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I never was a reader as a child. My sister would be indoors all summer long engrossed in Nancy Drew and I was outside, climbing trees, walking fences and riding my Schwinn down back alleys and dirt roads. Summer meant long days outside, exploring with my best friend, able to run wherever our imaginations led. I crashed, I fell, I cracked my head on innumerable sidewalks (my sister thinks that explains much of my adult behavior) but I was a “doer”. I needed to be moving.
When one of my colleagues (who was just blessed with a new baby boy! Welcome, Oliver!) drew my attention to a book that’s been buzzing around England for the last year, I was actually reminded a bit of my own childhood. The Dangerous Book for Boys, is a fantastic almanac of everything “boy” (or in my case, “girl”.) Morse code, electromagnets, go-cart building, marble rules, extraordinary people, artillery, Latin phrases, five knots every boy should know how to tie, how to skin and dry a hide (just to name a few excerpts) this book is jam-packed! And even though it was created by fathers for their sons, there is a larger message here, I think. Our children need to be doing things, not just safely watching things; Boys and girls. This book is a great idea starter. There is something for everyone, even my sister and me – after all it’s something you can read about doing stuff. |
