101 Things You Gotta Do Before You're 12!

by Joanne O'Sullivan

Joanne O’Sullivan has delighted children everywhere with her 101 Places You Gotta See Before You’re 12!   The series, and the adventures, continue with an idea-packed book for the under-12 set that’s a sure cure for boredom. From exciting outings to creative activities at home, it’s crammed with stuff that’s amazing, amusing, and inspiring. Plus, this list lets kids take the lead—they can use it as a springboard for their own discoveries.So what tempting things are on the game plan? Well, how about visiting a crazy festival, like the UFO Encounter in Roswell, New Mexico? Or competing in a wacky contest—perhaps the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition? Closer to their own backyard, enterprising youngsters can build a tree house, learn to cook a special dish, or trace their family roots. Whatever they choose, this is a fun and challenging to-do list—and, as a bonus, kids get stickers to mark what they’d like to do and what they’ve done.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kristelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book for a birthday gift!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library on a whim, little knowing that my 5 year old daughter would adore it. I had guessed that she might skim it at best--instead, she wanted me to read every single word. And then we went over it a second time. And then she had me write out a list of the things that she wants to do, 90% or so of the items in the book, activities from going on a wagon train vacation to learning about her genealogy, to making food sculptures.

This book is nicely arranged, with colorful pictures and interesting descriptions of the ideas. Most of the ideas are ones that I think a lot of kids would find appealing.

Most children's books we just get at the library, since my daughter consumes them like a starving elephant, but I purchased this one at her request. We're going to be busy! Yay for homeschooling--it may actually afford us the time to do a lot of the stuff on our new list!

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun, and there are some neat ideas. However, a few of them are silly and dull. Many we had already done. Many of the ideas were interesting. I enjoyed the explanations of them. My children enjoyed when there were more detailed ideas. For example, they liked that the idea of hosting a party had ideas for different kinds of parties. They wanted to host almost all of them rather than just a single party. My children loved going through the book. The stickers make it a lot more fun to work through.

[Westcoast_girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great. I got it when I was ten, and finished it when I was 12. By finish, I mean see how I did. The back of the book has stickers with phrases such as "Just Gotta!" and "Never Ever!". It has a good compilation of easy to do things and harder ones. Some could be nearly impossible for some kids, depending on financial or geographical constraints, so keep that in mind.
Most of it was fun, exciting, and provided lots of good ideas. I felt happy and proud when I finished and pleased looking back.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have planned our summer around things in this book - great book to stimulate "get out and explore" in your kids

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame. So much was no-brainer stuff and some stuff I'd never get my kid to do. Disappointed.