Tired of book reviews yet? I still have a few more.

I’ve seen these two books by Dr. Meg Meeker reviewed and discussed in several places, none of which spring to mind right now. I finally decided to check them out.

Although I am linking to the Catholic Company’s website, these books are secular in nature. She does discuss the importance of religion in raising children (children need answers, you, the parent need to provide them), but she doesn’t say which one (she does say at one point that her parents are Catholic, but she does not herself claim a religion in this book). I would also like to point out that although she discusses in great depth the effect that peers and traditional schooling have on a child, she does not once ever mention the word homeschooling or suggest alternative methods of education. And her opinions, though conservative, are backed up with statistics and her personal experience as a pediatrician.

I say this for those readers of mine who are not Catholic or not homeschoolers or not conservative politically, because I want my next statement to be heard with some understanding that this person is not advocating my personal lifestyle, wonderful though it is.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters is an absolute must read for anyone who has a daughter or anyone who has sons who may one day marry someone else’s daughter. (I will say, though, that if you only have sons, perhaps just borrowing the book would be smarter.) Since my daughters are still young, I have yet to navigate those dreaded waters of adolescence. After reading this book, I’m not sure if I fear those years even more, or if I’m happy to now have a better understanding of the issues girls growing up today face.

Although this book is addressed to fathers, and their central role in a girl’s life is the primary theme, mothers need to read this book too. If you are a single mother, this book will show you what your daughter is missing and the pitfalls for which she is at risk. For me, listening to my 8 year old constantly moaning about her father being gone was beginning to annoy me, but I now have a greater empathy for what she is experiencing, and I try harder to be kinder when she is feeling low (which is every night right after bedtime).

While Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters details the issues of eating disorders, suicide, and teen sex, Boys Should Be Boys has some funny anecdotes. Why is it that boys are funnier than girls? In my house it seems to be that the girls are all about drama, and the boys are all about comedy. Boys Should Be Boys is not all fun and games, though, and Dr. Meeker repeats many of the same, depressing teen statistics that she did in her first book. The bottom line is that the older any child is before he or she gets involved in risky behavior (sex, drugs, and alcohol), the greater the likelihood that he or she will successfully achieve adulthood without needing serious counseling or a few months in a detox center.

Both Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters and Boys Should Be Boys are excellent books that will arm parents with the knowledge they need to raise children in a very child-unfriendly world. I highly recommend them both.

Disclaimer: I happily forked over my husband’s hard earned money for these books. I received no compensation of any kind, although it is never too late and I’d be happy to help someone think of something.

Tuesdays seem to be our regular day for going to the library. The little ones usually get one or two videos that are due back after one week, and the older ones like to get audio books for the car which we generally get through in short order with all the running around. This the first time in seven years of homeschooling that I’ve managed to make the library a routine, and not a rare treat. It’s a huge accomplishment on my part.

Such was the case when I brought home Blueberries for Sal. We own Make Way for Ducklings, by the same author, Robert McCloskey, but I had never heard of Blueberries for Sal. And what a charming book. Little Sal goes hunting blueberries with her mother at the same time that a little bear cub goes hunting for blueberries with his mother. The little ones wander off and then end up following the wrong mother! When I read it to the children, all six of them and myself smiled at the antics of the young ones and laughed when the mothers discovered who was really behind them. Naturally, there is a happy ending to this story which is fun and delightful for children of all ages.

If you are happily married, you probably don’t need to read The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. There really isn’t any shocking new information in there.

If you are unhappily married and you choose to read this book, you will probably have one of two reactions. #1: “Wow, I never knew that about men. I wonder if I try being nice to him instead of nagging him incessantly, if he really will act more romantically.” or #2: “Oh, so it’s MY fault if I’m unhappy? Yeah, right.”

Psychologists and happy people will tell you: you are responsible for your own happiness and you can’t change other people – focus on yourself and what you CAN change. When it comes to spouses, it is more difficult to claim responsibility for personal happiness: it just doesn’t seem possible to be happy if you are married to somebody who isn’t “meeting your needs.” Dr. Laura’s book attempts to show women how they create their own problems by expecting the wrong kinds of things from their husbands and by not meeting their very simple needs.

Although I agree with most of her advice, and am actually quite shocked that so many women would treat their husbands as awfully as the examples she gives, the biggest turn-off in this book is her customary blunt style and her assertion that it’s all the woman’s fault. Naturally, she excludes abusive and other unhealthy situations, but even in normal, healthy marriages, husbands can be guilty of causing hurt and difficulties through poor choices, unkind words, thoughtlessness and selfishness.

I do agree that women tend to hold on to these hurts for longer than men and that these little issues can build up over time to create a mountain out of a molehill (and that women, and not men, are responsible for that mountain). I also agree that acts of kindness on anyone’s part help a person “get over” (forgive) those little problems. So, for an open-minded woman who truly desires a loving marriage and really just doesn’t understand her husband, this book might contain some eye-opening advice. For a wife in a good marriage looking for a refresher course on what her husband needs and wants, it’s an excellent resource. For the wife who really insists that her husband meet her in the middle, it isn’t going to help much at all.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation in any form for this review, unfortunately. I also did not pay for this book. A friend had it on her give-away stack and I took it from there. I assume it was her husband’s hard-earned money that paid for it.

Years ago, I read a book called Please Don’t Drink the Holy Water by some woman I had never heard of before. What Catholic mother of preschoolers wouldn’t be drawn to that title? I loved that book, and the author, Susie Lloyd, became synonymous with “hysterical” to me.

When I heard she had written a new book, Bless Me, Father, For I Have Kids, it went immediately on my mental “must-buy” book list. Last April, I went to the CHAPLET Homeschool Conference in New Jersey, and not only did I find her book for sale there, Susie herself was the one selling it, and signing copies, too. I checked her out from a distance and thought, “Gosh, she looks younger than I imagined…and cooler, too.” She was wearing a denim skirt, but unlike the uniform of most Catholic homeschool mothers of many, hers risquély revealed her knee caps. “Wow, funny and hip!” When I confronted myself with these thoughts, I realized I could not be trusted to express my admiration without looking like a groupie-stalker type. I took some advice from Abraham Lincoln, spoke as few words as possible, purchased my book and beat a hasty retreat.

She was also at the IHM Conference, and I smiled and waved from a distance before scurrying away. At that point I still hadn’t cracked her book, being a bit consumed with my husband’s imminent deployment. When Bill left, this book was a welcome distraction from the pain of his departure and my concurrent miscarriage.

It was this book I took with me to the hospital when I had an emergency D&C while my husband stood on a tarmac waiting for the plane that would carry him overseas. One minute, I was answering the question, “Do you have anybody here with you?” with a sobbing, “No!” And the next minute I was laughing – out loud and loudly – at another description of life with lots of girls and one toddler boy. I actually had the nurses questioning me about the book, since it was obviously very amusing.

So, there you go. What better endorsement can you get than, “So funny you’ll laugh while suffering through the worst time of your life”? Or how about, “The perfect escape from life’s tribulations”? This is definitely a book to be enjoyed by any Catholic mom.

Disclaimer: apparently, bloggers are getting huge rewards for doing product reviews and government authorities are clamping down on those who do not clearly state any compensation they receive for their endorsements. Hence, those of us who do these sorts of reviews are being encouraged to be upfront in explaining any money or products we receive in exchange for such exposure. I bought both of Mrs. Lloyd’s books with my husband’s hard earned money. I did not receive any compensation in any form from any person or company for this review.