The Gardener and the Carpenter

The Gardener and the Carpenter
Author: Alison Gopnik
Publsiher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2016-08-09
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9781429944335

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One of the world's leading child psychologists shatters the myth of "good parenting" Caring deeply about our children is part of what makes us human. Yet the thing we call "parenting" is a surprisingly new invention. In the past thirty years, the concept of parenting and the multibillion dollar industry surrounding it have transformed child care into obsessive, controlling, and goal-oriented labor intended to create a particular kind of child and therefore a particular kind of adult. In The Gardener and the Carpenter, the pioneering developmental psychologist and philosopher Alison Gopnik argues that the familiar twenty-first-century picture of parents and children is profoundly wrong--it's not just based on bad science, it's bad for kids and parents, too. Drawing on the study of human evolution and her own cutting-edge scientific research into how children learn, Gopnik shows that although caring for children is profoundly important, it is not a matter of shaping them to turn out a particular way. Children are designed to be messy and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different both from their parents and from each other. The variability and flexibility of childhood lets them innovate, create, and survive in an unpredictable world. “Parenting" won't make children learn—but caring parents let children learn by creating a secure, loving environment.

The Bad Tempered Gardener

The Bad Tempered Gardener
Author: Anne Wareham
Publsiher: Frances Lincoln
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2011-05-01
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 9781781011492

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Seeing gardening as a serious and even outrageous art form has placed Anne Wareham well outside of what usually passes for discussion of gardens. Impatient with received ideas, eager to provoke, The Bad-Tempered Gardener is the story of her development as a thinking gardener and the creation with her husband, Charles Hawes, of their acclaimed garden in the Welsh borders, the Veddw. From the strange (plant obsessives, a bizarre debut as a television presenter) to the everyday (deadheading, sharing a garden), with frequent paeans to favourite plants and thoughtful pieces on show gardens and status, this is an intelligent, pugnacious and engaging book. It also unflinchingly conveys the challenges, the hard work, triumphs and failures behind the creation and development of a substantial contemporary garden.

The Philosophical Baby

The Philosophical Baby
Author: Alison Gopnik
Publsiher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2009-08-04
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781429959445

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For most of us, having a baby is the most profound, intense, and fascinating experience of our lives. Now scientists and philosophers are starting to appreciate babies, too. The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of infants and young children. Scientists used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Recently, they have discovered that babies learn more, create more, care more, and experience more than we could ever have imagined. And there is good reason to believe that babies are actually smarter, more thoughtful, and even more conscious than adults. This new science holds answers to some of the deepest and oldest questions about what it means to be human. A new baby's captivated gaze at her mother's face lays the foundations for love and morality. A toddler's unstoppable explorations of his playpen hold the key to scientific discovery. A three-year-old's wild make-believe explains how we can imagine the future, write novels, and invent new technologies. Alison Gopnik - a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother - explains the groundbreaking new psychological, neuroscientific, and philosophical developments in our understanding of very young children, transforming our understanding of how babies see the world, and in turn promoting a deeper appreciation for the role of parents.

Farm City

Farm City
Author: Novella Carpenter
Publsiher: Penguin
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2009-06-11
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781101060179

