Beth's Library - Book List
Let me introduce you to some of my best friends…
Sometimes I can't wait to read a much-coveted book (books are like chocolate that way) and I just have to buy it! I thought it would be cool to provide you with instant gratification by becoming an Amazon.com affiliate and installing direct links to Amazon for all of our library's book titles.
Alas, not all cravings can be satiated quickly (Amazon ships in 24 hours!), so for all out-of-print books Amazon will try to find it for you through their many affiliates that deal in rare books. Don't despair; someone out there has it for sale!
And, last but certainly not least, is the autodidact's true ace, inter-library loan! If you don't mind a wait, order the book through your library's inter-library loan program. If you don't know how to order an ILL, read my succinct (ha!) explanation on this same page under inter-library loan.
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CHILDHOOD AND PARENTING
Escape From Childhood, John Holt
Interesting foray into the world of childhood marked by Holt's typical anti-establishment leanings but consistent with the ideas contained in Liedloff's work.
Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher
Are you raising a daughter? If so, then you should read this book! Girls today face challenges we, as parents cannot comprehend. They are objectified at such an early age I wonder if any can grow up truly innocent. Mary Pipher not only rips the blinders off our eyes but gently suggests ways to insulate and protect our daughters from society's insults to their true self-worth. Granted, if you are homeschooling your daughter she may not ever face most of the insults you'll read about in Pipher's book. But, if you own and watch a television or rent movies (even Disney) chances are she'll be exposed to our society's absolutely sick view of femininity and womanhood. You may not be aware of these influences until you read this book.
The Shelter of Each Other, Mary Pipher
I loved this book for all of its real family stories, sad and triumphant ones, that validate the struggles we all face as families in the 21st century. Most families are impacted by society's emphasis on materialism, self-indulgence and financial successes. This important book looks at all the ways we can find support, guidance and help in our struggle to honor one another.
Continuum Concept, Jean Liedloff
When I was nursing Octavian for hours on end I borrowed this book from my La Leche League's library and read it. It contained a parenting philosophy that resonated so clearly with my personality that I found it validating and electrifying. I proceeded to raise three children using the principles found through Liedloff's stories of her experiences with an indigenous tribe of South America called the Yequana.
"… the parents' attitude is not a 'permissive' one. While honoring the autonomy of their sons and daughters and assuming that they will behave as social beings, they also set many of the standards to which the children conform."
The simple concept of parents as societal models to which children aspire (now there's a radical thought----Britney Spears, watch out!) is time-honored. Homeschooling parents have the opportunity to become their childrens' role models. Liedloff's book reveals the instinctive human relationship dynamic between parent and child within a nurturing society and through her stories shows a glimpse of how we can affect the same in our modern nuclear families.
Hurried Child, David Elkind
"…children who experience repeated school failure are likely to acquire the orientation of learned helplessness as well as an abiding sense of inferiority."
How do we hurry children in today's society? We bombard them with graphic visual images, via television, movies, and magazines, for which they have no frame of reference. Through the media they are exposed to sex, violence, war, dysfunctional relationships and other disturbing subjects. Latchkey kids and designer clothes in the third grade are all hallmarks of a society that treats children like adults. Divorce, daycare, single-parent homes, before and after school programs and such are elements of change that have altered the safe haven that used to be childhood. Children stressed by too much change, too many adult emotional responsibilities and too much pressure from peers display symptoms that run the gamut from behavior problems to depression. Elkind writes with passion and thoughtfulness. Every parent needs to read this book.
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