tool that I used as a cub scout parent. ( )

I had three boys and before that three sisters, what did I know of being a boy or what to do with boys - thank goodness for books like this. Not only did it help me with activities to do with my boys it also gave me a feel of how boys think. This was also an invaluable tool that I used as a cub scout parent. ( )

I had three boys and before that three sisters, what did I know of being a boy or what to do with boys - thank goodness for books like this. Not only did it help me with activities to do with my boys it also gave me a feel of how boys think. This was also an invaluable tool that I used as a cub scout parent. ( )

I had three boys and before that three sisters, what did I know of being a boy or what to do with boys - thank goodness for books like this. Not only did it help me with activities to do with my boys it also gave me a feel of how boys think. This was also an invaluable tool that I used as a cub scout parent. ( )

I had three boys and before that three sisters, what did I know of being a boy or what to do with boys - thank goodness for books like this. Not only did it help me with activities to do with my boys it also gave me a feel of how boys think. This was also an invaluable tool that I used as a cub scout parent. ( )

Is there anyone who has read this book as a child, or its companion, The American Girls Handy Book, and not wanted to do every third activity in them? ( )

I'm divided as to how to review this book. Part of me wants to address the parents of the children this book seems to be directed to. And part of me wants to treat this book as a historical reference.

To take the easier path first, let me talk about the American Boy's Handy Book's place in history. The book was written by Daniel Carter Beard. Carter was an artist, naturalist and early founder of the Boy Scouts of America. His love of the outdoors and empathy for youth is evident right from the start of the first chapter: he writes, "[I]t is a pleasant sensation to sit in the first spring sunshine and feel the steady pull of a good kite upon the string, and watch it's graceful movements as it sways from side to side, ever mounting higher and higher, as if impatient to free itself and soar away amid the clouds."

And it was his concern with the lack of structure and supervision of city kids that caused him write this book. His own childhood was in antebellum Ohio. When his life took him to the city of New York he despaired at seeing the news boys sleeping on the wet streets and he began writing all sorts of articles for children's magazines of the time.

Eventually, he was urged to collect these pieces and to put them in a single volume. The American Boy's Handy Book is the result.

Chapter Headings, under the major seasonal divisions

Spring
1. Kite Time
2. War Kites
3. Novel Modes of Fishing
4. Hand-Made Fishing Tackle
5. How to Stock, Make, and Keep a Fresh-Water Aquarium
6. How to Keep Aquatic Plants in the House or Flower-Garden
7. How to Stock and Keep a Marine Aquarium
8. How to Collect for Marine Aquarium

Summer
9. Knots, Bends, and Hitches
10. The Water-Telescope
11. Dredge, Tangle and Trawl Fishing
12. Home-Made Boats
13. How to Rig and Sail Small Boats
14. Novelties in Soap-Bubbles
15. Fourth of July Balloons, with New and Novel Attachments
16. How to Camp Out Without a Tent
17. Bird Singers, etc.
18. Bird Nesting
19. How to Rear Wild Birds
20. How to Rear Wild Birds – continued
21. Home-Made Hunting Apparatus
22. How to Make Blow-Guns, Elder Guns, etc.

Autumn
23. Traps and Trapping
24. Dogs
25. Practical Taxidermy for Boys
26. Every Boy a Decorative Artist

Winter
27. Snowball Warfare
28. Snow-Houses and Statuary
29. Sleds, Chair-Sleighs, and Snow-Shoes
30. How to Make the Tom Thumb Ice-Boat and Larger Craft
31. The Winged Skaters, and How to Make the Wings
32. Winter Fishing – Spearing and Snaring – Fisherman's Movable Shanties, Etc.
33. In-Door Amusements
34.The Boy's Own Phunnygraph
35. How to Make Puppets and a Puppet-Show
36. Push-In-Boots. Dramatized and Adapted for a Puppet-Show
37. How to Make a Magic Lantern – A Kaleidoscope – A Fortune Teller's Box, etc.
38. How to Make the Dancing Fairies, The Bather, and The Orator
39. How to Make Various and Divers Whirligigs
40. The Universe in a Card-Box
41. Life Instilled into Paper Puppets, and Matches Made of Human Fingers
42. Home-Made masquerade and Theatrical Costumes

