The Scientist in the Crib : What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind by Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff, Patricia K. Kuhl Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Scientist in the Crib : What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind
Book Review: Hooray! A book on child development that's not annoying!
Summary: 4 Stars
An intelligent book on how babies learn. There are so many books on the topic out there. But so many of them are written in that irritating "case study" style (e.g., Sophie, a perky 18 month old liked to do X. . .") This book, on the other hand, gets to the point, is written at an adult reading level, and is generally very interesting. I enjoyed reading it, and found the style very refreshing. Further, after reading it, I think I have a better sense of what is going on inside the head of my 9-month old son, and I've been able to apply this information in games and other ways that have been fun for both of us.Book Review: A great resource for parents and teachers
Summary: 4 Stars
This book presents the latest research concerning child development, but does so in an accessible and friendly way. This is not a how-to book, rather containing information about how children learn and develop over time. Chapters include: What Children Learn About People; What Children Learn About Things; What Children Learn About Language; What Scientists Have Learned About Children's Minds; What Scientists Have Learned About Children's Brains.To a small extent the book suffers from the usual dilutory effects of having multiple authors. They also try to be a bit too cute sometimes, but this does not overly detract from the book's success as a layman-friendly introduction to child development research.
There is a very useful Notes section, References, and a good Index.
My advice, for all it's worth: If you are going to get one book about child development research, get Lise Eliot's 'What's Going On In There?', which is less precious, more extensive, and better organized. If you are going to get two books, add this to your list. I find myself referring back to the former book fairly often, but I do browse through this one occasionally as well.
Book Review: Excellent and lacking one thing
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a Montessori teacher. I loved the book because it uses today's technology and research techniques to validate the work done by Dr. Maria Montessori ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. The only problem with this book is that the authors never mention Dr. Montessori. It's a good read though it's too bad the authors didn't observe Montessori classes.I recommend this book for teachers and especially parents.
Book Review: Not a How-To Guide to Parenting, and a Better Book For It
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want practical advice on child-rearing, check out Penelope Leach or Dr. Mom. But if you're interested in reading about the latest research in the mental development of infants, this book is absolutely wonderful. It's full of surprising information about how observant and analytical babies are(at less than an hour old, they mimic faces), and gives details about the structure of the experiments used to deduce such information, allowing you to decide for yourself how much weight to give it. Much of the information confirms those of us who have always suspected two day old kids are as intelligent and tuned-in as, say, the typical graduate student -- they just have fewer ways to express it, and less experience to build on.Better yet, the book is written in a thoroughly engaging and often humorous style that possibly owes something to the first named author's brother, the New Yorker writer Adam (or, more likely, both Gopniks inherited the same literary genes).
But don't expect pointers on burping technique.
Book Review: A Big Disappointment -- a reader and soon to be mom
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this book with high hopes and couldn't wait to receive it. However, upon receiving it, I was really disappointed. I found this book to be too dry and technical--i.e., I don't need to know about specific chemicals in the brain... It reads like a research paper, not a practical guide. Needless to say, it was not a pleasure to read--maybe other "scientists" will enjoy reading it, but it's not really geared to the everyday parent (and I have a Master's Degree, so it's not that it was over my head). My advice: If you're looking for practical, everyday information to apply to real life, skip this one.