Daring Book for Girls, The - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The Daring Book for Girls is the manual for everything that girls need to know -- and that doesn't mean sewing buttonholes! Whether it's female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers -- although that's included, of course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl's invitation to adventure.

Customer Reviews: Read 141 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful book for young girls (or boys) - you'll love it as much as your kid! November 9, 2007
282 out of 289 found this review helpful

This is the perfect book to share with your daughter/ granddaughter/that special girl you know who is a tween or young teen. It has just the right mix of articles - informative, fun, and stimulating! When the "Dangerous Book for Boys" came out I wished for a version for girls and this book is as good as the one for boys if not better.

When you first flip through its pages it will remind you of the time you were her age. You probably read a book almost like this but not quite. I say not quite as this book does a perfect balancing act between skills and general knowledge, between techniques we learned from our grandmothers and the ones that became popular later. It tells you "how to press flowers" but also "five karate moves". "Make your own quill pen" is preceded by "how to change a tire". I remember reading a book almost like this in my childhood. I dearly treasured that book till its pages were yellow and stiff into my college days. I spent many afternoons after school experimenting with the projects. I remember the bitter candy apples I made from a recipe in that book, or the quill pen with which I wrote my "secret language" notes for my friends and this book brought back those memories. With more words than illustrations, the Daring book for Girls will encourage the girl who reads it to use her imagination.

This book will appeal to the "girly-girl" in every girl with the sections like "Palm reading", "Hopscotch", "Princesses today" or "Boys"; to her sense of adventure with articles like "Going to Africa" (short section on each country), "Hiking", "Reading tide charts"; and to the "builder" in her with sections like "Building a campfire", "Tree swings", "Every girl's toolbox". There is a ton of useful information and facts in this book too for those rainy or quiet days - "from French terms of endearment" to "Queens of Ancient world" to "Women Inventors". Sports are covered too - basketball, softball, netball, bowling, playing cards and more.

My daughter was thrilled to get this book. I wasn't sure she'd like it as much as I liked my childhood book. But she began her next project "how to tie a sari" in minutes and over dinner started telling me about the women inventors in the book. We have now designated this book the "mother-daughter time" book. Each weekend, we pick up the book and try something new! What a great antidote to the "Mom, I'm bored" refrain!

Some are activities she can attempt on her own and for others like building the ultimate scooter she will need help as it requires some sawing and drilling. It is a challenge for me too as I've not really attempted to build anything from scratch before. I'm ready with my saw and drill and as excited as her to begin that project!

This book gives just the right kind of stimulation for a younger girl's (or boy's) curious mind and their thirst for new knowledge and skills. This book will also grow with the reader as it gives practical advice and even contains chapters like "Stocks and shares" and "Negotiating salaries." This book is therefore highly recommended and will make a great gift for a 7-14 year old.

1 out of 5 stars

Where's the dangerous book for KIDS?? November 2, 2007
140 out of 270 found this review helpful

Oh, I see, boys get to be "dangerous" -- i.e., risk takers -- while girls get to be "daring" -- i.e., taboo breakers, who "dare" to break a rule. And we all know which irrational and constricting cultural taboos and rules are in question here. (You can start with "being smart at math." Or "repeatedly checkmating a boy in chess." Or "refusing to wear dresses or skirts." Or "rough-housing." Or "refusing to defer to men." Or "speaking your mind.") Is this really the message we want to send our kids? Especially when adult working women today are often criticized -- and blamed for their limited financial success relative to men -- specifically for not being "risk takers"? (See, e.g., Lisa Belkin's op-ed in the NY Times online, "Life's Work: The Feminine Critique" (Nov. 1 2007).)

Meanwhile, here are the supposedly "daring" activities for girls to enjoy, as quoted from the Amazon editorial blurb: "female heroes in history [Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Marie Curie, no doubt], secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel [but not the perfect fastball or layup, of course] or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking." I mean, excuse me while I crack open my flight bag!

