Great Civil War Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) - Softcover

Anderson, Maxine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0974934410 ISBN 13: 9780974934419

Publisher: Nomad Press, 2005

Synopsis

From uniforms and submarines to potato cannons and regimental flags, this interactive book explores the history and inventions of the Civil War through building projects and activities. Finished products include a set of Civil War drums, secret codes, and a Civil War spy glass. Detailed step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and templates for each project are interspersed with historical facts, biographies, anecdotes, and trivia about the real-life models. Most of the building can be done using simple household supplies: construction paper, tape, markers, glue, cardboard tubes, string, yarn, aluminum foil, and cardboard boxes.

About this title

About the Author

John Riddle is the author of 14 children's titles including Lintball Leo's Not-So-Stupid Questions about Your Body and The Story of the Pony Express. He is also the founder of "I Love To Write Day," a grassroots effort to have people of all ages practice their writing skills every November 15th. He lives in Bear, Delaware.

Reviews

Grade 5-8–This interesting collection of projects is divided into two sections: On the Battlefield and On the Homefront. Subsections include Bands and Music and Soldiers' Food; they contain background information and two or three projects. Although this is not a comprehensive history of the war, Anderson includes little-known facts that will interest children unfamiliar with the conflict and Civil War buffs alike. The more than three dozen projects and recipes range from simple to quite difficult. Readers learn how to make a lean-to, a quilt, a working telegraph, and more. Most of the required materials are household items or are easily obtainable at a hardware store. The instructions are complete, but are illustrated with only gray-and-white drawings. Some of the same activities are found in Janis Herbert's The Civil War for Kids (Chicago Review, 1999), which offers a more complete history, but has fewer projects. A useful resource for any Civil War curriculum.–Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gr. 7-10. Each section in this large-format book introduces an aspect of life on the battlefield or the home front during the Civil War. The discussion is followed by one or more related craft projects. Presented as illustrated lists of materials and directions, they include instructions for making such diverse items as cornbread, hardtack, a flag, a telegraph, a pinhole camera, a periscope, a Union or Confederate jacket, a rag doll, ink, paper, a quilt, and a model of the Monitor or the Virginia. Besides the drawings that accompany these projects, other illustrations include many period photographs and engravings. Slate blue highlighting for pictures and sidebars provides the only color. Though the historical text is generally written at high-school level, the instructions for projects will be accessible to many middle-school students. There are no source notes, but a glossary and lists of books and Web sites are appended. Useful for Civil War reenactments as well as school projects. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0974934410
• ISBN 13: 9780974934419
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144