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Everything a boy needs to know, and more
Filed under: Just For Dads, That's Entertainment
Last night, when my husband came home, I said, "I have a present for you." Then, ceremoniously, I handed him his copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys. "Uh, thanks?" he said skeptically. To be polite, he opened the book and started flipping through the pages.
And then he started to smile.
"Have you LOOKED at this?" he asked. "Famous Civil War battles! Trout fishing! How to build a GO CART! Timers and tripwires--cool!"
"Yes," I said, "I know. There's also a section on marbling paper, a Navajo code talker's dictionary, and rules for soccer and rugby."
He looked at me with what I swear were tears in his eyes and said, "This is AWESOME. Thank you."
The Dangerous Book for Boys is a truly beautiful and engaging compendium of Things Boys Need to Know, everything from poetry to world history to practical outdoor skills. The authors open the book with the assertion that "In this age of video games and cell phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree houses, and stories of incredible courage. The one thing that we always say about childhood is that we seemed to have more time back then. This book will help you recapture those Sunday afternoons and long summers--because they're still long if you know how to look at them."
I am completely in love with this book, and so is my husband. It is well written and interesting and beautifully presented, in a lovely cloth binding that looks very much like something my father might have owned as a child. The writing is crisp and funny, and the information is really interesting. My favorite bit in the entire book, though, comes in a section of advice about girls: "5. Avoid being vulgar. Excitable bouts of windbreaking will not endear you to a girl, just to pick one example."
Father's Day is just around the corner; I highly suggest The Dangerous Book for Boys for the fathers and grandfathers on your list.
And then he started to smile.
"Have you LOOKED at this?" he asked. "Famous Civil War battles! Trout fishing! How to build a GO CART! Timers and tripwires--cool!"
"Yes," I said, "I know. There's also a section on marbling paper, a Navajo code talker's dictionary, and rules for soccer and rugby."
He looked at me with what I swear were tears in his eyes and said, "This is AWESOME. Thank you."
The Dangerous Book for Boys is a truly beautiful and engaging compendium of Things Boys Need to Know, everything from poetry to world history to practical outdoor skills. The authors open the book with the assertion that "In this age of video games and cell phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree houses, and stories of incredible courage. The one thing that we always say about childhood is that we seemed to have more time back then. This book will help you recapture those Sunday afternoons and long summers--because they're still long if you know how to look at them."
I am completely in love with this book, and so is my husband. It is well written and interesting and beautifully presented, in a lovely cloth binding that looks very much like something my father might have owned as a child. The writing is crisp and funny, and the information is really interesting. My favorite bit in the entire book, though, comes in a section of advice about girls: "5. Avoid being vulgar. Excitable bouts of windbreaking will not endear you to a girl, just to pick one example."
Father's Day is just around the corner; I highly suggest The Dangerous Book for Boys for the fathers and grandfathers on your list.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-13-2007 @ 5:00PM
Amy said...I don't get it: don't girls like tree houses and forts, too? I know I did when I was a kid.
Reply
4-13-2007 @ 5:29PM
Nancy Toby said...Sounds cool. I want a girls book! But probably it would just have stupid stuff like makeup and attracting boys, right?
Reply
4-13-2007 @ 5:57PM
emjaybee said...Like the idea....hate the sexism. Not a single thing in there (except maybe "dealing with girls") that a girl couldn't do/be interested in. But with that title, who'll buy it for her?
Why not just a book for kids? What is this, 1952? It's not bad enough that EVERY girl's toy is pink and looks like a Barbie threw up on it, or tells her to dress like a call girl.
Now they don't get to build go karts or tree forts either, because it's something for boys? I don't even have a daughter, and that makes me mad.
And I know plenty of little girls who hold their own in farting and burping; all kids love to be rude and disgusting.
I'm glad your son and husband liked it; I just wish the authors weren't so narrow minded.
Reply
4-13-2007 @ 6:37PM
http://CreativeTypeDad.com said...This is a fun book - I find it odd that some people (like the comment above) try to find sexism in it.
Girls and moms will like it regardless of what the title is. The look and spirit of the book is emulating an old Boy Scout manual - it's not anti-girl propaganda.
Reply
4-14-2007 @ 11:51AM
nicolebarber said...this book sounds great thanks for a great idea for fathers day my husband will love it as well as my son since they are both tired of reading about womens issues in so called unsex magazines like parent and the working parent
Reply
4-14-2007 @ 12:15AM
SKL said...I would definitely buy a book like this for my daughters. To put it in perspective, I can tell my daughters that in the days that inspired this book, both boys and girls did all those things, even though at the time they were categorized by grown-ups as boy things. There were reasons for that - the boy scouts were sort of a pre-military organization, and they didn't see young girls as future soldiers in those days. Nevertheless, there were plenty of girls who were rough-and-tumble, could hold their own in sports / outdoor skills, and were proud and admired for this. Personally, as a child, given a choice between a book that said "dangerous book for boys" and one that said "proper (or whatever) book for girls," my choice would have definitely been the boy book, and I know I am not alone.
This book seems like a fun lesson in history as well as a down-to-earth manual for both genders. But to call it anything other than a boy book would be anachronistic. I'd rather expose my daughters to harsh realities than sweep them under the rug.
Reply
4-14-2007 @ 11:02PM
Jeannie said...Why do some females have to turn everylittlething into a women-only pity party?
Get over yourselves, and under your men.
Reply
4-27-2007 @ 1:56AM
creative-type dad said...And interview with the author here.
Reply