by Lynn Siprelle
have been dying to tell you about this book for MONTHS now, and then kapow! Two things kept me from meeting my blog tour deadline for "The Daring Book for Girls." First, our server blew up. You all held my hand through that, no need to rehash it.
But funnier, I just got the book back. Josie and Lou refused to give it back to me!
I feel it necessary to mention that I know Andi and Miriam, the gals who wrote the book. They're longtime online writing buddies, the founders of MotherTalk, and I'm even in one of Miriam's books. With that said, don't discount me when I say that "Daring" turned out even more fabulous that I was hoping it would be!
I am a sucker for these kinds of "handy" books and guides. I wish I still had my old 1940s Girl Scouts manual, for instance; I think I carted that thing around until it fell apart (this was in the 60s, thanks very much).
And with the advent of 24 hour children's television and video games, I worry that "girl culture" as I knew it is disappearing, much as "housewife culture" disappeared almost overnight late in the 20th century after several millennia of tradition. Every time I see a couple of girls playing "cat's cradle" with a loop of string I get happy chills.
And this book gives me happy chills! It starts off with a list of essential equipment every girl needs (Swiss army knife, bungee cords, and so on) and goes off higgledy-piggledy through karate moves, jump rope games, toolbox essentials--everything a girl needs to know.
Let's turn to the experts, since they hogged it:
Josie says:
It's extremely amazing! It's full of really fun and enjoyable activities. I especially liked how to read a palm, how to wrap a sari, and how to put your hair up with a pencil.
And it's true, Josie came down wrapped in a sari for like a week, and if you sit still for ten seconds she'll read your palm. Lou says:
I like the cartwheel instructions best. And the daisy chains. And the friendship bracelets.
What I liked best were the historical vignettes--pocket biographies of great queens, and a terrific article on real women spies. I always get a kick out of Julia Child and Hedy Lamar (an amazing woman, that Hedy) having been spies back in the day.
More than a crafts book, more than a history book, more than a game book, "The Daring Book for Girls" has something for just about any girl in it. I dare any female person to be bored with this book on the shelf.
Plus also? It's sparkly! Squeal!
*What that means is, I got a free copy of the book and a $20 Amazon gift certificate for reviewing it, in full disclosure.
 | The Daring Book for Girls Amazon price: $14.97 |
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