Parents' Guide to

The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Lively, engaging video how-to from popular YouTube stars.

Book Dan Howell, Phil Lester Autobiography 2015
The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 3 parent reviews

brainsandbeauty
brainsandbeauty Adult
November 13, 2019
age 10+

I LOVE THEMMMMM!!!

I'm a huge dan and phil im phantrash#1 fan and saw them in concert they are the most funny and genuine youtubers although there is some swearing this book is fairly mild and perfect for people in the phandom!

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Emily K.
Emily K. Parent
November 11, 2017
age 7+

TATINOF

Although there is a bit of swearing, this book isnt bad. It's funny and it barely mentions anything inappropriate. I read it myself and thought it was funny.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Successful YouTube phenomena danisnotonfire (Dan Howell) and AmazingPhil (Phil Lester) offer helpful advice on how to make successful videos. Using themselves as object lessons, they start with short but thorough autobiographies that provide insight into their childhood, teen, and early vlogging years. They then move into talking about their creative processes, a little bit about their setups, and a lot of helpful advice, including what not to do, to make entertaining videos.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (13):

A lively, engaging, and surprisingly thoughtful and thorough look at what it takes to make successful YouTube videos. Dan Howell and Phil Lester's funny, quirky personalities shine through and make it easy to see how they became so popular. Teens will enjoy the colorful, vivid illustrations, mostly photo collages, and drink up the behind-the-scenes insider information on the two popular YouTube celebrities. The authors are refreshingly straightforward, telling tales on themselves in fun and funny ways that make them utterly relatable to teens while conveying their serious attitude toward their craft.

Kids and teens will need guidance about the pitfalls of putting your life online. But even if they don't want to become YouTube stars themselves, they'll enjoy this down-to-earth look at what it's really like.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about YouTube personalities. Why are they so popular? Why are they branching out into movies, TV, and books?

  • Dan and Phil offer explanations for why they wrote this book and talk about wanting to capture this time in their lives and preserve it for the future. Do you think that's really their strongest motive? Isn't something available forever once it goes online?

  • Before you read this book, how much work did you think it takes to make a successful YouTube video? Did the book change your ideas about that? What makes a YouTube video successful? Is it the number of views or something else?

Book Details

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