Backyard to Backwoods: Camp Out! The Ultimate Kid's Guide by Lynn Brunelle

Lynn Brunelle, author of Soda Pop Science, field guide to all things fizzy, should know her way around in the natural sciences, having worked as a writer for Bill Nye, the Science Guy. In her new book Camp Out: The Ultimate Kids' Guide she's created a guide to everything you need to know to be a happy camper.

Billed as covering the subject "from the backyard to the backwoods," Brunelle includes camping techniques for all climes and regions, from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans....well, to the beaches anyway. The book is a how-to manual for picking a campsite, pitching tents, constructing a safe fire pit, preparing your impromptu porta-potty, making s'mores and so much more, including pizza, chili, and even ice cream.

Brunelle's real strength is in her directions for nature study and craft projects to undertake while whiling away your time in the wild. She has directions for a "pond peeper," (coffee can with both ends out, plastic wrap, rubber bands) for viewing underwater pond life without getting your hair wet, a "fast food sundial," from a drink cup and straw, and a leaf print T-shirt which requires no paint and lots of kid-satisfying pounding. There is a section on clouds and weather watching and a fun project called "Sock Sprouting," in which you cover your shoes with roomy socks and tromp around through the fields and woods collecting assorted seeds in said socks. When the socks are spritzed with water and left in the sun, they are supposed to start sprouting flora. (Here's an idea for a, er, seminal science project: pair the camp-out socks with old socks from the gym locker and see which ones sprout first!)

Camp Out! sounds like a great book for families who like to sleep under the stars (and recognize them, too) and for teachers heading off for those autumnal environmental camping experiences ahead. In fact, most of the how-to sections, in the best spirit of The Dangerous Book for Boys, don't actually require that you pitch any tents to enjoy them. Just don't forget the marshmallows!