Review: The Mammoth Book of Boys' Own Stuff
Jon E. Lewis' Useful and Entertaining Anthology for Boys Aged 8-14
Oct 22, 2008
It can be difficult to entice boys away from the TV or computer, to spend time on hobbies or reading. The things that boys traditionally did to pass the time have been pushed aside in favour of the newest PC or PlayStation game. This book is one way to get boys reading and trying out new hobbies.
Celebrating Old Fashioned Boyhood
As a child, Lewis’s father gave him his own copy of the 1911 book Every Boy’s Book of Hobbies by Cecil Bullivant. It was filled with fun and exciting things to do, and celebrated boyhood. The Mammoth Book of Boys’ Own Stuff is an attempt to blend the best elements of old fashioned boyhood with 21st century information.
Filled with Exciting Things to Do
Most boys would be interested in learning how to make a water bomb, a bow and arrow, a simple canoe, a stomp rocket and a DIY volcano. Articles on survival teach boys how to make a fire without matches, navigate without a compass and how to purify water.
Things Every Boy Should Know
It also contains a guide to good manners, and teaches boys how to polish shoes properly. There are extracts from great speeches, essential poetry that every lad might find inspiring, and tales of war heroes and fighter pilots, as well as the diary of Scott of the Antarctic.
Useful Facts and Manly Tales
The Anthology is fattened up with lists of useful facts, like the Periodic Table, manly short stories, some of them taken from the 1930s, and astonishingly politically incorrect by today’s standards, and lists of books and movies that every lad should read and see.
A Good Book For Reluctant Readers
Finding books for boys to read can be hard work. Some never get going on reading, struggling to find anything that takes their fancy. The result is a vicious cycle. The reluctant reader’s reading level drops to below average, leaving him only able to tackle books that are too young for him, which reinforces the belief that books are dull and ‘not for him.’
The Mammoth Book of Boys’ Own Stuff is a great book for established readers and those who have yet to find pleasure in reading. The Chapters are short and accessible, it doesn’t have to be read in order, but can be dipped into, and every entry is captivating.
A Great Book for Kids
Military Historian Jon E Lewis is the author of several other books in the Mammoth series of anthologies, including The Mammoth Book of Pirates, The Mammoth Book of How it Happened, and The Mammoth Book of True War Stories. He understands how boys’ minds work, and the result is a highly successful compendium.
The Mammoth Book of Boy's Own Stuff by Jon E Lewis is published by Robinson (2008).
ISBN 978 1 84529 709 1
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