As LGBTQ+ people recently have gained increased societal acceptance, more children become “out” and self-aware of themselves, often at a young age. ThAs LGBTQ+ people recently have gained increased societal acceptance, more children become “out” and self-aware of themselves, often at a young age. This effect is a good thing because it prevents youth from feeling oppressed for who they are. The social support for those “coming out” is increasing, but support for parents of those children is presently lacking. Mostly, parents are admonished to be supportive, but they usually lack a safe space to sort out their own feelings. Relying on their children to educate them is a bad idea, and many healthcare workers and counselors lack deep empathy about these parents. In Australia and Canada, Tracy Whitmore has built a career around helping parents navigate these waters so that they reduce harm to their children and enact their love for their children. This book distills her advice in an accessible, written format.
When a child first “comes out,” most parents react by being overwhelmed. Some never escape this emotional state and so never embrace their children for who they truly are. Whitmore coaches us beyond remaining overwhelmed. Then she progressively peels the proverbial onion so that the parents themselves become self-aware. Such self-knowledge in turn aids them in making clearer decisions that help the entire family.
In remaining chapters, she discusses deeper topics like beliefs, values, thoughts, and emotions. She also explores how to repair inevitable damage that has occurred in the past and how to celebrate your child for who they are. Her philosophy posits that parents can better support their children by undertaking this process alongside them. This approach doesn’t mean that the kids always (or ever) see the parents’ processing; it just means that the parents do the processing, too, so that they can love their kids better.
Though independently published and prey to the occasional grammatical error, this book hits a growing audience of parents of LGBTQ+ youth. Sorting out one’s gender and sexuality seems to be becoming a standard part of adolescent development. A heteronormative society is slowly being replaced by a more welcoming, diverse world. This book’s message allows parents to come to terms with themselves so that they can love others better. By uniquely addressing a pressing need, it fills a looming gap in the literature. Parents who can’t figure out how to navigate this difficult road should certainly seek therapeutic help, but they also should read this book as a thoughtful, key part of their own journey....more
Youth athletics in America is an ever-evolving landscape. People continue to focus on its educational benefits, whether learning teamwork or getting aYouth athletics in America is an ever-evolving landscape. People continue to focus on its educational benefits, whether learning teamwork or getting a college scholarship. However, these competitive foci can also bring out the worst in parenting. Parents often become more drawn into success than their kid-athletes. At the college level, tantalizing new constructs like the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) marketing and the Transfer Portal require wise decision-making to avoid pitfalls. What are kids to do? And what are parents to do? Professionally, Kirsten Jones, a former D1 volleyball player, helps families navigate the playing field of youth athletics. Here, she distills wise guidance on how to best empower young athletes for their futures.
She principally focuses on having fun, not winning, as the main benefit of sports. She also stresses the lifelong lessons that can be learned from playing sports at any level. As a parent of two college athletes, she is well aware that the sports odyssey can end at any moment and that the value of every moment must be maximized. Her main advice to parents is to not ruin it for their kids. Instead, empower them to make their own decisions. Importantly, that attitude equips them for the next level, whatever that is, and it equips them for life.
The climb in sports is fleeting. Everyone wants to win, but only a small group can reach the pinnacle. Plus sports is ephemeral – champions are here one day and gone tomorrow. Thus, its foundation is fragile and can’t become sole to our children’s identities. Yet it can keep kids connected to a healthy path when their primary drive is not academics or some artistic hobby. To navigate this domain, she offers not just advice, but stories of real young athletes that were her friends and clients. She visits their mistakes and their successes to give us adults wisdom.
While this book’s obvious audience is parents, the more mature young athlete can also benefit from its perusal. They can see mistakes that adults often make and prepare themselves for their futures, wherever that may lead. Coaches can also benefit from understanding parental motivations better so that they can guide their young athletes towards longer-term success. Thus, this book is broadly generalizable to many groups. In a competitive landscape among competitive people, Jones offers a beacon’s light of winning guidance to prevent us from causing our own losses.
Recruiting for college football is a complicated but important process. Many aspire to its benefits, but only a few will move onto the next level. LikRecruiting for college football is a complicated but important process. Many aspire to its benefits, but only a few will move onto the next level. Like anything in sports and life, those who prepare the best will succeed the most. So how do you prepare, aside from dominating on the field? Larry Hart’s guide is a great way to start. An ex-NFL player and current college coach, he shows aspiring players what they should be doing each step along the way. This can reduce anxiety while increasing the chances of ultimate success.
