Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) [Paperback]

Gever Tulley (Author), Julie Spiegler (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2009

NOTE: This is the self-published edition of the book, which is now discontinued. Please visit the page for the new edition from New American Library (a Penguin imprint): amazon.com/Dangerous-Things-Should-Your-Children/dp/0451234197

Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is the first book from the people who created Tinkering School. With projects, activities, experiences, and skills ranging from "Superglue Your Fingers Together" to "Play with Fire," along with 48 other great ideas, the book is a manifesto for kids and parents alike to reclaim childhood. Easy to follow instructions, fun facts, and challenging undertakings that will engage and inspire whole households.

Why Fifty Dangerous Things? First off, Five Dangerous Things just weren't enough (although the audience at TED thought it was a good starting point). More importantly, there are many "dangerous" things that are interesting, eye-opening, enlightening or just plain fun! And while there are aspects of danger in virtually everything we do, the trick is to learn how mastery actually minimizes danger. Most of us learn how to walk without toppling over at a very young age, so that walking is no longer dangerous. Next we learn to negotiate stairs. Why stop there? Why not practice and become proficient at walking on the roof or walking on a tightrope? These are just a few of the Fifty Dangerous Things that we invite you to try.

Take a peek and step into a world of danger and discovery.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gever Tulley was fortunate to grow up in a world full of possibilities and adventures. He and his big brother were free to explore their environment and invent their own projects while growing up in the wide-open rural environs of Northern California and interior British Columbia. Their curiosity was encouraged by their parents, who instilled early on a sensible approach to their experiments. Gever's famous rule while babysitting: "If you're going to play with fire, be sure to do it outside." (Note that this was in the ever-wet yards of coastal Northern California, not the tinder-dry inland desert!) In 2005, Gever founded the Tinkering School to teach kids how to build things. He created the school since he believes we all learn by fooling around. Grand schemes, wild ideas, crazy notions, and intuitive leaps of imagination are, of course, encouraged and fertilized. After years of creating playful hands-on projects for kids of all ages, Gever wanted to share with a wider audience the discovery that comes from this directed "fooling around". Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is his first book on the subject.

Product Details

• Paperback: 130 pages
• Publisher: Tinkering Unlimited (December 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984296107
• ISBN-13: 978-0984296101
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gever Tulley was raised in Northern California, in a town that barely exists now. Casper was once a bustling mill town, but when the logging dried up in the early mid-century, the shacks that housed the millworkers became the home to beatniks who wanted to "get out of the City, man." Thus began a childhood spent tagging along with his older brother on adventures that covered the deserted cliffs and beaches of the pre-touristed Mendocino coast.

The holder of numerous technology patents, Gever Tulley's first career was propelled by his voracious self-directed quest for knowledge. From operating systems to compilers to CGI, he has worked in nearly every field in the applied Computer Sciences. But in 2005, he made what he often refers to as "the greatest mistake of his life" when he started a summer program for kids called Tinkering School. The school was a laboratory where Gever could experiment with new pedagogies that focussed on hands-on self-directed learning. That first year, Tinkering School started being noticed by the media and educators around the world - because the kids (ages 7 to 16) had built a roller coaster with 120 feet of track. In the years since, kids have gone on to build sailboats, electric vehicles, and even a working hang glider. But one would be missing the point if it were just about what they built, Tinkering School is giving these kids a chance to amaze themselves with what they are capable of, and to discover just how responsible and capable they really are.

In 2007 he first spoke at TED, giving a talk titled "Five Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)." The talk has been seen by millions of people around the world, and continues to be blogged and commented on to this day. In that talk he made an off-hand comment about a forth-coming book entitled "Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)" - the comment turned into a weekly in-flux of email asking where the book could be purchased. After meeting with dozens of publishers, who rejected the idea as "not kid-friendly", he and Julie Spiegler self-published the book on Amazon - where it became an over-night sensation, stirring up the media on three continents.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Release your kids from the bubble wrap, January 4, 2010

By 

Deborah L. Nies - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) (Paperback)

I discovered Gever Tulley on [...] and was fascinated by his speech entitled "5 Dangerous Things you Should let your Children do." Among the list of five things that Mr. Tulley suggested that children should do: play with fire, drive a car and own a pocketknife. Let me say that these suggestions initially tormented this helicopter mom.

Yes, fellow parents, I can feel the cringes now. But, let's think about it. We used to be free-range children. We rode our bicycles without helmets. We played in the neighborhood/woods all day long, only returning home for dinner refueling. We whittled with pocketknives, and yes, most of us probably played with fire. We probably survived these experiences unscathed or with minor scrapes.

The "5 Dangerous Things" lecture was the precursor to his new book which has just been published, and it is called "50 Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)." My tween daughter and I are working our way through this hands-on activity book, which has space for your own field notes.

Mr. Tulley's book promotes learning, and believe it or not, safety. Quote from his website: "There are many "dangerous" things that are interesting, eye-opening, enlightening or just plain fun! And while there are aspects of danger in virtually everything we do, the trick is to learn how mastery actually minimizes danger."

As parents, we need to give our children opportunities to tinker, explore and experiment. We must endeavor to raise the next generation of great thinkers. We already have our copy...where's yours?

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, helpful, inspirational, appropriate, January 26, 2010

By 

Robert N. Jellinghaus "Hacker" (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) (Paperback)

I'm a parent of young children, so I certainly understand the urge to be protective. Still, sometimes it's more important to know when you're *too* scared of what might happen, and that's when this book comes in very handy indeed. Tulley and Spiegler do an excellent job of balancing caution with excitement; each of the fifty things has enough danger to be interesting, and enough background insight to be intriguing. The lack of sexism is also refreshing; this is a book for *all* kids, boys and girls alike.

All parents who want their kids to develop more confidence and skill in the face of hazardous life situations -- and isn't that *all* parents? -- can benefit from this book. Even if you don't do *any* of the things listed, the overall attitude -- that confidence comes from skill and from knowing and managing risk -- is very helpful and affirming.

I just have to comment on the one-star review here by "L. Helw." I am not sure why that reviewer got so upset at the concept of an activity book such as this, but most of their complaints seem to be addressed at some other book altogether. In particular, Fifty Dangerous Things is very clear that parents and kids should do only the things they find enjoyable, but the one-star reviewer seems to think the book is demanding that all kids do all fifty things. That's only one example of how the one-star review is based on, at best, a very shallow and hasty reading.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!!!!!!!!!, January 13, 2010

By 

Hoop (SF, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) (Paperback)

This book is absolutely fabulous. It is so important to teach children how to be safe during the adventures you know they will have. The book is cute, clever, thorough and simply wonderful. We couldn't get enough and bought copies for all of our friends with kids! Such a creative and great way to introduce fun stuff for children to explore. Highest recommendations!!!