Catnip by Valerie Tate: A Book Review

Catnip: A Hilarious Cat Mystery

What happens when a cat does really run the house? If, in fact, the cat owns the house? Find out in this first book of the Dunbarton Mystery series that stars the orange cat named, of course, Marmalade.

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay, Text Added in PicMonkey

Though the title of this book is not unique, the book is.

The Characters 

Lawyer Christopher Mallory narrates the story, which begins in his office in the fictional city of Dunbarton on the shores of Lake Huron, as he reads a will. The family of longtime widow Amanda Dunbar has gathered to see how rich they will become. All that remains of the family are son James, daughter-in-law Alice, and granddaughter Alicia.The one most concerned about the inheritance is Alice. She had pressured Mallory to read the will right after Amanda's burial.

The deceased, Amanda Dunbar, had been widowed for twenty-six years. Her husband had been a prominent citizen and financier, descended from the town's founder. Among other assets, he had owned a furniture factory. Robert Allen Dunbar had been very wealthy and had left everything to Amanda. When he died, he had meant for his sons James and Robert to take over the factory.

Robert was as talented as his father in handling finances and James loved creating the fine furniture. Then Robert died in an auto accident and James had to handle everything. He was not good at business and the factory was not in good financial shape. James was hoping his inheritance would help save it.

James had married Alice against the  wishes of his mother, who couldn't stand  her. Alice dominated him, but James still adored her. Their daughter Alicia had gone off to college as a strong independent woman and came home broken, a shadow of her former self. We later find this was because of unrequited love.

The family had lived with Amanda and her cat Marmalade for twenty-six years. When she became crippled and confined to a wheelchair, they had to help out with her care. From Alice's point of view, she had waited on Amanda hand and foot while Amanda made Alice's life miserable. There was definitely no love lost between the two. Alice also hated Marmalade. Alicia loved Marmalade, and Marmalade at least tolerated her.

Those are the major characters, all of whom will suddenly find their lives changing after the will is read.

The Plot (without spoilers)  

The Reading of the Will

Amanda knew her family well. Christopher (henceforth called Chris) described Amanda this way as he remembered the day she called him to her home to witness her signing a new will she had written. He sized her up as "an autocratic lady with a shrewd expression and an underlying core of steel... a person not to be trifled with."  She had insisted her new will must be kept secret from everyone -- especially her family.

At the beginning of the book when Chris describes the family members entering his office, he recalls that James "seemed to fade into the wallpaper beside his more flamboyant spouse." He recalls that Alicia "drifted in behind her parents, gazed around with a disinterested air, and melted gracefully into a chair by the wall." Alice had "sailed into his office...with the assurance of the flagship of the fleet...about as warm as a Huron January....A gleam in her Ice Queen eyes...said she was about to get everything she had been waiting for." She showed no signs of grief.

Chris knew an emotional storm was about to break in his office when he read the will. The old lady had made him executor and trustee and explained what his duties would be when she died. She had made her intentions very clear. He knew she was using the will to tell her family what she really thought of them. She admits in the will that living together had been uncomfortable for all of them.  She stated it was a wonder "That I have chosen to tolerate the chronic irritability of my daughter-in-law, the infuriating ineptitude of my son, and the vague placidity of my grand-daughter (sic)."

Chris proceeded to read the will. Here's what each got:

• Alice: two gallons of vinegar with the hope it would sweeten her disposition
• James: a can of starch to stiffen his backbone that hadn't been firm since he married Alice
• Alicia: her jewelry "in the hope that one day she may prick her finger and awaken from that perennial slumber she now enjoys."

 Alice had then turned purple with rage and exclaimed with fury: "That old witch!...She made our lives a living hell for almost thirty years and now this...outrage!....When I think of how I waited on her!"

At this point, Chris called his secretary to bring in the last beneficiary -- Marmalade, who immediately spat at Alice, scratched his way out of the secretary's arms, and proceeded to rub against Alicia's leg. She stroked his head. He seemed totally in command of the proceedings. And he actually was. After all, he, as Amanda's "only true friend," was inheriting the entire estate.

 From the will: "since I know my family only too well, should anything happen to Marmalade that even suggests foul play" that anyone in the family had a part in, the estate will go to the Animal Protection Society. The will further stipulates that if Marmalade should die of natural causes, the estate would revert to Alicia "the only member of my family I have any use for."

