Is it just me or do Mothers Day and Fathers Day seem to be ripe for a battleground of parental proportions? I’m still not sure how far to go with the commercialism of these days. And when you have a child too young to ‘get it’, it’s hard to resist entering into a competition about who buys better presents on their behalf. Or, like I said, maybe it’s just me…

Anyway, for Brad’s second Father’s Day, I decided to buy a couple of books with some fatherly significance. My favourite was this one, Conn and Hal Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys.

The book contains a range of different sections, including useful trivia and factual explanations about everything from the Seven Wonders of the World to Cloud Formations. But I reckon the best bits are the things to make and do, like tripwires, codes and ciphers, and making a go-cart. Check out this cute trailer for the US edition. The Australian edition has Australian history and botany/zoology sections and explanations of Australian sports.

Despite the appearance of their names, Conn and Hal are two British brothers. Conn is a bit of a history nut, and has written several historical novels. He says of his own dad, “My father flew in Bomber Command in WWII, then taught maths and science. Perhaps crucially, he also loved poetry and cracking good tales. My father loved working with wood and equations, but he also recited ‘Vitai Lampada’ with a gleam in his eye and that matters, frankly.” Conn is writing a new book with another brother, David, called Dangerous Heroes, using the five extraordinary stories from the Dangerous Book for Boys as a starting point.

Rowan’s obviously a bit young for most of the information and activities in this book, but I’m a sucker for books with this look and feel. The timeless character of the its design and the good old-fashioned activities will hopefully last many years.

The obvious question is of course, what about the girls? Quicker than you can strike a conker, the publishers are onto it, with the publication of The Daring Book for Girls due in time for Christmas. In a lot of ways I don’t envy the two American authors of this spin-off. Let’s hope they manage to carry it off with all the spirit the girls deserve.