(Gerard's review)
Karen read it too:
The Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother by Amy Chua is a non-fiction book points out the differences between parenting styles of Western culture and Chinese culture through the eyes of a Chinese mother living in the United States with a Jewish husband and two daughters. Amy, the determined, mother is a law professor at Yale who raised her two daughters the Chinese way to give her children skills that will open doors for a bright future. She wrote this book to show the Chinese way to be the best way to raise kids but discovered that the best way is a combination of the two.
Amy Chua raised two amazingly talented daughters: Sophia the obedient, well-behaved one who was good enough on the piano to get to play at Carnegie Hall at 14, and Lulu, the one proficient on the violin but more rebellious and willful. I liked both daughters and thought the mother was obsessed with success and too driven. At times, I thought her methods were crazy! I found myself cheering for Lulu, the younger daughter who finally was able to choose tennis while not being so focused on the violin. Thanks to her mother, she developed a great work ethic that she applies to tennis without her mother’s help.
I think Tiger Mother is interesting and enjoyed the pictures and touches of humor throughout. Their dogs are really beautiful and I liked how the mother’s attitude about dogs changed for the better once they got one. I thought it was interesting to see how children in the same family, raised the same can be so different. It proves that children are individuals and should be treated as such. What works for one, doesn’t always work for the other.
Here are a few of my Favorite funny quotes:
Thank God we live in America, I thought to myself, where no doubt because of the American Revolution rebelliousness is valued. In China, they’d have sent Lulu to a labor camp. (p. 38)
. . . there’s nothing I hate more than all these festivals and projects that private schools specialize in. Instead of making kids study from books, private schools are constantly trying to make learning fun by having parents do all the work. (p. 64)
Lulu: “I wish I had a pet.”
mom: “You already have a pet,” I snapped. “Your violin is your pet.” (p. 65)
Once, when I came back from a “walk” with my elbows scraped and my knees grass-stained, Jed said, “It’s her Samoyed nature. She thinks you’re a sled, and she wants to pull you. Let’s forget about teaching her to walk. Why don’t we just get a cart that you can sit in and have Coco pull you around?
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.
which included one about Dr. Seuss. This is a biography about Dr. Seuss that is written for the beginning reader but still contains some interesting facts and has colorful pictures every other page. The point is reading can be fun. I was surprised to learn that Dr. Seuss wrote a book for adults as well called "You're Only Young Once." It's a very quick read--only takes five minutes!
