December 2023 MBR The Parenting Shelf

The Parenting Shelf

What's Eating Our Kids?
Julie A. Wendt, MD
Independently Published
9798987560013, $28.95, PB, 318pp

https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Eating-Kids-Julie-Wendt/dp/B0CKV1P74M

Synopsis: There has been a steep increase in the number of allergic reactions and in the number of patients who can no longer tolerate food without absolute misery. Have you, as a loving parent, ever felt helpless in your struggles to figure out your child's food allergies, reactions, and aversions? Do you wonder why this is happening?

With the publication of "What's Eating Our Kids?", Dr. Julie A. Wendt guides parents and caregivers in dealing with childhood food-based allergies.

Julie's son had severe eczema as a baby. She had to deal with a multitude of his allergies as a boy and young man, and managed the lactose intolerance of my teenage daughter. As an experienced allergy parent, she well knows that the emotional stresses and strains of managing your family's allergies are really challenging.

"What's Eating Our Kids?" contains information key to understanding the causes of your suffering: food allergy, intolerance, and toxicity. Julie breaks down the most common (and some not-so-common) food reactions and walks the reader through the symptoms, specific medical conditions, and the diagnosis, testing, and treatment process.

"What's Eating Our Kids?" is intended to guide parents and allergic children to and through proven solutions that will ease their allergies, reactions, and the stress. The message is that you and your child can live a normal life -- even with severe allergies.

Critique: "What's Eating Our Kids?" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' parents' guide to food allergy, intolerance, and toxicity that can make a child ill. Comprehensive, fully accessible for the non-specialist general reader and parent, exceptionally well organized and impressively/effectively presented, "What's Eating Our Kids?" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Parenting and Food Allergy collections.

Editorial Note: Dr. Julia A. Wendt earned B.S. degrees with honors in biochemistry and biology from the University of Illinois, a degree in microbiology and immunology from Vanderbilt University, and her M.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. She completed her residency and fellowship at Rush University. In private practice since 2005, Dr. Wendt has published a great deal of research. She has received the American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award, a Patient Choice Award, and is noted as one of America's Top Physicians. Dr. Wendt is a former President of the Arizona Allergy and Asthma Society.

Twenty-three Weeks: The Story of a Micro-preemie Baby and Her Mother
Karen Fraser-Morris
Epigraph Publishing
https://www.epigraphps.com
9781960090287, $18.95, PB, 216pp

https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-three-Weeks-Story-Micro-preemie-Mother/dp/1960090283

Synopsis: Most women expect to have a typical pregnancy, especially when they are told that everything is going well. This was the case for Karen Fraser-Morris right up until a night when all which seemed certain was suddenly replaced with questions, including the fate of her child.

Realizations about pregnancy, birth, infancy and future children shove previous visions of how life will be to the background to make permanent space for new, difficult truths. With the publication of "Twenty-Three Weeks: The Story of a Micro-preemie Baby and Her Mother" Karen draws upon her own experience to provide a raw guide to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a place experienced by many parents but rarely explored narratively.

"Twenty-Three Weeks" is a love story between mother and child. It is a reflection on grief and compassion. It is a first person account of our human potential to withstand suffering and find honest acceptance.

Critique: Exceptionally well written and presented, "Twenty-Three Weeks: The Story of a Micro-preemie Baby and Her Mother" is a timely and important contribution to the current national debate over a woman's freedom with respect to pregnancy, especially when that pregnancy involves serious medical decisions with respect to the mother's health and the development of the fetus. "Twenty-Three Weeks" is also particularly relevant and recommended reading for any woman suddenly encountering unexpected issues with successfully carrying her own pregnancy to term. Simply stated, "Twenty-Three Weeks" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Parenting collections.

Editorial Note: Karen Fraser-Morris is the author of Girls Who Write. She has her MFA in creative writing and has won several awards for her short stories. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. (https://www.cwaldorf.org/staff-members/karen-fraser-morris)

Childhood Narcissism
Mary Ann Little, Ph.D
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
www.rowman.com
9781538182161, $34.00, HC, 310pp

https://www.amazon.com/Childhood-Narcissism-Strategies-Unentitled-Empathetic/dp/1538182165

Synopsis: It is vital that parents notice the signs of narcissism in their child and act to curb them before it's too late. Raising empathetic and unselfish young people in today's "all about me" world might seem impossible, but parents can take meaningful action to protect children from these harmful influences.

Written by Mary Ann Little (a licensed psychologist with decades of clinical experience), "Childhood Narcissism: Strategies to Raise Unselfish, Unentitled, and Empathetic Children" explains how selfish, entitled behavior can take root in a child and shows parents how to stop it before it's too late. "Childhood Narcissism" identifies the early warning signs that can result in a full-blown narcissistic disorder in adulthood and explores what nurtures a child's healthy, realistic self-concept and provides a positive model of love and relationships.

Based on the latest research and theory, "Childhood Narcissism" also identifies four parent types that promote narcissistic development. By recognizing these traits in themselves, parents can work on their own shortcomings to build a stronger family and raise caring, empathetic children.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Childhood Narcissism: Strategies to Raise Unselfish, Unentitled, and Empathetic Children" is ideal and instructive reading for parents, non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject, and professional family counselors. While strongly recommended for community and academic library Parenting and Child Psychology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for parents, caregivers, teachers, counselors, students, and academia that "Childhood Narcissism: Strategies to Raise Unselfish, Unentitled, and Empathetic Children" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $32.00).

Editorial Note: Mary Ann Little (www.drmaryannlittle.com) is a clinical psychologist who has been in private practice for over four decades. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and has served as an adjunct professor in the departments of psychology and special education at the University of Texas at Dallas. Little authored Loving Your Children Better: Matching Parenting Styles to the Age and Stage of Your Children, Cooperation Station, an educational toy for kids and families, and the Competent Kids Series. She has been a consultant to numerous educational and psychiatric facilities and frequently lectures to both lay and professional audiences.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review