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The Double-Daring Book for Girls

April 21, 2009 by Jennifer

When I heard that the The Double-Daring Book for Girls was out, I knew one ten-year-old girl who would love to look at a copy.

Amanda and I had reviewed the first Daring Book for Girls (see review) by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz last November. When we got our copy of The Double-Daring Book for Girls, Amanda immediately started marking her favorite daring activity pages with post-it notes.

Part of the fun of being a mother is reliving my childhood. When I’m rolling my eyes at the silly song that Amanda and her friend are singing (repeatedly, again and again — in the confined spaces of a car), I stop wincing long enough to remember that when I was a tween that was exactly what my friends and I did (and it got exactly the same response from my mother).

What I liked about the Daring Book for Girls, and what I like about this second in the series, is that it’s good old-fashioned fun. The activities in this book are ones that appealed to tweenaged me in the 80’s, but are equally captivating to Amanda in 2009: making candles, memorizing two-letter Scrabble words to insure certain victory, and marveling over optical illusions.

It’s sweet to compare our childhood experiences, but an even greater part about motherhood is watching my daughter grow into an entirely different person than I am. She tries things that I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing at her age. In fact, though I’ve never dyed my hair in all of my thirty-eight years, she’s been wanting to have purple hair or purple highlights for ages.

When she saw the “Dye your hair with Kool-Aid” activity in this book, she begged to do it. I told her that we’d give it a try over Spring Break. The anticipation built over the next couple of weeks, and when people asked her what she was doing for Spring Break, she told them, “I’m dying my hair purple!”

So my first experience with highlights was not giving them to myself or letting a friend foil my hair, but was lived out through my daughter. It was a fun experience to share.

Unfortunately, she added too much vinegar, diluting it too much, and her dark-ish hair didn’t absorb much of the dye (which the book cautioned against), so I don’t have a dramatic after photo. In fact, the whole experience reminded me of the scene in Beaches where conservative Hillary Whitney asks her more flamboyant friend CC Bloom’s opinion on her hair: “It looks the same. You just spent two hours dying your hair exactly the same color.” I won big Mommy points for letting her have purple hair, without actually having to deal with her having purple hair, so I think it worked out for me.

This Mother’s Day Giveaway is supposed to be all about you, Mom, but since I had so much fun sharing this book with my daughter, I thought it was a good fit. See below for how you can win your own copy.

The book’s website has more information about the book and fun downloads as well.

Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan also blogs at Snapshot about life with her tween daughter and preschool son.



To enter the 2009 Mothers Day Giveaway of The Double-Daring Book for Girls, leave a comment below.

  • All Mother’s Day Giveaways are open to U.S. shipping addresses only.
  • The giveaway will close on April 30, and the winner will be announced on May 1.
  • For information on how to enter the grand prize to win a copy of each book in the Mother’s Day Giveaway worth over $225, see the instructions on the main post.
  • Check out the list of all Mother’s Day giveaways. Enter to win each book by leaving a comment on that post.

Filed Under: 12 and up, Fun and Games, Gift Ideas, Jennifer, Middle Grade Chapter Books

« Breaking Everyday Addictions
Kids’ Picks — April »

Comments

  1. Lisa Taylor says

    April 29, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    My 10 yr old and 7 yr old would love this book [email protected]

  2. Ed Nemmers says

    April 29, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    Happy Spring!

  3. Sheila H says

    April 29, 2009 at 9:25 pm

    I would love to have this, thanks for the chance!

  4. Renee G says

    April 29, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    This sounds great.
    rsgrandinetti(at)yahoo(dot)com

  5. Rebecca says

    April 29, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    Well, I just think this sounds fun. I don’t have a daughter, just a son, but I have lots of nieces and I think we could have fun!

  6. Rebecca says

    April 29, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    I subscribe via google reader.

  7. Adrian Lamont says

    April 30, 2009 at 1:55 am

    Sounds like a great book, please count me in.

  8. Sonya says

    April 30, 2009 at 2:14 am

    This book looks great! My daughter would love it!

  9. Ashley says

    April 30, 2009 at 10:13 am

    I would like the chance to win this. Thanks.

  10. Lily Kwan says

    April 30, 2009 at 11:21 am

    Please enter me into the contest. Thanks!

  11. Brian E. says

    April 30, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    Thanks for the giveaway…I think I’ve found a birthday gift for my 10 year old goddaughter.

  12. Gianna says

    April 30, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    Please enter me 🙂

  13. kate says

    April 30, 2009 at 9:38 pm

    This would be a great book for my daughter!

  14. Chrysa says

    May 1, 2009 at 12:54 am

    T

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