books: suggestions for the holidays

With the holiday season around the corner – I have put together a list of some books that I would love to get in my stocking and I know will not disappoint. Books here for boys and dads, for the little kids and bigger kids, for friends and parents and for you too.

I recently received a book which I have decided is going to be invaluable in helping me on this new journey to upgrade both my skills and my equipment. Encyclopedia of Sewing Machine Techniques by Nancy Bednar and JoAnn Pugh-Gannon, published by Sterling (April 1, 2007). [read more here]

Could You? Would You? by Trudy White, published by Kane/Miller Book Pub (September 30, 2007), recommended for Ages 9-12. This is a book full of questions – wonderful fantastic questions to get kids (and grownups) thinking about all the possibilities and choices and options that we encounter in life everyday. [read the review here]

The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys: 159 Games, Toys, Tricks, and Other Amusements (So Many Projects, Not Enough Time) (Paperback) by The Editors of Popular Mechanics, published by Hearst (June 1, 2007). This is an adventurous child’s dream book. Originally published in the early 1900′s it is part of a larger series of Boy Mechanic books. [read the review here]

Taking Things Seriously: 75 Objects with Unexpected Significance by Joshua Glenn and Carol Hayes, published by Princeton Architectural Press; (August 9, 2007) Such a little unassuming book, who would think that it contains the power to make you laugh, cry, think and discuss all within a few minutes. (read the review here)

The Daring Book for Girls by by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz, published by Collins (October 30, 2007). We immediately looked through the book and it fell open at the page ‘how to paddle a canoe’. My daughter was hooked. (read the rest of what my daughter thought here)

How to Make Books: Fold, Cut & Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book, written by Esther K. Smith from Purgatory Pie Press, with illustrations by Lindsay Stadig and photographs by David Michael Zimmerman and published by Potter craft. This is one of those books that is a pleasure to hold and touch and you just want to keep on feeling it. (read the review here)

D.I.Y. Kids, Ellen Lupton & Julia Lupton, published by Princeton Architectural Press (website for the book and old blog). The sequel to D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (Design Handbooks), bringing design to the home and to the family. I am impressed by the authors vision of design, using it not to sell stuff but rather to get away from the commercialization and consumerism of design and emphasize the DIY aspect of making and crafting and doing it yourself. (read the whole review here)

by Keri Smith called The Guerrilla Art Kit, published by Princeton Architectural Press. Keri in her book looks as moss art and guerrilla gardening as well as stencil art and poster art. And in her introduction, discusses why she wrote such a book and how essential guerrilla art is to our society. (read more here)

Domiknitrix: whip your knitting into shape, by Jennifer stafford, published by North Light Books. I have to start off by saying – that I LOVE THIS BOOK. On the surface it looks like it might be just another gimmicky book. But it is not. It is a fantastic resource of knitting techniques, styles and designs. (read the whole review here)

Animal, vegetable, miracle: A year of food life, by Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L.Hopp and Camille Kingsolver. Published by Harper Collins. A year of food life by Barbara Kingsolver and with contributions by her husband and older daughter, with her younger daughter also playing a big part in the story. This as you can see is a family adventure into living courageously. Together they pledge to eat only food that they either grow themselves or know who did (with exceptions, such as coffee, purchasing only fair trade). (read the whole review here)

Simple sewing: Patterns and how-to for 24 fresh and easy projects, by Lotta Jansdotter, published by Chronicle books. I like this book a lot. It is fresh and simple, just as the title suggests, with projects suitable for the absolute beginner sewer and as a quick in-between project for the more advanced sewer. (read the whole review here)