Amanda appointed Chris as executor and Marmalade's trustee. The family would be allowed to continue to live in the house and care for Marmalade (who would have full run of the house) with all house expenses paid. Each person would get  a monthly allowance which Chris would determine. Chris would check on Marmalade at both scheduled and unscheduled times to make sure he was being cared for properly. If anyone mistreated him, they would lose their allowance and have to leave the house. Then Chris would hire a new caregiver and companion.

Living With Marmalade

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

As you can imagine, the Dunbar household was very tense living with a cat who was the boss. Nowhere in the house was off limits for him. He seemed to delight in destroying things Alice valued. The last straw was reached when she was carrying a family heirloom tea service that had belonged to her grandmother to the table during one of Chris's visits. Marmalade tripped her, and the china broke spilling tea all over Alice's gown. She grabbed him, intent on doing him violence when Chris shouted a warning to remember the will. She told Chris to get the cat out of her sight for a while.

Before the death of Amanda, Marmalade had been a cat-about-town visiting his neighbors at night as he pleased. He had usually let himself in and out through the window in Amanda's room.

When Amanda died Chris took Marmalade to the vet to get a microchip inserted and obtain a DNA sample from him.  For obvious reasons the family and Chris were reluctant  to let him start roaming free again.  But the cat was getting into so much mischief indoors, they decided his confinement in the house might be a contributing factor. So they began to let him roam when he wanted to again. That seemed to help calm things down in the household.

Marmalade Goes Missing

Once the information got out to the public that Marmalade was rich, he was in danger. Although he was pretty good at defending himself, he finally was abducted. This put the family into a panic, since family members were the first suspects. And if Marmalade wasn't found safe and sound, they would lose their home and their allowances. Chris did not believe they were guilty, and he and Alicia began to search for him with help from some of their friends. You will have to read the book to see what happens to Marmalade and all of them. 

My Review and Recommendation

I loved this book! It's not just about solving a mystery. It's about how people can change when they are motivated. Amanda's strange will was intended to help her son become all he could be by motivating him to take leadership. Amanda also hoped it would help Alicia regain her spirit and independence. And Alice? I don't know if Amanda had any hope that she would ever be good for James. But even she changed for the better by the end of the book.

I laughed all the way through this book as the characters interacted with each other and the cat. I enjoyed watching the romance begin to develop between Chris and Alicia. Although the book is a mystery, I felt the development of the characters was the heart of the book. And, of course, Marmalade behaved as you might expect a pampered cat to behave. He seemed to know he was in control and flaunted it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves cats or mysteries and likes to laugh. I was glad I was able to discern who kidnapped Marmalade by using the author's clues. This was just the book I needed to read when I didn't feel up to working and wanted to completely relax. I think you will find it a fun, relaxing read, as well. Why not get it now?

If you enjoy cat mysteries, learn why I also love the Midnight Louie cat mysteries. 

Catnip (Dunbarton Mysteries Book 1)

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The Dirt Tooth Powder: A Review for Those Tired of Toothpaste

What on Earth Is The Dirt?

I first saw The Dirt advertised on a website I was visiting and I was intrigued. I discovered it was a more natural way to clean my teeth than the Sensodyne toothpaste I'd been using for decades. I had never really liked all the chemicals it was putting in my mouth. The Dirt is different.

Get The Dirt Here!

Why Do I Like The Dirt Better than Toothpaste?

The Container: We could start with the tube. First, a tube is rather awkward to store. You want it handy, but it never really looks neat on the counter, even when you can stand it on its head. It isn't a great fit for a medicine cabinet, either. Then there's that old controversy about whether or not it should be rolled up or just squeezed. When you have old arthritic hands, either method can be a literal pain.

The Dirt container is just a little over two inches in diameter. It takes almost no space on the counter and the cap screws on and off. Easy-peasy! And it is also attractively packed. I prefer the three-month jar you see in my photo, but you can get a six-month supply in a little glass mason jar that also looks nice on a bathroom counter. Click through to the website to see all the sizes, flavors, and container styles for The Dirt, as well as a complete list of the ingredients.

