The Dangerous Book for Boys isn’t really that dangerous. It’s a fun book, though you may have a bit of trouble convincing the kids of that. At first glance, the book seems a bit old fashioned and looks a little like a history book. On the other hand some of this stuff is questionable, and a bit dangerous. Matches, a Swiss army knife, and a fishhook are considered essential gear.
The authors, Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden, are brothers. They are encouraging boys to get out an play, explore, and learn about the world. The book is a great resource for inspiration, play, and ideas.
Each activity is only a page or two long. The activities aren’t organized as to type which encourages browsing through the book. In the pages you will find directions for folding paper airplanes, how to tie five different types of knots, and how to catch and skin a rabbit.
Other sections let the reader learn about the seven wonders of the ancient and modern worlds, how latitude and longitude work, why summer days are longer, how to a make a battery, a bow and arrow, and how to build a tree house. The activities have an amazing variety. The rules for soccer, the history of baseball’s most valuable players, and directions for chess and marbles are included along with spotting constellations in the night sky, coin tricks, and how to read pirate flags. These are followed by Shakespeare quotes, stories of famous battles, paper games like hangman and Othello, identifying insects, and building go-carts. You can also read about the rules of grammar, how to play poker, how to wrap a package, poetry, how to skip a stone, and how to make a needle compass.
The book includes stories of courage about Robert Scott and exploration of the Antarctic, the Wright brothers, and others along with a list of books that “every boy should read”.
There are badges at the back of the book for carpentry, navigation, hunting and fishing, nature exploring, science experiments, and the solar system.
Also See:
Smash It! Crash It! Crunch It! – Rain Newcomb & Bobby Mercer
Snowball Launchers, Giant-Pumpkin Growers, and Other Cool Contraptions – Tom Fox