The Kid's Summer Handbook

by Jane Drake, Ann Love, Heather Collins (Illustrator)

Offering more than 100 activities for vacations spent near the water, in the mountains, at a cottage, or camping, this is the complete summer survival book. Filled with safety tips, ecological pointers, and wildlife features, this handbook can help transform an ordinary vacation into an unforgettable one.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Outdoors

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Jane Drake and Ann Love are a sister writing duo. Together they have published 25 non-fiction titles for junior/intermediate students. Their first book to hit the bestseller list was The Kids Cottage Book published in 1992. Since then they have written many bestsellers and award winners including Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World's Boreal Forest (2003), The Kids Book of the Night Sky (2004), Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales (2004), and Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage (2006), Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy (2007), Alien Invaders: Species that Threaten Our World (2008). Ann and Jane have shared a lifelong love of the outdoors enjoying everything from snow shoeing, to camping, bird watching, tree planting and photography. They get along magnificently, except on the tennis court.

Jane lives in Toronto. She and husband escape the city whenever possible and recharge with weekends of sandhill crane sightings, star gazing, gardening and rigorous outdoor exercise. Nellie the ginger cat entertains Jane as she writes and Angus, the dog, makes sure she gets her daily walk. Jane would love to visit Siberia.

Reviews

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. I liked how there were lots of educational tidbits included for kids about animal habits and insect behavior, but I felt like lots of the activities were rather specific and inapplicable to my family. For instance, there is a whole section on activities that are to be done on a lake. But on the whole I thought there were lots of creative activities that could be done by (older) kids alone or with parents.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love the books in this series! Fantastic ideas for great summer fun! Most projects can be done independently by your kids - but I'm telling you, you won't want to miss too many of them.
Also try 'The Kid's Winter Handbook' and if you like camping, 'The Kid's Campfire Handbook'. We loved them both egually as well as this one!

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thick with good ideas.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good source for activities.