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Urban and rural collide in this wry, inspiring memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm Novella Carpenter loves cities-the culture, the crowds, the energy. At the same time, she can't shake the fact that she is the daughter of two back-to-the-land hippies who taught her to love nature and eat vegetables. Ambivalent about repeating her parents' disastrous mistakes, yet drawn to the idea of backyard self-sufficiency, Carpenter decided that it might be possible to have it both ways: a homegrown vegetable plot as well as museums, bars, concerts, and a twenty-four-hour convenience mart mere minutes away. Especially when she moved to a ramshackle house in inner city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage-strewn abandoned lot next door. She closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes, a beehive, and a chicken coop. What started out as a few egg-laying chickens led to turkeys, geese, and ducks. Soon, some rabbits joined the fun, then two three-hundred-pound pigs. And no, these charming and eccentric animals weren't pets; she was a farmer, not a zookeeper. Novella was raising these animals for dinner. Novella Carpenter's corner of downtown Oakland is populated by unforgettable characters. Lana (anal spelled backward, she reminds us) runs a speakeasy across the street and refuses to hurt even a fly, let alone condone raising turkeys for Thanksgiving. Bobby, the homeless man who collects cars and car parts just outside the farm, is an invaluable neighborhood concierge. The turkeys, Harold and Maude, tend to escape on a daily basis to cavort with the prostitutes hanging around just off the highway nearby. Every day on this strange and beautiful farm, urban meets rural in the most surprising ways. For anyone who has ever grown herbs on their windowsill, tomatoes on their fire escape, or obsessed over the offerings at the local farmers' market, Carpenter's story will capture your heart. And if you've ever considered leaving it all behind to become a farmer outside the city limits, or looked at the abandoned lot next door with a gleam in your eye, consider this both a cautionary tale and a full-throated call to action. Farm City is an unforgettably charming memoir, full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmers' tips, and a great deal of heart. It is also a moving meditation on urban life versus the natural world and what we have given up to live the way we do.

Love Builds Brains

Love Builds Brains
Author: Jean M Clinton
Publsiher: Unknown
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2020-06-29
Genre: Electronic Book
ISBN: 0981014968

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Love Builds Brains, lays out the early years' journey of attachment, self-regulation, connection, resilience and well-being, with scientific explanations that are measured out in understandable doses. We hear the author's voice throughout the chapters as she tells clinical and personal stories to amplify her points and perspective. She speaks from a population perspective, berating the poor world rankings of Canada on various OECD reports and then speaks to the individual level of our involvement with children suggesting prevention and management strategies. In the book, there's a strong and appropriate emphasis on early years' development, but there's also attention to the adolescent brain. This book is full of scientifically-based wisdom in a conversational style. The book addresses and offers approaches to understand and respond to issues of anxiety, stress, behavour, attachment, resilience and recovery. As a child psychatrist, Dr. Clinton provides ample brain research information to undergird her suggestions for parents, teachers and others who work with children. The final chapter on our digital world points to some ways to manage how children use media time. Dr. Clinton works very hard to advocate for children and youth and to translate the sciences that have uncovered more about the workings of the brain and mind. She sees her role as a Knowledge Translator, bringing insights to groups of people by making research and knowledge accessible.

Phantom Gardener

Phantom Gardener
Author: Mary Reid
Publsiher: Bethany House Publishers
Total Pages: 82
Release: 1997
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1556617178

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Steff and Paulie stay at a retirement golf community with Mother Quigg and her son. A phantom gardener has been secretly caring for the park's plants, and the sisters suspect Mother Quigg--until plants start disappearing. Is Mother Quigg a thief? The theme is "honor your father and your mother".

Hard Rain Falling

Hard Rain Falling
Author: Don Carpenter
Publsiher: New York Review of Books
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-06-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781590173909

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Don Carpenter’s Hard Rain Falling is a tough-as-nails account of being down and out, but never down for good—a Dostoyevskian tale of crime, punishment, and the pursuit of an ever-elusive redemption. The novel follows the adventures of Jack Levitt, an orphaned teenager living off his wits in the fleabag hotels and seedy pool halls of Portland, Oregon. Jack befriends Billy Lancing, a young black runaway and pool hustler extraordinaire. A heist gone wrong gets Jack sent to reform school, from which he emerges embittered by abuse and solitary confinement. In the meantime Billy has joined the middle class—married, fathered a son, acquired a business and a mistress. But neither Jack nor Billy can escape their troubled pasts, and they will meet again in San Quentin before their strange double drama comes to a violent and revelatory end.

The Humane Gardener

The Humane Gardener
Author: Nancy Lawson
Publsiher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2017-04-18
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 9781616896171

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In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.