Boys Just Want to Have Fun

I came across this book, a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061243582?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=0061243582″emThe Dangerous Book for Boys/em,/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=0061243582″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / and was intrigued by the title. I googled the book and a href=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/06/13/boboy13.xml”found that it was already a best seller /a in the UK and is now coming out in the US:br /br /blockquoteA book of old-fashioned, adventurous pastimes for lads and dads has become a surprise bestseller. Christopher Middleton watched his 11-year-old son transformed into a Middle Earth warrior. br /br /It’s amazing that The Dangerous Book For Boys ever got published, really, given the deeply unfashionable connotations surrounding two out of the five words in the title (the ones that aren’t “The”, “Book” and “For”)…..br /br /The authors make no secret of their belief in the magically beneficial effects of children making their own fun. br /br /”In this age of video games and mobile phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree-houses and stories of incredible courage,” they declare, and as well as serving as a practical manual of Just William-type tasks (training dogs to do tricks, making waterbombs out of paper), their book bristles with stirring tales of Douglas Bader and Horatio Nelson-type heroism – plus an unshakeable faith in the virtues of being active rather than passive./blockquotebr /br /The authors give a list of what every boy should have on hand:br /br /Swiss Army knife – removes splintersbr /Compass – your trusty guidebr /Handkerchief – doubles as a slingbr /Magnifying glass – look at small things, start a campfirebr /A marble – big one, for luckbr /Needle and thread – to sew up wounds, mend torn shirtbr /Pencil and paper – note down criminals’ car numbersbr /Torch – read secret plans by nightbr /Fish-hook and thread – add stick and worm and you won’t starvebr /Box of matches – dip the tips in wax (it waterproofs them)br /br /I like the emphasis on being active rather than passive and it seems like this book might be good for boys (or girls who might be interested) who spend too much time at the computer and not enough time outdoors. Today’s kids are not exposed enough to the nuts and bolts of how the world works–perhaps this book can help.