I saw two books I couldn't resist in a garden centre in Croydon (yes, I know, but they had a cafe)
The Boy Mechanic
and
The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys
The titles matter little; there isn't much difference between the content.
They are a collation of articles from Popular Mechanics in the early part of the last century. And the projects are pretty interesting.
Some of them are absolutely bonkers - Diving board, steam engine, child's petrol-driven car, ice yacht, motorcycle bobsled, rollercoaster or ferris wheel
And some of them are intriguingly practical - particularly the great number of camping ideas.
But the ones which caught my eye were the pedal-based ones.
Attaching sails to your bike
Adjustable 'Like-a-bike' for littlies
Pedal powered boat
Pedal car with flywheel
Velomobile
really worth searching out.
