In this book, Sally, a Stinkpot turtle longs to be something other than stinky. One day she swims upon a berry necklace, but not just any berry necklace, and from that point on her thoughts become wishes and her thoughts and dreams become wishes upon wishes as we follow Sally through a variety of things she’d “rather be.”

It’s fun to follow Sally’s wishes throughout the story, see what animal she wants to be next and see why it’s just not the right fit for her. The illustrations are fun and even though Sally’s appearance changes there are running themes that will help your child recognize that each metamorphosis is the unhappy Stinkpot turtle.

Even though she’s a tad fickle, I like Sally, not only because she’s from Upstate New York {like me}, but she reminds me that sometimes in life the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

This story has a happy ending and a great lesson, but I won’t give that completely away, you’ll have to buy the book to check it out.

Head here: http://andyswebtools.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=therochelleancom&item=30390 to check out more images from the book and purchase your own copy for $9.99

I was not compensated to write about this book, however I do know one of the authors and fully support her work in this book. 

In an interview they recently published they were asked some pretty interesting questions and here’s what they had to say:

You interviewed more than 100 working moms over two years. What did you learn from them?

BECKY: Grace, humility, courage — and that there are a lot ways to be successful. I often found myself drawing inspiration from the women I’d interviewed; getting to know them was a great gift.

Jen Canter, the child abuse pediatrician and toy company founder, is an expert problem solver. She’s not afraid to try new things because she’s not afraid of failing. She knows that she has ability to problem-solve her way through a “failure” and turn it into a success. This attitude has allowed her to accomplish a huge amount.

Kim Holstein, who founded Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels, has this amazing ability to let go and prioritize. And she’s so conscious, so present, in her journey. It helps that she’s deeply passionate about both her work and her family. But it also helps that she doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. She makes it look easy, but she’s the first to admit that her life is a “work in progress.” I loved interviewing her because her attitude was contagious; I always felt calm, confident and inspired in her presence.

Jen Pate, the co-executive producer and co-host of the wildly successful webseries, Jen and Barb: Mom Life is optimistic and genuine and totally willing to let her viewers see her imperfections. She’s courageous in that way — she lets it all hang out. She truly believes that women need to come together to support each other, and that belief has guided her vision for her show. I admire that about her.

HOLLEE: The subjects of our book became close friends, and I learned something different from each of them.

I really enjoyed reconnecting with Elizabeth “Libby” Windsor. Libby and I were friends when we sang and danced together as kids, but we hadn’t been in touch for almost 15 years. We had so much in common — we had always been very driven, but we weren’t sure how to put the pieces together after we became moms.

What I really like about Libby’s story is that she’s been able to stay in a very demanding legal position while finding happiness at home. She struggled — as all of us do — but she wasn’t afraid to ask for help when she needed it. That was a real lesson for me.

I also had a great connection with Nikki Adcock Williams — we were introduced by a mutual friend. Nikki and I had so much in common, but we were just at different points in the maze. When I first started interviewing Nikki, she felt very stuck. I related to that – there was a time when I also wasn’t sure how I would find my way out of an unhappy work situation. But Nikki just needed to see herself the way that others (like me!) saw her. I thought her transformation was quite inspiring.

Are you telling moms that it’s OK to “slack off”?

HOLLEE: Absolutely not. The first line of the book makes that clear: This is not a book about settling. But it is a book about the challenges that this generation of women is facing, and how they can find a way to Have It All if they’re strategic in their choices. Good enough sometimes has to be good enough.

BECKY: Perfectionism can be a huge liability. In fact, in our data, that “constant need to be the best at everything” emerged as the single greatest obstacle to juggling work and family. It outweighed financial pressures, inflexible bosses, husbands who don’t contribute enough at home and more. Many of the most impressive and successful women we interviewed found their greatest success when they learned
to let go of perfect. They weren’t slackers, believe me — we’re talking about CEOs, doctors, lawyers. They just weren’t spinning their wheels trying to achieve things that didn’t mean something to them. They’d made conscious choices and accepted that they could do, and be, everything.

Why is this generation of working mother so obsessed with perfection?

We grew up being told, “You can do anything.” And many of us took that to mean, “You must do everything.” Many of the entry barriers faced by previous generations of women were gone when we entered the workforce, and we felt obligated to make the most of that. But even as we excelled in our careers, the
barrage of messages about what was expected of us at home continued. The standards for maternal excellence were rising, and to lofty heights.

