BOYS' OWN ADVENTURE - Old-style kids' book catapults up the charts
A book that teaches the delights of tree-climbing, making catapults and skimming stones has become a surprise hit.
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The Dangerous Book For Boys", written by brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden, has reached No5 in online bookseller Amazon's charts. And sales are continuing to soar as more youngsters discover the joys of the great outdoors.
Amazon's head books buyer Kes Nielsen said: "It looks as though the UK's children will be deserting the TV this summer to spend some quality time outdoors. "Despite the massive popularity of iPods, MySpace and video games, the success of The Dangerous Book For Boys seems to indicate a return to the simpler childhood pleasures of years ago."
The book also features activities such as building a treehouse, making paper aeroplanes and fishing. There are also chapters on dinosaurs, insects and spiders, pirates, coin tricks, marbles and conkers.
The authors said: "We wrote it to be a compendium of all the things we wanted to try and to know when we were very young. "It's the attitude we wanted to recapture - when everything was interesting and danger was fun. "You can't stop boys being curious so they might as well have the instructions. In the long run, it's a lot safer than having them grow fat and irritable in front of the TV."
The book also includes stories of heroes including Scott of the Antarctic, Robert the Bruce, Lord Nelson and Douglas Bader. The Igguldens explained: "Their example is more important than ever. None of them would have understood the health and safety culture."
