We have a new book out just this week. And my husband painted the cover art! Learn more about this “new old” book below:

Do your boys enjoy reading? Do you have trouble finding books that catch their interest and are good for them to read? Then you’ll love Shovelhorns, the Biography of a Moose, and Black Bruin, the Biography of a Bear, two classic novels in one new book.

These two wildlife animal stories will captivate your boys. These aren’t namby-pamby tales but realistic adventures written by naturalist Clarence Hawkes in the early 1900’s: classic stories which boys will enjoy.

Best of all, you’ll get two of Clarence Hawkes’ wildlife adventures in one book. Readers of all ages will love these stories, but especially boys who enjoy the outdoors and stories that don’t hold back from telling about the life and death struggles that occur in the wild.

Shovelhorns, the Biography of a Moose, first published in 1909, is the story of a moose in the harsh woods of New Brunswick, Canada. Relive the life of this moose as he grows from a small calf to a great bull moose. Learn how his mother protects him from a fierce wolf pack. As he matures, he experiences his own adventures and battles, including his be­friend­ing by the son of a Northern hunting guide, and the inevitable time in his life when he must prove he is deserving of the title “King of the Wilderness.”

Following this story is another exciting adventure. Black Bruin, the Biography of a Bear, first published in 1908, is the story of a black bear in northern New York. You’ll be hooked from the start as you read the exciting circumstances of how Black Bruin becomes part of a young farmer’s family. This black bear from the wild desires freedom, and his strength and appetite bring him constant conflict. You’ll be enthralled reading the many trials Black Bruin faces as he strives to be “King of the Mountain.”

Clarence Hawkes’ storytelling will keep your boys (and you) turning the pages and wanting to read more of his wildlife adventures from this exciting era. Both stories are beautifully illustrated by Charles Copeland.

DOWNLOAD TWO FREE SAMPLES FROM THIS BOOK HERE: http://www.cardamompublishers.com/stories-for-boys.htm

Fun things to sew for little boys

Particularly these shorts made out of dish towels

And the super cape, which boys and girls would love 

Great post about boys having fun learning how to sew

On the other hand, he can watch “X-Men 3″ one day and “Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree” the next, and appear to enjoy them equally. It’s the same with games. He can beat his brother and his sister’s boyfriend (both in their mid-20s) at video games, yet he insists on playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders with me, which we’ve played since he was little.

So we’re in the middle of working on his lessons this morning, and he gets mad at me because I’m making him pronounce a word correctly (he has major speech issues), and like a typical teen he loses his temper and bellows, “Stop it, Mom, or I’m not going to play Candyland with you today!”

LOL 

(The rest of the story: he didn’t mean it. We had to play twice after he finished his school. Sigh. If I had a nickel for every time we played Candyland over the past 13 or 14 years……)

Little Boy with Toy Machine Gun and Cake

I have a friend who has six children: two in their 30s, two in their 20s, a teen and a preteen. The eldest and youngest are girls, and she says those two girls were (and still are) harder to deal with than all four boys put together.

I’ve had a different experience. I have four children, two in their 20s and two teens, and they go like this: girl, boy, girl, boy. One girl and one boy are strong-willed, while the other girl and the other boy are more compliant, though not completely so. I always believed that the sex of the child doesn’t mean much in how easy they are to raise, that’s it’s more a matter of personalities, both the child’s and the parents’, and how they mesh (or don’t, as the case may be).

Here’s an article that compares boys and girls (which is good, because that means people are finally getting back to the common sense theory that the sexes are different!) and discusses which sex is harder to raise. What do you think? Are girls harder, or boys?