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347 of 354 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book for young girls (or boys) - you'll love it as much as your kid!, November 9, 2007
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.
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131 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sparking Imagination, November 12, 2007
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.
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81 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you have a daughter, buy this book!, November 8, 2007
I don't know what I like better -- The Daring Book for Girls or the fact that it's written by two women I greatly admire, Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz.
Written as a sequel, of sorts, to last year's The Dangerous Book for Boys, The Daring Book for Girls is a compendium of activities and information to help today's girls rediscover that there are ways to have fun besides shopping at the mall, watching Hannah Montana or IM'ing their friends.
As the mother of a seven-year-old daughter, I was thrilled when I learned that the founders of MotherTalk would be writing this book and couldn't wait to see what it would have in store.
When it arrived, my daughter and I were both very excited because it's just got so much STUFF! Where to begin? There was so much to take in after I was done ooh-ing and aah-ing over the beautiful teal cover with the sparkly silver letters (yes, that did appeal to the "girl" in me!)
How to make a lemon-powered clock (really!)? Reading the chapters on women who were pirates and spies? How to make a tree swing or check out the list of books "that will change your life?"
Aimed at the "tween" girl market, it is perfect for that age group, billing itself as the book "for every girl with an independent spirit and a nose for trouble."
If you're the parent of a daughter who could use a little nudging to take off the headphones and get a little fresh air, then this book is just what the doctor (or Santa) ordered. There are so many great craft ideas and topics to spark the imagination of a girl it's hard to know where to start.
Since the book's release, some commenters have questioned whether this type of book can really have an impact on the way our daughters are socialized today -- can we really hope that a book that is an homage to our childhoods in the 1970s will be the tonic that will drag our girls out from behind the laptops and forsake the sassy outfits?
Can it really get our girls away from the world of Libby Lu parties, Bratz Dolls, and questionable Halloween outfits?
Is it too much to take the feminist optimism we had as girls of the MS. generation and help our daughters discover that they can do "boy" things, too? I think it's imperative. At seven, my daughter is already succumbing to the phenomenon of boys having too much sway on her budding self-esteem. If a few of the activities in this book can help boost her already waning self-confidence, then I'm going to go for it.
Perhaps it is too much to expect that one book can start a new feminist wave for our daughters of the 21st Century. But if we don't start somewhere, who will?
As a parent, I can't be responsible for reclaiming the girlhoods of all the "tweens" in America by making them turn off the Disney Channel and sit down to make a quill pen or learn about Queens of the Ancient World. But I can start with one excited second-grader and I'm planning on doing just that.
What I can do is take one second-grade girl, who is chomping at the bit to dig into the activities in The Daring Book for Girls, and help her discover things she never thought she could do. And I can make sure other moms know about it, too.
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