It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Its... a clothespin?

Yup, and this little laundry clip’s on a mission to prove that hand-crafted, wooden toys still have a place in our high-tech world.

Follow Superpin’s adventures as he’s transformed from an everyday, household object into an acrobatic supertoy—a miniature mechanical marvel that will whirl, balance and bounce right into your imagination!

Playful poetry and dozens of diagrams mark this unique how-to book about building toys from scratch. An afterward for parents and teachers provides indispensable tips for helping children recreate Superpin’s adventures at home or in the classroom.

Now available as a performance for schools and libraries! Click for details.

9” x 9” • 22 pages, handbound with sturdy wood spine • Ages 6-12

The Toymaker's Workshop with Rick Hartman brings viewers into the magical toy-creation studio of Rick Hartman, a professional toy inventor and nationally-acclaimed educator, storyteller and performer who's appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at The Smithsonian Institution.

Using simple household materials like popsicle sticks, string, and plastic drinking cups, Mr. Hartman demonstrates how to build three irresistible playthings from around the world: a growling Bull Roarer from Australia, a spinning Pine Puppet from India, and a pom-pom-flinging catapult from China.

As if building amazing toys isn't exciting enough for young viewers, Mr. Hartman also shows how to construct an ingeniously simple set of hand tools--a homemade hammer and a safe saw--that children can use to build their toys.

Woven throughout the program are inspiring scenes of kids being their naturally creative selves, building and improving upon Mr. Hartman's projects and playing with their new toys. It's enough to spur viewers young and old alike to start fiddling with paperclips and clothes pins in search of the Next Great Toy.

A humorous interview with physicist and inventor Herman Chien demonstrating his enormous rubber band ball rounds out this thoroughly entertaining and informative production.

Described as "charming and captivating" by School Library Journal, The Tomaker's Workshop with Rick Hartman is sure to delight any child who's enjoyed making something with his or her own hands, as well as parents and teachers looking for creative opportunities for their children and students.