Thursday, April 3, 2014

Book Club: About Raising a Boy

A couple of months ago I ran into a recommendation for the book Wild Things: the art of nurturing boys by Stephen James and David Thomas. I was immediately intrigued by the title and quickly decided to check my local library for the book. I had to put it on hold, but I have finally received it and plan to start reading it today. 



I am hoping that a few people will also read it over the next month or so and be willing to have a discussion about it with me in the comment section of this post and a new post I will write when I am finished with the book. 

I think this has potential to be a great book for me in particular, because I find myself frequently feeling like I don't understand where my son is coming from or unable to keep my own natural anxiety in check for things that are totally natural for kids to do. For example, climbing trees a little higher than I am comfortable with, climbing up our banister, or jumping in waves at the Oregon coast in 60 degree weather (well I did do this at some point in my life).  
If you want to pick up the book you can buy it from the links below:
                         Kindle:  
                      Paperback:  

I hope you will find the book and read along so I will have some people other than meself to mull over this book with. :) I may make this a permanent book club of sorts, I already have next months book in mind. It is one I have been getting distracted from called Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. So if you want to get ready for May and get this book here are links to that.
                  Paper Back:
                      
I really hope you read along and post comments as you go so we can think about this book together. :) Also if you are interested in following along with future months please follow the blog. :)
                             

2 comments:

  1. Hi Emilia! The "Boys' book looks interesting. My boy is more baby than big boy still, but after teaching elementary school, and often getting the wildest of the wild boys, I know how things might be headed. I'll look and see if my library has it.

    Also, we read "Last Child in the Woods" in LC Grad school (MAT program). Good pick.

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  2. Hi Emily, I have been reading this book over the course of the last month (along side a few others) and have been finding it to be pretty good. I think the first few chapters would apply to you now and it discusses reading Love and Logic in starting to approach disipline. I read those when my boy was a baby and did use it quite a bit.

    So far the book, "Wild Things...", has some good points and some very good practiclal applications which I really like about this book compared to some others that give more abstract or theoretical things to try out.

    My only complaint so far has been that from a developmental standpoint I can really see how almost all of this could apply to girls as well when the book is trying to sell it as specific to boys. That might not necessarily be a bad thing, I don't know. I just know I grew up with a Mom who always questioned why things should be specific to one gender or another and this seems to be one of those things that now sparks that kind of response in me. I hope you do read this one and can come back and give me your opinion on it!

    I have already started "Last Child in the Woods" and am finding it to be really good.

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