Parents that purchase this book for their kids should be both embarrassed and ashamed!
352864
I cannot believe what I am seeing here! This is a disgrace and I feel so bad for the kids that are spoon fed this nonsense as truth despite the fact that there isn't a lick of evidence to support this claim. I do hope this book is filed under the fiction section.
2474357
I'm disgusted at this book and will be throwing it in the Trash !!!
Well at the end of the book it suggest that kids that fear being held accountable & punished by their parents must be Abused and is the reason For Bullies !
And it keeps going ... the principal Never tells her parents what has been going on at school with there kid AND sends her to the school Psychologist twice a week without ever questioning or informing the Parents !
Why is this garbage in a book and more so why is this going on in our real world schools.
3899327
Should have stated "parental advisory" or that there are a million F bombs and a lot of cursing! A parents nightmare!
3574069
This is a terrible book. Period. This story discourages children's curiosity, encourages misogyny, paints exploration as bad and is a terrible example of how to socialize. It is so bad that my wife and I have taken to using our own words in place of the ones in the book because kids need to be allowed to, and encouraged, to explore and learn. It's fantastic that the girl in this story is curious about fire stations, and then the story goes downhill. Immediately the girl is out down and painted in a negative light as demanding, and mischievous. When the kids end up the fire, instead of being supportive (like curious George books) they're immediately I trouble. Once home their parents slam the door in the kids faces.

TL;DR: bad book, tells kids that girls are bad, and that if you explore something your parents will kick you out
3428516
no one should buy this book. the people who wrote this book have no formal education what so ever in child development or psychology. NO ONE SHOULD BEAT THEIR CHILDREN WITH ANYTHING LET ALONE PLASTIC PIPING

three children have died from teachings coming directly from the book after the parents read the book. why is this book still out on shelves when it is clearly advocating child abuse?

if this book is really what Christianity is, i'd rather rot in hell. the bible says love thy neighbor...not beat them with piping from home depot.
4281217
What a disappointment! I found the overall tone to be unpleasant (not the kind of griping I want my child to emulate) and the stereotypes predictable (really, the kid should color inside the lines?!) to offensive (pink is a girl color - great, thanks for reinforcing that ridiculousness). Glad I only checked it out. I definitely would not want my money going to support this book. I would expect a book like this to have been written 30 years ago, but not now.
1635118
In just the first few pages the author compares raising children to the training of animals and using the same methods to "break in a stubborn mule" to train children. It is disgusting that Amazon even offers such a book in the systematic torture and abuse of young children, how many people have to be convicted of murdering their children because they followed this book for you to not sell it anymore? Disgusting!
574766
If i could have given it minus stars i would have. I'm guessing that the authors don't have children. I trusted national geographic for kids. I'm just plain angry that in a mythology book for kids - it does not state an age range-that we would have inappropriate pictures. I understand that mythology can be cruel and gross and the stories shouldn't be changed from the actual story because of that. But on page 22 there is a story about Cronos. Fine. The story is titled "tasty children" its gross and reading it for a child is bad enough but to include a painting/print whatever of cronos eating a child is beyond necessary to tell a story. Could we not just have included just a painting of cronos and NOT the half eaten body of a child? I'm not sure I can put a picture of it copyright and all so I haven't. But it's cronos holding the torso of a half eaten child. He is holding it under the arms outstretched with the naked butt and legs dangling while red and white is coming out his mouth. The head and shoulders are missing. I'm not sure I can convey how taken aback I was when I looked at it much less an elementary aged child. Yes it's my fault for not going thru every @!@&!!! Picture first but COME ON!! The graphics of the rest of the book appear to be for an elementary to middle school aged child. I put my trust in national geographic but I won't make the same mistake twice. PARENT BEWARE!! Yes most of the book is fine. A picture is worth a thousand words and in this case it certainly is- don't trust people you think should know better. My child cried, says he can't get the image out of his head and put tape over it so he could read the rest without having to see it again.
1653490
As a mother, a student, a researcher, and someone who has read this book in its entirety, I urge you to NOT purchase this book!

The Baby-Wise method which promotes parent directed feeding and a 'flexible schedule' has been linked to numerous cases of Failure to thrive in newborns and infants, malnutrition, and serious developmental delays. There are numerous lawsuits pending against Mr. Ezzo for the recommendations outlined in his book, and he has retracted his statements about parent directed feeding in its entirety.

Babies cannot be spoiled at such a young age, and denying them food when they are hungry creates deep feelings of mistrust towards the child's caregiver. This is widely accepted to be truth about child psychology and how children develop into competent adults. On demand feeding ensures your child will trust you and the people you leave him/her in the care of, creating the greater ability to be secure in themselves and their own safety, thus promoting better means for independence. This book works in the exact opposite way, and can cause great physical and psychological harm. Please DO NOT promote this book, follow its methods, or pass along your copy to someone else!

