For Boys Only

The complete title of this book is For Boys Only: The Biggest, Baddest Book Ever.  I stumbled upon it at the library and decided to bring it home to see whether it is as stereotypically masculine as the title implies.

It is not.

The book is filled with trivia and factoids that would be of interest to children of both sexes. Yes, it talks about sports, cars and “the two most horrifying, hideous, and disgusting creatures in the world” (the toothpick fish and the guinea worm), but it is really just a book of cool facts.

Under “Things You Didn’t Know But Probably Should,” readers will learn that a tiger’s skin is striped just like its fur, when you’re full grown your brain weighs as much as a jar of peanut butter, and the popsicle was invented in 1905 by a boy who “left a soda with a stirring stick in it on his porch overnight…and it froze.”

It is not completely devoid of gender bias. There are subjects that some people might consider “typical boy stuff”—“Crushing Conquerors” and “Fantasy Wars” in which the authors speculate on who would win between the Aztecs and the Incas, Vikings and Pirates, or Mongols and Romans. The passages on athletic achievements focus solely on males. And then there is the section on how to create a blockbuster movie, in which one of the essential elements is a “possible girlfriend” for the main character who is, inevitably, male.

Given the book’s title, I expected far more bias and a gross-out or smart-alecky tone. Instead, I found a witty book that informs while entertaining. I should also note that the book has a North American (but mostly American) focus, so it may not be of as much interest to kids outside of Canada and the U.S.

Why is this book deemed to be for boys only? I vented about this to my husband and he figures that the name was selected to get boys interested in reading, not to deliberately exclude female readers.

Whatever the reason, if you can get past the name, you will find a mostly great book that is sure to keep boys (and girls) reading for hours.