Come on, kids: grab a hammer, step up to the workbench, and get ready to measure, saw, drill, and make cool things! Wood Shop is an exciting introduction for today’s kids to an age-old tradition: building with wood. With step-by-step photographs and clear instructions, aspiring woodworkers learn essential skills such as how to drive a nail, use a power drill, “measure twice, cut once,” and saw correctly. Then the fun begins, with 17 cool and creative projects kids can build to furnish the wood shop, decorate their bedrooms and homes, and create their own play equipment. Favorite projects include Tic-Tac-Toe-To Go!, One-Board Birdhouse, a Tool Tote, and a hanging Twinkle Light. Wood Shop is the perfect gift for tinkerers, young makers, fans of LEGO toys, and aspiring carpenters and engineers. Gr 5-8-A co-owner of a woodworking school details the safety procedures, terminology, and tools essential for beginning woodworkers and presents 18 projects for young people seeking to develop those skills. Each example is rated for difficulty as well as the cost of materials. The book assumes that readers will have a certain amount of extra or scrap lumber. Projects range from a simple pencil holder to a full-size workbench; many of the finished products are useful items to have in a workshop. An "idea factory" section at the end of many projects shows variations, painting and decoration ideas, or alternate uses. Encouraging instructions are concise yet sufficiently detailed and pair well with the step-by-step images. Plentiful crisp color photographs depict a diverse group of tweens and young teens engaged in every aspect of woodworking, from measuring to sawing to enjoying their final creations. All in-process photos show young people wearing safety goggles and modeling proper technique. Grown-up helpers are shown (and labeled as such) in a few photographs, and there are practical notes to adults throughout. VERDICT This thoroughly appealing and empowering starter course in woodworking skills is a first purchase for libraries serving young makers.-Sarah Stone, San Francisco ­Public Libraryα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. “ Wood Shop  by Margaret Larson should be required reading for all elementary-age children. From the gorgeous photos and illustrations to the detailed project plans and tool introductions,  Wood Shop  presents woodworking and making in a fun and informative way. These projects encourage building and bonding, which strengthen relationships and form self-reliance. Larson understands that children are extremely capable, and  Wood Shop  is the ideal book to introduce skills that will last a lifetime.” — Timothy Dahl, cofounder of  Built by Kids “This thoroughly appealing and empowering starter course in woodworking skills is a first purchase for libraries serving young makers.” — School Library Journal Build It Yourself! Learn how to handle a handsaw, drive nails with a hammer, drill a clean hole, and more! Get woodworking basics under your (tool) belt, then use your skills to bring your creative ideas to life, with projects for woodshop, room, home – plus some just for fun! Margaret Larson is the co-owner of the New England School of Architectural Woodworking and The Workbench, a woodworking and craft school offering classes for kids and adults. She lives with her family in western Massachusetts.