Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids--New from No Starch Press

Online, October 6, 2010 (Newswire.com) - For more information, please contact:
Travis Peterson 415.863.9900 x300 or [email protected]

Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred--New from No Starch Press
Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids

San Francisco, CA, October 6, 2010--Kids today are just as likely to be interested in electronics as they are in soccer. So what's a parent to do with a kid who'd rather solder than run laps? How can parents really keep geeky kids entertained, without spending yet another afternoon in front of the glowing rectangle of a TV or computer monitor?

"Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred" (No Starch Press, October 2010, 368 pp., $24.95, ISBN 9781593272593) is a new and dangerously fun DIY book with step-by-step, illustrated instructions for making 24 quirky playthings. Projects are designed to cost $10 or less and include kid-friendly crafts like a Lock 'N Latch Treasure Chest and PVC Teepee, homemade musical instruments, and moving toys like a marshmallow-shooting muzzleloader and a steam-powered milk carton boat.

"Every project is written with the absolute beginner in mind. This can be the first time Mom or Dad has ever threaded a needle or warmed up a soldering iron, and they can expect to get a decent result," said the book's author David Erik Nelson. "These projects run the gamut: If you're a crafter who has never touched a saw, I've got projects for you. If you're a musician who's never soldered, you'll learn how to build cool stompbox effects, a dirt-cheap amplifier, an electric digeridoo, and more."

With the aid of Nelson's clear instructions, readers learn to make:

- A simple electric guitar from $10 in parts
- An oversized joy buzzer that (safely) administers a 100-volt jolt
- Cool, mess-free, screen-printed t-shirts
- Kites from FedEx envelopes
- Booming Thunderdrums from salvaged x-ray film
- Classic board games like Go, Tafl, and Shut-the-Box

As they build, kids (and parents!) learn useful skills in sewing, carpentry, electronics, and soldering that will equip them to go on to create their own seriously geeky stuff.

About the Author
David Erik Nelson is a freelance writer and former high school teacher. His fiction has been nominated for a Nebula award and has appeared in Asimov's, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and the forthcoming Steampunk Reloaded anthology. He developed the projects in this book at an alternative school, with plenty of feedback from his students. He is a contributor to the "Ask the Giant Squid" advice column at Poor Mojo's Almanac(k), a weekly online literary journal.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Project 3: The Sock Squid: http://nostarch.com/download/snipburn.pdf
Table of Contents: http://www.nostarch.com/snipburn.htm#toc
Catalog Page and Sample Pages: http://nostarch.com/snipburn.htm

Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred
By David Erik Nelson
October 2010, 368 pp., $24.95 USD
ISBN 9781593272593

Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from http://oreilly.com/nostarch, or directly from No Starch Press (http://nostarch.com, [email protected], or +1.415.863.9900).

About No Starch Press
Founded in 1994, No Starch Press is one of the few remaining independent technical book publishers. We publish the finest in geek entertainment--unique books on technology, with a focus on open source, security, hacking, programming, alternative operating systems, mathematics, science, and LEGO. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about. Visit nostarch.com for a complete catalog.

About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

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