I liked what Lorna posted a while ago about the church being the keepers of the books. So, with that in mind, and with the summer heat beginning to descend, I thought we could compile a bit of a parents’ reading list. When I started this, I asked far and wide what parents were reading. Some assumed I meant what parenting books, others what children’s books, but I meant everything. And anything. What books are important to you right now? What is on your bedside table? Whose words are you mulling over while pouring the Cheerios out or sweeping the floor and rushing off to swimming lessons? What’s overdue on your library card? What are you taking to the cottage?
And here are some of your answers. I’ve included three short reviews and a longer list at the bottom. Feel free to add your own suggestions, too. There’s a long summer ahead, yet.
Reviews:
The Great Depression
by Pierre Berton: reviewed by Kelly from First Presbyterian, New Westminster, B.C.
The Great Depression is a depiction of the depression years in Canada (1929-1939). It’s not just facts and figures, but stories about individuals. Two things stood out to me. The first is that our country and government has not always responded admirably in how we look after the poor, the suffering, and the discriminated. The second is a renewed gratefulness for all I have. The stories of starvation, and of two daughters having to share a dress (and attend school on alternate days) were heartbreaking. I don’t struggle to put food on the table or provide my children with clothes to wear, as so many families—people just like me —did in those years. So I thank God for that!
Playful Parenting
by Dr. Lawrence J. Cohen: reviewed by Grace Pinck from St Andrew’s, Ottawa, Ont.
I initially bought this book because thought it was a book of games. When I opened it I was disappointed, but decided to read a bit anyway to see if it was worth keeping. I couldn’t put it down. Suddenly my nearly two year old who seemed to be at war with me constantly, who would push me away and avoid eye contact with me but wanted to sit in my lap constantly, started to make sense.
This book talks about how and why children play, and how we can help them by playing with them. Children play as a means of working through anger, sadness, worries, and joy. They’re not adept at saying what they feel so they play it out instead. Playing the way a child needs you to requires a lot of attention, patience, and understanding. They may want to play the same game over and over and over. They may need you to fall down and act like you’ve been terribly injured when they touch you, so they can recover from a situation where they felt powerless, or to play soccer and let them win so they can feel victorious in a world where everyone tells them to play fair, that they’re too little, or it’s not their turn. They need you to be silly and wild and fun, to get over your own fears and insecurities so you can help them overcome theirs.
But most importantly, play is about connection. Cohen explains that when children feel isolated and alone, they may retreat. They may avoid eye contact or touching you, they might grow aggressive as they try to find their own way to reconnect. By playing, you can take scary and negative emotions and reactions and help your child feel confident, secure, and happy.
It’s a must read book for any parent, eye-opening and challenging but infinitely rewarding.
Twilight
by Stephanie Meyer: reviewed by Kim Webster, Stellarton, N.S.
I sheepishly admit that the last thing I read is Twilight. I am a mother to an adorable two year old daughter who has not read Twilight, and spouse to a lovely man who has also not read Twilight, but who openly mocked me throughout my reading of it. I have worked in full-time youth ministry and currently work very part-time in children’s ministry and am a substitute teacher.
In every middle school in which I taught this year, there was always someone reading Twilight. That says something about a book. And many were reading it for the third, fifth or tenth time. One grade six student told me she was just skimming to her favourite parts and then proceeded to recite a good portion of a chapter from memory. Wow.
I thought I should see what all the fuss was about.
Twilight is a pretty basic story about a girl who meets a boy who happens to be a vampire, but not a nasty vampire. (Never thought I would ever type a sentence like that!) They fall in love, Edward sneaks in Bella’s window each night to watch her sleep, they are very much in love, and the story continues from there…
It is obvious to see why teenage girls—and some adult women—are obsessed with it. Who wouldn’t want a handsome guy (a.k.a. Edward) swooning over your every word and willing to sacrifice everything to protect you? Not to mention the “other” guy (a.k.a. Jacob) who is also devoted to you and vows to protect you at all costs.
But Twilight does have a lot of bigger themes—love, grace, sacrifice, passion—and as a parent, if that is what my teenage daughter were reading, I think that is where I would go with it. The book is filled with classic good versus evil moments, and Edward, the vampire, is actually quite morally upstanding. (Again, what an odd sentence.) A lot of the story revolves around eternity and how Bella is going to spend hers. There could be a really interesting discussion here on choices and how our choices as Christians play out in the world around us. Choices are presented constantly that challenge our faith and beliefs, and youth have to try and sort through that, all the while trying to fit in with friends and classmates.
As my daughter is two, it is pretty easy to keep up with her friends and read what she is reading but I know that as time passes we will have to work a little harder to stay in tune with her world. Although my husband has a healthy dose of fear when it comes to her youth, I can’t wait to chat about the books she is reading and I hope we will be able to help her look at her world through her faith. For now, I give thanks that we can snuggle and read a stack of wonderful children’s books at bedtime, and my husband gives thanks there aren’t boys sneaking in her window just yet … hopefully never!
And the List:
Jo Ann from Langley, BC:
1. The History of the Middle East by Peter Mansfield
2. Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
3. Through the Shadowlands by Brian Sibley – the love story of C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman
4. Out of Africa by Isak Dineson
5. An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor
Jule Ann Wakeman, near Philadelphia, U.S.A.:
1. Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flower
2. The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Robert Sears
3. The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
4. Wheels on the Bus by Raffi (Raffi Songs to Read—read aloud to Valerie)
Jeremy Wakeman, near Philadelphia, U.S.A.:
1. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (read aloud to Jule Ann Wakeman)
Rev. Gregory Davidson, Briarwood Church, Montreal:
1. Christian Spirituality: Origins to the Twelfth Century by Jean Ledercq, Bernard McGinn, John Meyendorff.
2. A New Kind of Christianity by Brian McLaren
Reuben St. Louis, Waterloo, Ont.:
1. Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman
2. Thorton W. Burgess’ series of bedtime story books which the TVO cartoon The Green Forest was based on.