I mentor a high-school student with ambitions in football. To keep up with his desires, I read this book as a way to introduce myself to this process. I have been a longtime football fan (Clemson) and knew some of the process from news clippings. However, reading this book gives me the confidence to guide my mentee along with knowledge and wisdom.
Potential readers should note that Hart’s future did not look promising out of high school. His grades were low, and with only one offer, he went the Junior College route. Even after that, he moved to an FCS school, not from a Power 5 conference. Nonetheless, he won All-American honors and made his way to the League. He supports getting your academic house in better order than he did to enhance your chances, but having lived through hardships, he remains sympathetic to those whose forecasts may be a bit more complicated.
This book checked every box that I had, except one: NIL. That’s because it was published in 2021, and NIL protocols emerged after that. And frankly, no one still (in 2023) has it figured out. When things settle down – which I suspect they will by regulations in coming years – Hart needs to update this book with guidance on this topic.
This guide is written for high-school students with football ambitions. Its language is on a high-school level with a coach’s tone. Even parents and mentors of high schoolers can benefit from reading it and being able to guide their student-athlete better. For a long time, I have observed the positive difference school sports done right can have upon young people. Concepts around character, physical and emotional strength, and education spring to mind. This book makes those benefits more accessible, and that benefits us all.
Like many, I had parents who tried to engineer their lives for “success,” but paid no attention to my passions, interests, and approach to life. FirstLike many, I had parents who tried to engineer their lives for “success,” but paid no attention to my passions, interests, and approach to life. Firsthand, I’ve seen that parenting style’s folly and futility and want to take a different angle with my daughter and with other children I have influence over. Enter The Self-Driven Child. This book helped concretize abstract beliefs into a coherent philosophy. It distills basic child psychology into a workable format that helps children “own” their lives while helping parents maintain peace of mind.
Parents often feel that their children are extensions of themselves, so they seek to imprint their desires on their kids’ lives. As the child matures, this can become psychologically oppressive and even abusive. Instead of fanning this flame, William Stixrud and Ned Johnson invert the paradigm. Rather than obtaining maximal control over your kids’ lives, these authors say, give them as much control as they can handle to teach them responsibility and enjoyment.
In this book, Stixrud and Johnson try to induce this paradigm shift in readers by outlining its benefits. Then they seek to extract what this looks like practically in a typical American parent-child relationship. They address unconventional approaches to early career development along with how to prepare your child not just for college, but for life. Honestly, their take on college is a bit “gloom and doom” for my tastes and unrealistic. For those self-driven, a university experience need not be – and in fact is not – so macabre. But their overall message of encouraging self-control and becoming self-driven is very much welcome in a culture where engineering your kids for success has become dominant.
I wish more parents (like my own, even now as I am in my forties) would read and adopt the authors’ general approach. Personal traits like happiness, contentedness, collegiality, and self-discipline have mattered more in any job I’ve had than degrees and awards. Schoolwork is meant to cultivate these virtues, not be the final word on them. I want to pass that wisdom onto my daughter, and this book can help me envision what that looks like habitually as I raise her.
When my daughter was younger, I enjoyed reading Love and Logic for parents of young children. I found it helpful for establishing a good relationship When my daughter was younger, I enjoyed reading Love and Logic for parents of young children. I found it helpful for establishing a good relationship with my daughter. And she has become a healthy preteen now. She is socially conscious, in an academic magnet school, and mostly interested in mature things. Importantly, she has become friends with my wife and me. Some of the credit for that goes to the framework the Love and Logic book set in place. With such good past experiences, I approached the teen version of Love and Logic with anticipation. However, after having completed it, I am not as enthusiastic as I was after completing the first book. Let me explain…
First, the good stuff. This book tries to develop teens and preteens into responsible adults by enhancing personal responsibility. As with children, it tries to use natural consequences as the ultimate teacher of life lessons. It encourages parents to stop being benevolent dictators or hover parents that rescue their children incessantly. Instead, it encourages parents to let their children make their own mistakes while forming their own identities, albeit with some guardrails in place to enhance growth.
However, this book falls into the trap of enhancing fear-based thinking too much. It seems like every suggested conversation ends with the fear of drugs, sex, and alcohol. Not enough discussion exists about how to enhance good passions and foster good curiosities in your child’s life. Perhaps this is because the authors counsel troubled teens and families so much. Granted, they explicitly say that all their advice is not for every parent-teen relationship. I’d also like to have seen an appendix of suggested resources, perhaps with varying opinions, for deeper dives into the subject matter.