Our generation of moms was the first to professionalize motherhood. There would be no mistaking the contributions of at-home moms who approached their leadership in the home the same way they have handled their Ivy League educations and Wall Street power jobs. Moms who returned to work saw the standards set
by their at-home peers, and a new power struggle emerged as we tried to make the “perfect” choices. It wasn’t the Mommy War we’d expected.

3. Why is work/life balance such a hot topic in the news today?

HOLLEE: Many of the women we interviewed said work/life balance was the most pressing issue in their lives; it’s frequently discussed because the work/life dilemma has become acute now that so many dual-career couples are trying to manage demanding careers and parenthood. Almost 5 million college-educated women in this country have children under 5; they don’t want to abandon their careers, but they don’t want to miss their children’s milestones. They were told they could Have It All and they’re doing whatever it takes to find that balance.

This really hit home for us when we conducted our survey. We were overwhelmed by the response — within 10 days of posting the link to our survey on Facebook, almost 1,000 women born between 1965 and 1980 logged on to share their stories. That says a lot about how much interest there is in the topic. We had moms from almost every state, representing every racial group and a huge variety of professional fields. We really took the pulse of American mothers at this moment in time.

Our experts believe work/life has become an even hotter topic because of First Lady Michelle Obama’s interest in the issue (and the recent White House forums). The other big reason? Work/life is finally hitting home for men; they want balance, too, and that requires each member of the family to identify their true priorities.

Good Enough Is the New Perfect is available at bookstores nationwide and at Amazon.

About the authors:
Becky and Hollee are the work/life balance columnists for the ABA Journal, the nation’s premiere lawyer magazine. Both graduates of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, they first worked together in the early 1990s, when Becky was Hollee’s first editor at The Daily Northwestern. Like so many of the working mothers they interviewed, they forged non-linear career paths, taking detours in their quests to balance work and family. They blog about work/life and parenting issues at TheNewPerfect.com.

Becky is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Chicago Sun-Times, The Detroit News, USA Today and the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, N.Y. In 2001, while on staff at the Sun-Times, she co-
wrote a groundbreaking investigative series on “failing teachers” that led to statewide reforms in teacher testing and a crackdown on teacher quality in the Chicago Public Schools. The three-day series, which began one week after the birth of her first child, gave Becky her first experience at balancing motherhood and career. She lives in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood with her husband, Pete, an employment litigator, and their two daughters.

Hollee is a journalist-turned-lawyer-turned-professor at West Virginia University College of Law. After graduating at the top of her class with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Hollee headed to Duke University School of Law. She graduated in 1999, and then began
a four-year stint as a litigation associate at an international law firm. After her first son was born in 2002, Temple returned to her firm on a part-time basis before joining the WVU faculty the next year. Hollee lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, with her husband, John, an author and journalism professor, and their two sons,
Gideon and Henry.

I did not receive anything for this post in the form of compensation or product. I wrote this post from the kindness of my heart. The opinions expressed in this post are my own opinions, yours may vary.

As Chapter 1 begins there’s no real shadow of what’s to come in the following chapters however Rachel’s faith is presented. I love how she speaks about God being more than rituals and ceremonies and how we’re always looking for the God that fits our “rules”. If anything, throughout this book she shows how the God we are looking for is there for us but in His way, not always the way we are hoping for.

This normal, homeschooling, hardworking, Michigan family survived many trials in less than 2 years, yet kept coming back to God for guidance, help, and support. I am in shock at everything that occurred in such a short time, and won’t give anything away, but I can’t imagine anyone walking away from this book not thanking God for all of the great things in their life.

I really enjoy that, “Glimpsing God” highlights Rachel’s inner voice and even the words that God spoke to her through her questioning Him.

“How are we going to make it through this,” “How could I believe after this happened to my son?”

This style helps the reader to connect on a different level and realize that although Rachel always found her way back to trusting in God, she, like any parent, struggled in tough times.

Grab your tissue box and curl up in a cozy spot while you spend a few hours in Rachel’s shoes and hopefully you’ll have the same attitude as she did in the book;

“Were we rich? Yes, just not in money…”

To purchase your copy of, “Glimpsing God” go to: http://www.deepriverbooks.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=glimpsing+god

Please share: What inspirational books have you read lately?

To read more reviews like this go to: Tell Us the Truth Reviews.

I received a copy of “Glimpsing God,” in order to complete my honest review for this post. The opinions expressed in this post are my own opinions, yours may vary.

