Dear Grandparenting: The really big hit at our house over the holidays was the book my daughter gave my grandson. Imagine that! It wasn’t some exotic electronic gizmo that had everybody talking. It was “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” and in case you didn’t know, the book is ranked number one on the New York Times’ best-seller list!

Don’t be confused by the title. The book is hardly harmful. It’s like a nostalgic Boy Scouts manual that provides today’s boys with a body of knowledge they’re in danger of forgetting — how to read cloud formations, juggle, or build a tree house, or juggle, and famous quotes, phrases and battles which “every boy should know.” I’d like to think this book’s popularity means the pendulum has begun to swing the other way in American society. Haven’t we all grown tired of watching our grandchildren spending their youth playing video games and becoming couch potatoes? — Joan Murphy, Battle Creek, Mich.

Dear Joan: “The Dangerous Book for Boys,” and its equally best-selling companion “The Daring Book for Girls,” have indeed tapped into America’s appetite for a return to the days when boys and girls actually spent their days in the fresh air, mastering youthful challenges that taught them self-reliance and perseverance — as opposed to the heavy emphasis on instant gratification in modern culture.

“Nothing gives me more pleasure than to know the book is being used with fathers and sons together, trying things out,” said author Conn Iggulden. “Nothing is more valuable to a boy than time with his dad, learning something fun — or something difficult. ... you grab it by throat and hang on for as long as it takes.”

Grand Remark

When Poppy from Fishkill, N.Y., was visiting his daughter Alice in Albany during Christmas, he overheard Alice tell his 4-year-old granddaughter they would not open any presents until everybody was awake.

“I pretended to be sleeping as soon as I heard my granddaughter’s little footsteps in my room,” said Poppy. “She came over to my bed, pulled down one of my eyelids, peered into my eye, and said ‘Grandpa, are you in there?’”

Dee and Tom, married more than 50 years, have eight grandchildren. Together with Key, they welcome questions, suggestions and Grand Remarks of the Week. Send to 830 W. 40th St., Ste. 304, Baltimore, MD 21211.