Then let's compare all that wonderful derring do to the things boys get to enjoy: "Simple instructions for coin tricks and paper airplanes alternate with excerpts from history such as Famous Battles and facts about ancient wonders of the world and astronomy. The dangerous aspect is more apparent in such chapters as Making Cloth Fireproof, and Hunting and Cooking a Rabbit, but also applies to the overall premise that action is fun and can be worth the risks. A section on stickball, for instance, includes advice to possibly flee the vicinity in the event of a broken window."

Why ARE these books so aggressively gendered? Why couldn't the original "dangerous" book have welcomed ALL kids? Why did it have to create a clubhouse with a sign reading "NO GIRLS ALLOWED"? Why is it that knot-tying and paper-airplane-making only take on this hushed aura of holiness when they're used as a means to EXCLUDE someone? And why are girls then offered this pale Women's Auxiliary version? Is this so they'll all grow up and accept everything from the Masters Golf Tournament to 16% representation in the Senate without batting an eye?

If you want to perpetuate the notion that Little Girls are Made of Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice, then by all means by this book -- but don't forget the pretty pink party dress and the black patent Mary Janes.

But if you want to instill an old-fashioned sense of adventure and independence in your kids -- sons and daughters alike -- I highly recommend Arthur Ransome's "Swallows & Amazons," first published in 1930, and all the other books in that series. It's a story in which children - oh, the horror! - actually spend the summer camping out *all by themselves* on an English Lake District island, to which they also sail all by themselves. I can't think of a better role model for girls than the "Amazons," a pair of girl pirates who open the series by capturing the camp of the Swallows and holding them at bay with bow and arrow.
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5 out of 5 stars

Sparking Imagination November 12, 2007
111 out of 119 found this review helpful

There are certain things that every girl should learn in her young life, like how to press flowers, what games to play at a slumber party, and how to put her hair up with a pencil. You know, girly things. But they also need to know things like salary negotiation, self defense with karate, and how to change a tire.

She'll get that and more in The Daring Book For Girls, by authors Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. This wonderful collection of projects, primers, and practical advice is so compelling and fun to read that I found myself browsing through it for hours after my daughter went to bed.

The letters of Abigail Adams, the history of women in the Olympics, making a lemon-powered clock... The book is packed with stimulating knowledge and activities. It's sure to stir my daughter's imagination for years to come. The authors have wisely designed the book to appeal to a wide range of ages, from 8 to 18. I'm well beyond those years, and NOT a girl, and even I'm envious of the new worlds of information that will be introduced to my daughter through these pages.

If you're the parent, or grandparent, of a girl, think twice before you spend your holiday money on some new toy or electronic gadget. The Daring Book For Girls will be the gift that gets the most attention this year.

1 out of 5 stars

The boys book was dumb; thus this is dumberer November 19, 2007
105 out of 227 found this review helpful

This is a terrible book. It is daring only in the sense that hopscotch could be considered daring. In the boys book they tell you to hunt, shoot, kill and cook a rabbit. In the girls book they teach you to sing the "Miss Susie" hand-clapping song. Brilliant.

I loathed this book the way I loathed people trying to hammer me into a gender-specific role when I was a little girl.

Note to parents: Let your little girl be DARING on her own. She doesn't need this book. NO ONE needs this book.

Update: To those who left comments who thought I did not know that Dumberer was not a word - I was making a play on the sequel to the Dumb and Dumber film, Dumb and Dumberer. It was just a joke. And I hardly think that personally attacking me and saying that I am angry because I did not happen to like this books is just bizarre. Nor do I advocate killing a rabbit - I was just making a point. You people can be so Prussian.

3 out of 5 stars

Positive Book with Some Unfortunate Parts November 9, 2007
90 out of 267 found this review helpful

While I was originally glad to see a companion to the Dangerous Book for Boys, the authors of this book have chosen to include several articles that Christian parents (and others) might find problematic:

1. An chapter on palm reading and fortune telling

2. Several problematic "Slumber Party Games" such as "Bloody Mary," where girls are encouraged to summon spirits, and "Light as a Feather/Stiff as a Board," a levitation game that comes out of the Spiritualism movement.

3. A chapter on Yoga

4. A chapter on Ghost Stories.

While even many Christian parents will see these topics are harmless, fascination with and instruction about magic and the demonic in this fashion is far more dangerous than fictional books such as Harry Potter.

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