A feisty and readable outlook on parenting.
A debut child-rearing guide that concentrates on fostering good judgment and self-awareness in children.
In their nonfiction debut, martial arts instructor Chris Santillo and Holly Santillo, a martial arts instructor and children’s-choir conductor, take a position against “helicopter” parents, who use various methods to remove any challenges or disappointments in their children’s lives. The authors say that “childhoods replete with instant everything, including instant gratification and guaranteed gold stars, rob this generation of the opportunity to build independence through hard work and occasional failure.” The Santillos predicate their book on a deceptively simple observation: Even the most fulfilling life requires resilience in order to make it through occasional rough patches. Their book’s main strength is how it unpacks the notion of resilience by showing how it’s grounded in strength and adaptability and by explaining its three pillars: learning, integrity, and service. The authors reveal the nuances of these principles, in part, through personal stories of their own parenting adventures as well as occasional insets that explain specific lessons (“First the why….Then the how”). The chapters also provide “ASSESSMENT” sections featuring pointed questions that are designed to bring lessons into focus, such as “Does my child seek opportunities to serve others in both small and large ways?” The authors alternate between admonishing some standard parenting approaches (“Children who have been taught with bribes or rewards learn one primary lesson: how to do anything for a gold star”) and encouraging mothers and fathers to have more confidence in themselves: “You guided your children in learning how to walk, to talk, to hold a spoon, and to smile….Your children want to learn, and best of all, they want to learn from you.” In clear, gently forceful language, the authors lay out a clear program of building resilience that may help children later on in their adult lives. Parents, both new and old, will find much of value in these pages.
A feisty and readable outlook on parenting.Pub Date: March 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5445-1195-5
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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