Review of Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. (Paperback)

Playfulness is the name of the game in childhood. Unfortunately, in their workaday world, many parents forget that all work and no play makes Little Johnny a bored, lethargic boy. Thanks to Bobbi Conner, Little Johnny just got 710 reasons to get up off the couch and join his hopscotching playmates outdoors.

Veteran radio show host on NPR, Bobbi Conner is concerned about today's kids and their lack of creative outlets. Instead of being busy with electronic entertainment such as video games and push-button toys, she suggests myriad avenues to get down to the business of play in fun, very simple ways. Unlike many guide books that read more like a Martha Stewart manual (and must be secretly backed by major craft store chains), Bobbi's approach is simple - take what you have at home and let `er rip.

The book is divided into three useful sections - toddler play; preschooler play; and grade school play. It was gratifying to see many of the games we've thought up on our own are in the book. Necessity is the mother of invention. This book is the mother of children's creativity.

Bobbi's tone is real-life and compassionate, not patronizing or oozing with `expertise'. She was once a time-strapped single mom raising her kids with nothing more than her ingenuity to keep them occupied. When we think back to our own childhoods or that of our children, the best times were those spent together around a Parchese board or telling stories to one another. But if you think you have to spend hours with your children to right the wrongs of those hundreds of TV hours your kid has logged, you're wrong. Bobbi recognizes the reality in today's world. She recommends ways in which children can learn independent play by sparking their creative thoughts and having them vary the activities themselves. You needn't micromanage their play. In fact, Bobbi warns against it.

This book came in the nick of time as my son recently had a playdate with a boy who is very `plugged' into video games and TV. Concerned we wouldn't make the three hours without hiscrying for TV, I grabbed the book and discovered some cool, easy ways to interest the boys in a new game of toss the button in the bucket. My son's friend only asked to watch TV once, but after I showed him the book and all its possibilities, he never asked again!

I highly recommend Unplugged Play for its usefulness, inventiveness, and fun. It may even remind you that all work and no play makes Little Johnny's mommy and daddy very dull girls and boys, too!

~Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff and Sahm I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, is a freelance writer living near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two extremely playful children.




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Review of McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers (Paperback)

Finally, here's a book on container gardening that focuses on vegetables (and also herbs, fruits and edible flowers). I was tired of looking through tons and tons of books on container gardening that were full of stuff about houseplants and flowers but had zilch when it came to the edible stuff. Was vegetable gardening out of bounds for apartment dwellers like me? I thought so till I came across this book. This book is a godsend for people who want kitchen gardens of their own but who can only garden with containers.
The book has no photos, only illustrations (but then again, who needs another coffee table kind of book with pretty pictures and little content) but it has lots of good advice and instructions.It starts off with the basics (container types, soil, fertilizing, pests etc.), then it moves on to a hefty section each on vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers. Each section has a number of entries with detailed instructions on the particular veggie/herb/fruit/flower in question. These include stuff like planting, fertilizing, soil depth, plant size, light requirements and so on. Interspersed throughout the book are interesting projects, for example, creating a garden for children or a kitchen garden with an asian/italian/greek theme. All in all, this book is extremely useful and a real treasure.

Product Description
With few exceptions-such as corn and pumpkins-everything edible that's grown in a traditional garden can be raised in a container. And with only one exception-watering-container gardening is a whole lot easier. Beginning with the down-to-earth basics of soil, sun and water, fertilizer, seeds and propagation, THE BOUNTIFUL CONTAINER is an extraordinarily complete, plant-by-plant guide.

Written by two seasoned container gardeners and writers, THE BOUNTIFUL CONTAINER covers Vegetables-not just tomatoes (17 varieties) and peppers (19 varieties), butharicots verts, fava beans, Thumbelina carrots, Chioggia beets, and sugarsnap peas. Herbs, from basil to thyme, and including bay leaves, fennel, and saffron crocus. Edible Flowers, such as begonias, calendula, pansies, violets, and roses. And perhaps most surprising, Fruits, including apples, peaches, Meyer lemons, blueberries, currants, and figs-yes, even in the colder parts of the country. (Another benefit of container gardening: You can bring the less hardy perennials in over the winter.) There are theme gardens (an Italian cook's garden, a Four Seasons garden), lists of sources, and dozens of sidebars on everything from how to be a human honeybee to seeds that are All America Selections.



