Adults or children who have an interest in folk art or pioneer crafting will want this book, which lives up to the promise of its title beautifully in a gentle, thoughtful, ungimmicky manner. Author Barbara Greenwood has done her homework, researching pioneer crafts that are authentic, yet timely enough that today’s kids will want to make them. The expected crafts are here – moulded candles, weaving, soap carving, a rag doll, a quilt, simplified moccasins, basket weaving, and rug braiding. But there is a wonderful selection of rarely seen and unusual crafts such as the balancing acrobat (a long-armed little cork man that balances on a string), and the ingenious whimmy diddle (a notched branch with a propeller that spins when the notches are strummed by a wand). Also included are spatter painting, a silhouette portrait, and a craft that has made a big comeback – a punched tin lantern.

Instructions include helpful tips: for example, when making the lantern, keep the can from collapsing under the force of the punching by filling it with water and freezing it.

Clear, concise, easy-to-follow text gives just enough information and cautions where necessary. The author has avoided falling into the trap of excessive authenticity, substituting modern materials and tools as needed. My only complaint, and it is very minor, is with the metric conversions. Although using approximate conversions is standard for craft books, I think some of the measures stray a little too far from being equivalent (for example, 132 inch is 1.25 cm, not 1 cm).

Marie Bartholomew and Karen Power’s well-paced design is a clean, harmonized mix of traditional and modern elements, using rich milk-paint tints and sepia tones throughout. Each of the 17 projects is a double-page spread with a mood-setting sepia introductory illustration showing pioneer children making the craft. The how-to pictures are watercolour illustrations, in full colour, that are both painterly yet accurate enough to be a satisfactory substitute for photography – a difficult balance. This book is a real pleasure.