I’m not sure parenting by fear is the best strategy even if the locus of control is shifted onto the adolescent. Indeed, this religion-friendly strategy unmasks fears beneath common parental admonitions. But because it is fear-based, I am concerned that it does not provide lasting solutions that will easily port into adulthood. While it does a good job at molding a parental role into a consultant, it does not deliberately educate and empower children to make their own decisions about their futures. Perhaps only self-controlled children will benefit from that – i.e., ones that have benefited from making their own decisions. Still, I simply did not learn as much from this book as I did from the earlier Love and Logic version.
Finally, I note that a newer edition came out in 2020. I hope and anticipate that version contains advice about modern smartphones and social media. These are necessary and hot topics.
This book, illustrated by the author, identifies with children’s excited anticipation for winter holidays – and their worst fears of not measuring up.This book, illustrated by the author, identifies with children’s excited anticipation for winter holidays – and their worst fears of not measuring up. Hedgehog bakes gifts for all of her friends, but she cannot figure out what to bake for her favorite friend, big Bear. Eventually, she encounters an idea! She plans and constructs a gift perfect for her friend.
However, on the delivery, the gift falls apart. It’s everyone’s worst nightmare… At the last minute, something good does not work out! Bear discovers it, but is happier just to have Hedgehog nearby. They end up having a merry time being together despite hardship, and the tension is relieved. Friendship, love, and affection overcome shortcomings.
The plight of the Ukrainian people in 2022 has been seen and felt across the world. Most humans sympathize with a country whom a rival invaded for doiThe plight of the Ukrainian people in 2022 has been seen and felt across the world. Most humans sympathize with a country whom a rival invaded for doing nothing but existing. Generally, I have mixed feelings about war because it’s incredibly destructive towards universal human life, but the philosophical category of a just war surely exists for situations like these. The Ukrainian military needs to be supported to defend their right to exist. This short comic exists to trumpet the Ukrainian cause while establishing a national narrative.
This work is not quite a novel because it contains nine short stories instead of a central plot. Still, it teaches recently developing aspects of their war story, like the “ghost of Kyiv” who shot down multiple Russian warplanes in the early days of the conflict. Though clearly propaganda that depicts Russians as heartless and evil, this book can rally readers to the Ukrainian side in their struggle to exist.
I’m not sure this book will appeal much to the Russian people, who can (and should) stand up against their ruler. That would bring this crazy “adventure” to a quick resolution. But it addresses an audience that is not normally addressed by literature – an audience of comic readers. The drawings are of good quality, and I learned something from each story. The stories, though short, are entertaining as well. I was also interested in the short biographies of the authors at the end.
Wars quickly bring complex human situations into black-and-white, us-versus-them situations. The Ukrainian situation is no different. This book seeks to inform us of their struggles while keeping this conflict on the world radar. While reading the newspapers, I try to keep informed by the latest happenings, and I support the plight of the innocent refugees. I hope and pray for continued victories for the Ukrainian people and am grateful to support their cause in the small way of reading this collection....more
Little Jeremy is a 13-year-old young man from Paris. He enjoys painting and the visual arts. He is homeschooled because of a heart condition. His mothLittle Jeremy is a 13-year-old young man from Paris. He enjoys painting and the visual arts. He is homeschooled because of a heart condition. His mother works hard at a nursing home to support their family, and his father died previously in war. Little Jeremy and his dog Leon stay home for most of the day, but explore the downtown area around their apartment flat near Notre Dame cathedral. His mother is in a big financial bind, not of her own making.
One day, Little Jeremy secretly discovers an antique painting of a Parisian bridge and seeks to restore it in order to help his mom financially. Under little adult supervision, he pours his life into this painting. Along the way, he ventures into the world of social media, the life of his neighbors, and the history of his family. In many ways, this is a coming-of-age tale that bridges Jeremy from his childhood into maturity.
Be forewarned that this book does not have a happy ending. In fact, it is quite sad and sudden. Despite the abruptness, it teaches the themes to make the most of time and that it’s never to early to think about giving to others. This novel appreciates and values the arts as a mechanism to better the world.