The taste: The Dirt is clay-based and has all natural ingredients. The taste I chose is a pleasant but mild orange cinnamon spice flavor -- a bit like the original Constant Comment Tea I love so much. (By the way, Amazon has a great price on Constant Comment if you buy a four-pack.) I like the taste of The Dirt much better than the chemical taste of most toothpastes I've tried, including Sensodyne. If it makes a difference to you, The Dirt is also a Paleo tooth powder.



Remineralization: The Dirt helps remineralize your teeth. It also helps whiten them and it does this gently. There are more details when you click through to the product page. See link under photo below.

Get The Dirt Here!

How Do You Use The Dirt?

First you wet the toothbrush and shake off the excess water. I use the Waterpik Sonic Toothbrush that is part of this set.

I tilt the jar a bit so that I can easily dip the entire bristle surface into The Dirt. Then I gently dip the wet brush into the tooth powder and shake the excess back into the jar. Your brush will look a bit like mine in the photos. Brush your teeth as usual. When you are through brushing, rinse your mouth out with water to remove any remaining tooth powder from your mouth. While you're at it, use some of that water to rinse the tooth powder residue from the sink. Then enjoy how fresh your mouth feels. 

My Results

My dentist had told me when I was in college that I should use Sensodyne because of my receding gums that make my teeth really sensitive. At the time -- think back over fifty years -- there wasn't much else on the market to do the job. The Dirt wasn't around back then. I used Sensodyne regularly for all of these fifty plus years. My teeth are still sensitive and I still get cavities. Would it have been worse if I'd brushed my teeth with something else? Who knows?

In the four months I have used The Dirt I have not noticed my teeth getting more sensitive. I chose The Dirt because it is supposed to actually remineralize the teeth. I still need to see my dentist to see if my teeth have gotten any worse by changing. They don't feel any worse than they did before. But my mouth feels cleaner after brushing that it did before.

About a month ago I ran out of The Dirt and had to go back to Sensodyne while waiting for my order to come in. What I noticed was that my mouth got sore when I switched back. It's possible that I was sensitive to one of the chemicals in the Sensodyne. After a couple of days, though, the soreness went away.

What's Not to Love?

Actually, not much. One fault I might find is that the color of The Dirt traces still on my white sink after I brush are really visible. I take care of that easily with a quick rinse after brushing or a swish of a sponge. It doesn't stain the sink. It will, however, be likely to change the color of your toothbrush. You need to thoroughly rinse it after each use to remove all residue, but even then there still may be a tinge of color left.

The only other thing is that when you are almost out of tooth powder, it takes some creativity to get the entire brush surface covered with The Dirt. That's why slanting the jar is so important. If I'd thought ahead I could have taken care of that problem by reordering The Dirt before I ran out. Then I could have put what was left in the old container right onto the top of the new.

These are small inconveniences I don't mind  in exchange for the clean fresh feeling in my mouth after I brush using The Dirt. I hope you will try it for yourself. Why not order today while you're thinking about it?

THE DIRT Tooth Powder - Natural Fluoride-Free Toothpaste Alternative, Vegan - Essential Oils & Bentonite Clay (Sweet Spice, 25g: 3 Month Supply)Check Price

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Legacy of a Pack Rat by Ruth Bell Graham: A Book Review

A Glimpse into What Ruth Graham Learned as a Child of God

For a long time I thought of Ruth Bell Graham simply as Billy Graham's wife. I knew she was the daughter of medical missionaries and had spent her childhood in China. Other than that I didn't know much about her until I started to read her books. I'd like to share one of them with you here: Legacy of a Pack Rat.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay, edited in PicMonkey

Those of you who know me probably know why I had to open and read this book. I'm a pack rat. This was one of the books that I've had around the house I'd been waiting to read. I'm trying to read through these piles of books now so that I can pass them on. I won't be passing this one on just yet. It's a keeper.

If you've ever kept a journal or made a scrapbook, you know that only what is significant to you goes into it. Much of this book is treasured memories. Some of it is Ruth's original poetry. You will also find quotes from others which she wanted to preserve and keep handy to read over and over. As I read the results of Ruth's collation, I got a great deal of insight into who she was.

One portion I especially appreciated was Chapter 42: "Bible Study for Tough Times." These are suggested passages to read followed by some of Ruth's thoughts on persecution, affliction, and God's sovereignty and sufficiency.

