Activity Books for Boys

Mom, I’m bored!

Summer is past the midway point now and that’s when the thrill of lazy days and not getting up for school has worn off. Kids start to slip into missing their active social life with friends and now is the time when that dreaded “Mom, I’m bored” starts to get said.

To curb summer boredom or those many, many rainy days we’ve seen this year, we wanted to show you a couple of fun activity books to keep boys busy.

[easyazon_link identifier=”0760353158″ locale=”US” tag=”m0dd5d-20″ localize=”y”]Star Wars Build-a-Scene: Build Papercraft Scenes from a Galaxy Far, Far Away[/easyazon_link]

by Benjamin Harper and Claudio Dias, Kit with 48 page booklet. For ages 14+

Star Wars: Build a Scene includes everything you need to make iconic papercraft scenes from the Star Wars universe. The kit provides ten sheets of punch-out pieces and step-by-step instructions for creating three detailed 5″ x 8″ x 4″ paper dioramas, including one with LED lights.

Re-create the drama of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader’s duel on Mustafar from Revenge of the Sith; the nail-biting trench battle on the Death Star from A New Hope; and the Kylo Ren and Rey lightsaber fight in the snowy forest of the Starkiller Base from The Force Awakens. The accompanying book includes illustrated assembly instructions for the models, along with three essays on each classic scene and how they were designed and filmed.

Each model takes roughly 2–4 hours to build.

The suggested age for this kit is 14 and up, and my boys are quite a bit younger but we decided to give it a try. They definitely needed a lot of assistance with this one, but they had fun with it. I recommend starting with the Starkiller Base scene first as it was the easiest and will give you some good practice before diving into the other sets. The Mustafar scene is by far the coolest though as it comes with special LED lights that make the whole scene glow red! 

TIP: Use a sturdy glue that dries rather quickly. We actually used wood glue because we had it on hand and it worked great. 

[easyazon_link identifier=”1631063057″ locale=”US” tag=”m0dd5d-20″ localize=”y”]Stick Sketch School: An Animal Artventure – Mastering the Art of Stick Figure Critters[/easyazon_link]

by Billy Attinger and Rachel Kochackis, Paperback, 144 pages, 200+ color illustrations, Age 10+

Stick figures are hotter than ever. The biggest web comics are produced in stick figure format, and they are hugely popular in social media. But the best part about stick figures is that anyone can draw them! Billy Attinger showed how to draw stylized stick figures in his popular Stick Sketch School, and now he’s back showing the world his stick figure animals. Take an “artventure” around the world: learn to draw stick animals in the jungle, the Arctic, the rainforest, the Outback, underwater, and more! You’ll even learn how to draw extinct animals and fantasy animals in stick form. Each spread features a grid to show the reader how to draw the lines, how to add movement, expression, and more. Ideal for the visual learner and accompanied by tips and tricks from stick artist Billy Attinger, the book shows how to make your stick animals personal, recognizable, and unique!

Ten is probably a great age to start with this book for non drawers. If your child has experience with drawing already, sooner is fine. Because they book does not give you the ability to trace as a practice round my boys found it a bit tricky to just go it on their own at first. They are also kind of perfectionists too, so there’s that lol The book has all kinds of different animals though and it’s a lot of fun. We are saving most of our book for a very long road trip and a super long flight we have coming up. It’s a great take a long to keep kids busy when travelling. 

Look for these books at a book store near you!