*I was sent a hard copy of Dare To Look in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

The same summer that I turned 10, my dad had a few seizures. He had never had them previously so we really didn’t know what the cause was. He worked in a factory, so it could potentially be really dangerous if he had a seizure at work, so he had to take some time off just in case. While it was a strange, scary time for my family, the plus side was that he was home all day everyday and I was able to spend most of the summer with him (where as I was used to only seeing him every other weekend). That summer we watched a lot of a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not TV show that was airing at the time that would tell stories – some of which were real (but hard to believe) and others that were just made up – but they wouldn’t tell you until the end. We enjoyed trying to guess which ones were real and which weren’t and since then, I associate Ripley’s Believe It Or Not with that happy experience I had.

Ripley’s puts out a new book each year that includes all kinds of bizzare, strange, scary or “gross” things and I still like looking them over myself but then I pass them on to a niece or nephew. You can read my Ripley’s Download The Weird book review and my Ripley’s Strikingly True Book Review if you weren’t a reader back when those were posted. This year’s book is Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Dare To Look.

The books are always huge, heavy, and very well made – with really thick, full color pages. This year has the categories :Believe it!, World, Animals, Sports, Body, Popular Culture, Transport, Feats, Digital, Art, Food, and Beyond Belief. One of the great things about these books is you don’t have to read them from front to back or side to side – each page has several small stories or facts that you can read individually. That makes them tons of fun to just flip through for long periods of time, picking out what interests you and passing by what doesn’t. In the past when I’ve brought these books to family functions, the book has been somewhat of a center of attention as even the adults feel drawn to flip through and read stories or parts of stories out loud or show the photos to others. They are just so interesting!

I find that tween or teen boys can be some of the hardest people to buy for, and Ripley’s books are a great option for them because their cringe-worthy, shocking, gross or scary stories draw in boys of this age group and get them to read.

Younger children or those who are particularly sensitive might prefer to skip over some images and stories in this book but others can be appropriate and educational even for younger children. For example, the large image of a Glass Frog from Central and South America or the albino turtle that was found in Thailand are fascinating images to be able to see and can interest even toddlers or preschoolers and can be used as an educational tool.

You can keep up with Ripley’s on Facebook.

Ripley’s books are available on amazon and Itunes.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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