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Up a Tree with a Ladder
Build a Hangout That Ranks High Above the Rest By Mark Stackpole
Climbing trees is one thing children throughout history have spent many lazy summer days scaling whatever happened to be growing in their backyards or at the local park. Living in trees, of course, is something else a magical fantasy usually reserved for mythic heroes and childhood friends.
Winnie the Pooh hung his honey pots in a hollowed tree located at the heart of the Hundred Acre Wood. Tarzan and Jane made their home in a tree high above the jungle floor. Both the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi and the elves from The Lord of the Rings commanded entire tree kingdoms. But why should fictional characters have all the fun when it comes to cool places to hang out?
Stiles has built a dozen or so treehouses himself and writes his books for families with the idea that they will be the ones completing the projects. "The best thing about building a treehouse is that it can be a family project," Stiles says. "You are giving your family the gift of imagination. One father told me that he put a ladder up to a tree, climbed it with his son and discussed, from amongst the leaves, how to build their treehouse. He said it was the best time he had ever had with his son."
