In the Nick of time

A lot of well-known people — actors, musicians, the occasional president — are accomplished woodworkers. Not many of them share their work with others, at least not in a book geared to introducing kids to woodworking. 

Actor Nick Offerman is one who does. His latest book, Little Woodchucks — Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery — was released in mid-October. It’s a collection of beginner-level projects for kids aged 5 to 10+, all intended to be made together with the help of an adult.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book, beginning with the humor. Offerman is a funny guy, and I’ve always found his writing enjoyable. The text is generally readable by kids; in fact, much of the text is geared directly toward them. Some of the humor may go over their heads, but their parents will get it. The photography is great and really leans into the subtitle of “Tomfoolery” with photos of everyone having fun. 

I also like how most of the projects begin not just with a tool list, but a photograph of all the tools used in the project. On the subject of tools, all of the projects can be done with hand tools, although a drill/driver, easy for kids to use, is suggested for some of them. Larger power tools such as a circular saw, jigsaw and miter saw are included when they’d be beneficial to a project, but all are recommended for adult use only. 

It should be noted that some of the language is a bit coarse here and there, although nothing too bad. Still, parents may want to preview the book before giving it to the kiddoes. 

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I’m a big proponent of woodworking with kids. I even wrote a book about it myself once, called Build It With Dad.) The more books that encourage kids to learn about tools and creativity, the happier it makes me. Not only is this one on-point to the topic, it also makes you laugh a lot more than woodworking books tend to do.