MADreads

Earn those badges!

September 19th, 2006 Tracy - Sequoya

“Practical and inspiring, it’s a bit like a great cookbook. You pick it up thinking that you are looking for one thing and wind up finding 20 other things you can’t wait to try!”  I LOVE cookbooks so after seeing this quote from Bookpage about You Can Do It by Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas and hearing about it from my coworker Amy I decided to take a look. The subtitle of the book is The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-up Girls and was the dream of the author until her tragic death on Flight 93 on 9/11. Her family helped bring the book to fruition and the proceeds from the book go to the Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation , which was established by Lauren’s family to support charitable causes. The book is based on the premise that if you want to do something or dream of doing something than you CAN! So if you didn’t earn those merit badges as a young Girl Scout years ago now’s your chance.

This is a great browsing book! There are 60 possible “merit badges” to earn for activities ranging from beading, yoga, billiards, car care and gardening to mention a few. Each mini chapter includes a Meet the Mentor page, Badge steps (how to accomplish the goal), payoffs of the activity, beyond the badge and the Mentors Picks.

Here’s an example: you finally want to become knowledgeable about all those wines you see and have no idea what they are or how they taste. Meet mentor Cailyn Mccauley, one of the founding members of Wine Brats, the largest wine-comsumer organization in the world. The badge steps guide us in understanding wine labels, tasting procedures, hosting a wine party and how to house the wines we buy. Beyond the badge suggests visiting wineries or trying a daring pairing. And Cailyn’s picks include several books, magagzines , web sites and retail suggestions. There’s also great tips on the margins of the pages. The tips on the wine pages included what types of glasses to use, restaurant tips and health benefits. This is a book loaded with good stuff! Take a look and start earning those badges!

Entry Filed under: Nonfiction