To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. I tend to shy from books that seem to be about how great other countries are and how much we can learn from them when it comes to our parenting here in the U.S. But this book was humble, funny, real and told from such a broad perspective that it didn't trigger that pet peeve at ALL. I also tend to resent authors who get a huge book advance to travel the world and write about it, but again, Dan Kois has such a down to earth voice and a good sense of his own privilege. The story was just fascinating, and he captures very different places vividly and realistically. Sweet and illuminating memoir.

This book is super aspirational and describes a life that is not attainable for most families, but it was interesting to read about a family that is living an unconventional lifestyle. So many parents (myself included) let kids limit their travel and experiences and this is a reminder that it doesn't have to be that way.

My Thoughts: I love to travel and thought How to Be A Family: The Year I Dragged My Kids Around the World to Find a New Way to Be Together by Dan Kois would be perfect for me. That’s a HUGE title and it says a lot. I really liked the parts of this memoir that focused on the author and his family: how they traveled together, compromised, fought, etc. I enjoyed his exploration of parenting attitudes in New Zealand and Holland, and how they were able to live so differently in those countries. However, Kois included long chunks in his book that had to do with more cultural aspects of the various countries and these parts really dragged for me, especially in Costa Rica and Kansas. I’d have liked more about his changing family dynamics and less of the research. This one was more of a miss for me.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Little, Brown and Company (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.