The Double-Daring Book for Girls

It's the first day of Spring Break here in Chapel Hill (go Tar Heels tonight!). Anyone else already hearing, "Mom, I'm bored"?

We're home this week because I am busy with my book release. So wouldn't you know that this is the first year my daughter has been acutely aware of "Spring Break"? Bad timing--she's pretty bummed out that I am working all week long.

But, just in time, I've found something to vanquish our spring break blues--The Double-Daring Book for Girls, sequel to the fun bestseller The Daring Book for Girls.

The books (Girls and Boys versions) have tons of activities to keep kids busy exploring classic activities, from making pinatas, to slumber party fun. (Both series are nostalgic, but for me the Boys books feel more old school, like Rudyard Kidpling or Teddy Roosevelt, while the Girls books have more of a Dynamite Magazine, Judy Blume, classic 1970's vibe--right up my alley).

Authors Miriam Peskowitz and Andi Buchanan are accomplished writers in their own rights, and they are the perfect women to write the handbook for the next generation of girls.

Let me know which activities your kids enjoy the most!

My second look at The Daring Book for Girls

It's my turn to revisit The Daring Book for Girls to report back to the MotherTalk blog community.

And as I look for it, the book is missing. Rather, it's out in the field. Probably a little warped by now by being bookmarked with a screwdriver. Instead of sitting on the shelf, the Daring Book has been outside, as my daughter and husband worked on making the ambitious scooter project (to be completed tomorrow if all goes as planned). The book has been mightily grabbed and passed back and forth at a slumber party, and pored over by my daughter in her alone moments.

In short, The Daring Book for Girls has given us a lot to do and my daughter a lot to think about. I love the browsing nature of it. Just open to any page and start reading, dreaming, doing. Some have asked if the book is a little old-fashioned. I prefer to think of it as classic and timeless. I will say that my favorite summer day camp of all time (the only one I ever really liked) was the Tom Sawyer-Becky Thatcher summer camp put on by the Indianapolis Children's Museum in 1977. We went on field trips spelunking in a real cave, panned for real gold and garnets in a stream, made whimmy diddles and learned how to play marbles. I was "8 and a half" when I attended this camp, which I remember because I got my photo in the newspaper, wearing a woven straw Tom Sawyer hat, and I made them print "and a half" in their reporting.

Now, at about the same age, my daughter is having that kind of exploration with The Daring Book for Girls. During this holiday shopping season when everything my daughter asks for is an electronic game that she has seen on television, it's great to know that she can still have real-life fun with her friends or on her own thanks to Miriam and Andi's wonderful book.

My recommended age range for gift-giving: 8 to 12 years old.

The Daring Book for Girls--First impressions

You've probably heard about this year's surprise publishing phenomenon, The Dangerous Book for Boys. Ever since it was released last May, girls all over have been waiting for their OWN book.

It's blue, it's sparkly, and it's almost here! The Daring Book for Girls will be released next week. But if you heard a whoop coming from the Tiemann household last night, it was because my daughter got her hands on the advance copy that had arrived in the mail. We'd bought The Dangerous Book for Boys for her, which she perused with mild but unsustained interest. But once she saw the video for The Daring Book for Girls, which she insisted watching about 10 times, she was hooked. You, too, can try this at home:



We've just gotten started, but I wanted to share some of my first impressions.

I found The Dangerous Book for Boys nostalgic in a dated, Rudyard Kipling-esque way. It felt twee and British, which makes sense since it was written by British brothers. Luckily for us, The Daring Book for Girls is written by women after my own Mojo Mom heart, Andi Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. They are fantastic writers with strong feminist qualifications, in addition to being mothers of girls. We are in good hands. The nostalgic feeling of The Daring Book for Girls evokes is that of my own childhood, building forts, reading Judy Blume, playing outside with my friends.

Andi and Miriam are tasked with the impossible job of presenting the collective wisdom of girlhood. The topics are presented in rapid fire succession: rules of games, how to do a cartwheel and back walk-over, how to make a lemon-powered clock, introduction to the periodic table, bandana tying, math tricks, how to build a scooter, Queens of the Ancient World....it is all interesting.

The book is clearly positioned as something that Moms will buy for their daughters, and in the video it's all about a Mom and her girl doing these activities together. It struck me that "back in the day" much of this knowledge was passed from girl to girl, older sisters either teaching little ones, or being spied upon by them.

I believe we have lost that, which is sad. Kids are in organized sports and activities and don't have as many unplanned hours to fill with activities like rubbing a peach pit into a ring.

I hope this book will re-inspire some of those relationships. I also noted a strong link with what I remembered learning as a Girl Scout. Even before I officially joined a troop, I had an old garage-sale copy of the Girl Scout Manual, circa 1975, that I loved to read. The Daring Book for Girls covers much of the same ground, even including six Daring Girl badges at the end of the book. I would encourage Andi and Miriam to think about pursuing that connection. The Girl Scouts are the world's largest organization dedicated to girls ages 5-17. It's easy to take them for granted, but having spent a week at a Girl Scout World Center in Pune India, I really came to appreciate how revolutionary the idea of a global girls' organization really is.

After Thanksgiving I'll be reporting back on what my daughter and I have learned from the book, whether the activities make it into her play with her friends, and I'll invite you to share your comments and favorite girlhood memories.