Andy Rowell

Author: Andy Rowell

  • The Blessing Of A Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children

    I read this in the summer but had not blogged about it here:

     

  • Booknotes: The 4-Hour Workweek and Social Intelligence

    In my free time, I have been reading two non-theological books.  Both are thought-provoking. 

    The first, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, encourages you to focus on doing less and eliminate distractions.  Tim Ferriss says you should just check email at noon and 4:00 pm.  You should do the one thing you need to do that day before 11:00 am. 

    I was inspired to try to get my wife Amy and I to "batch" all of our household chores (like laundry, cleaning and finances) until Saturday except for daily tasks like washing dishes and making meals as opposed to always looking for things to do whenever I have a down minute.  I have changed my home page of my internet browser to google.com because it is not distracting rather than gmail.com  with tabs for igoogle.com and Twitter and Facebook. 

    Disclaimer: I need to add that the advice of the author (Timothy Ferriss) should be received with lots of skepticism.  This is self-help literature of the most dubious kind.  See the scathing New York Times review of his newest book: New! Improved! Shape Up Your Life! By DWIGHT GARNER Published: January 6, 2011     

    The second book, Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, stresses the importance of relationships and teaches you how to relate well.   It is a generally reputable book that gives an overview of psychiatry literature. 

     

    Both would be worth reading with your spouse.  

    Neither encourage blogging.  But I will still see you here from time to time. 

     

  • Jim Trelease’s Favorite Kindergarten Novels

    I have said many times how I recommend Jim Trelease’s book The Read-Aloud Handbook.  He recommends books for you to read to your kids and his taste is excellent.

     

    On his website, he lists his favorite kindergarten novels. 

    Jim Trelease’s Favorite Kindergarten Novels (with my comments)

    (in order of difficulty according to Trelease)

    • Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary–The Cleary one is a compilation of stories.  We were only able to find Two Dog Biscuits and The Real Hole at our library.
    • Chibi: A True Story from Japan by Barbara Brenner & J. Takaya
    • Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
      by Barbara Park–a little edgy but memorable
    • The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla
    • My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett–My Father’s Dragon is fun.  There are also two sequels.
    • Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith–Amy read this one.
    • Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne–Dinosaurs before Dark is the first of the Magic Tree House series.
    • The Reluctant Dragon adapted by Inga Moore–delightful classic.  Audio also available of this one.
    • The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron–short–one sitting.
    • The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith–Lots of fun!
    • Wolf Story by William McCleery–Wolf Story is a bit more challenging–it is about a dad telling stories to his son and his friend.
    • James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl–Amy read this one.

      

     I wholeheartedly recommend Trelease’s book.