Bellingham man’s woodworking books for kids a quiet success

Jack McKee had never been a writer, but he couldn’t resist taking the plunge at about age 50 when he discovered how little there was in the way of books for children and their parents with an interest in woodworking together.

McKee, now 71, has spent much of his adult life as a self-taught, self-employed builder and an all-around “hands-on” guy with woodwork and science.

“I think of myself as a builder who has written, not a writer,” he says.

Nonetheless, he has sold about 10,000 copies each of his two self-published books, “Woodshop for Kids,” published in 2005, and “Builder Boards: How to Build the Take-Apart Playhouse,” in 1994.

McKee and his wife, Candy Meacham, have lived in Bellingham since 1978 and are the parents of two sons, Ben and Andrew.

The inspiration for McKee’s books emerged following his stints as a volunteer parent at Happy Valley Elementary School.

“That’s when I discovered how many kids like being shown hands-on projects,” he says.

Eventually, he became concerned that children’s woodworking had been shortchanged from a book standpoint, especially with regard to safety and a working knowledge of tools. He has an obvious passion for both aspects, especially for children 4 to 12, the primary focus of “Woodshop for Kids.”

McKee found quick popularity for “Builder Boards,” which teaches how to use three-quarter-inch plywood to create board sets with notches.

“I saw that children’s imaginations would lead them to create a lot more than playhouses with the sets,” he says. “I love it when I see something created that I have never seen before.”

Inspired by his initial success, McKee gambled on a second, more comprehensive book, the first two chapters of which deal with safety and tools.

“I ordered 2,500 copies of the first edition,” he says, having long since sold out the initial run of his second book, which is subtitled “52 Woodworking Projects Kids Can Build.”

“It turned out that it wasn’t much more expensive to print 2,000 than it was to print 1,000,” says McKee, whose second, third and fourth editions were for 2,000 copies each.

“Woodshop for Kids” is illustrated by nationally known playground designer Rusty Keeler. In all, there are 179 photos and illustrations.

McKee taught woodworking to youngsters at a Bellingham Montessori school for six years, and spent 18 years as a summer projects teacher for children at Bellingham’s Roeder Home, a Whatcom County park.

He also did an extensive series of science demonstrations for kids when he brought his “Science Circus” to local elementary schools as “Mr. Science.” One of his special interests was showing the wonders of electricity.

“I used to get letters from kids,” he says. “I was blown away by how much they loved hands-on science.”

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Bellingham man’s woodworking books for kids a quiet success."