Tin Cups and Tinder

Alice Cantrell sent me a copy of her new book, Tin Cups and Tinder, to review for her.  I thought it would be right up my alley since I'm the mother of 4 Catholic boys.   Pip, the only little boy I have left, and I enjoyed looking through this lovely book.

The pictures are wonderful---both the photographs and Alice's little watercolor illustrations that adorn the pages.

It has stories about boy saints for inspiration, like St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio, as well as beautiful Bible verses.

This book seems to me a perfect balance of activities for boys so they can both learn new skills and equip themselves to go out and enjoy God's creation.   The sewing lessons will help them make their own haversack and their nature notebook, too.  While they're out in the wilderness, they can build a fire and feed themselves!

Pip found the book delightful and he was immediately inspired to make a fire pit in the back yard where we had a campfire that night and cooked bannocks on sticks.  We've since found out that fires are totally illegal here, so we won't be doing that again.  But it was fun while it lasted!

We're looking forward to creating fire-building kits, and first-aid kits, sewing, and learning to cook, and going out to explore.  We'll make sure to have a pocket shrine and rosary in that haversack, something that has been missing from my boys' scouting experiences!

I highly recommend Tin Cups & Tinder for younger boys, especially those who are not involved in Boy Scouts.  It's a great way to incorporate the Catholic faith into these valuable skills that every boy should know.