Parenting Short Takes:The Father-Daughter Bond & Baby Signing
Featuring Rachel Balducci, Marilyn Daniels & Jen Klein
By Julianne J. Smith, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI -- Library Journal, 04/15/2010
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Publishing seems to have a case of spring fever, with authors cranking out the humor titles. In my spot on the map, parents are thrilled with the warmer weather, as kids run off to meet up with their friends and spend less time indoors declaring boredom at every turn. In the library, we are gearing up for Summer Reading, when our building will burst with activity and the shelves look a little emptier. Higher circulation means a break from weeding, and I’m determined to revisit my own parenting collection in terms of subject heading access.
As budgets decrease and more and more libraries move to shared catalogs, the cataloging record becomes increasingly important to differentiate between similar materials and to ferret out desired items via the relevancy and retrieval process. Terms like child rearing and adolescence are just not helpful, and many of the LCSH are old and outdated. Do you do something special with your records? I’d love to know, email me. Soon, I’ll have lots of time to contemplate the issue further during baseball practice. Happy spring!
Balducci, Rachel. How Do You Tuck in a Superhero?: And Other Delightful Mysteries of Raising Boys. Revell. Apr. 2010. 192p. ISBN 978-0-8007-3372-8. pap. $12.99. CHILD REARINGWriter, blogger, and mother Balducci gives a tongue-in-cheek peek at what life is like raising five boys. Covering such topics as food, dress, etiquette, and rules ("do not hogtie your brother and drag him across the yard on the back of your bicycle, even if he claims he is having a blast"), this is a fun and sweet book on appreciating the rambunctiousness of young boys. Anyone with two or more of these lovable monsters will immediately "get it"; the short essays are perfect for digesting during the brief two minutes of quiet a mother might find per day. Other recent titles in the Bombeck vein include Chris Mancini’s Pacify Me and Elizabeth Beckwith’s Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation. Balducci’s is the tamest of the three in terms of style and language, but all three are recommended for a daily dose of Vitamin Humor.
Daniels, Marilyn. Babies Can Talk: A Practical Guide for Early Communication Through Signing and Fun Activities. Production Assocs., Inc. Apr. 2010. 184p. index. ISBN 978-1887120-90-6. $14.95. CHILD REARING
Leading researcher Daniels (Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children’s Literacy) offers a concise and helpful book on teaching hearing babies American Sign Language (ASL). Baby signing has become increasingly popular over the last ten years; it is believed to accelerate language growth, increase IQ scores, enhance memory and recall, and create a stronger parent-child bond. The research shows that signing encourages speech and fosters vocabulary growth rather than delaying it, a common parental concern. Divided into three sections—research and information on signing; signs, tips, and suggested words for signing; and fun and practical signing activities—the book features photos and additional explanations of appropriate size. There's also a helpful alphabetical glossary of suggested words with signs. Enthusiastically recommended; note that this is part of the "Sign To Speak" series, and libraries can enhance their collections by adding We Sign DVDs. The book is not yet available on Amazon, so go to the author's web site to order.
Ford, Gina. The Contented Baby with Toddler Book. Random House UK, dist. by IPG. May 2010. 338p. index. ISBN 978-0-09-192958-9. pap. $17.95. CHILD REARING
UK parenting expert Ford (The Contented Little Baby Book: The Simple Secrets of Calm, Confident Parenting) tackles the difficult topic of adding a second baby with a toddler in tow. Managing two different schedules without sacrificing time or energy for either is definitely a task that takes planning, and she walks readers through everything from planning the pregnancy, including implications for various age gaps, to coping with morning sickness and fatigue when you’re chasing a toddler around the house. There are British phrases throughout (prams, nappies, etc.), and some information is unlikely to translate to American audiences (introducing pureed parsnips after six months), but technically the information is sound. There isn’t a lot in print on this side of the pond that is specific to planning a second baby, so this is recommended despite the British slant. Unrelated: It might have the cutest book jacket in the world.