You might wonder why I list this chapters. I do it first because I have not found them given anywhere else. And you need to see, as Historians or History enthusiasts the scope of activities that are covered. Carter really provides, in my opinion, a look into both indoor and outdoor activities of the times. These are the activities that the boys and men going into Civil War would have known about. What they would have done to pass the evenings at home, and it gives a precursor of the basic field skills they might have had.

Now, for the parents and adults that are considering this book for children. Let me say that this is not a 19th Century equivalent of "The Dangerous Book for Boys". This is a book written before there were Warning Labels and you will have to assess the readiness of your child to read the book.

What I mean by this is that The "American Handy Book for Boys" is filled with activities, some of which should not be attempted by anyone under 12 years of age. While some projects like the costumes and "phunnygraph" and kites are more or less timeless and safe activities, there are others like making your own boomerang and outdoor oven, that require tools that most of us don't normally hand over to youngers.

And there are other activities that ought not to ever be engaged in, even with adult supervision. Blowing up balloons using natural gas comes to mind. Similarly there are other activities that ought to only be engaged in under adult supervision, like dissecting a bird and stuffing it.

There are other activities like making costumes and whirligig's that are harmless. But I would suggest this book for the mature, young adult. Perhaps someone interesting in the times of Huck Finn.

I highly recommend this book for it's unique view of the past. It would make a great gift for someone like myself who is interested in the sociological side of history. Or the older child, like an Eagle Scout, who might want to experiment with making their own oven, boat, blow gun, camp bed, etc.

( )

The American Boy’s Handy Book by Daniel Beard is a guide book for boys. It includes directions for knots, kite building, camping without a tent, and how to build a snow fort, just to name a few. The book was originally published in 1882 and is filled with black and white drawings. While I think it’s wonderful to introduce young boys to the joys of the outdoors, they will have some difficulty with the language of the book. The chapter on Knots, Bends, and Hitches starts like this: “The art of tying knots is an almost necessary adjunct to not a few recreations. Especially is this true of summer sports, many of which are nautical, or in some manner connected with the water.” This book is more suited for older boys or nostalgic men.

Daniel Beard was one of the founder’s of Boy Scouts. He was born in 1850 and lived until 1941. He received the only Golden Eagle badge awarded by the Boy Scouts. He believed in allowing boys to create their own toys and he loved the outdoors. There is a mountain peak in Alaska named for him. ( )

English Teachers take note! Looking for a new way to make Mark Twain come alive in your classroom? Help your students travel back in time by engaging in some of the wonderful projects in The American Boy's Handy Book by Daniel Carter Beard. Aside from illustrating some of Twain's work, Beard was an avid educator who also was a co-founder of the Boy Scouts of America. He wrote their first Boy Scout Handbook and was a lifelong advocate of making your own fun. This treasure of a book will suggest projects for your class which will help them understand the world of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Make kites in the shape of stars, turtles, shields and dragons. Build your own giant bubble machine or a Puss in Boots puppet show (script is included). Avoid the more violent blow guns and fighting kites but enjoy the simplicity and just plain fun of this book. Along the way, your students will have a new appreciation for Mark Twain's world and the boys he wrote about. ( )

The American Boy’s Handy Book by D.C. Beard is a delightful read. The book, first published in 1882, is a travel back to a simpler, more innocent time. Young at heart men and women of all ages will find the book wonderfully enjoyable. There is something for everyone here whether you want to know how to make your own kite or how to raise wild birds. I heartedly recommend this book to everyone! I can think of no one who would not enjoy this romp back to the childhoods of our past. ( )

Far superior to the Dangerous Book for Boys, this book was the most read kid's book on my husband's bookshelf growing up.