Personally, I believe that you can encourage and nurture a child’s natural learning style without being the pushy, hovering parent that you see in media, in your community, or even sometimes in your own home.

This book has been called, “The first parent-centered book of it’s kind…” and stresses how important early writing is, gives you activities that target your child’s level of reading, literacy goals, and most importantly to reiterate, this book touts moderation, the last thing you should be doing is making readingm (or any activity for that matter)stressful for your child.

The book starts off letting parents know that one of the best ways to increase your child’s dialogue is to use more vocabulary with them. Don’t be afraid to use normal or even “big” words with your child, they’ll ask what words mean and understand more in the long run. {Plus, it’s pretty funny to hear little kids say mature words, and I’m not talking curses by the way.}Raising Confident Readers features, milestones for monitoring progress and helps you to learn what reading phase your child is in. The book is then based on chapters by Phase so you can use the appropriate exercises for your learner. The exercises are about bonding with your child, exploring words. There are no lesson plans you can do activities that you and your child seem interested in or skip around at your leisure. Remember, it’s about fun!

I loved the section, “Six Parent Goals for Literacy”, my favorite out of the six would be #2. I can bond with my child through books and nurture positive reading attitudes that last a lifetime. Also check out the Appendix which is more like a memory book and contains things like, “My favorite books birth to 6 months…, I loved reading about…, I learned to read some words…,” and more. Reading aloud to your child and even by your child is so important in developing your children, DaddyB and I always have daily book time with both of our girls and I’m a huge believer that you can never start reading too early.

While it’s great to encourage good reading habits for children who love to read, Raising Confident Readers also speaks on topics like dyslexia and children who are behind in reading for their age. This book shows you how to identify and diagnose problems from the start and tips for working with children who have a harder time reading.

With American schools feeling the pressure to excel it seems that Kindergarten standards for literacy are becoming harder and harder, but hopefully with tools like this book and our own desire to take time for our children we can make sure they are prepared in a fun, interactive way. I would highly recommend  Raising Confident Readers as a great book for any level reader and for parents who want to encourage the zest for learning in their children.

You can pick up a copy of Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write – from Baby to Age 7 by Dr. J. Richard Gentry at Amazon or other local book stores.

First off, it’s very easy to use, Miss A, who just turned 3.5 years old, just pressed the power button and away she went, reading up a storm and playing reading comprehension games using the Tag Reader. We love how versatile Tag is, you can read word by word, sentences, or have the entire page read to you. It’s great to have options for children on different levels of reading. They can share, plus who doesn’t want a book read to them once and a while, especially with great narration?!?

We really like  are the “themes” of Tag Books. Most of the stories are based on popular movies but books also include television shows and even some great LeapFrog originals. Check out some of these book sets that we like:

This Learn to Read pack gives your child the tools to learn how to read on their own.

We love fun movies and these two book are spin offs of some of our favorites:

The Tag Reading System focuses on fun and reading but also Language and Literacy, Learning for Life, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Not too shabby for a book!

Tag has real pages, unlike any of their competitors, so your child gets the mechanical experience of using both a pen and turning pages. (I tried to do a head-to-head comparison review but neither VTech nor Fisher Price contacted me). One thing I love about the pages are the beautiful, vibrant illustrations. I also like that Miss A doesn’t have to use her Tag Reader at all with the books, she can just take one to bed and read away. One thing I don’t like about the paper pages though is that, being the Type-A mom that I am, I do worry a little that Miss A might rip one of the pages.

I love sitting down with Miss A and “working” with her, but for parents who are more hands off children may not get as much out of this system as a parent who is willing to take the time to explain, and make sure their child is understanding the words they are reading for comprehension. Often times Miss A will try to zoom her Tag Reader through the book and it will skip words, obviously it’s not intended for this use but I can see many other children doing the same thing. So these are good books, but in my opinion you’ll want to read them with your child, or at least semi-supervise for maximum learning.

Another thing that I love/hate about LeapFrog is LeapWorld. This is an online forum, if you will, where children can redeem the points they earn learning on the Tag Reader/playing games on Tag and play more games, design an avatar, buy clothing, furniture for their online world. The reason I love/hate it is because the Tag and other products remind us to “hook up your Tag to get your points!” And if we’re in the middle of a book it is a little distracting because all Miss A wants to do is hook up the Tag right then and there. The reason I love LeapFrog world is that it’s another outlet for learning. Miss A has learned how to create different types of weather, understanding what is heavier and lighter, and even recycled.

