Information is Dangerous - A Review of "The Dangerous Book for Boys"

Right about now I can already hear the groaning beginning from moms across the country: "Summer's almost here! What am I going to do with these kids?" Don't abandon them to the TV, for starters, and don't over schedule them. Instead, give them a summer with nothing to do, and the tools to do it with.Around our house, we often joke that we're raising 19th century kids. A lot of the source materials we use in homeschool are from that era--for instance, the McGuffey readers and speller.Among our very favorite books are the "Handy Books" of Dan Beard and his sisters, proto-scouting manuals for the late 19th century kid looking for cool things to do that still work splendidly for 21st century kids looking for something to do. Even so, many of the activities in those books don't work for today, not least of which because we're not as rural as we used to be.Enter The Dangerous Book for Boys, a bestseller in the UK that's just being published here in the States. Brothers Conn and Hal
Iggulden have put together a handsome volume of which Dan Beard would approve.To put it to the test, I gave a copy to two actual boys, Simon and Jonah, the closest things I have to nearby nephews. (I have to say their mother was not thrilled with the book's title, especially considering these two often mistake themselves for elven archers.)13-year-old Simon says:The "Dangerous Book" is a very clever bit of writing. It encompasses all of the things that kids don't think about much these days, like semaphore flags, building a go-cart, famous battles, and things like that. It's full of experiments, projects, and random facts. If you open it up to any page, you'll probably have learned something when you close it.For example, there are instructions on how to build a trip wire. It requires fishing line, batteries, tinfoil, and a clothespin. Then there's a paragraph detailing how real trip wires are used and where it works best. On another page, you can find information on how to
cook a rabbit, or tan leather.All in all, it was quite good. It would have been nice if the information was ordered in some way, rather than randomly throughout, but this is definitely a cool and interesting book. And 11-year-old Jonah says:"The Dangerous Book for Boys" is a very cool book. it has all the things that an energetic boy would want. it shows all kinds of things like how to make a tree house, the rules of soccer, and how to make a bow and arrow [see what I mean?]. It also has some very interesting diagrams that show things like the different pirate flags and the fifty states. This book is a fantastic work of art. Thank you, boys. Now don't get your mother mad at me and put an eye out or anything.(Actually, what makes the book "dangerous" isn't that it's filled with risky activities; it's filled with information and ideas. These days, thinking for yourself automatically makes you dangerous, especially if you're under age 18.)Among the instructions for playing mar
bles, making secret ink, "extraordinary stories," cloud formations and bits of Shakespeare is a chapter entitled "Girls." It is not aimed at girls, rather it is aimed at helping boys understand girls: "[A]s a general rule, girls do not get quite as excited by the use of urine as a secret ink as boys do." Indeed. The eight bits of advice will endear just about any boy to just about any girl. I would add only: Learn to dance.The only thing wrong with this book is that there is no companion book for girls (though my oldest girl thinks it's pretty nifty and there's no reason a girl wouldn't enjoy it, really). At least that was my first thought; upon reflection, the bookshelves for girls these days are bent under the weight of thousands of tomes; let the boys have their moment. Even so, this house would welcome a "Dangerous Book for Girls," as long as it's not pink. If it were pink I'd have to chuck it at the publisher's head.Get your bored boys The Dangerous Book for Boys, equip
them with the (minimal) supplies on the first page, and stand back. They'll have a full summer!

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