The Daring Book for Girls

What a beautiful book! I remember reading a comparable book that my grandmother gave me, it was hers in the 1920's, a collection of stories, instructions on activities and ideas, I was a child of the 80's/90's and I still found the information interesting, exciting and useful. This is the same concept with " The Daring Book for Girls." This is a book designed for bright children that do not spend their days sitting in front of a screen for hours and hours. That is the main difference between children today and children of the "1950's" as another reviewer complained about. If you want to unplug your girls from "X-box", "Youtube" and "Netflix," this is the book to start with! If your children are under 10, be prepared to help them with the activities and help them collect the things they need, other than that, use it as a tool for encouraging individual imaginative play. Parents that are heavily reliant on media to keep their children quiet WILL have a hard time with this book, it is packed with fun ideas that range from easy to difficult and it will require you to be an active participant in some of the playtime. Do it! It will be a wonderful experience for both parent and child. I bought this book after my girls didn't want to return it to the library and after we get through the activities I am planning on buying the second book next year. We will be implementing this into our homeschooling activities. It is a very wonderfully written book, and does harken back to days when children scrounged dads work shed for nails and hammers, and explored the neighborhood and forests around their houses. Days we need to bring back!

I first heard about this book on television; the author was showing the interviewer how to play jacks, which I knew my mother played but did not know how myself, nor was I able to teach my own girls. I ordered one for my 9-year-old grandaughter for Christmas, and after I got it and looked through it, I ordered another one for my 10-year-old niece and one for my 47-year-old self. I grew up in girl scouting and so did my three girls, and reading this book is a similar experience. There is a little bit of everything you ever wanted to know as well as things you didn't even know you wanted to know. When you first pick it up, you just keep turning pages, eager to see what is next, but also you are inspired to go and try the many projects and games and sports that are described in detail. Included are simple instructions, rules for play, histories and biographies, geographical information, and ways to be prepared for anything. From inspirational stories of real women in history, to how to play softball, from the many ways to use a bandana, to queens and princesses of the world, this book has it all. Even a simple, but insightful, section on understanding the mysteries of the young male mind. A great book for a girl to read on her own, as well as a wonderful way to connect and spend time with a daughter or grandaughter. I recommend this book to all young girls (and the young at heart) for hours of fun and a mind-broadening, girl-empowering educational experience.

A great gift for young girls! My daughter is 8 and loves this book!

An amazing book that covers a great amount of material good to have will keep children busy for hours

This is one of my daughters all-time favorite books! It has so many fun things in it, and is totally clean for any girl who is old enough to read. The book itself is very tough. The pages are thick and very unlikely to rip. This book is full of illustrations and pictures, and has lots of educational chapters as well as entertainment and craft ones. I would definitely recommend getting this book.

I wanted to add my review from the perspective of a Christian. I think the pros greatly outweigh the cons of this book. This book encourages so many good conversations between a mother and a daughter, both regarding those skills we do want them to develop, and those we'd like them to avoid. It is a wonderful compendium of female interests, knowledge, good sense. Much of it is stuff I wish I had learned. I was brought up by a very strict mom who edited everything. I bless my mother for the pitfalls she helped me to avoid, but there were still many pitfalls I fell into because of topics avoided or shunned, but I didn't know why. I would argue that those secular activities we as the body of Christ disagree with are still subjects we must broach with our girls. They're going to encounter the occult sooner or later. I for one would like to show my daughter why we believe the way we do about this, and why she shouldn't learn this particular skill. That said, I do think there are things in this book that really are occult, for instance palm reading, conjuring up spirits and practicing levitating. The instances are few and far between (I objected to 3 out of 104 topics). I understand why these "skills" were included, for to many in our culture, they are harmless pretend. They are most definitely not something I want my Christian daughter practicing, but their appearance in this book made me realize they were topics we must address. Like it or not, these are things my daughter is going to come into contact with, and I need her to know why I don't think they're a good idea. I pre-viewed the content along with my daughter, the good and the bad; we found so much that was interesting, delightful, curious, just plain good sense. We also found the offending sections, discussed them, and then I simply glued the pages together. She is so happy with her new book of things girls ought to know. Even those stiff, thick sections of her book will be a reminder to keep herself holy. It is my prayer that when she is at a friend's house, she'll recognize the activities that aren't spiritually wise, and know that's her cue to leave. Our girls will have to navigate on their own a big, and often complicated world. Being honest with them is just another way we arm our girls to be in the world but not of the world. And there's just a whole lot of great girl strengthening in this book. I loved it, thick glued sections and all.

Reliable delivery, quality product. Very good.

Granddaughter loves this book

My daughter loved the activities

Hardback Review After having looked at my dad's 'The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do,' I decided to purchase this book to see if it had any similar content. Although the book is complex in parts, it is still packed with fascinating facts and fun activites to do. It even made a perfect resource for making origami boxes in my calligraphy class. There are some sections that remind me of my own childhood such as Handclap Games, Skipping, Campfire Songs (although I have never sung around a campfire) and Charades (a fun game from my childhood). I will definitely buy 'The Double Daring Book for Girls' one day. 5/5. Kindle Review (Updated 18/2/2011) I recently downloaded the Kindle version of this book to my iPhone and most of the content is the same as the hardback book but it's actually the original American version! I wish the UK edition of the book was available in Kindle form to cater to the tastes of British fans of the hardback book. The good thing is that if I go away on holiday, I will no longer have to worry about lugging around a heavy book. 4/5.

Lots of great information and activities for daughter.

A compendium of fantastic information, experiments, history and literature, there is something interesting on each and every page. This book should be in every little girl’s library

These books are great. Some rather tongue in cheek information which adds to the entertainment value. Some really useful hints and tips. I bought this book for a "grown up" friend for Xmas and also received a copy in return (great minds thinking alike). It is a great reaqd that gets picked up time and time again.