When I received this book in the mail from the publisher, as my first MotherTalk review book, I knew right away that blue is not just for boys! The cover alone — blue, glittery and with big swirly letters — just screams GIRL!
And blue and glittery and swirly is just the beginning!
Like a guidebook or encyclopedia, The Daring Book for Girls, written by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz, takes girls on journeys from knot-tying to thank-you note writing, from softball glove care to dealing with boys. It’s adorned with minimal but adorable retro illustrations that provide step-by-step instructions on how to do everything from cover a book in fabric to sewing a sit-upon to building and running a lemonade stand. The book also explains the ins and outs of being a spy — as well as the ever-important hand/clapping games. And what girl would be girly without those?
But it’s not all fun and games. There are pages and pages filled with vocabulary words, history, states, flowers, trees and a list of modern women leaders.
I found this book to be delightful — and open-it-anywhere, read-forward-or-backward type of book good for short stints in reading or a long and lazy afternoon. It felt nostalgic — and the information was interesting and intriguing to me.
But, my 12-year-old daughter rolled her eyes, as only a 12-year-old can. I think the target age for this book is a little younger than 7th grade. I think that it’s perfect for the 8 to 10 year old crowd!
All in all, there’s a well-written and easy-to-digest haven within those pages — I wish I’d had one when I was a little girl. It would have been right up my alley.
It still is!
You can buy The Daring Book for Girls, here.
If you’d like to WIN my copy of the book, just leave a comment and one will be chosen at random on Friday and the winner will be announced Saturday morning!
November 6th, 2007Don’t put me in for the givaway…my daughter is 11 1/2, and would probably roll her eyes, too.
Does sound cute, though!
November 6th, 2007[…] Kvetch Blog says “Like a guidebook or encyclopedia, The Daring Book for Girls, written by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz, takes girls on journeys from knot-tying to thank-you note writing, from softball glove care to dealing with boys.” […]
November 6th, 2007Thanks for the review. You can enter me to win a copy of the book.
I love book reviews!
Yours are better than most because they are filled with so much life. It is easy to know if I would be interested in the book for myself or as a gift.
Thanks again.
November 7th, 2007Enter me also. I have heard everyone talking about it and am very curious.
November 27th, 2007I liked your short story “A Reason to Believe”, Baltimore Child, December 2007. It is fabulous to me that there are people who still walk in their beliefs. I am a fundamentalist Christian and I am always silently appalled by the lack of zeal or fervor manifested by most professing Christians. I also attend a Messianic Hebrew congregation and there, too, only a remnant actually live their beliefs outside of tradition. No one seems to actully understand that there are Christians who don’t celebrate Christmas or any other tradition not found in our Scriptures. And being African-American and honoring the supposed ‘Jewish’ feasts really causes puzzled expression everywhere. Anyway, I just wanted to edify and encourage you to continue to raise your children as YHWH has commanded. Bless you and blessed Chanukah!
Rosia Frazier