Trade between cities

 In history class I remember learning how cities have talents. Or at least the folks living in the various cities have talents. One city might be famous for its tile and pottery creations, like Nabeul, Tunisia. Another city might be well known for its glass, like Murano, Italy. Or it might be the creative innovation of its residents and the multitude of imaginative stuff pouring out of the place which put it on the map, like Palo Alto, California.

When I picked up my first Klutz Press book, I was not surprised to see that it came from Palo Alto. The Klutz credo was: "Create wonderful things, be good, have fun." Klutz books encourage kids to not just read but to do. The book on knots includes the necessary rope. The book on making paper airplanes comes with  40 sheets of flight-tested, ready-to-fold paper, printed on both sides in a variety of colourful patterns.

And possibly my favourite Klutz Press book is The Book of Classic Board Games. I believe it may be out of print but if you can find one, even used, buy it. Kids of all ages love it. Somewhere in there one will find a game one likes:

• Backgammon
• Checkers
• Go
• Nine Men's Morris
• Cats and Dogs (aka Blue & Gray)
• Solitaire
• Roundabouts (aka Surakarta)
• Brax
• Mancala (aka Kalah)
• Hasami Shogi
• Hoppers (like 2-player Halma)
• Dalmatian Pirates and Volga Bulgars (aka Fox & Geese)
• Hex
• 3-D Tic Tac Toe (aka Qubic)
• Fandango (aka Fanorona)