Of course you knew it was coming.  No self-respecting girl would sit back and just accept The Dangerous Book for Boys without a fight.  Besides, the response to The Dangerous Book for Boys was so good, that no self-respecting publisher would let the opportunity pass. 

So The Daring Book for Girls is here, and it’s a pretty decent match.  The information that the Dangerous Book included was more or less archaic, scouty type stuff that was due for a come-back, and The Daring Book is similar.  Of course your average gal doesn’t need to know how to read tide charts, change a tire, make a quill pen, identify the queens of the ancient world, make paper or play handclap games.  Most of us survived our girl years without that knowledge, but it’s pretty neat. 

I have to admit that my ten year old son is still asking, without luck, for that “essential pocket knife” and I suspect that my dear daughter will also be asking until she’s old enough to be scared of carrying one around.  That suggestion is just too daring/dangerous for boring old mother.  But the other stuff is great, and it makes a change from asking for an Xbox.

Forget Barbie, this book, which comes in the same simple but evocative plain matt cover, jazzed with just a bit of iridescent glitter, provides information on the rules of basketball, palm reading, tag, how to say “darling” in Spanish, how to press flowers, how to whistle with two fingers, Chinese jump rope and a lot more.  The emphasis is definitely on daring rather than demure.  Once you put your hair up with a pencil, you can hold a neighborhood snowball fight, sell lemonade, practice karate, or make a home-made volcano with vinegar and baking soda. 

It’s not all about doing things though. There’s a lot of information too, including the periodic table, the countries of Africa, women spies from the revolutionary war to WW2, how to write a good letter, Greek and Latin root words, how to speak in public, and how to tell a good ghost story.  In short, the book is a compendium of possibility – opening doors that might have otherwise remained shut, and providing a hint at the exciting world that’s out there.