I purchased a copy of The Daring Book for Girls for myself a couple years ago and was reminded of all the cool content it contains when I conducted a program this week featuring hopscotch games and jump rope rhymes. Perhaps I'm partial to this book since it was written by women who, like me, "were girls in the days before the Web, cell phones, or even voicemail. Telephones had cords and were dialed by, well, actually dialing."

Today, you may have your own cell phone, email account and iPod, but certainly a deck of cards and a good book should still be included on the list of "essential gear" you keep close at hand. In The Daring Book for Girls, you'll find the rules for playing card games like "Hearts" and "Gin" as well as the rules for outdoor games like Four Square, various games of tag and hopscotch - a game that was initially played by Roman soldiers and is now played in countries around the world.

Along with jump rope rhymes, you'll find the rhymes for hand clap games and the chants for "Picking Who's It" - Bubblegum, bubblegum, in a dish; how many pieces do you wish? as well as campfire songs. In addition to games, this book includes instructions for building a campfire, tying useful knots and stitches, and public speaking. Sure, you may be able to call up a lot of this info. on the Web these days - but you never know when the power's going to go out and you'll be grabbing your deck of cards and wishing you could recall how to play gin rummy.

When you've exhausted all the intriguing info. in this book, pick up a copy of The Double-daring Book for Girls. And I suggest taking a look at The Dangerous Book for Boys, as well - all recommended for children in grades 3 and up.