Kennedy, Laurel. The Daughter Trap: Taking Care of Mom and Dad...and You. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin's. Apr. 2010. 320p. ISBN 978-0-312-38510-1. $25.99. CHILD REARING
Silver Anvil and National Telly Award winner Kennedy presents a razor-sharp tome on the impending national crisis in elder care. If you think her argument that "elder care is perceived to be a daughter’s obligation" is just an assumption, consider the statistic that "women lose an average of 11.5 working years because of caregiving responsibilities; men just 1.3 years." There is no doubt that her cries for a revolution are justified and that the timeframe is urgent (the over-65 population is growing nearly four times faster than the under-65 group). Covering everything from statistics regarding the state of care now to the gender gap in caregiving, this book is intended to scare most of us with aging parents into action. Recommended for absolutely anyone with a mom or a dad.
Klein, Jen. SheKnows.Com Presents: The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know (That No One Else Will Tell You!). Adams Media. Apr. 2010. 224p. ISBN 978-1-60550-144-4. pap. $12.95. CHILD REARING
Columnist and SheKnows.com contributor Klein here strives to reveal the truth about motherhood, no matter how hard or disgusting it is to hear. Dividing her text into sections on pregnancy, birth, babyhood, toddlerhood, and preschool, she covers such topics as "your body, rearranged" and "playdates are for moms, not for children." Subjects like birth plans are concisely presented, sprinkled with honest quotes from the field and a "She Knows Secret," a one- or two-liner that wryly puts the issue into context ("a routine or schedule may not happen as quickly as you want it to, but it does emerge, and it builds from there"). This type of book has been done many times before, but the raw quotes and winning format make this a stand-out for first time moms.
Milligan, Jill with Michael Milligen. Mom Rules: Notes on Motherhood, the World’s Best Job. Skyhorse Pub. May 2010. 160p. illus. ISBN 978-1-60239-987-7. $12.95. CHILD REARING
Former stand-up comedian Milligan offers an "off-center perspective" on the joys of motherhood, opening with the fact that motherhood requires no qualifications or prior training and that "all we really need to become a mother is a cheap bottle of wine and someone to whisper, ‘Of course I love you’." There are more good lines throughout, but they offer more smiles than chuckles. And while many would agree that "mother is just smother minus an S," this sometimes feels like a stereotype of humor, if not motherhood. I’m still selling readers on Elizabeth Beckwith's Raising the Perfect Child with Guilt and Manipulation, which feels more original and less generic. See the companion book, Dad Rules, below.
Milligan, Michael & Tom Lynch. Dad Rules: Notes on Fatherhood, the World’s Best Job. Skyhorse Pub. Jun. 2010. 160p. illus. ISBN 978-1-60239-966-2. pap. $12.95. CHILD REARING
In this companion book to wife Jill’s Mom Rules, Milligan takes a stab at the "he" version of events as they pertain to the parenting journey. Compared with expectant mothers, who have a built-in support group and fan club throughout pregnancy, men, says Milligan, are limited in their audience, with friends often replying, "If you want to talk about that crap, call Oprah." As in Mom Rules, the chapters are progressive through the ages, beginning with discovering your wife is pregnant, to sending the kid off to college. These books share common material (actual lines, not just themes) and are obviously designed to be one-stop shopping for Father’s and Mother’s Day. They are both cute but hardly substantial.
What I Would Tell Her: 28 Devoted Dads on Bringing Up, Holding On and Letting Go of Their Daughters. Harlequin. May 2010. 304p. ed. by Andrea N. Richesin. ISBN 978-0-373-89210-5. pap. $13.95. CHILD REARING
In this essay collection, ideal for Father’s Day, 28 writers explore the depth of the father-daughter bond, being in turn funny, touching, and wise. The fathers are young and old, single and gay, adopted and step; their stories are distinctive and insightful throughout. The contributors are all writers and performers and include well-known names like Robert Bausch and Chris Bohjalian along with lesser-knowns, such as Steve Almond, whose bio describes him as "the author of five books, none of them quite as good as he hoped." Despite the self-effacing descriptions they offer up, these are solid writers. Kudos to editor Richesin (Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers Reflect on the Mother-Daughter Bond) for compiling another winner. A highly recommended literary version of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. Get out the Kleenex.
