10 Hobby Books for Boys Seeking Adventure
As a family with 5 sons, we have a lot of energy, creativity and passion in our home. Sometimes it can be tricky to guide my sons to create good, instead of havoc. One way that has helped and inspired greatness in my sons is to have a well-stocked library of hobby books for boys.
Raising Adventure Seeking Boys
I have always said that my boys are the best at building things and breaking things. I see this in my 21-month-old son. He makes a block tower. Then he crashes it. He runs around and dives to the ground. He wreaks havoc on his siblings’ toys – he dumped out the Perler bead this morning- but then he tries to help daddy feed the cows.
My older boys were exactly the same. Now, at 9, 11, 14, and 16, they can be alone with Perler beads- but bedrooms and our garage and barn can be exploding with their many projects and hobbies.
Honestly, though, I don’t mind. I am happy that my boys are interested in the world- interested in creating and working and learning.
We, the parents, take the fault. We want them to try new things and learn new ideas, even when we have to step over piles of scrap leather in bedrooms, trip over tools and scrapwood in the garage, rummage through Airsoft gear in the barn, and require band-aids on our feet from LEGO stabbings.
Don’t Teach Them Hobbies
I will say this over and over again, I don’t teach my kids hobbies. We don’t watch a lot of TV, we don’t play a lot of team sports, and we don’t play a lot of video games. We homeschool, so we are home a lot. My kids have found their way into a lot of interests through books about hobbies. Here are a smattering of my adventuresome boys’ interests and the hobby books that I pick up around the house again and again and again.
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Hobby Books for Boys Seeking Adventures
1. Backyard Ballistics, by William Gurstelle
Right off the bat, you will see what kind of parents we are and what kinds of boys that I am raising. Yes, we allow them to do all of the projects in this book, because we have taught them to do things like this safely. My oldest son is on a quest to make the biggest and best potato cannon. He’s making strides!
2. The American Boy’s Handy Book, by Daniel Carter Beard
The American Boy’s Handybook was published 100 years ago and has a special place in my heart. When I told my dad I was going to homeschool, he gave my sons this book and told me that all the knowledge they really needed was right there. My boys have worked through a lot of the projects – from making birdhouses, kites and even boats. I think my dad was right, because the confidence and skills they learned fromthis book has led to bigger and more modern ideas. I consider this a must-read for every American boy!
3. The Dangerous Book for Boys, by Hal Igguiden
The Dangerous Book for Boys has a catchy title to get almost any boy reading! It is a bit like The Art of Manliness, because it has everything that a boy might be interested – science, art, outdoor and indoor projects and games, history, manners, etiquette, etc. This is a “dangerous” book that parents will like too. It is a more modern version The American Boys Handybook, and appropriate for boys ages 6-12. Don’t miss this one!
Field & Stream Outdoorsman Manuals
These Field & Stream books are always off my shelves. I think their favorite is The Total Outdoorsman Manual, but I think The Total Fishing Manual and The Total Deer Hunter Manual have also been practically memorized by my four oldest sons.
4. Field and Stream: The Total Fishing Manual
5. Field and Stream The Total Deer Hunter Manual
6. The Total Outdoorsman Manual
Survival Books
My boys have never done Scouts, but they are all very interested in 100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition and Bush Craft 101 are both great series if your kids are fascinated by the thought of living in the wild.
7. 100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition, by Clint Emerson
8. Bush Craft 101, by Dave Canterbury
Food and Foraging
My boys don’t love indoor cooking and meal planning, but they do like to cook over a fire. This Easy Campfire Cooking book gives recipes and tips for cooking outdoors.
9. Easy Campfire Cooking
My 11-year-old likes foraging for herbs for food, survival practice and to make herbal tinctures and salves. This book was beautiful in getting him started in identifying plants around our area. I share this interest with him, and we have both learned a lot!
10. Midwest Foraging , Lisa M. Rose
Metal Detecting Guides
One of my sons loves metal detecting. He takes his metal detector everywhere- on vacation, to the beach, to the lake, on all of our park trips, to friends’ and neighbors’ farmland and even alongside (safe) roads. He is a motivated treasure hunter. This is the guide that I find laying on my sofa at least once per week.
11. Metal Detecting: A Beginner’s Guide
For more about Metal Detecting with Kids: Metal Detecting for Kids: Going on a Treasure Hunt
Hobby Books are a Great Way to Learn
Parents, help your child foster an interest in the world and give them access to information to help them enjoy it! Hobbies like foraging and camping and fishing and hunting are wonderful childhood memories, but you are also giving your kids lifelong skills. I hope your adventure seeking boys (and girls!) are inspired by some of these guidebooks. They are great ways to learn new skills.
What guidebooks does your family love? Please share in the comments!
For more fun hobby ideas:
Turning a Hobby into a Business: 10 Easy Steps to Making Money
