The Double-Daring Book for Girls (and why you should buy it)
Rarely does a book come along that makes me wish I were a kid again. This book by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz does just that. I absolutely loved The Double-Daring Book for Girls.
Chock full of daring information, ideas and stories, this beautiful hardback would have occupied me for at least a whole summer when I was a kid. From “How to Paint a Room” to “Putting on a Show” to making your own “Worry Dolls,” I would have disappeared into the daring world of ideas and instructions for putting those ideas into action.
“How to Make a Snow Globe” still intrigues me, as does “Make a Pinata from Papier Mache’.”
I agreed to join in the Double-Dare Party for this book . . . I’m supposed to challenge you to a dare, drawing on some of the topics in this book.
And so, I dare you to “Build a Raft” (page 207). And then, “. . . Run Away and Join the Circus” (page 121).
Seven Signs of the Apocalypse video However, in the event that you have neither the time nor the inclination to do so, I simply challenge you to play an old-fashioned game like “Sp0ons.” (page 33). Remember that game? You put spoons in the center of the table, one less spoon than players. (So, if you have five players, you put four spoons in the center.) Then, you get an ordinary deck of cards and deal four cards to each person. Place the remaining cards in a stack face-down on the table. The dealer picks up one card and without revealing it to the other players, decides whether to keep it or to pass it to the next player. Each player in turn, does the same. Play it fast for more fun. Keep the cards moving at a quick pace.
Crimson Tide The object of the game is to collect all four cards of a kind in your hand. (Four Kings, four 3s, four 7s, whatever.) When someone does get four matching cards, she grabs for a spoon. At that point, everyone can grab a spoon–except for the slow-poke who is eliminated. Each round, eliminate another spoon, then eliminate another player until one player wins.
I hadn’t thought of that game for decades. And now we’re going to play it. (Note to self: Make sure everyone trims their fingernails before playing this game.)
I am excited that my six-year old daughter will have this book to peruse when she’s a little older. (Her eyes lit up tonight when she saw it, but I said, “This is for when you are old enough to read.”) She can use it to learn the motions to the song “YMCA” . . . and to hang a spoon on her nose . . . and to play charades . . . and to make candles.
The possibilities for daring fun are practically endless.
This would be a terrific book for a birthday girl or for Christmas or for a “congratulations, it’s summertime, please go outside and find something to do” present.
You can read about it here and buy it here. I heartily recommend it.
(Disclaimer: You should know that I received my review copy free of charge, but I mean every word I just wrote. This book rocks.)
I love books like that. We had friends in Korea who had no TV and their kids used to think of all these kinds of things all by themselves. My kids LOVED playing with them.
I’m going to get this book for my niece’s birthday in September. She is far too commercialized with Hannah Montana and other crap.
Spoons is a family favorite! We make things last a little longer by earning a ‘letter’ for each time we are without a spoon. The first to spell ’spoon’ is out and then it works its way down. More fun that being eliminated right away. Have fun!
Cool. Nice to see this legacy is getting a good shot in the arm. Kids miss so much getting sucked into the cell-phone/cable-tv/iPod culture.
My mother-in-law gave me the Boy version of this book and I love it. Wish I had it when I was a kid. Can’t wait for my five-year-old to get to the point where he can appreciate some of the cool boy stuff in there.
We play spoons often and it never fails to bring tears from laughing!