Kristal Kelley
Child Psychology student and mother of 2
857944
This book is terrible. It is out dated and presents information that is detrimental to the health and development of your child and your relationship with your children. It is true that time outs and counting get your children to comply in the short term (and not always), but this technique is based on instilling fear and isolation on your child and will cause more harm than good. This book is not for anyone who supports attachment parenting or positive discipline. I used this book for years thinking that everyone else is doing it so it must be right. I couldn't have been more wrong. I am never going to use this book again. I don't even want to give it to another parent because it's that bad.
4830583
How horrible that people could revere this book.  It should be titled, "The Selfish Boy."  Hello?  The child is a boy and the tree is a girl.  It only teaches little girls to submit to abuse and boys to be selfish.  Anyone who thinks that children from the age of 2 (or earlier) on doesn't recognize gender stereotypes and cultural nuances about gender is obviously not a parent.

What a little brat the boy is.  Really?  We want to teach our kids to emulate him?
1517546
We are so disappointed with this new book! All the other books had crude humour, but this one tossed in homosexuality & gay marriage which is not age appropriate! It is pretty cowardly to sneak that into a children's book!
4888876
I thought the story of polar bear cubs finding their way would be cute, but I was appalled at this story.  When the mother bear says to her cubs about their father, "He would probably give you a hit in the head and tell you to get lost" - I about fell out of my chair.  Then she says, "One day, I will give you a hit in the head myself, and send you off to take care of yourselves."  What a terrible message to give to our children!  Do you want your kids to think this is what is in store for them?!?  And later: "The day finally came when Larry and Roy's mother called them to her, and hit each of them in the head.  'Get lost,' she said.  'Go and fend for yourselves.'"  That is terrible!  I don't want my kids thinking that is an acceptable way to treat others.  Wouldn't you rather provide positive images of compassionate parenting and loving behavior to your children?  Maybe the author has serious abandonment issues, I don't know.  But he should not be writing children's books.
1516817
I was seriously disappointed in this embarrassment of a book! I wouldn't have given this to my daughter  had it done even half its job to introduce Dracula to small children. Coffins and rats? Really? I am hugely saddened to see that a woman "wrote" this book. Mina is given her credit as one of "two friends" but didn't make this author's cut as one of the novel's heroes. Without Mina,Dracula would still be wreaking havoc upon England! How could her name not appear on our page of "5 heroes"? What did Arthur do (besides own a penis) to earn his place among these "heroes"? Seriously, this book is a travesty. Its luster hinges on dark images not traditionally found in children's books, cementing its status as the Hot Topic of the literary world. I hate to tell ya' honey, but rats in shirts that read: "I heart Transylvania," coffins smattered with garlic jokes, and a fundamental misunderstanding of the text, do not a Dracula make!

p.s. I'll also be reviewing the Wuthering Heights Weather Primer by this same author (a book, which from the first page, can't seem to figure out the proper usage of quotation marks *sigh*).
4975808
If I could have given this book NO stars, I would have. Like most of the other reviewers here, we own and LOVE Pinkalicious! Naively, I assumed this would be a book about a girl who loves purple (the way Pinkalicious loves pink). I was shocked to discover it is actually about peer pressure and "mean girls" who taunt and tease a little girl for loving the color pink. Reading words like "ugly," "stupid," "passe," and "putrid" to my 3 and five year old daughters made me sad--when I realized what this book was, I simply made up (nicer) words just to get through it. Now I am throwing this book away. It's a shame, too, because the writing is clever and the illustrations are adorable--but my kids do NOT need to know about these things yet. My older daughter is old enough to understand "teaching tools" that show us how NOT to behave, but my younger daughter was just sad and confused. ("Why are they being mean to Pinkalicious???" she wanted to know. Why, indeed!)
1544715
Maybe my daughter has been too sheltered but she saw this book in her school scholastic magazine they hand out and instead of buying through them we just got it on her kindle and she was kinda horrified and shocked at some stuff in this.  She was the one that came to me and said, "Some of this book is really weird mom".  She is a very mature 11 by the way.  If I remember correctly too, it even had a line about wet dreams in here that kinda freaked her out (and me!) and was just inappropriate.  I would NOT recommend this book and either would by daughter!
406118
3 things NOT to learn from this book:
1)  Children have only rights, not obligations, "should"s or expectations blah blah blah
YET the entire book is a list of shoulds for how every parent should treat their adolescent! The double-standards is ghastly.
2)  Unbalanced focus on praise and support of your adolescent
YET parenting has always been and must always be a delicate balance of affection and discipline.
3)  Stifling parents ability to direct, guide, and advise their child
YET children cannot possibly know what parents know, if only for their lack of experience. Why should they have to learn about life the hard way? If brought up properly from early childhood, adolescents will remain receptive to their parents guidance and even necessary criticism.

What this book CAN teach: How to be a good listener.

Warning: This book should not be considered a manual on parenting adolescents. The effects of such an unbringing are very far-reaching and will not prepare a child for life or promote a healthy relationship between parent and child.