A couple of situations seem out of place in this book, though. The story is told from Little Jeremy’s perspective. As a 13-year-old boy, he seems extraordinarily self-aware and dealing with complex, even heavy thoughts. That seems somewhat unrealistic. Further, the caricature of social media and Internet access seems inaccurate for 2019. Most homeschooled children will have Internet access at home and not be forbidden from using it, like Little Jeremy was at this story’s beginning. Instead, it’s more likely that they’ll be policed by their adult parents. Garai’s portrayal seems somewhat disorganized here, too.
Overall, this book provides a touching story that is especially appropriate for a young adult or teenage audience. That audience does have to know how to deal with tragedy, though, and not to expect ever-rosy outcomes. There is much suffering in this book, but Little Jeremy inspirationally finds a way to make joy out of humble surroundings. Indeed, resilience and hope in the midst of one’s journey are two motifs that stick out. Through this moral modeling tale, we can all learn to pour one’s soul into helping others through genuine human expression like Little Jeremy as he restores this painting for his family.
“Aaaaaachooooo!” Sneezy the Snowman is catching a cold, and he needs to figure out appropriate ways to keep warm in the midst of winter weather. Since“Aaaaaachooooo!” Sneezy the Snowman is catching a cold, and he needs to figure out appropriate ways to keep warm in the midst of winter weather. Since he is made of snow, he learns that he melts when around warm things like hot cocoa, a warm bath, or a fire. However, plenty of clothes can keep him from winter’s worst effects like sickness.
This book, appropriate for kids in preschool up to early elementary school, teaches little ones about how to handle themselves in the midst of cold weather. It also teaches how snow behaves in different environments. The story unfolds repetitively so that it can interject a small or large group with raucous laughter. This book is well-suited for the winter months and especially around the December winter holidays....more
It’s easy for children to feel as if they are “good for nothing” because they do not commonly make as significant of societal contributions like adultIt’s easy for children to feel as if they are “good for nothing” because they do not commonly make as significant of societal contributions like adults. Sometimes, forgotten in a Christian, technological culture is that care, and nurture are required for all things to bloom. This book, based on one of Jesus’ parables from Luke 13.6-9, reminds us all – children and adults alike – of the value of love so that things can grow.
Levine and Sasso, interestingly, are both Jewish and culturally relate to this parable in a way that many Christians might not. I have known of Levine’s work as a New Testament scholar for some time, and her academic research focuses on the Jewish culture during New Testament times. I am happy to discover that she also writes children’s books!
Bowler’s illustrations in this book are clear and receive my ten-year-old daughter’s seal of approval. Through vivid colors and relatable characters, they bring the story to life and allow all readers to reimagine the meaning behind this ancient text. Sometimes, love and nurture can seem far away from us all in the midst of argument, politics, and strife. Levine and Sasso remind us of its eternal value to both trees and humans....more
This illustrated children’s book illuminates the basics of the human nervous system. It teaches kids about their bodies – specifically, about their brThis illustrated children’s book illuminates the basics of the human nervous system. It teaches kids about their bodies – specifically, about their brains and senses – in a way that intends to make such learning fun. The pictures are colorful and engaging for young learners. Even though the brain can seem like an abstract topic, this book centers on the very basics – in other words, high-yield material.
This book can be helpful to just about any child who is reading (or is read to) at the picture-book level. It just comprises a “101” course on the nervous system. It’s meant to stimulate curiosity, imagination, and wonder about the natural world.
Although its general education is relevant to all, this book is especially relevant to children with nervous system disorders. These children may need to learn language to talk to their pediatrician about their bodies. This book would give them a fundamental understanding and a useful vocabulary. Further, the engendered deeper concepts might make them less scared about what is happening in their own bodies....more
J.R.R. Tolkien is most well known as the author behind the famed series The Lord of the Rings. He was also an Oxford don (in the field of Anglo-Saxon J.R.R. Tolkien is most well known as the author behind the famed series The Lord of the Rings. He was also an Oxford don (in the field of Anglo-Saxon literature) and a family man who was widely adored for his overactive imagination. He wrote little publicized letters to his children every year at Christmastime by posing as Father Christmas (the equivalent of Santa Claus), replete with this trademark imagination and with drawings and paintings. His daughter-in-law Baillie posthumously collected these writings into this compilation.
I am most impressed with how much obvious joy Tolkien takes in the art of parenting. As a professor, he was a busy man, but took the time to convey fun annually to his children as they aged. These letters begin in 1920 and continue uninterrupted until 1943, at which time his oldest child left home. Some parents find it hard to share passions with their children; not J.R.R. Tolkien.