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Review of Curly Girl (Paperback)

On André Walker's scale, my chemical-free long fro is a 4a: kinky, tight ringlets. As a graduate student, I have very little money, but am looking for techniques to protect my hair's health as I grow it long again. Massey and Chiel have done beautifully. The short chapter on African American hair does what most "experts" are too vain to do--it relies on the judgement of others who specialize in the field. How many times have I had a hair disaster at the hands of a stylist who only knew rumors about nappy hair? Even most Black stylists are truly experts with *straightened* hair. Massey courted some impressive professionals whose opinions did not always bend to hers. As a former researcher, I respect that!
And the no-shampoo method works! For those handling nappy hair, I would recommend the following adaptations to Massey's techniques:

1) During the conditioner wash, cover all the hair w/conditioner, then gently comb out. I comb my hair in the direction I plan to style it. Combing is necessary for kinky hair, unless you are cultivating dreadlocs.

2) Shake your hair a little once you've conditioned for step 3 (kinky ringlets sometimes need a bit of room to shape up.)

3) Massey says silicones weigh hair down. Silicones can't weigh down virgin kinky hair, but they will eventually turn your hair into a shiny, dead mess. They also resist removal by even super-strippingshampoos, so use a non-silicone conditioner with as few ingredients as possible.

4) I have dandruff, but it is under control even after many weeks on Massey's technique. I use the brown sugar scalp scrub every week. Dandruff scalps benefit from more exfoliation. Also, you can substitute cider vinegar for the lemon juice in her Lemon-Aid potion. I have a small spray bottle of vinegar in the shower and i spray some right onto my oily scalpprior to step 2. Oily scalps just need to do the scalp cleansing step more often than Massey indicates. It is not drying.

5) I use inexpensive conditioners by VO5 and CureCare (a beauty supply store brand with 5 ingredients) and have not suffered from a dull look on my hair. Learn to read labels. Try a conditioner which says it's designed for use as body moisturizer.

6) Feel free to add some olive or sesame oil to a dab of conditioner if your hair seems to crave extra. I never use gel, but i gently put this mix through my hair, when needed.

7) She describes a straw set. You can get other-sized curls by setting hair on perm rods. Just use curl papers.

Black curly girls may find it funny that the British Massey has re-invented a product familiar to many of us: oil sheen spray! She suggests putting olive oil in a culinary oil mister for use on the hair! I had to smile.
Massey's book is written with *intelligence,* *respect,* and enthusiasm for all people with textured hair. Not only does she paraphrase Marcus Garvey's thoughts on hair hatred, she actually points out the prejudiced attitudes behind the modern insistence on straight hair as "professional," "well-bred", or "intelligent." Hair is political, and this woman knows it, although her book in straight-up fun. It is valuable for women who want to look like their curly, kinky, nappy, happy selves, not like some deep-fried blow-out queen.I like that the book is inexpensive and that the models are real women with truly lovely "real-world" hair. Bravo!



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Review of How Come? Every Kid's Science Questions Explained (Paperback)

I love science and read a lot of adult science books.My son, 7, is really into science too - so we run through a lot of kid's science books.I've never encountered a better one than this one."How Come?" never condescends and it never cuts corners in its explanations.It focuses in with razor sharpness on the questions and issues kids (and childlike minds) have and then answers them with clear and rational explanations that really inform and educate.I find myself reading this book and learning things - even on topics I'd covered many times before.I'd say that the age this book is pitched for is 8-14, but even smaller kids get something out of it - and few adults can resist it either.

