adult nonfiction
Well that turned into a marathon break - the best laid plans and all that! (If you're reading this post in isolation, we took what turned into a way-too-long break from WTBA to get a few other things in order.)
Speaking of marathons :), I’ve been reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s witty and conversational in tone, fascinating and eye opening. Quite inspiring.
When Jesse was about 8-years-old, listening to Joan and I reminiscing about watching the fall of the Berlin Wall on television, she lamented: “I wish I lived in interesting times". That wish has come true, hasn't it!
But, even with the seminal events that have happened since that conversation, the fall of The Wall in 1989 still shapes the way we think about history and our hopes for the future. Its stories are deep and complex, with political undertones that are as important as the grassroots swell of demand for liberty—and so worth celebrating.
Have you seen Bill Gates’ 2017 summer reading list? While it's a little less cerebral than many of his recommendation lists—still not exactly vampires and romance—there's more accessible content with a nice blend of memoir, fiction and philosophy. Here are the 5 books:
I read Clinton’s latest book because I really wanted to know. What happened?
I have a better understanding of the 2016 debacle of a US Presidential race now, but mostly I have an increased admiration for Clinton.
She’s eloquent and warm—the book feels like sitting down and listening to a friend talk about a pivotal time in her life, which also happened to be pivotal to world history. This is Clinton’s story from her perspective.
ages 4 to 12 years (and older!)
Fake news is such a fraught and difficult topic! No matter which side of politics (or life in general) we align with, fake news can lead us astray.
It’s an issue for kids too, making skills like critical reading, viewing and listening increasingly important. But no one wants to overburden them or take the joy out of learning—and this book is a terrific help. It teaches critical thinking and watching skills and it’s heaps of fun for kids and adults to work on together.
ages 2 to 8 years
Kids seem to swing dramatically one way or the other when it comes to germs. There’s the group who, having heard about germs, bacteria, microbes and the like, immediately begin to wash their hands. And never seem to stop! And then there are the kids who seem to make it their life’s mission to collect as many of the little suckers as they can—and pop them in their mouths! Mine mostly fell into the last group.
For kids like mine, Do not lick this book is brilliantly funny and informative.
Just in case any of the six children I birthed are starting to panic, here’s my Mother’s Day Book Wish List—I make one very year.
Quite often no one buys anything from it because they know full-well that if they don't I’ll just end up buying them anyway. Still, here’s this year’s list, more or less in order of preference:
Muhammad Yunus is one of the great human enablers of our time. He took micro-loans to the women of Bangladesh at a time when their voices were not heard and their faces not seen. The concept of loans going to them rather than to their husbands was terribly difficult for them to grasp and only Muhammad's break-out understanding and actions were able to make it happen.
His understanding was clearly expressed last night on ABC Television's Q&A as he said: "When a woman says no [to accepting a loan], it is not her voice. It is the voice of history that created her."
Some really useful how-to's from specialists in their brainy fields + three 'brain' books we've liked a lot—you might find them interesting too....
The movie Hidden Figures is just wonderful—funny, frustrating, uplifting, beautiful—the full cinematic experience! But the book covers so much more (naturally). Here’s a clip of author Margot Lee Shetterly talking to one of Dorothy Vaughn’s* grandchildren. She talks about the movie and the other parts of the book.Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition is wonderful too—
Sam's little boy Angus is crawling now and his first order of business every day is to crawl on over and wrestle Ivy! Kid wrestling can get a bit wild to nervous adult eyes and the temptation is to call a halt to the whole of it. But there’s a growing consensus that wrestling or roughhousing is not just good for kid’s overall physical and mental health—it’s vital.
A beautiful look at some fascinating animals. Full of detail and fascinating facts, this is a book to mesmerise young animal lovers. Gorgeous & interesting enough for the coffee table too.
ages 2 years to grownup
This is a terrific collection of women who had an impact in the public sphere. Some will certainly be familiar, and some may be new to you and yours. It's an exuberant look at thirteen women who changed your life—and you might not even know it!
ages 4 to 12 years (and up!)
Set in Australia, Amazing Animals is great non-fiction with cross generational appeal. There are lots of quick facts to grab, plus longer passages of information, both chock full of interesting information. It's permanently on our side table.
ages 2 years to adult
Adult + children's book for ages 4 years and up
Books to spark or feed an interest in the shining planets and how they move. Two lovely and lyrical approaches to the study of the planets.
Raising children who are immune to the effects of racism is a common, and lofty, goal for many parents. Nurture Shock helps with this and many other parenting ideals. It's challenging but full of new and helpful ideas.
Sometimes, as we lurch from one parenting crisis to another—and from one attempt to be a ‘good’ parent in the eyes of other adults to another, there’s a nagging feeling that something is amiss. In The Myth of the Spoiled Child, Alfie Kohn looks carefully at some of the current sacred cows of child raising, nailing down what is amiss and what we can do about it.
Alfie Kohn’s clarion call is for a ‘working with’ rather than a ‘doing to’ approach to parenting, educating and otherwise interacting with children. Unconditional Parenting is his coalface parenting book. So that we’re ready to try something new as a parent, Kohn sets out the take-home message—via some alarming research about what traditional ‘doing to’ style parenting is, well, ‘doing to’ our children.
Actually I think it’s really ‘kids and parents may be right after all’, because I’ve never met a parent who loves homework. Alfie to the rescue! With evidence that homework fails to accomplish its stated purposes—to raise achievement, teach independence and establish good habits.
When we praise kids—either with the ubiquitous ‘good job’ or using pretty much any other form of praise—we are treading on dangerous ground.
John Paul Lederach is a practitioner and educator for peace. His book The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace positively glitters.
Ages 2 to 6
The Day We Went To Away is a wonderful book for introducing young readers to the idea of environmental impact and invites everyone to consider their responsibility and ability to enact change.