All-in-all I give the Tag Reading System an A. We’ve already seen Miss A read words that she didn’t know before Tag, in fact she read Princess for the first time, with no help, and no pictures. Pretty cool for a 3.5 year old, if you ask me, plus she loves it and it’s not “work” for her.

So are you ready to buy your Tag Reading System?? For your, more than 40 books and activity sets, check out LeapFrog’s great deals at their website: http://www.leapfrog.com. For the best value, go to their Build-a-Tag Bundle and Save option where you get to pick your style Reader pen, and get a discount for each book you add, the more books you get the better the discount!

What’s your child(ren)’s favorite book to read??

LeapFrog is giving one lucky MommyB Knows Best reader a chance to win a Tag Reading System of their own.

Here’s how to win:

Using the ENTRY FORM directly below this post (NOT the comment form), submit your name, an email address that you check regularly, and the entry/entries you are submitting all at the same time. There is no need to fill out separate entry forms for each item you complete. *Please note the Mandatory Entry MUST be typed into the form BEFORE you can qualify for additional entries.

Giveaway ends January 3rd @12:00 am. The winners will be chosen at random, verified, emailed, and announced in a Winner’s post. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email from MommyB to claim the prize, if the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random. You must be a US resident and 18 years or older to enter.

I want to start off by saying this is a great book, but it is more for parents of older children. As the mother of a toddler, I can’t yet relate to some of the advice. That being said, if you are the parent of a tween, or a teen, this is a fabulous book.

The book is split up into 3 sections; Modern Parents, Vintage Values and Timeless Truths. The Modern Parents section gives fabulous advice on the best ways to deal with new problems that parents are faced with in the “modern world”.One great discussion in, Modern Parents, Vintage Values: Instilling Character in Today’s Kids surround the ins and outs of social networking, cell phones, texting, and technology in general. If you aren’t on Facebook, or don’t have experience with texting, you will find great advice in this section of the book.

My favorite part of the book was the section on Vintage Values. It not only describes the nature of these values, but also gives you tips on how to instill those, ever-important values in both younger children and teenagers. I don’t know about you, but as a first time parent, I love hearing ideas that I can actually put to work in my daily life with my son.  The fact that it’s applicable to my life makes the lessons in this book that much more valuable.

On a side note, I also want to mention that this book has biblical references throughout. These references are are supportive and not obtrusive or in your face. The references can be another way to utilize this book to tie spirituality into your daily life.

Overall, I see this as a great book for parents of older children and teens. It is especially helpful to guide you through a very different time in our world. I think it will be especially valuable to those who feel strongly about creating and maintaining a connection to God within their families.

**This is a guest post written by Alison who normally writes for http://stretchmycheck.blogspot.com/ she’s taking a mini-break for the holidays but go check out her previous posts and give her some love!

After meeting Caitlin and checking out her website, and social media outlets, I found out that she had written a book. Actually, it’s not just A book, it’s a very special book, Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time. Operation Beautiful is an amazing, inspirational book that, (in my opinion,) should be on the coffee table in every home.

Why would I be so bold to make such a statement?? Here’s why:

I believe in self. I am a strong believer that every person, no matter what background, what race, gender, economic status, or hardships in life, can change their life for the better and find peace and happiness. Now I may sound like I’m delusional, but I know several people, Caitlin Boyle for one, and the many participants in the Operation Beautiful Movement who agree with me.What is Operation Beautiful about? “Operation Beautiful[the movement]  is a positive uplifting act that stamps out negative self-talk and encourages you to be the best version of yourself.” After Caitlin’s own life struggles, she decided that she wanted to empower herself by writing a note, on a post-it, that simply said, “You are beautiful.” This note turned into an entire movement where people are now working on themselves, bringing smiles to others days, and even reevaluating their self-worth.

In this book, Boyle (I feel weird calling her that since I’ve met her in person,) describes Fat Talk, how damaging it can be, and ways to stop Fat Talk. She also goes on to point out how others can directly effect us, gives tips on how to be healthy with working out and eating right instead of eating “healthy,” how to appreciate the life you have, and creating a plan to move forward.

