Time was, the Scouts taught tots how to tie a few knots, but that was before John Sherry (knot-instructor par excellence and a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers) came along with Knot It! a (126)-page hardcover book with illustrated instructions for tying (100) different knots. Our faves are the Schwabisch Hitch and the Slippery Night Loop. Includes a couple of 15” hanks of practice paracord and waterproof cards with (20) knot instructions. This could be your new hobby.

50 Science Things to Make and Do is just that, a passel of experiments, all illustratively explained in two facing pages of this big 104-page flip book, and all easily done with common household items. Includes wind and water power, bugs, crystals, paper planes, rubber-band guitars, balances, gloop, optics and a ton of other fun, informative stuff. Officially classified as "cool" by several of our geekiest staffers.

Start them out right with this (profusely) hand-illustrated, 96-page book: The Story of Inventions. Includes toasters, toilets, television, computers, cars, chocolate bars, dishwashers, pianos, flying machines, bicycles and blue jeans among many others. Includes a timeline, glossary and index. No age recommendations, but we like it for pretty much anyone.

Our grandmother used to tell us that all the time, and we might have learned something while we were out there if she’d given us The Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature, this 120-page paperback from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Chock full of information, photos and illustrations for exploring nature in both the city (includes pigeon info!) and the countryside, and in all four seasons. They might stay out of your hair until supper.

Coding for Beginners…using Scratch is a 96-page, hardback, spiral-bound book for teaching kids with basic computer skills how to write code using Scratch, an educational programming language developed by MIT. (Has over 12 million registered users and 15 million shared projects.) Book includes art and sonic projects plus (4) games.

If they saw this color map eight times a day, they'd know where every place is-and its capital. Snap this tough, 8.5" x 11" laminated sheet into a school notebook and eventually they'll have to read it. It's a very nice world map with capital cities on one side, a U.S. map with state capitals on the other. It includes other major cities plus partial Canadian and Mexican bonus areas. Current, barring a coup since we got our latest shipment.

If you make cool stuff, people will pass it on to your children’s children’s children and you won’t spend eternity as just an old picture on a lost thumb drive. We suggest: Making Inventive Wooden Toys, a 184-page paperback with plans for (33) toys, many of them ballistic, out of scrap wood and easily found hardware; or Making Poor Man’s Guitars, a 176-page paperback with detailed instructions for building string instruments out of cigar boxes, frying pans, tin cans, mailboxes and washtubs, with a beer-can microphone thrown in.

The Woodworker’s Shop Journal is a hardcover book with (100+) pages of 1/4" grids for project planning and sketches, plus (20+) pages of quick references, charts, lumber specs, tool guides, checklists and tips. Also a good place to keep passwords and other personal information because burglars are famous for not caring about carpentry skills.

The Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope, by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone is a 144-page softcover book covering lenses, lighting, slide-making and what to look for in various samples. Heavily illustrated with color photography. Don't take the scope out of its box without this book.

A must-have for micro-warriors; Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction by John Austin (author of the best-selling Cubicle Warfare) is 241 pages of detailed instructions for building (42) implements of spitball warfare from ordinary household objects and office supplies. With the caveat that this is written for responsible individuals who take reasonable safety precautions (don't do anything your mother would scream at) we have to say that we love the binder-clip crossbow and the tongue-depressor catapult. Volume 2, which is 251 pages, has a secret-agent flair with new gadgets like the push-pin dart, toothpaste periscope and cereal briefcase. Volume 3, 267 pages, continues with a Medieval flavor and over a dozen catapults and ballistae, plus a buncha bows and crossbows. Oh, just buy the whole 3-volume Library of Destruction and get it over with.