This airplane is moderately easy to build and can be completed in a fairly short time. Your young aviator will enjoy many hours of flying time with this great biplane and have a nice keepsake for later years.
You must have a lathe to turn the engine cowling and the wheels if you want nice dimensions but other tools will suffice for a simple look. I made the body from Fir, the wings from Oak, the tail parts from Maple, the wheels, pilot, and propeller from Hickory, and the engine cowling from Cherry.
Download the full size prints and print them on legal paper. The mainbody should be 12" long but you can resize the drawings to fit your needs. Use stain to highlight the tail and rudder. Paint the mouth, hair, eyes & mustache on the pilot with a child safe paint. A small piece of fabric glued around the pilot's neck serves well as a scarf too.