Scattered throughout the book are not only tips on how to implement Operation Beautiful in your own life, but my favorite part, real life stories, and photos of actual operationbeautiful.com post-its. What a strong movement this has become and if you have not heard about Operation Beautiful, check out http://www.operationbeautiful.com

After reading Operation Beautiful I am more mindful of my thoughts. Yesterday and last night, Baby C was in horrible pain from teething, nothing we tried was working to subdue the pain. She took very short naps and even when she finally went to bed she was up frequently. Instead of being frustrated that I couldn’t take the pain away, I tried to be thankful that I was able to rock her and console her. I remembered that I am so blessed, although yesterday was a very long day at least I am able to be a mother, and hold her in my arms, even if it’s not always giggles and smiles. Now this morning I’m a little tired, but I’m still trying to keep my thinking positive, and while I know that I won’t be able to “beautify” my thinking all the time, it is something that I want to continually be working on because I really do want to enjoy life, and hopefully you do too!

I think the parts of this book I enjoy the most are the stories of women and men who are struggling in life, but have found a way, through the Operation Beautiful Movement to take steps towards a better tomorrow. Being a mom, I can also appreciate the stories, one in particular, about a mom who, like me, has her battle wounds and shows off her stretch marks and scars with a sign that says, “Every part of you is beautiful, stretch marks included!” Sometimes I miss my pre-baby body and even joke that I didn’t enjoy it while I had it, but I try to remember that through the changes I’ve inherited blessings that are priceless.

I highly recommend everyone to purchase a copy of Operation Beautiful, because it’s a book you can read and re-read no matter where you are in life, it’s also a great book to share and an even better conversation starter! I may even buy a few copies to gift for this holiday season, because what better gift can you give someone than hope and empowerment?

What are things you struggle with? What makes you beautiful? If you had an Operation Beautiful Post-it message what would it say??

I have never read or seen any of the Wimpy Kid series, but I really got into this book. If you are a fan of Wimpy Kid you will love this book. From creating the storyboard, to choosing the actors, to wrapping up the movie — all of your favorite Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie minutes are here.

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary has a great notebook feel, with original Diary of a Wimpy Kid drawings that act as a narration in the book. You’ll enjoy the great color pictures sprinkled throughout sharing behind the scenes tips and tricks all about the film.

Most of the book describes the tricks of the trade on making the movie. The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary starts with a section on casting and how they decided to use certain actors. I love the way the Wimpy Kid Gregs are discussed: Jeff Kinney, who wrote the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid books uses a timeline to parallel their two lives, the book version of Greg Heffley to the actor playing Greg, Zachary Gordon. Through casting the filmmakers also asked both actors auditioning for Greg and Rowley’s parts, two of the main characters, to do some homework and write journal entries in the voice of their characters; this book shows the journal entries and introduces you to each of the characters in the movie.

I love how the book describes the tricks of changing seasons in the motion picture, filming day at night and vice versa, using twins and using adult stunt doubles to make filming go a lot smoother. After all, “…a whole DAY of filming usually produces only about two MINUTES of a finished movie.” That’s crazy!

A lot of work is put into each movie and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary was no exception. Read more about how filmmakers used three different schools, created graphic images of the cheese villain, and wrap up the movie with their wrap party.

Part of me wishes every movie had a Movie Companion, okay well maybe not every movie, but I do love how even though I’m not a Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan, this book makes me want to see the movie and read the other books.

What book do you wish was a movie?

Momover, The New Mom’s Guide to Getting It Back Together

After I had my first child I became just a mommy. If I had only read this book before, or even right after, I had my daughter, I might not have had to learn the hard way how to get myself back. I love how this book discusses real motherhood, not the super-flowery, pretty sid of motherhood, and not the cynical depressed side either, just straight up, call it like it is motherhood. It’s a great balance of the two sides, yin and yang, and makes me laugh because it’s so true to life.In my opinion, even if you’re a second-time mommy like me, there are still great things to be learned from this book. Several of the chapters are dedicated to taking care of yourself, because, well, let’s face it, if we as mommies can’t take care of us, can we really take care of a little baby?

Part 1 talks about getting it together mentally. I have some friends who’ve been overcome with post-partum depression and while a book isn’t going to simply take that away, it may help through the baby blues and may even bring attention to the signs.Wood reminds us that we don’t need to be a Supermom and it’s okay to learn to monotask; that’s right, just do one thing at a time.

For many of us multi-tasking mommas this is a difficult feat, but in some cases, for sanity’s sake, this is the best advice someone could give.She says, “Do what you’re doing,” meaning don’t think ahead at what you’ll be doing the next hour, next day, enjoy the time that you’re in, and in some cases I agree it’s nice to stop and smell the roses, and in some cases I probably wouldn’t have locked myself out of the house if I wasn’t carrying the baby, diaper bag, talking on the phone, and trying to remember where I was going in the first place. At the same time multi-tasking has saved me a bunch of time in my mommy life, although I may just save that for when the babies are bigger, because as we all know, they are only little once.