The letters display a consistent yet imaginative storyline. From the North Pole, Father Christmas writes to the children in response to their letters. He warns of gift shortages due to the Great Depression. He speaks honestly about the troubles of the Second World War. He shares stories of his compatriot Polar Bear. To provide drama, goblins sometimes attack the North Pole and must be warded off. Polar Bear even makes an appearance as an author! These letters are not philosophically profound nor overtly religious; rather, they convey a sense of play that appeals to children – and, if we’re honest, adults, too.
Works like this can bring family togetherness around the Christmas season. When I spoke of the book over dinner, my daughter specifically asked that she be able to read these letters – a step she usually does not take for most of my books. Photographed copies of the letters and accompanying drawings are preserved in the book. This makes the purchase of a physical copy (as opposed to the eBook I read) worth its price. Tolkien’s brilliance left a legacy to English-speaking peoples. Kudos to daughter-in-law Baillie for collecting and sharing this brilliance to us around the theme of Christmas and family.
This book was billed as a “father-daughter memoir,” and my daughter expressed interest in reading it. Thus, we decided to read it together. Multiple nThis book was billed as a “father-daughter memoir,” and my daughter expressed interest in reading it. Thus, we decided to read it together. Multiple narrators give voice in this work, and authors are cycled in chapters between Cylin (the daughter) and John (the father).
This is no normal father-daughter relationship, however. The father John, a police officer in Massachusetts, was targeted in a shooting by a crime family. Over decades, he had his face surgically reconstructed after the bullet destroyed his jaw. His family lived under the constant fear of being further targeted. Obviously, this affected their family dynamics. This story seems ripe for a memoir.
Both my daughter and I enjoyed Cylin’s telling more than John’s telling. Cylin seems more focused on adjusting to life; John seems more purely angry at the perpetrators, an understandable reaction. John’s wife and two sons also had their lives upended, but Cylin seems to have the most perceptive insight.
I kept waiting for the metaphorical dam to break. I kept waiting for their lives to get back to “normal.” That seemed never to happen. These events changed their lives. They disappeared for a year, yes, but they also changed forever. The family did try to bring good from this horrific circumstance, and they deserve credit for that.
Although written in father-daughter pairings, this story is more about crime than it is about a parent-child relationship. The crime and its aftermath are profoundly interesting. It seems that each family member dealt with the crime in their own way. Eventually, they resumed with life. I’m not sure I’d say that it drew them closer together. The circumstance just made each of them more resilient as individuals. They each grew to have more inner strength. That’s the legacy of this horror, but in the “Where They Are Now” section, the family members seemed to have adapted to their future lives. Overall, it’s a great tragedy.
Homer’s Odyssey requires no introduction for hard-core fans of literature, but reading this great work in its original translation can be daunting to Homer’s Odyssey requires no introduction for hard-core fans of literature, but reading this great work in its original translation can be daunting to older kids and young adults. Fortunately, Punter and Fiorin retold this classic in a graphic novel. They maintain the basic storyline and illustrate the action with imagination.
Fans of Dog Man and other graphic novels will appreciate this form of one of the best stories ever told in human language. It’s action-packed (as its original recipients would have heard it), but as recast, it’s also imaginative and playful. Graphic novels done well bring to life creative storylines to intermediate readers in ways that mere words-on-a-page cannot.
This adaptation uses several devices to make it accessible. First, the story is retold in a modern style with plain word-choices. Vivid pictures bring the words to life. A map of the Mediterranean at book’s front explains Odysseus’ travels in space. The authors summarize the Odyssey’s action in brief form, which makes it readable in short time.
The plot, classically retold, reflects a storyline appreciated by the West for millennia. Odysseus travels home from Troy to Greece, only to be blown off course. He upsets Poseidon, the sea god, and his seamen and ship encounters a series of otherworldly travails. Will Odysseus ever get home? And what kind of home awaits him? These questions haunt this book as the reader ponders the world’s richness. We ask ourselves, “In light of earth’s diversity and trappings, will we ever get home to peace?” Punter and Fiorin effectively cultivate these very human themes in older children and young adults. We should thank them for their contribution to English-reading civilization.
Stone’s protagonist is super-smart student Justyce in his senior year at a high school in Atlanta. Thing is, he’s black. As such, he was falsely arresStone’s protagonist is super-smart student Justyce in his senior year at a high school in Atlanta. Thing is, he’s black. As such, he was falsely arrested at the beginning of the novel. He and his best friend were shot after an incident of presumed racial profiling. His best friend died, and Justyce has to testify in the case against the shooter.