Product Description
For every kid who really wants to know--and for every exasperated parent who simply doesn't know-here is a lively omnium-gatherum of explanations to the most frequently asked questions about our world, from "Why do stars twinkle?" to "What are hiccups? "Taken from Kathy Wollard's popular column, "How Come?" (seen for the past six years in Newsday and recently syndicated nationally through the Los Angeles Times), How Come? explains why cats can survive high falls (because of the way their bodies can act like a "parachute") and how black holes absorb light (intense gravity-if the Earth had the same density as a black hole, it would have to be compressed to the size of a marble!).Now you can know it all. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Suitable for ages 9-12. 204,000 copies in print.Illustrations by Debra Solomon.



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Review of Oh, Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty (Paperback)

I bought this for my kid, no I didn't, she's only 3, I b ought it for me and she can have it when she gets older. And I'm buying it for two of my friend's kids. I've always been fascinated with gross stuff like snot, pus, poop, gross foods, etc., and so are most kids. And by the way, my kid, and the two kids I'm buying this for, are girls. The facts are there, it's fun to read, and it might even get the kids to read more and practice good hygiene while they're at it (microscopic photos of worms and such may answer a few questions like "why do I have to wash my hands all the time?" Excellent.



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Review of How Come? Planet Earth (Paperback)

I LOVED this book. It's not just for kids -- though I'm sure they'll enjoy it, as much as I did.The author's choice of subject matter is excellent, and she explores each subject at just the right depth. Her breezy and humorous writing style is a joy to read.

And it's educational, too! Although I have an advanced science degree, and have been a lifelong reader in various sciences, I found myself learning something new in each essay.

I strongly recommend "How Come? Planet Earth" to curious minds of any age.



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Review of Flanagan's Smart Home: The 98 Essentials for Starting Out, Starting Over, Scaling Back (Paperback)

Like eco-friendly? Like buying things that are built to last? Useful? Non-cluttering?

That's what drew me to this book, I'm very into decluttering and I love having things that are built to last.

For each of her picks she gives a little history, and some background into why she chose what she did. She gives a review at the end of each chapter with a price range for each item and if she has a brand name she likes she lists that too.

Ideas I liked:
Some new spins on things I'd never thought about before, and she has a few of them. For instance:

A lamp timer instead of an alarm clock. Brilliant in my eyes, alarm clocks scare me in the morning.

A pop-up mesh clothes hamper.

One that I wasn't so sure about but now seems really cool is using a salad spinner for more than just spinning salad - if you buy a good one.

And there's more, such as getting rid of non-stick pans and going to cast iron, which lasts for ever!

I like that she doesn't skimp. Buy the best that you can, but be wise in what you buy. And you know, most things really aren't that expensive. That to me is something I really enjoyed about this book.

Cons:
There wasn't anything bad, but I'd want to research some of her ideas out myself before buying. There were a couple that made me go `eh':

A saltcellar, it's like one of those things Alton Brown uses to get salt from on his show `Good Eats'. If you don't have any kids then I can see having one; personally I think they're cool. But if you do have kids I can see salt flung here and there and little dirty hands reaching into it, ick, and she really downplays salt and pepper shakers which I guess is a personal thing.

Some that were personal preference, like an electric blanket. She has a sound advice in buying one, but I've never really wanted to own one so I don't see how it's essential other than lowering the heat at night but I have warm blankets that can do that without electricity.

I have to say it was a nice read, she has humor, she has her research, and she has sound advice. It makes you think.


Product Description
Purge the clutter. Outfit your home with care: The 34 essential kitchen tools. The 9 essential cleaning and fixing products. The 13, and only 13, things a bedroom needs to make it a haven of rest and privacy. Each item has been field-tested and rated for its environmental, social, and aesthetic impact. There is high-tech: the miraculous microfiber mop, the low voltage electric blanket, the truly responsive iron. And there is low-tech: the French press coffeemaker, the can opener, and the feather duster. Practical, entertaining, opinionated, Flanagan's Smart Home is a timely remedy for the age of excess. Above all, it's necessary. Behind the bath mat, soupspoon, sofa, and lamp lies a far deeper question: how to live.




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