Wood discusses getting it together physically in Part 2, that’s the part of post partum experience I’m at right now. I like how she addresses it as making sure that your body is ready first, she doesn’t want someone who had a baby or c-section for that matter doing Baby Boot Camp three days or even three weeks after birth, but she does say that once you’ve gotten the okay from the doctor get started.

In the chapter: In the Six Month Window, Wood really stresses getting your butt off the couch before you just keep piling the weight on, it’s much easier to lose if you start slow and early. “So I’m begging you to drop the Swiffer, unplug the DustBuster, and prioritize your physical and mental health.” This is one of my favorite parts of the book because she talks about healthy ways to get and conserve energy, and looking at your nutrition by writing food logs. My favorite quote from the book is about “One way to keep yourself ‘honest’ on the food front is to keep a food log. There’s just something about knowing she’ll have to jot down ‘one-half roll of peanut butter cookie dough’ in a daily food log that makes a wannabe hot mama less inclined to eat it.”

Lastly, Wood discusses the emotional and spiritual aspects of the Momover. Chapers 13 through 19 talk a lot about learning how to journal, just get everything out on paper instead of bottling it up, taking a time out for yourself, getting some well needed rest, what every mom needs, and the importance of making yourself a priority.

Along with this great advice, Wood gives some amazing references for those who want to go a little deeper into the topics she brings up in her, “Dig Deeper Appendix.” The Appendix lists several websites, books, organizations, to aid you in becoming that mom that you want to be.

Many times in parenthood our children come first and we as moms are left wondering what happened to the pre-baby version of ourselves. While we should not neglect our children, we do need to remember ourselves, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually in order to be the best mom we can be.One way we can put ourselves on the front burner would be to read and absorb the message from this book, Momover: The New Mom’s Guide to Getting It Back Together (even if you never had it in the first place!)

Article first published as Book Review: Momover: The New Mom’s Guide to Getting It Back Together (Even If You Never Had It In The First Place!) by Dana Wood and Veronica Webb on Blogcritics.

Do you have any tips on sustaining your “self” after becoming a mommy??

From troubled teen to just the average teen, the Teen’s Guide to NOT Being Perfect by Tom Krause is a book that can relate to them all. Much to my surprise I enjoyed this book from the first line to the last.

When I first received this book I had my own preconceived notions of what it would be about and thought it may be a very cheesy, psycho-babble book geared towards teens. Boy was I wrong.

Teen’s Guide to NOT Being Perfect focuses on many Teen related issues like stress, weight loss, emotions, confidence, addiction and is more than just that. Aside from dealing with the issues Tom Krause gives his reader several ways to think about things teens come across in life and express their worries and triumphs.

I don’t think there has been one thing I haven’t really liked about this book. In my opinion, the chapters are the perfect length, not too wordy at all and certainly not too much to be overwhelming. In fact, I feel like the length of the chapters actually encourage the reader to keep reading.

Krause has some great points and not only incorporates his own personal stories, but he uses parables, stories from his previous students, and comparisons to enhance the story.

Each story aides the author in getting his point across to the reader. As a wise choice the stories are not necessarily those of only flowery nature, but something that any teen could enjoy and not turn their nose up at.

Aside from the great stories, at the end of each chapter there is a “discussion” section where the author prompts the reader to take action or answer a question in regards to the previous chapter. I think this is a great way for the reader to express what their thoughts are and to encourage them to actively think about what they are reading as well.

I don’t know if it’s quite necessary, but I think it would be a great idea for parents to go an additional step and read this book before the teen or even with the teen so there is even more room for discussion. Possibly even opening up the lines of dialogue that may not have been there before. There are a few sections, one which mentions suicide and another on addiction, that parents again may want to cover or discuss with their child.

My only fear is that, seeing Teen’s Guide to NOT Being Perfect on the shelf, some people may have the same preconceived notions I once had about this book and not pick it up, but I really do hope that through my review and maybe even some others that parents, teachers and teens will realize this is definitely a valuable book.

Author Tom Krause has also written Touching Hearts -Teaching Greatness, The Little Boy’s Smile and is a contributing author to many of the books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Krause is not only a writer but also a motivational speaker and educator.