101 Things You Gotta do Before You're 12 is a fun book about child and family adventure. It serves as a guide of rediscovery and a guide for future planning. It helps parents and children discover new and exciting things to do that they may never have considered before and it also serves as an activity book complete with stickers so that kids can identify their favorite and least favorite events/activities.
This book is all about doing things and it is one of a few titles available in the 101 book series. The book includes a listing from one through one- hundred and one, in no particular order, offering suggestions on fun, entertaining, and educational activities for kids that will stretch their knowledge and induce a spirit of fun and adventure.
One of the many things I like about this book is that it keeps its destinations on a general level so that kids can find something that matches each of the 101 suggestions, regardless of where they live. Rather than specifically recommend, say, going to the Indianapolis 500, the book makes this and other entries general by simply recommending that you and your kids "See a Great Race." It can be any race and that means that, no matter where you live, you should have no problem finding something within a few hours drive of your home. In fact, some of the 101 activities are things your kids can do at home so there should be no problem taking part in the majority of the activities in this guide.
To help readers in their quest to partake in each adventure, this book often includes lists, where appropriate, of possible specific activities. For instance, one of the listings recommends walking on a swinging bridge. Many families are likely unaware of any swinging bridges in the area, so the book provides some assistance by listing seven specific, well- known swinging bridges, just in case you happen to be near one, along with a web site you can visit to find other swinging bridges in your area. Many other listings include similar information.
Finding acitivities is one important part of this book, but there is more. The book is also about the stickers- several pages of included stickers that let kids label each activity to express their feelings about it. The stickers include a few words to describe places they have already been (like "loved it" or "this rocks") and places they would like to go (like "just gotta"). There are plenty of included stickers so that more than one child can express an opposing view.
Travel is an important part of our family life and 101 Things You Gotta do Before You're 12 is a very good book that my kids and I both like for slightly different reasons. They love the stickers and reminiscing about places they have been while I like the book more for its suggestions for family adventure. It is a fun book from which kids and parents can share, plan, remember, and learn.