Some anecdotes in the book are humorous. Some thoughts she shares are inspired by her Bible reading. Many stories are about her interactions with her husband, children, and parents. All of the stories, meditations and poems leave me with something to ponder after I read them.  One example from Chapter 43 shows how a barracuda gave Billy Graham more energy than he knew he had.

Image of Barracuda Courtesy of Pixabay. TExt added with PicMonkey

The Perfect Book for Small Bits of Time

This book offers inspiration in short doses at times when you may need it most. Only a few minutes for a morning quiet time when you're still too tired for real Bible study? Reading a bit of this book will speak to your spirit and keep you going until you have more time and energy.

Are you sick in bed or in the hospital and can't read anything heavy for encouragement? This book is just right. It's also good to have beside your hospital bed for family who are keeping vigil when you are sleeping after surgery. It's perfect for reading while you are in the ICU waiting room awaiting your next visit with a family member who is in critical condition. You can also take it to a friend who is in the hospital for surgery or to recover from an illness.

Keep it by your own bedside and read a short chapter before you close your eyes. That can help focus your mind away from problems or pain that may be keeping you from falling asleep immediately.

I carry it with me now when I know I may spend time waiting anywhere. It doesn't require long periods to finish a section, since chapters can be less than a page to five pages in length. Most chapters are a page or two. I used to keep my Kindle in my purse for these waiting times, but then I often find I don't want to put my book down and tackle my to-do list when I get home. Instead I want to finish my book. Legacy of a Pack Rat is easy to pick up, read, and put down when you need to do something else.

Who Will Get Most Out of This Book?

I would say that Christians or those who believe in God will benefit most by reading this book. Ruth Graham knew what it's like to be a young mother with several young children and a husband who is gone frequently for long periods of time. So she understands the pressures of other young mothers. She also understands what missionaries face as they work in other countries and cultures. She understands what it means to be very busy and very tired. She understands being under pressure. Her book speaks to those at any stage of life from teen to old age.

Photo  ©Barbara Radisavljevic, Poem  © Ruth Bell Graham

This book offers food for thought in the form of humor, poetry, inspirational quotations, stories from the mission field, stories of returning prodigals, and more. She deals with hard topics like death, persecution, church problems, suffering, and forgiveness, interspersed with humorous anecdotes, reflections on prayer, original poems, and inspiring family stories.

Many of these stories may also be interesting to those who are not yet believers. Some may help a seeker move closer to faith. But I recommend the book most to those who already desire to walk closely with the Lord and lead lives that are very busy and/or who struggle with physical or emotional pain. 

The other two books you see below offer more insight into the life of Ruth Graham. Two of her children, including Franklin, were prodigals at one time. In Prodigals and Those Who Love Them, she reveals her heart as she waited for them to come home spiritually and explains how the experience helped her learn to rest in God's sovereignty. In Footsteps of a Pilgrim, Ruth reflects on her life both as a child in China and as a wife, mother and grandmother in the United States.

You can buy Legacy of a Packrat and the other books by Ruth Bell Graham at Amazon by clicking a link below or you may find them on eBay for less. 

Legacy of a Pack RatProdigals and Those Who Love Them: Words of Encouragement for Those Who WaitFootprints of a Pilgrim: The Life and Loves of Ruth Bell Graham

You may also want to read my review of Billy Graham's book, Facing Death and the Life After.

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Book Review: That's Weird! Awesome Science Mysteries

Science Mysteries Motivate Kids to Learn!

I will confess that when I was in school, I didn't like science. I hated memorizing science voabulary, scientific facts, names of scientists, and dates of inventions. I hated experiments, dissecting dead creatures, and watching test tubes. I was more interested in plants and how they grew, but not so much in listing and memorizing the names of their parts. I wish my teachers in middle school or high school had been using That's Weird! Awesome Science Mysteries as a teaching resource instead of tiresome textbooks. I've always liked trying to solve mysteries!

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay. Text added on PicMonkey

Science Doesn't Have All the Answers Yet

Author Kendall Haven states in his introduction to this book that "science is the process of turning mystery into knowledge." This is done through observations in the field and in laboratory experiments. Scientists form hypotheses from these observations and then test them as theories until time finally gives these tested theories the status of facts.

