The Alphabet Year

I am a 56 year old male who reads philosophy, theology and science mostly. Somehow I came across Kathryn Kidd's Paradise View series and loved them. She gets in to the mind of Mormons very well and reveals yet respects what she finds. The Aphabet year is a perspective on the value and genius of Mormon stay at home Mom's. Quite entertaining and a big surprise at the end. Kathryn keep writing.

A FAST-MOVING, SWEETLY FUNNY, WELL-TOLD TALE OF THE WONDEROUS EVERYDAY LIFE JUST UNDER OUR NOSE. A WELLDONE TEACHERS MANUAL FOR MOTHERS OF ALL FAITHS, AND OF NONE. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL. THANKS, KATHRYN.

I've read this book aloud to my family more than once, and they really love it. We all laughed a lot. My 16-year-old son asked if we can read it again soon. How many things can you think of that 16-year-olds are really pleased with? It's only partly realistic. The rest is intentional comedy, using family situations. It's a great book to read aloud together as a family -- an activity that (like board games) can bring your family closer together.

When Kate moves into a new neighborhood, she decides the time has come to start a baby-sitting coop and get back into the workforce. She enlists one other mom and one mom wannabe to help her out. But she finds her calling takes up all her time, and meanwhile, baby-sitting is turning out to be more than she bargained for. I really liked this book. Every mom I know has felt inadequate sometimes (Or maybe a lot of times.) But that's pretty normal. Being able to laugh about it helps a lot. Although I enjoyed this book and laughed throughout, I kind of had a problem with the end. The idea that some mom could explain her bad relationship with her son as a lack of hormone-triggered bonding at birth was a little hard to swallow. I don't know that Kidd actually believes this, but it seemed a bit much. The whole message of the book is that motherhood is a combination of what you do and who you are, so the ending seemed a little inconsistent to me.