Synopses & Reviews
& quot; Only a reader as attuned to realism as Feinberg could have puzzled out so nuanced a defense of imagination in children& #39; s lives.& quot; < br=""> & mdash; Laura Miller, New York Times Book Review< br=""> < br=""> & quot; Fresh and wonderfully readable, this quirky book is perfect for parents eager to cultivate their kids& #39; fantasy lives and foster a passion for literature.& quot; < br=""> & mdash; Michelle Green, People magazine< br=""> < br=""> & quot; Feinberg& #39; s ideas should become part of our cultural dialogue on the needs of children.& quot; < br=""> & #175; Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia and The Shelter of Each Other< br=""> < br=""> & quot; With this book, Barbara Feinberg has created something quite extraordinary: a profound and penetrating critique that unfolds like a mystery. Pursuing her own sense that something is wrong in the schoolhouse, Welcome to Lizard Motel identifies a herd of dangerously sacred cows& mdash; and slaughters them, one by one.& quot; < br=""> & #175; Noelle Oxenhandler, author of The Eros of Parenthood < br=""> < br=""> & quot; The implications of this small book are quite large. Parents will want to read it, as will writers, publishers and educators.& quot; < br=""> & mdash; Publishers Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
Unsettled by the fact that her twelve-year-old son, an ardent reader, hated most of the books assigned to him in school, Barbara Feinberg set out to discover just what kids are reading these days. Much to her dismay, she found that novels about abandonment, kidnapping, abuse, and more have become standard fare in many middle school classrooms.
Pre-adolescents, these novels seem to suggest, ought to be confronted in fiction with real life problems straight on, with no magical dimension and limited imaginative scope. In fact, the child characters in these books often must face their stark circumstances nearly alone, without adult shelter. You have only yourself, these novels seem to say. Adults cannot help you; they are often the source of your troubles.
Weaving literary analysis with memoir, told in a playful, elegiacal style, Welcome to Lizard Motel sets its inquiry into books and stories in the context of an unfolding narrative of family life. And as the narrative takes on a novel-like velocity of its own, stories become the lens through which Feinberg reflects on our own notions of childhood--both observed and remembered, our cultures rendering of childhood, and the surprising disconnect between the two.
Synopsis
Only a reader as attuned to realism as Feinberg could have puzzled out so nuanced a defense of imagination in childrens lives.” Laura Miller, New York Times Book Review
Fresh and wonderfully readable, this quirky book is perfect for parents eager to cultivate their kids fantasy lives and foster a passion for literature.” Michelle Green, People magazine
Feinbergs ideas should become part of our cultural dialogue on the needs of children.” ZMary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia and The Shelter of Each Other
With this book, Barbara Feinberg has created something quite extraordinary: a profound and penetrating critique that unfolds like a mystery. Pursuing her own sense that something is wrong in the schoolhouse, Welcome to Lizard Motel identifies a herd of dangerously sacred cowsand slaughters them, one by one.” ZNoelle Oxenhandler, author of The Eros of Parenthood
The implications of this small book are quite large. Parents will want to read it, as will writers, publishers and educators.” Publishers Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
Welcome to Lizard Motel is one of the most surprising books about reading and writing to come along in years. Not only does this rich and wonderfully readable memoir explore the world of children and stories, it also asks us to look at how our children are growing up. Barbara Feinberg suggests that we have lost touch with the organic unfolding of childhood, with that mysterious time when making things up helps deepen a child's understanding of the world. This book will reacquaint readers with the special nature of children's imaginations and why they need to be protected and fostered.
About the Author
Barbara Feinberg is the originator of Story Shop, a creative arts program for children ages three through fourteen. She has won awards for her writing, including a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Feinberg lives with her husband and two children in Westchester County, New York.