Books

Only Five Religious Books Have Won the Caldecott — Most Before 1963 By Wendy Thomas Russell | April 1, 2013: If you’ve ever perused the religion books within the children’s section of your local library, you’re probably aware that it can be a bit underwhelming. Whether you’re going for a book about the life of Buddha, the history of Confucianism, or the holiday of Easter, so many of the books are old and outdated, clearly written for religious children, or without much literary merit. It sticks out particularly because there are so many great secular children’s books — brilliant, award-winning books that will stick with our kids for the rest of our lives. Sometimes it’s [...] Read more – ‘Only Five Religious Books Have Won the Caldecott — Most Before 1963’.
3 Must-Reads for Secular Parents By Wendy Thomas Russell | January 14, 2013: The last month has produced an incredible little selection of articles relating to secular parenting, and I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss them. The pieces are, in turn, educational, insightful, funny and heartwarming. And all of them are written by women — which seems significant because the secular community is, we are told, still dominated by menfolk. [To read the articles, just click on the titles below.] 1. Why My 7-Year-old is an Atheist (And Why I’m Okay With That) by Carolyn Castiglia Castiglia, a comedian, writes about her daughter’s “conversion” to atheism, despite [...] Read more – ‘3 Must-Reads for Secular Parents’.
Discussing Death with Little Ones (Whose Deaths We Fear So Much) By Wendy Thomas Russell | December 17, 2012: Not since 9/11 has a tragedy so deeply affected our nation as the massacre of 20 first-graders and six school administrators in Connecticut on Friday. It seems to me, words were not meant to communicate this level of horror. Our capacity for emotional pain is so much deeper than our capacity to verbalize what has happened. Sometimes silence and tears are our only option. But when it comes to children, we have a duty to discuss death and dying. It is an important part of parenting, and we mustn’t shy away from it. Yes, it’s [...] Read more – ‘Discussing Death with Little Ones (Whose Deaths We Fear So Much)’.
A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part II) By Wendy Thomas Russell | December 10, 2012: Are you looking to introduce religion to your child in a neutral and decidedly non-devotional way, but don’t know where to start? Do you lack the knowledge you think you should have? Do your eyes sort of glaze over when you hear the words “religious literacy?” Then this shopping guide is for you! In honor of the Judeo-Christian month of giving, I’ve amassed some of my favorite resources in hopes that you’ll encourage your child to learn a bit more about the religious world around them — and have some fun while they’re at it. [...] Read more – ‘A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part II)’.
A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part I) By Wendy Thomas Russell | November 29, 2012: In honor of the Judeo-Christian month of giving, I’m offering a few recommendations to add to your shopping lists. These are items I have bought myself, or will buy, or might buy, or probably won’t buy but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Seriously, if you want some assistance in “introducing” world religion and religious concepts to your kids, these are excellent tools. I’ll be publishing this in two parts: The first today, the second on Monday. Don’t look for this list to be repeated next year, by the way. In 2013, I’ll be recommending you buy [...] Read more – ‘A Shopping Guide for Nonreligious Parents (Part I)’.
Brief Tribute to Obscure Children’s Book (P.S. #Giveaway) By Wendy Thomas Russell | September 10, 2012: I’ve got a book recommendation for you. It’s not religious in nature, but it’s funny and quirky and carries a really great moral that certainly dovetails with some of my blogs about children and belief. The book is called “No! That’s Wrong!” and was written in 2008 by Japanese author Zhaohua Ji and illustrated by Cui Xu. It tells the tale of a bunny who finds a pair of underpants blowing in the wind. (See now, that’s what you call a solid premise.) Anyway, this particular bunny has never seen a pair of underpants before, [...] Read more – ‘Brief Tribute to Obscure Children’s Book (P.S. #Giveaway)’.
Religious Picture Books Have Much to Offer — But Choose Wisely By Wendy Thomas Russell | April 19, 2012: Can we talk about religious picture books for a minute? I’m assuming most of you didn’t read your kid a religious bedtime story last night. And that it rarely occurs to you to wonder what new Islamic, Hindu or Christian children’s books came out this year. I’m also willing to bet you don’t spend a lot of time in the religious section at your public library. But it might be time to start. For the last month or so I’ve been obsessed with religion-books for kids — mostly because my own knowledge of religious stories [...] Read more – ‘Religious Picture Books Have Much to Offer — But Choose Wisely’.
Has a Religious Person Ever Surprised You? By Wendy Thomas Russell | March 12, 2012: If there’s anything I’ve learned from this blog so far, it’s that no two nonbelievers are exactly the same. Each of us brings to the table so many different experiences, philosophies and opinions. Trying to generalize us is simply not possible. Yet we nonreligious types have a tendency to generalize, too. I would love to do one of those free-association tests on atheists. I’d say “religious people,” and they’d say the first words that came to mind. What do you think the words would be? It seems more likely, doesn’t it, that atheist brains would produce [...] Read more – ‘Has a Religious Person Ever Surprised You?’.
Jesus & Julia: A Tribute to Real Books By Wendy Thomas Russell | March 5, 2012: I love reading books on my iPad. I love that I can touch a word, and the definition pops up instantly. I love that I can change the font and read in the dark and buy books online. I love being able to access my entire library from a single page. And being able to switch to the Internet to find more information about what I’m reading. And being able to copy and paste entire passages into e-mails. I love that I can highlight text and make notes and bookmark pages — and then undo it [...] Read more – ‘Jesus & Julia: A Tribute to Real Books’.
Talking to Kids About Death Need Not Be Depressing By Wendy Thomas Russell | January 12, 2012: For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on a chapter of my book dealing with death. A cheery subject, I know, but an important one — given that death is a primary reason religion exists at all. My goal is to make death an easier topic for parents to explore with their kids. What should parents say, and when should they say it? How can they help children cope with the idea of death without the comforting arms of religion. So far, my research involves reading lots of books with titles about death, [...] Read more – ‘Talking to Kids About Death Need Not Be Depressing’.