But not all theories have been proven yet. There are still some mysteries science hasn't been able to explain and the theories surrounding them haven't been verified. Instead these mysteries feed our imaginations and inspire fiction and movies. That's Weird! motivates and helps students in middle school and above use science research to explore sixteen of these mysteries:

• The Sunken City of Atlantis
• The Bermuda Triangle
• Black Holes
• What Really Killed the Dinosaurs
• Easter Island and its Stone Giants
• Surviving Firewalks and Beds of Nails
• Ghosts: Real or Not
• Lightening: Killer or Resource
• Lock Ness Nessie: Real or Myth
• Life on Mars or Not
• The Birth of the Universe
• Sea Serpents
• The Origin and Mystery of Stonehenge
• Will We Ever Travel Through Time?
• What Exactly Are UFO's?
• Will Humans Ever Be Able to Travel Faster than Light?

That's Weird!: Awesome Science MysteriesCheck Price

How That's Weird! Is Organized

Each mystery in this book is presented in seven different parts

1. At a Glance: This creates a historical context for the mystery by introducing major players and historical events that play an important part in the story. Information in this section is as factually reliable as it can be, as far as it goes. 
2. The Mystery: This is an actual story that engages the reader by drawing him into a scenario related to the mystery. I'm much older than the target age and I still very much enjoyed the stories. The subjects were all ones I've often wondered about. Some of the events in the stories actually happened, but many have not been verified. The author has given many his own interpretations based on known facts and tells you that up front. 
3. About this Story: The author deals with the likelihood of whether the story may be true or not.
4. The Science: Since this book was designed to help science teachers hook their students on science through mysteries, he explains any known evidence, hypothesis, or theory scientists use to evaluate the truth of the mystery. He explores some of the controversies that surround the subject of the story. 
5. Fact or Fiction: A presentation of the evidence for and against the truth of the mystery. Students will see the conclusions scientists have drawn from their current knowledge. 
6. Follow-up Questions to Explore: These interesting questions help students explore the science concepts that relate to the mystery and encourage them to see how the opinions they've formed stack up against the known evidence. They are much more fun than the questions at the end of science textbook chapters I had to write out answers for when I was a student.
7. Follow on Activities: These activities help bring the themes of the stories to life with discussions and demonstrations. They serve as starting points for teachers to run with. There is also a list of references for further reading related to the mystery. 

Who Would Find this Book Useful?

It is recommended for for students in grades four and up. I would say that it's more appropriate for teaching classes of gifted students at that age. For regular classes I'd not introduce this until grade six or seven. Homeschooling parents should also find this a wonderful resource they can use in a number of ways. Once they read it, they can determine when and how to use it with their own children. I'm guessing if it's left around where children can see it, older children will pick it up on their own. 

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book even though science has never been my favorite subject. The stories really grabbed my attention and made me want to read the evidence for and against their being true. I considered it recreational reading. I think anyone who enjoys mysteries might enjoy reading this book. 

That's Weird!: Awesome Science Mysteries

You might also enjoy some of Kendall Haven's other books. He loves science, but also stories.

Wonders of the Sea (Wonders of Nature: Natural Phenomena in Science and Myth)Wonders of the Land (Wonders of Nature: Natural Phenomena in Science and Myth)Super Simple Storytelling: A Can-Do Guide for Every Classroom, Every Day

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Nature's Everyday Mysteries: A Book Review

The Mysteries of Nature

I've always loved learning more about nature. My library is full of field guides and other references to help me learn all I can about the natural world I see in my yard and in the wider area around where I live. That's why I couldn't resist picking up Nature's Everyday Mysteries: A field guide to the world in your backyard when I found it at a thrift store. It's part of The Curious Naturalist Series, and I'd like to get the rest of the series because I enjoyed this book so much. Let me tell you why.

Let's Consider Porcupines

I have never personally seen a porcupine up close. I've never seen one at all except in a zoo. Most of my information on this interesting animal came from reading The Adventures of Prickly Porky by Thornton Burgess when I was a child. Learn How I Learned to Love Thornton Burgess Books . That work of fiction was written by another naturalist. In his animal stories, the animals were dressed in human clothes and talked to each other, but their animal habits were accurately portrayed. Usually the animals interacted only with each other, with an occasional human encounter.

