Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun - Hardcover

Glenn, Joshua; Larsen, Elizabeth Foy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1608196410 ISBN 13: 9781608196418

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2012

Synopsis

Unbored is the guide and activity book every modern kid needs. Vibrantly designed, lavishly illustrated, brilliantly walking the line between cool and constructive, it's crammed with activities that are not only fun and doable but also designed to get kids engaged with the wider world.

With contributions from a diverse crowd of experts, the book provides kids with information to round out their world view and inspire them to learn more. From how-tos on using the library or writing your representative to a graphic history of video games, the book isn't shy about teaching. Yet the bulk of the 350-page mega-resource presents hands-on activities that further the mission in a fun way, featuring the best of the old as well as the best of the new: classic science experiments, crafts and upcycling, board game hacking, code-cracking, geocaching, skateboard repair, yarn-bombing, stop-action movie-making-plus tons of sidebars and extras, including trivia, best-of lists, and Q&As with leading thinkers whose culture-changing ideas are made accessible to kids for the first time.

Just as kids begin to disappear into their screens, here is a book that encourages them to use those tech skills to be creative, try new things, and change the world. And it encourages parents to participate. Unbored is exciting to read, easy to use, and appealing to young and old, girl and boy. Parents will be comforted by its anti-perfectionist spirit and humor. Kids will just think it's awesome.

Contributors include Mark Frauenfelder of MAKE magazine; Colin Beavan, the No Impact Man; Douglas Rushkoff, renowned media theorist; Geoff Manaugh, author of BLDGBLOG; John Edgar Park, a CG supervisor at DisneyToon Studios; and Jean Railla, founder of GetCrafty.com and Etsy consultant.

About this title

About the Author

Joshua Glenn is cofounder of the websites Significant Objects, Hilobrow, and Semionaut, and has authored and edited a number of books. Together with Elizabeth Foy Larsen, he writes a parenting column based on Unbored for Slate. He lives in Boston and has two sons, ten and thirteen. Elizabeth Foy Larsen was a member of the team that launched Sassy, a magazine for teen girls. Her writing on families has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, the Daily Beast, and elsewhere. She lives in Minneapolis and has two sons and a daughter, ages seven to twelve. Tony Leone is a principal of Leone Design. His work has been honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Brand Design Association, and has been featured in Communication Arts, Print, Graphis, and elsewhere. He has a son in kindergarten and a newborn daughter.

Reviews

Gr 5-8-This mixture of step-by-step how-tos, inspirational articles, comics, and excerpts from literature puts a priority on having fun and learning new skills, all while becoming more independent. An introduction by the editor of Make magazine and an opening interview with Tim Hodgkinson, editor of Idle magazine, make this intent clear. Four chapters loosely define the sections of the book and build from "You" to "Home," "Society," and finally "Adventure." Each section is subdivided further. "Society," for example, includes "Get Social," "Your School," "Save the Planet," "Make Your Own Media," and "Getting Around." Each subsection begins with an introductory article by a leader in the field. Additional articles, activities, experiments and games, lists of movies, time lines, how-tos, comics, secret messages, and section resources round-out the chapters. Activities range from traditional ideas such as knot tying to more current projects such as making "LED graffiti" or a "remote-controlled water blaster." They vary from sedentary to active and from indoor to outdoor with something for every inclination. Cartoon drawings appear on most pages, and photos are sprinkled throughout the two-column text. Many how-tos include illustrations. The book opens with a cautionary disclaimer, and additional safety and etiquette advice is included where needed. This resource will be referred to time and time again for ideas and inspiration for those unprogrammed days.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WIα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1608196410
• ISBN 13: 9781608196418
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Leone Tony, Reusch Mister, Kasunick Heather
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352