Overview
In the tradition of the bestselling Dangerous Book for Boys, here is everything a young man should know and possess to entertain himself. Includes survival skills, tricks, trivia, and the world's funniest joke-guaranteed to prevent boredom.
Synopsis
In the tradition of the bestselling Dangerous Book for Boys, here is everything a young man should know and possess to entertain himself. Includes survival skills, tricks, trivia, and the world's funniest joke-guaranteed to prevent boredom.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-10
This collection begins well, with directions and diagrams for how to fold an origami water bomb from a six-inch square of paper. But it soon grows into a mishmash of items that can be found quickly and easily in a hundred other books and on the Internet. They include how to polish your shoes (but curiously, not how to tie a tie); a deservedly forgotten short story, "The Last of the Lizards," from a 1938 collection called Modern Wonders for Boys ; a list of the U.S. presidents and another of the rulers of Great Britain; an article, "Ten World Famous Battles"; another on keeping guinea pigs; and a diagram showing how to use semaphore flags. Lewis passes along what are reputedly the world's funniest, and second-funniest, jokes. About half of the articles contain small black-and-white diagrams and maps, but far too many don't. While many of the selections are amusing or tell intriguing stories, others offer nothing special. Conn and Hal Iggulden's The Dangerous Book for Boys (HarperCollins, 2007) is a better choice.-Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX
Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 5-10
This collection begins well, with directions and diagrams for how to fold an origami water bomb from a six-inch square of paper. But it soon grows into a mishmash of items that can be found quickly and easily in a hundred other books and on the Internet. They include how to polish your shoes (but curiously, not how to tie a tie); a deservedly forgotten short story, "The Last of the Lizards," from a 1938 collection called Modern Wonders for Boys ; a list of the U.S. presidents and another of the rulers of Great Britain; an article, "Ten World Famous Battles"; another on keeping guinea pigs; and a diagram showing how to use semaphore flags. Lewis passes along what are reputedly the world's funniest, and second-funniest, jokes. About half of the articles contain small black-and-white diagrams and maps, but far too many don't. While many of the selections are amusing or tell intriguing stories, others offer nothing special. Conn and Hal Iggulden's The Dangerous Book for Boys (HarperCollins, 2007) is a better choice.-Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX