IVES, Rob . Castle Attack: Make Your Own Medieval Battlefield . ISBN 9781512406399 ; ISBN 9781512411713 . IVES, Rob . Ready, Aim, Launch!: Make Your Own Small Launchers . ISBN 9781512406368 ; ISBN 9781512411737 . IVES, Rob . Surprise the Enemy: Make Your Own Traps and Triggers . ISBN 9781512406375 ; ISBN 9781512411706 . ea vol: illus. by Jean Paul de Quay. 32p. (Tabletop Wars). chart. diag. ebook available. glossary. illus. index. Lerner/Hungry Tomato . Nov. 2016. lib. ed. $26.65. pap. $7.99. Gr 3-7 Let's be honest, books about warfare tend to fly off the shelf, and this series is worth a good look. Craft enthusiasts will use rubber bands, craft sticks, paper tubes, and pencils to fling paper wads and marshmallows across the room or set up a battlefield for warriors made of plastic eggs. Most of the projects are tricky to make, and though each one is explained via multiple illustrated steps, even confident crafters might benefit from photos instead of drawings. Materials are culled from the recycle bin or the office, sometimes creating more work than necessary (instead of being told to use dowels, students are instructed to cut the point and eraser off of pencils). Illustrated sidebars give historical anecdotes for each project.

Everything you need to know to create your own tabletop medieval battlefields.Readers interested in models, warfare, and construction will find lots to love in this volume, an instructional tome dedicated to helping readers build the best tabletop siege engines. Readers will learn how to build trebuchets, spring-armed catapults, blasting ballistas, and more. Young tinkerers will delight in poking through their recycling bins and junk drawers to find materials to build weaponry of all sorts. The materials are not exotic: paperclips, produce-bag netting, the occasional spork. The instructions are clean and clear, charmingly illustrated with a diverse array of child warriors, and smartly paced. Bits of history involving these war machines pop up here and there ("The balls [early catapults] fired could fell ranks of soldiers at a range of 1,300 feet (400 m)"), but the primary focus here is model-building technique. Readers are encouraged to use what they've learned and design their own weapons, with modifications as desired. For those delighted by the concept of tabletop warfare, three other titles offering instructions on how to develop the battlefield are concurrently published: Castle Attack, Ready, Aim, Launch!, and Surprise the Enemy. All three detail their subjects in similar fashion. An excellent resource that will spark the imaginations of many readers. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)