The Top Shelf

Summer 2002 Book Reviews

Volume 2 / Issue 4 / Summer 2002

Re-forming Gifted Education: Matching the Program to the Child, by Karen B. Rogers. Great Potential, 2002. Paperback, 512 pp., ISBN 0-910707-46-4. $28.00

An informative and valuable read for parents of gifted children, Rogers provides parents a primer in gifted education by helping them understand the programming options available to their gifted child. One strength of this text is the succinct review of research provided for each educational option and a description of the type of child who would most benefit from it. Rogers helps parents communicate with schools by furnishing them with ideas for securing more appropriate and challenging educational experiences for their child. Readers begin using the information and strategies even as they read the ready-to-use forms and case examples in the book. Unfortunately, the title does not accurately reflect that the book is directed at parents.

Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool to High School, by Judith Wynn Halsted. 2d ed. Great Potential, 2002. Paperback, 525 pp., ISBN 0-910707-51-0. $26.00

Distinguishing between clinical and developmental forms of bibliotherapy (using books to cope with emotional problems or to face normal life stages or transitions, respectively), Halsted asserts that parents, teachers, and librarians can use the latter form to prevent problems that gifted children may face. Part 1 discusses the intellectual and emotional characteristics of the gifted child. Part 2 details the special reading needs of the gifted and the role of bibliotherapy in their emotional and intellectual development. Part 3 provides strategies for selecting appropriate books for the gifted, a discussion of the genres of children’s literature, and an annotated bibliography of readings by grade level, with suggestions for discussion. A number of great resources for locating quality children’s literature are also listed.
—Kristen R. Stephens, Ph.D.

Kristen R. Stephens is support services coordinator at the Duke University Talent Identification Program and adjunct assistant professor in the Program in Education at Duke University.

Smart Boys: Talent, Manhood, and the Search for Meaning, by Barbara A. Kerr and Sanford J. Cohn. Great Potential, 2001. Paperback, 368 pp., ISBN 0-910707-43-x. $24.00

As the book’s subtitle suggests, Kerr and Cohn are interested not merely in the intellect of smart boys but in the development of a whole life—the turning of gifted boys into men who lead meaningful, fulfilled lives. They are concerned just as much with boys who are waylaid by social and emotional problems as they are with boys who grow up to lead uninspired, ordinary lives—those who conform to the usual standards of masculinity, such as landing a middle-management job, buying a house, and marrying a pretty wife.

This book brings together research on gifted boys and men, summarizes it, highlights its importance, and prescribes ways to ensure that gifted boys meet their full potential.

Playing Smart: The Family Guide to Enriching, Offbeat Learning Activities for Ages 4–14, by Susan K. Perry. Free Spirit, 2001. Paperback, 227 pp., ISBN 1-57542-095-3. $16.95

This book, a must-read, is all about parents having fun with their gifted children. The activities it describes are designed to help children explore their inner selves and the world around them. Perry stresses that these activities should be undertaken without “making a big deal about it” and should be abandoned if the child loses interest in them. Everyday situations turn into opportunities to teach children about flow, mindfulness, physical awareness, and developing their own inquisitive minds through brainteasers, sensory explorations, and unusual games. Each chapter is chock-full of suggestions for creative thinking and lists books and Internet resources for more adventures. An emphasis on acknowledging and respecting the differences and similarities between people runs throughout, while a special chapter on cultural diversity allows for explicit learning experiences about people from around the world.

Raising Multilingual Children: Foreign Language Acquisition and Children, by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa. Bergin and Garvey, 2001. Cloth, 222 pp., ISBN 0-89789-750-1. $39.95

Although the discussions and examples in this book are mostly about families that are bilingual or that speak multiple languages in bi- or multilingual environments, the book can benefit the monolingual family in a monolingual community. However, such readers will have to do some extra work, be creative, or shell out some cash to take advantage of its offerings. Appendix A gives a limited list of language enrichment sources.

The complexities of language acquisition are presented clearly, and Tokuhama-Espinosa addresses factors such as age, motivation, opportunity, linguistic differences or similarities between languages, and school support. Worksheets help families assess goals for the use of languages and level of proficiency desired. Strategies to achieve these goals are presented based on who (parents, teachers, playmates) speaks what language and in what environment (home, school, at play, dinner table). Problems that may be encountered are also discussed, including lack of motivation and learning disabilities.

Tokuhama-Espinosa believes in the benefits of multilingualism and asserts that no matter what your child’s natural aptitude for learning languages may be, it can be enhanced by motivation, strategy, and consistency.

Unique Games and Sports around the World: A Reference Guide, edited by Doris Corbett, John Cheffers, and Eileen Crowley Sullivan. Greenwood, 2001. Cloth, 407 pp., ISBN 0-313-29778-9. $59.95

Corbett, Cheffers, and Sullivan have compiled games from the world over and detailed their rules, objectives, players, and playing fields. Their goal is to broaden cultural understanding and highlight the different skills and knowledges gained through play. The introduction and appendixes are written for teachers; however, the book might make a good reference to find games to fill the never-ending hours of summer break. Some of the games in this book are not suitable for children of any age, as they may involve dangerous situations or harm the participants.
—Bobbie Collins-Perry