Haven't You Heard?

The Dangerous Book for Boys. This reference book first caught my attention several months ago when Taylor read me an article about it from the Wall Street Journal. Originally published in England, where it was wildly popular, the book had now been slightly altered for an American audience, and was gaining popularity here. Last month, it was brought to my attention again in my Children's Lit class. The instructor commented that he was giving it to all his grown sons for Father's Day. What a marvelous idea, I thought. But even if you don't read the WSJ or attend Children's Lit classes, you may have still heard of it. I've seen some talk of it throughout the mighty blogosphere, and noticed that Father's Day weekend, it was on the top 10 bestseller lists at Borders, Barnes&Noble, and Amazon. Sheesh!

Why didn't you recommend this before Father's Day, silly Mrs. Cropper?! My apologies. Truth be told, I was procrastinating. In fact, Blaine and I snuck out the Saturday afternoon before Father's Day only to discover that it was sold out at our local Borders. So Taylor got his gift 2 weeks late, courtesy of Amazon. (By the way, I believe Amazon was inspired by God.) So although this suggestion is too late for Dad's Day 2007, I highly recommend it as a birthday, Christmas, or anytime gift for the men and boys in your life.

After all that babble, let's talk about what this book is all about! The authors, Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden sum it up beautifully on the back cover: "Recapture Sunday afternoons and long summer days. The perfect book for every boy from eight to eighty." Essentially, it's a reference book for boyhood. Page 35--Making a Bow and Arrow. Page 136--Map of the United States. Page 79--Making a Go-Cart. Page 146--The Golden Age of Piracy. Page 171--Skipping Stones. Page 18--How to Play Stickball. Page 39--Understanding Grammar-Part One. Page 250--Role-Playing Games. Page 139--Extraordinary Stories-Part Two: The Wright Brothers. Page 89--Juggling. Page 163--The Declaration of Independence. Page 238--Hunting and Cooking a Rabbit. Page 73--Making Crystals. Are you getting the idea? And it's chalk full of pictures, diagrams, intructions, charts, etc. Taylor's favorite section? Page 21--Building a Treehouse.

My boys love it--and so will yours!