The year: 2194. The place: Zimbabwe. In The Ear, The Eye and The Arm, Nancy Farmer's second novel, the author imagines a futuristic Africa where civil unrest still reigns. As Chief of Security, General Amadeus Matsika has spent a good part of his career dealing with violent gangs - he knows exactly how rough the streets of his city have become. So, he hides his family behind electrified gates, keeping outsiders at bay with alarms, automatic weapons and a computerized Doberman. The Matsika children - Tendai, Rita and Kuda - have never ventured outside the family estate alone. Unlike other children, they have never participated in team sports, attended school, or gone to a movie with friends. Even though the kids know their father only wants their safety, they're getting mighty tired of being cooped up at home all the time. Tendai, especially, longs for an adventure. As a Boy Scout, he has earned all of his merit badges (completed at home, of course), but one - in order to become an Eagle Scout, he needs an explorer's badge. The problem? It requires leaving the Matsika estate. After all, "Exactly how much exploring could you do in a garden?"

Enter the Mellower, a sunny, soothing man whose job is to exert a calming influence on the family. By hypnotizing them with praise, he allows the family, especially General Matsika, to de-stress and begin the day in a peaceful manner. Simple and happy, the Mellower is as exuberant as a child - and as mischevious. It is he who suggests asking for permission and securing the necessary passes while the children's father is under the Mellower's trance. The plan goes off without a hitch, and the trio head outside the gates for the first time without a chaperone.

With no street smarts whatsoever, the sheltered kids are soon kidnapped by a malevolent duo called Knife and Fist, respectively. Dumped in a wasteland inhabited only by the mysterious Vlei people, Tendai and his siblings are put to work digging antiques (like plastic sacks and dishware) out of the landfill. Rumor has it they will soon be sold to a dangerous gang called The Masks. Escape comes from a surprising source. Freed, the kids stumble their way into unfamiliar territory. Not knowing whom to trust, they must find their way home; that journey, however, will not be easy. Tendai, Rita and Kuda will encounter a strange city where staying means they can never leave; a terrifying She Elephant who will stop at nothing to find them; a greedy caretaker who wants only ransom money; and a gang war which could destroy their lives forever. Along the way, they will shed their innocence, band together, and fight for their own survival.

Despite its exotic locale, The Ear, The Eye and The Arm tells a universal story. It's about a son desperate to prove himself to a critical father; it's about a boy whose adventure will test and try him; it's about the man he will become because of his quest. It's a coming-of-age tale at once familiar and unique. Steeped in African mysticism, it's a colorful, consuming, even funny story. What really sets the tale apart, though, is its fascinating characters - from the formiddable General Matsika; to his brave, but naive children; to a sarcastic blue monkey; to a trio of lovable detectives with special powers - who make the plot a constant surprise. Original and absorbing, this is a wild, thrilling ride that will keep even the most reluctant reader thoroughly enthralled.

Grade: B

Recently, my husband bought tickets to a Monster Jam truck race for himself and our two boys. All of them love cars, trucks, Nascar - anything to do with racing. When the big day arrived, off they went. I expected them to be gone for hours, so I was surprised when they came back much earlier than planned. My husband explained that our 4-year-old was super excited about the show until it actually began, at which point he completely freaked out. He tried calming our son down, but to no avail. Frustrated, my husband steered a disappointed 10-year-old and a much-relieved 4-year-old out of the arena, and sped home. After shelling out big bucks for the show - of which he only saw 5 minutes - my husband was understandably upset. None of us could understand our son's behavior.

It took us a little while, but we finally reached an "Aha" moment: our son started panicking when he realized that a monster truck would be rolling over a school bus. His 4-year-old mind seemed to equate that bus with the one that takes him to school, the one captained by a kindly driver and filled with his little friends. No wonder he freaked out at the idea of it being crushed! The experience still frustrates my husband, but at least it taught us to look at things from his perspective. In future, we'll be more sensitive to his tender feelings and buy one less ticket to Monster Jam.

Lightbulb moments like these are what nurse Dyan Eybergen is talking about in her new book Out of the Mouths of Babes: Parenting from a Child's Perspective. She insists that the more we listen to and try to understand our children, the more efficiently we will be able to parent them. She advocates thinking like the child (school bus crushed by monster truck = nightmare, not entertainment) in order to gain understanding and empathy. She also thinks it's vital to note the differences in our kids' personalities and tailor our parenting techniques to suit the child. I think parents naturally do this, but probably not as much as they should.

