The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [1]
Bon voyage.
Andrea J. Buchanan
Miriam Peskowitz
ESSENTIAL GEAR
1. Swiss Army Knife.
A key tool for survival, exploring, and camping, it’s a knife, screwdriver, and saw with tons of extras like a magnifying glass, nail file, bottle opener, scissors, and tweezers. Best of all it fits in your pocket. Clean with hot soapy water, and add a tiny drop of mechanical oil once every three blue moons.
2. Bandana.
Can be used to keep your head cool, protect your treasure, wrap a present. Tied to a stick, it can carry your treasured possessions on your adventures.
3. Rope and Twine.
A stretch of rope and a knowledge of knots will take you many places—and may also help get you out of them.
4. Journal and Pencil, with a Back-up Pen.
Life is about memories: a quick sketch of a bird or plant, a wishlist, a jot of the most important thought ever. A pad and pencil is also perfect for spying or for writing the Great American Novel.
5. Hair Band.
For when hair gets in the way. In a pinch, you can also use your bandana, or a pencil.
6. Bungee Cord.
For strapping things down on the go.
7. Flashlight.
Basic tool for sleep outs and reading under the covers late at night. A small piece of red cellophane over the lens makes ghost stories even creepier. Eventually you can graduate to a headlamp, so your hands are free.
8. Compass.
You need to know where you are, and a compass can help. Hang it around your neck along with a whistle.
9. Safety Pins.
Because they’re good to have on hand when things need to be put back together, or when you want to express eternal friendship to a new pal by decorating with a few beads as a gift.
10. Duct tape.
Two inches wide and hard as nails. It can fix almost everything. Good for clubhouse construction.
11. Deck of cards and a good book.
Old standbys.
12. Patience.
It’s a quality and not a thing, but it’s essential so we’ll include it here. Forget perfect on the first try. In the face of frustration, your best tool is a few deep breaths, and remembering that you can do anything once you’ve practiced two hundred times. Seriously.
Rules of the Game: Basketball
BASKETBALL WAS FIRST PLAYED with a soccer ball and a suspended wooden peach basket when it was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. Girls originally shot hoops wearing Victorian petticoats, white muslin pinafores, and silk slippers. The dress code has thankfully changed, and basketball today is one of the few team sports that a girl can not only learn in elementary school but also dream of playing professionallly.
Basketball opened up to girls—real uniforms and all—in the 1970s. The United States passed a law known popularly as “Title IX” (the full name is Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972), which said that no one, girls or boys, can be excluded from participating in school activities if that school receives federal funds. Some schools resisted, but many more decided to open up team sports to girls. As a result of Title IX, girls can now play sports at all school levels, and college women’s basketball in particular has become a popular sport to watch and play.
Women’s basketball made its Olympics premiere in 1996, and the American team won the gold. In 1997, the Women’s National Basketball Association launched with star players, including Sheryl Swoopes, Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and Cynthia Cooper.
WHO’s ON THE TEAM
* * *
Point Guard: She’s the shortest, quickest, and best ball-handling player on the team. The Point Guard doesn’t shoot much, but she is the team leader on the court and manages the plays.
Shooting Guard: She specializes in getting the ball in the basket and scoring points. She’s skilled in hitting those three-point baskets