In fairness to the authors, trying to manipulate modern children to get off their lazy butts and go play in the fresh air is a gargantuan task. Alas, Get Outside fails to convince.

The content is presented in four seasonal sections, each containing four thematic chapters (“Nature Lover,” “Outdoor Fun and Games,” “Snug Inside,” and “Look to the Sky”). There are numerous excellent suggestions to pique a kid’s interest, most notably “snow snake” (a game that involves shooting darts made of bone down an icy track) and “make a night sky dome” (a miniature papier mâché planetarium).  Less successful are directions for playing hide-and-seek (a skill surely already mastered by the average six-year-old), repeated pages devoted to bird feeders and houses, and a swing-building activity that includes the directive to use a loop knot (“a variation of the slip knot”) without first explaining what a slip knot is.

Despite being gorgeous, the illustrations speak volumes about the book’s inappropriateness for its real target. It’s Make Way for Ducklings via Norman Rockwell, which is unlikely to appeal to even the most bookish kids. And while Get Outside works best as joint parent-child reading, adults will likely find themselves perusing it alone, at which point the kid-geared tone becomes irksome.

This is a classic example of a book that targets kids in voice, but parents in art and content. Still, the intent is noble, and adult readers will likely emerge with more than a dozen activities to spring on unsuspecting young layabouts.