Title

Emily Dickenson: Poetry for Young People

Author/Illustrator

Edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin

Illustrated by Chi Chung

Genre

Poetry

# pages

48

Book Summary

This book contains a brief biography of Emily Dickenson and just over thirty selections from her works.

Any

Objectional Content

None.

My Opinion

As I was educated in the public school system, I can not recall being exposed to any poetry that inspired me.  However, I do love poetry, I write poetry and I want my children to get all the exposure that I never got.  This is just one of the poetry books we’ve borrowed from the library and I highly recommend it.  In fact, the moment we sat down with the book my oldest daughter wasn’t very excited about it.  So I told her to look through it and just pick one for us to read together and when we finished the one poem I started to take the book from her hands, when she stopped me, and begged to read more.   We also enjoyed the illustrations on every page and the definitions of some the words we didn’t know like “bobolinks,” which by the way is a type of songbird.

Recommendation

Highest recommendation

Title

Parenting With Fire:  Lighting Up the Family with Passion and Inspiration

Author/Illustrator

Shmuley Boteach

Genre

Non-fiction: Parenting

# pages

222

Book Summary

Rabbi Boteach teaches parents of all faiths how to cultivate a deep family bond, one that protects childhood innocence from negative influences and inspires and nurtures their sense of wonder. 

Any

Objectional Content

As a mature Christian, I found nothing objectionable in this book.  Did I agree with absolutely everything he said, no, but nothing to stop me from recommending the book.

My Opinion

I picked this book up from the library because I thought it was going to teach me about Jewish family tradition, but it didn’t.  It did inspire me to keep doing what I’m doing and to do so with more passion than ever.  The author clearly has the heart of a home schooler, even though his children attend Jewish school.  It encouraged me in many ways.  It made me think more clearly about what values and passions I want to pass on to my children.  I made a list and from there I was able to pinpoint specific things I can do WITH them to inspire them.  I especially loved how he highlighted the benefits to us adults of learning to be more childlike by getting in touch with our lost sense of wonder.  The Rabbi’s book is extremely easy to read, humorous and powerful.

Recommendation

Highest recommendation