Sunday, January 15, 2012

Father Knows Less

"Dean and all the other children who asked questions reminded me, at forty, not to take the world at face value. . .
But sometimes the questions are better than the answers. And sometimes, no matter how good the answers are, they can be swept away." Wendell Jamieson, Father Knows Less: Or "Can I Cook My Sister?" (pg.238-9)

This book was a gift from my stepmother for my birthday last year with a note inside that says: "Because with Jareth you will need all the answers you can get." At the time I looked at this book and thought it was just another collection of questions and answers, most of which my son will never ask or I will already have an answer for. Boy I could not have been more wrong!

Wendell Jamieson gave parents the oppurtunity to really listen to their children and pass on the weird questions they ask, ones which most of us would not think of as having actual answers. '"Why can't we just cook her?" -Dean, pointing at his sister' The normal parental response would be "because she is you sister." But Jamieson took it a step further and found an expert to really answer the question: Timothy Taylor, M.A., Ph.D., FSA, reader in archaeology, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, United Kingdom.

I talked to my husband about some of the questions, ones I could so see my son asking, and we were astonished by the answers given. Jaimeson knew his son and him were not the only ones who didn't know the answers, not many people do. But after reading this book I am more informed! And I had a great laugh reading it as well!

This was an amazing read that I would recommend to everyone, not just parents. You will be surprised at the questions and answers. You will also find yourself getting a good laugh out of it all.

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