One of the things I hate about parenting books, especially when it comes to academic performance, is that some books will claim that this is an easy, foolproof way to get a kid straight A’s. Similar to how most early parenting books claim that this is the foolproof way to not have disruptive or difficult children. Nothing about parenting is completely by the book; and with this book, I would take it more as a helpful suggestion and not gospel.

Overall, I do agree with Moskowitz’s approach. Learning is more than just curriculum and application. I think kids are naturally curious at younger ages, but parents should be nurturing that and modeling it at any age. If we don’t, then you’re going to be hitting the “I’m so bored” roadblocks that are so difficult for kids to get out of. All of Moskowitz’s suggestions and subject areas are infinitely better than screen time.

All this being said, the book isn’t without its faults. Moskowitz does share a lot of examples from her own kids, which is a bit biased and subjective. Paired with Moskowitz’s role in politics, the book has a little bit of a “Do it my way” vibe. When she talks about more serious pursuits (reading, science, math), she tends to over explain herself and it gets long winded.

This book didn't do it for me. It felt more like a magazine article or a Pinterest blogpost than anything above and beyond what's floating around parent blogs. Mainly, it seemed like a list of media that would "help" my kiddos, more than anything. Sadly underwhelming.

Lots of common sense things masquerading as parental advice. This book felt a bit lazy to me, and as an experienced parent, I didn't read anything that was very revolutionary.

Books that are better versed in this topic: Raising Good Humans by Hunter Clarke-Fields and Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy. Please spend your time there.

I hoped to open this book and receive more than anecdotal stories and lists of games/music that supposedly make my child “successful”. As a child therapist, I am confused and aggravated at the overgeneralization and lack of citations for any research for the content in this book. Yes, play therapy uses games and activities mentioned in the chapters to facilitate executive functioning in the brain. However, there was NO research or citations about it being great for emotional regulation, frustration tolerance, anticipation of consequences or other issues that children need help with in the process of social-emotional learning. Sadly, I was disappointed to read chapters with paragraphs discussing why each game/activity was important with no evidence-based materials. There was also a lot of name-dropping of famous intellects in our world. For a writer who has a PhD in American history from Johns Hopkins University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, I felt sad with what this book contains.

This is good to know: The author is now an American politician who advocates for education reform in our current culture as a member of the Democratic party. A quick Google search got me to information stating that she “owns Success Academy Charter Schools” aka she is the CEO.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.