Justyce also must deal with reverse racist issues. He falls in love with a fellow student – his debate partner – who is Caucasian. Justyce’s mother, however, does not like the idea of Justyce having a white girlfriend. As such, there is plenty of drama going on in Justyce’s life and plenty that we can learn from.
Justyce keeps a journal in which he writes to Dr. Martin Luther King (hence the name of the book). He tries to learn to emulate King’s non-violence but finds it incredibly hard to do. On the verge of adulthood and matriculation at Yale, Justyce sees the world as a place hostile to him as a young black man. He experiences several incidents of racism during this senior year. He comes to accept these while still being understandably angered at the same time.
In empathizing with the protagonist, I saw how hard life can be to young black men in America. Even when they try to be the best and to do the best, they must deal with hassle after hassle of misunderstandings and profiling. Many will only see them as thugs and have no sympathy for their attempts to rise above. Of course, Dr. King knew all of this by experience – a fact that is never lost on Justyce as he composes the journal entries.
We all can learn from those who suffer plights that they did not deserve. Justyce does not deserve to be associated as a “bad kid” just because of the color of his skin. Although we like to think that we as a society have overcome race, racial effects linger all too long. Stone’s writing and imagination brings these effects to life. In a previous life, she was involved with mentoring projects to youth. It shows. Justyce’s character is a realistic everyman who does not deserve his suffering.
This book is appropriate for young adults trying to make sense of the world. However, one should be aware of language and heavy topics. As a coming-of-age book, Stone’s work does not try to sugar-coat the injustices of the world. Its purpose is to educate and empower with knowledge, but sometimes it seems that such knowledge only falls short. Justyce’s ending is happy, hopeful, and promising, and one can only hope that outcome is given to all young black men in America. It’s just sad to hear what it takes to get there.
A release from Dog Man series is one of the most anticipated events in the genre of graphic novels. Filled with humor, this book tells of the tale of A release from Dog Man series is one of the most anticipated events in the genre of graphic novels. Filled with humor, this book tells of the tale of an evil mad scientist who sought to wreck the city with his powerful robot. It also tells the tale of Petey the cat and what happens when his son invites Petey’s father to visit. Finally, it tells of a hero in love with cupcakes who inadvertently brings this epic to a good ending.
One of the strongest themes in the book is that one must not just be good; one must also do good. This theme is conveyed by characters that act in the face of evil instead of being afraid. They are forces for the common good.
Also, themes of friendship and of being yourself abound as friends collaborate as a team to counteract evil. Even cats and Dog Man (a hybrid man with a dog’s head) work together. Through friendly prodding, Dog Man must overcome his fear of balls trained into him in order for the city to be safe.
Many wordplays based off of Ernest Hemingway’s body of work. Chapter titles and the book’s title feature allusions to parts of Hemingway’s life. This sets up readers to anticipate future reading in the classics.
Kids will find great delight in this book. Humor, wit, playful illustrations, and positive themes combine to create another work in the Dog Man series. This work is sure to entertain the next generation for some time.
My daughter is into graphic novels (novel-length comic books), and she asked that I read this book with her. Telgemeier tells her autobiographical talMy daughter is into graphic novels (novel-length comic books), and she asked that I read this book with her. Telgemeier tells her autobiographical tale of growing up with severe teeth problems. You see, she accidentally hit her front teeth when she fell down at age 11. This story shares how the subsequent experiences helped define her coming of age. She does so in a relatable and interesting way through graphic pictures that many youth would like.
I, too, have severe teeth issues, and my eight-year-old daughter thought I would likewise relate to this book. If abnormal, teeth issues can prove overbearing to the way we look. It certainly did to Telgemeier as she grew up in San Francisco. She eventually learned to fight through the awkwardness and accept herself as she grew up.
She is a skilled illustrator and storyteller. She originally shared these images one-page-at-a-time over the Internet, but she compiled them into a book for publication. Along with the narrative of her teeth, she shares about the Bay Area earthquake of 1989, her struggles for and eventual success with true friendships, and her education in the ways of the modern world. Youth, especially those who have to deal with braces among the incessant interruptions of life, will identify with her tale. My daughter uses Telgemeier’s stories to prepare herself for middle school. Even as an adult, I found it quite light and entertaining. It made me, well, smile.
Loading...