Sy Montgomery, in her Curious Naturalist Series, shares her own research and animal interactions. She says we can tell individual porcupines apart by their faces, just as we tell humans apart by theirs. This makes them easy to study because it's easy to follow individuals. Also, they won't run away from you unless you seem to threaten them.

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

Ever wonder how porcupines mate? Montgomery reveals that mystery. Did you know that porcupines can not only quill other species, but also themselves and other porcupines. They can quill themselves when they fall out of trees. And, yes, they do occasionally fall out of  trees. God protects the porcupines from such incidents by putting a natural antibiotic in their quills so their injuries won't get infected. This also helps people who get quilled, not that you want to experience that. Montgomery tells you how to safely remove a quill if you need to.

Porcupine quills can kill. They do it by working their way farther under the skin by means of microscopic barbs until they puncture vital organs. Some African porcupines have quills a foot long.  One naturalist found 600-pound tigers that porcupines had killed this way. These are just some of the things I learned about these creatures from this book.

The Curious Naturalist: Nature's Everyday MysteriesCheck Price

How the Book is Arranged

This book is arranged by season. The chapter "A Porcupine's Private Life" was in the spring section, where one can also learn about bird courtship, ferns, frogs' mating rituals, and the life that can survive in various types of dry mud that come to life when rains liquify them to wet mud again. The author also discusses various kinds of edible wild plants here

One of my favorite chapters in the summer section was "Messages in Spiders' Webs." It seems that E.B. White wasn't as far off as we thought when he wrote Charlotte's Web, but it's only garden spiders that leave these messages in their webs. I didn't know all the other ways spiders use their webs until I read this book.

Spider Catching Fly, © B. Radisavljevic

Another fun summer chapter was "Never Sleep with a Skunk." This section also suggested activities kids can do with fireflies. In addition I discovered a lot I didn't know about tide pools, mosquitoes, fossils and rocks, invasive plants, and lightning.

The autumn section actually has a chapter "In Praise of Flies." As I wrote in another post here, I'm more interested in How To Trap Those Flies That Drive You Crazy than I am in observing them, but I still learned some interesting information. I enjoyed the chapters on mushrooms, animal migration, fall flowers, beavers, chipmunks and squirrels, and wild turkeys more.

Squirrel at San Miguel Mission

The winter section features many subjects I'd not thought much about before. Did you know that you can discern the history of some regions by looking at the trees in the landscape? I didn't. I was more familiar with what I read in "Tidal Treasures: Exploring the off-season beach." What I learned about the crow and the snowy owl was fascinating to me. I've never seen a snowy owl, but I have certainly seen crows. I didn't know how intelligent they really are.

The winter section finishes off with information on reading animal tracks and sign, how small mammals like the shrew survive winter, and the life below pond ice. I've never lived with ice and snow, so these chapters were all new to me.

My Review of Nature's Everyday Mysteries

Although the book calls itself a field guide to the world in your backyard, its illustrations are sparse -- only eight pen and ink drawings in its 152 pages. The drawings are detailed and of high quality. Since no other illustrator is credited, I'm assuming Montgomery illustrated the book herself. The book is actually a compilation of a series of nature journal columns Montgomery wrote for the Boston Globe. 

Rather than being an actual field guide in the usual sense of the word, the book is actually an aid to understanding the sights we normally don't think much about as we pass them. In the Introduction, Montgomery explains how she came to write the chapter on mud (originally a monthly column). One March the sights outside seemed boring. It would appear almost nothing interesting was happening to write about. Everywhere she turned she only seemed to see mud. She thought of visiting her friend's farm in the next town, but then she remembered that her friend's steep driveway was probably all mud. It was then she remembered how full of life dried mud became when water was added and got the idea for her column. When you read it, you will  never look at mud season the same way again. 

I recommend this book to anyone who loves nature and wants to look beyond the surface one sees. Its short chapters were just right for entertaining reading when I only had short amounts of time to spend. Like most nature books, it helped me better understand the intricacies of God's creation. I plan to read as many other books by this author as I can afford. 

You can find these books by this best-selling nature writer at Amazon.

