Review Detail

Were about to have a baby boy and that, honestly, is pretty freaky for me since I grew up in a family of girls. What in the world do you do with a boy? Thats why I was so excited when I heard about The Dangerous Book for Boys. I have to admit that Im also a little old fashioned. Sure, I love computer games and all that technology stuff, but I also love making things by hand and building stuff. I like activity books that teach you things in a fun way.

This book definitely has that, teaching boys (or girls, theres really no reason why a girl wouldnt also enjoy this book, other than the title) how to do things as varied as build a go-cart, a tree house, or how to skip a stone or look at constellations. Theres also a mix of more informational topics (history, literature, etc.). Those sections are interesting and not too dry, though the activity projects are the real draw of this book.

The book is heavily illustrated as well, both with photos and hand drawings, many with a bit of an old fashioned style. They are particularly useful in the building activities.

The title is, in some ways, a misnomer (well, really, its just cute). There really isnt anything dangerous about this book (though, I imagine, if you get a large group of parents together in a room, youd find someone who would object to at least something in pretty much any book, including this one). Most of the activities I would consider pretty harmless. Thats actually my only complaint&I would like to see even more activities and things to do, maybe even some really daring bits (like the things my husband tells me he used to do as a boy, as taught to him by his dad) and a bit less of the history lesson type of information (like I said, those parts are interesting, but they dont hold the attention like the activities).

But I really cant wait to utilize this book, though it will be a number of years before I can really do so. I can also definitely see my husband using this book as inspiration for activities. It seems like it could be a real relationship builder between the two of them. I recommend it for boys (and girls) aged 10 and up, especially with involvement from parents.