DANGEROUS BOYS versus DARING GIRLS

Several years ago, while I was searching for a special book for my sons birthday, I came across, “The Dangerous Book for Boys” by Conn Iggulden and Hall Iggulden. It was the version published in England. An instant classic. It was published in America within a few months. And then a copycat version, that was authorized by the Iggulden’s came out, “The Daring Book for Girls” by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. Not excellent but good, still a solid book. One of the best things about the books, was that the boy book was RED and the girl book was BLUE !! I always like it when colors are mixed up and not just the classic. Fits in perfectly with our family.

These are amazing books. From the contents page of the Boys Book, I am going to list just a few items. Astronomy, Navajo Code Talkers Dictionary, Understanding Grammar, Making a Bow and Arrow, Timers and Tripwires, Fishing, Rules of Rugby Union and Rugby League (??!!), The Golden Age of Piracy, Skipping Stones, The Ten Commandments, Making a Go-Cart. And it just goes on and on and on. It is the everything you need to know book.

Before the first chapter of the books, there is a list called “Essential Gear.” The difference in the two lists are slight, but very telling in the way boys and girls are viewed. Boys get a shooter (large marble) and fish hooks. Girls get a deck of cards and a good book. So, boys are action and girls are not. This list has been discussed ad nauseum, with some of my children and our least favorite is on the girls list, the end, patience. Like they ran out of things for girls and had to put patience on. But when you look, the boys list has 11 things and the girls 12. It would have been easy to just leave it off.

Essential Gear for Boys:
1. Swiss Army Knife
2. Compass
3. Handkerchief
4. Box of Matches
5. A Shooter
6. Needle and Thread
7. Pencil and Paper
8. Small Flashlight
9. Magnifying Glass
10. Band-Aids
11. Fish Hooks

Essential Gear for Girls:
1. Swiss Army Knife
2. Bandana
3. Rope and Twine
4. Journal and Pencil, with a Back-up Pen
5. Hair Band
6. Bungee Cord
7. Flashlight
8. Compass
9. Safety Pins
10. Duct Tape
11. Deck of cards and A Good Book
12. Patience

A few years ago, we gave our 4 big boys a nice pocket knife along with the Boy Book for Christmas. The girls settled for a box of safety pins (among other things?!?)and the Girl Book. We are working on having the whole entire essential gear list. It was very interesting.

My problem with the differences in the two books, can be summed up by their back covers:

The Dangerous Book for Boys says, “Recapture Sunday afternoons and long summer days. The perfect book for every boy from eight to eighty.”

The Daring Book for Girls says, “For every girl with an independent spirit and a nose for trouble, here is the no-boys-allowed guide to adventure.” That says it all. I combined the 2 lists to make one master list for everybody, so we have our own list.

ELLSWORTH Combined List of Essential Gear for EVERYONE
1. Swiss Army Knife
2. Compass
3. Handkerchief / Bandana
4. Box of Matches
5. A Shooter
6. Needle and Thread
7. Pencil and Paper / Journal and Pencil, with a Back-up Pen
8. Small Flashlight
9. Magnifying Glass
10. Band-Aids and Bag Balm
11. Fish Hooks
12. Rope and Twine / Bungee Cord / Hair Band
13. Safety Pins
14. DUCT TAPE
15. Deck of cards and A Good Book
16. Patience and A Sense of Humor

The dear husband’s absolute favorite on the list is DUCT TAPE !! Because if they don’t find you handsome, you should be handy, I guess, if you have to. And Duct Tape makes everything work, because we are all in this together !!

So, if you could only purchase one book, make sure that you get the “Dangerous Book for Boys.” It is the best! The basic knowledge, skill and survival book for everyone.