THE GIRL'S GUIDE TO BUILDING A FORT

This jam-packed book covers an abundance of pursuits a hands-on girl might be interested in trying.

Organized into six sections—science, the outdoors, athletics, art, building, and cooking—this book is sure to offer readers something that stimulates their interest. The narrative is written in a breezy style that is uniformly nonintimidating and encouraging (though maybe a bit too heavy in its use of super and awesome). The projects are delineated into activities readers can do by themselves versus those they need a grown-up to help with, such as using a knife to chop food or preheating the oven. While the sheer scope of projects presented is admirable, a significant problem is the lack of step-by-step diagrams. The sections covering knots, karate moves, paper airplane folding, and stargazing, among others, would greatly benefit from more detailed (or any) illustrations, and the section on birds would be far more user-friendly with pictures of the subjects. And while some sections are stellar—conservation, the metric system, and baking in particular stand out—others are inadequate. The section addressing self-defense moves seems mostly unrealistic while the instructions for outdoor fire-building don’t mention digging a pit and/or edging with stones to contain embers. Chapters open with illustrations in charming watercolors depicting girls of differing ethnicities.

Copious projects bolstered by a supportive tone but let down by insufficient diagrams.