Forest Craft: A child's guide to whittling in the Woodland

Even more fun can be had in the woods on a day out with the family now, thanks to Richard Irvine, author of the newly released craft book: Forest Craft, A child's guide to whittling in the woodland.

Richard Irvine / ISBN: 9781784945008 / £16.99 / Pub. Date: Feb 2019 #Gifted

About the book: Forest Craft

The Forest Craft book is a good thick weighty book, this is always a good sign as it means there is a lot of content inside, and this book doesn't disappoint in the slightest with that!

Aimed at families being outdoors whittling wood, there is a good first section detailing all the different types of wood we have, how to recognise them, and which woods to use.

Once familiar with the woods you are then taken on to techniques from sawing, to drilling, to carving and to finish in this section - how to sharpen your knife.  This information alone is a good 20% of the book, and so important to read, I know it's tempting to skip the intro and technical and head straight for projects, but when working with knives and supervising children, it really is a must to read first.

That, and it also gets you geared up to try a project!

There are projects for all from making miniature furniture to making woodland creatures, to musical instruments and most importantly, how to make your very own magic elder wand.

[Just to be clear, I didn't make my wand sitting on the book].

And YES, this is the first craft we shall be trying in the half term week when we are off up the woods for the day.

About the Author: Richard Irvine

Richard is a passionate advocate of high-quality outdoor-learning experiences for children and adults.  He is a qualified teacher and an accomplished greenwood carver.

Who is the Forest Craft Book aimed at?

Appealing to both forest school teachers and families, this is a book that can be turned to time and time again, through the different season and over many years.  The skills learnt can be treasured and passed down through the generations, in time-honoured tradition.

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with the family rather than staring at screens, maybe up to four/five at a time with various family members.  Let's get outdoors.