The Curious Naturalist: Nature's Everyday MysteriesThe Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of ConsciousnessThe Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher HogwoodTamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal KindBirdology: Adventures with Hip Hop Parrots, Cantankerous Cassowaries, Crabby Crows, Peripatetic Pigeons, Hens, Hawks, and HummingbirdsTemple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the WorldInky's Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home

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How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure: A Book Review

Do You Worry Because Your Children Prefer Screen Time to Reading Time?

Today's kids love their electronic devices. Whether they are playing games, texting their friends, or hanging out on social media, parents often wish they'd pick up a book to read for fun.   Is there something parents can do to encourage their children to enjoy reading? Kaye Newton believes there's a lot parents can do to turn their children on to books. She shares this in her book: How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for Pleasure. 

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay Text added on PicMonkey

How We Encouraged Our Children to Read 

I was a natural bookworm. So when my own learning disabled adopted children weren't reading for fun, I worried. I also tried some of the following tricks, some of which Kaye Newton also recommends. 

1. I read to our kids all the time and we talked about the books we were reading.
2. When I knew my middle grade son could read a book but he'd rather I read it to him, I'd start reading it aloud and when I got to an exciting part, I'd remember something important I needed to do and he'd then finish the book himself. 
3. I had books on topics that matched the children's interests visible where the children liked to hang out -- handy to pick up and read. 
4. For every birthday and Christmas, I'd take the children to a children's bookstore and let them pick out two books they wanted for their own. They prized those books they'd picked out and often read them.
5. I took the children to the library often and we'd all pick out books. 
6. My husband and I both read for pleasure, thus modeling the behavior we hoped our children would pick up.

As a result of these activities, both our children eventually began to read on their own for fun when they weren't playing outside or engaging in other activities with friends and organizations. My son liked to read in bed at night to wind down from an active day. These humorous stories of outdoor life were some of his favorite night reads when he was in middle school. I would hear him laughing in his bed as I'd walk past. We also read McManus books together as a family.

The Grasshopper TrapThe Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

Newton's Suggestions for Turning Your Kids on to Books

I had it easy getting my kids to read because personal computers were just entering homes and we didn't yet have access to the internet. There weren't any mobile phones in most homes yet, either. By choice we didn't have a television. So we didn't have to worry about the competition with screen time as parents do today. Newton addresses how to get children away from their screens in a variety of ways and entice them to use some of their leisure time to read. Here are some of the things she covers in her book

Why Is Reading for Pleasure Important?

Parents who were not recreational readers themselves may not be convinced that their children need to be. So Newton addresses the importance of recreational reading. She states these benefits researchers have discovered:

• Reading reduces stress.
• Reading makes people smarter.
• Reading helps develop empathy.
• Reading helps teens sleep better.
• Reading prepares teens for college and the workplace
• Reading helps connect the generations.
• Reading may help people live longer. 

Encouraging Older Children and Reluctant Readers to Read for Fun

Some children, like me, naturally took to reading for pleasure. Others like my brother, hated to read, even though we read to him all the time and he enjoyed the stories. We later discovered he was dyslexic. Back then it was a condition just being discovered. Children with learning disabilities usually need special help and direction before they will read for pleasure.

Newton offers suggestions for helping these children learn to enjoy reading. She also addresses how to encourage children who read below and above their grade levels. She explains to parents the various measures of reading levels and what they mean. She addresses vision problems and how to solve them. She also discusses social pressures, such as being labeled a "nerd."

Here are some suggestions for high interest fiction and biographies for secondary students in middle and high school who are reading below their level. I thoroughly enjoyed the biographies myself and read almost the entire Creative Minds series when I used to sell these books.

Overboard! (Survivor Diaries)Aftershock (Day of Disaster)Walking the Road to Freedom (Creative Minds Biography) (Creative Minds Biography (Paperback))Breakthrough (The Red Zone)Shoes for Everyone: A Story about Jan Matzeliger (Creative Minds Biography)Beaten (Surviving Southside)

If you want to get your children interested in history, try these highly visual books which bring American History to life for all ages

What Counts as Real Reading? 

Are text messages and social media posts real reading? What about graphic novels? Is seeing the movie just as good as reading the book? How about SparkNotes as a substitute for reading a book? How about manga, picture books, and chat fiction? 

