The most original, entertaining, and instructive all-in-one book for kids ever published-jam-packed with information, ideas, and activities for children and their parents to share together
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 (along with its sequels,
Unbored Adventure and
Unbored Games) 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.
Frauenfelder, Mark: - Mark Frauenfelder is the founding editor of the world's most popular blog, BoingBoing.net, as well as the editor-in-chief of the hit technology magazine Make. Formerly an editor at Wired and a technology columnist for Playboy, he is frequently interviewed for television, radio, and print, including MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and Business Week. He is the author of the book Rule the Web.
Glenn, Joshua: -
Joshua Glenn is cofounder of the web sites 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, 10 and 13.
@UnboredGuide
Larsen, Elizabeth Foy: -
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, Daily Beast, and elsewhere. She lives in Minneapolis and has two sons and a daughter, ages 7 to 12.
@UnboredGuide
Leone, Tony: -
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.
@UnboredGuide