Is it important that children stick to their reading levels? What if children have low reading comprehension skills? Should parents be concerned about a noisy reading environment or a strange reading position? Is reading an ebook on an electronic device as good as reading a bound book? Are there reading apps that will get teens interested in reading?  Should parents use their authority to have their kids take screen breaks for a couple of hours?

Newton's Family Reading Project  

Newton describes the two goals she had set for her family:

1. Help her teens and preteens become self-motivated independent readers
2. Increase reading of any long-form text, such as articles, blogs, magazines, etc. 

She spends a lot of time helping parents find the books that their children will want to read. This includes recommendation lists by age and interests and a list of reasons why children read accompanied by book suggestions that will address each reason. 

If children are to read, they need easy access to books. Kaye suggests sources for inexpensive books and also how to make reading the most desirable activity in a room. If children find books intimidating, subscribe to magazines your children will enjoy. My son was a Scout and he would devour his monthly issue of Boy's Life when he wouldn't voluntarily pick up a book.

 Newton encourages parents to model reading for pleasure and to help make reading enjoyable for their children. She suggests ways to make reading a social activity, since teens love to be with their  friends. 

Other topics Newton covers are whether parents should use reading rewards, summer reading and traveling with books, book clubs, and getting schools to promote a reading culture. She spends time on helping your children learn the difference between real and fake news. `

Courtesy of Pixabay

My Review

I agree that what Kaye Newton proposes in her book are effective techniques for turning older children into readers. I like her suggestions for parents and children interacting together about their reading. I firmly believe parents should be aware of what their children read, and even read portions of books their children are reading so they can discuss them together. 

I'm not completely with Kaye when she says children should be allowed to chose any books they want when they read for pleasure. I happen to believe that some books are just bad for kids. It doesn't bother me if a child wants to read picture books or other books that aren't on his or her exact reading level. Reading for pleasure should be relaxing.

But just as we encourage our children to eat healthy foods, we should encourage children to read books that will build healthy values rather than destroy them. I would let children pick the books they prefer to read from a collection the parent has screened. Your children tend to form attitudes and values from the books they read just as they do from the shows and movies they watch. 

I suppose one reason I feel so strongly about this is that we adopted two older children, and one of them carried a lot of emotional  baggage that most children don't. When left to her own devices and the advice of friends with similar emotional baggage, she would choose books that were dark and made life seem hopeless. 

She seemed magnetically attracted to the books that could do her the most harm. We could not prevent her from reading them because her friend sneaked them to her. The house was full of high-interest good books with lots of excitement and adventure, but she was irresistibly drawn to books full of orgies and violence like things she had witnessed and been part of as a young child. Because I was unaware she was reading these books, we could not discuss them. 

When I was selling books and getting free samples from publishers, I saw books it was hard to believe were aimed at the young adult market. They were  full of  drug use, promiscuous sex, and confusion. They did not model how a confused teen could escape that confusion. There were no good role models that had their lives together. These books weren't just junk food for the mind -- they were poison to the spirit.

Courtesy of Pixabay

So many wonderful and uplifting books are available that can encourage a child's spirit and feed a child's soul in a constructive way! These books, too, are full of action, romance, mystery, and adventure, yet their characters solve problems in a constructive way, have healthy relationships and aren't afraid to turn to adults to help them over rough places. They show there is an alternative to darkness and despair and that drugs and sex aren't necessary ingredients in having fun. 

So although Newton's suggestions do get kids reading on their own for pleasure, I think parental involvement in helping children learn to make good choices is important. I think it does matter what children read -- not just that children are reading. The wrong books in the hand of an alienated teen could be dangerous, because books do feed the mind and help form values. 

Newton's suggestions work best when parents follow her guidance about modeling behavior and being involved with their children's reading. She assumes parents reading her book care about getting their children on the road to reading success and that they will fill their homes with books that appeal to their children and make reading a family priority. Just as Kaye got her own children reading with these methods, I believe parents as involved as she was who follow her example will also turn their children into recreational readers. 

If you care about helping your children become independent readers who will be more successful in life, get this book to help you encourage them in that direction. 

How to Get Your Screen-Loving Kids to Read Books for PleasureCheck Price

Courtesy of Pixabay, Text Added in PicMonkey

How do you get your children away from their screens and into books?

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