In the book, Eybergen discusses several childhood milestones and how "Child Perspective Parenting" can make these transitions easier for both parents and children. She discusses techniques for dealing with potty training, finicky eaters, bedtime, and more. All of her ideas reflect her belief in showing respect for the child's emotions and empowering children to think and act independently. While I disagree with a couple of Eybergen's approaches, I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of putting ourselves in our childrens' shoes to help us remember the fears and anxiety so common in childhood.

I had to laugh at Eybergen's views on potty training. She insists that children should be taught only when they are developmentally ready (I agree with her there), and that they should not be rewarded or bribed into using the toilet. She believes, "The only reward a child should expect for having learned to use the potty is an intrinsic satisfaction in achieving a developmental milestone" (22). I can't help but snicker when I picture a mother telling her kid, "I know Tommy gets M&M's when he goes potty, but you're getting something better: 'an intrinsic satisfaction in achieving a developmental milestone.'" Yeah - good luck with that. I agree with Eybergen in principle, but practically speaking, it would never work. The other thing that rubbed me the wrong way was this: Eybergen says children should be answered honestly when they ask questions about sex, should be taught to label their body parts correctly, and that little boys (she's talking 3 years old here) should be "told that it was okay for him to touch his own penis - after all, it belonged to him -- but that there was a time and a place for that ... [they] learned that it was acceptable for them to explore their own bodies in private" (73-74). Okay, I'm on board with the first two, but the last - WHAT?? Parents are supposed to tell 3-year-olds that it's okay to touch themselves so they an learn that "their bodies were special and did wonderful things in response to loving touch" (73)? Are you kidding me?

Besides the above issues, I found most of Out of the Mouth of Babes informative, if obvious. The best part of the book, by far, is the chapter on self-esteem. Using the anocronym SELF, she encourages parents to arm their kids with Support, Empowerment, Love and Faith. I wholeheartedly agree with this advice. So, all in all, I think the book carries a valuable message, but it's nothing really new or special. The writing itself is average, the content a bit generic, and overall, I can't find a reason to give it more than a C.

Grade: C

(This review is part of a blog tour hosted by Mother Talk. For more info, click here.)

You know how you sometimes get into book ruts, where nothing really grabs your attention? I'm experiencing the opposite. I don't know what it's called, but I've got so many fun books right now that I'm trying to read 5 at a time just so I can get my nose into them faster! I've got library books, ARCs, and a good stack of novels for giveaways - if only I could get to everything. My baby has decided that sleeping is for the birds, so we've spent a lot of time cuddling on the couch together. I get a lot of reading done this way, but not much else. Needless to say, I'm behind on just about everything. So, this is a quick round-up post of bits and pieces that have been going through my very scattered brain:

I regret to inform you that I have not yet made it to the post office. I apologize to all of you who are waiting for mail from me. This includes recent winners of my giveaway, my sister, my grandma, a missionary in Germany, and a sweet kid in Chile whose baby is going to be 5 before he ever gets the cute little sleeper I've been meaning to send. The post office is never my favorite place to go, especially when I have to drag my kids, so I'm hoping to find some time to sneak away this week and mail all the packages that are piling up around my desk. Thanks for everyone's patience.

You may or may not have noticed that I changed a few things on my layout. First off, I've been wanting a fun, unique blog header, but I didn't want to have to pay an arm and a leg for PhotoShop or pay a designer big bucks to do it for me. So, using a combination of Microsoft Publisher and Gimp, I made my own. I'm pretty proud of myself. I like it, even though it makes my layout look pretty busy. I don't know - what's your opinion? Too much work went into it to change it now, so you're stuck with it regardless, but I thought I'd ask ... I also worked on some of the sidebar and header text that seemed to be a little stale. Hopefully, I've perked things up a little around here. It's Spring, after all. Renewal, new life, and all that.

Oooh! I almost forgot - I'm also trying to figure out how to put tabs onto my layout so I can clean up my sidebars and make navigation a little easier. We'll see what happens.

I've been woefully negligent in reading and commenting on your blogs. I'm trying to catch up, but my feeder's still gasping under the weight of unread content. I have noted a few fun giveaways and such:

- Ricklibrarian posted a link to a list of "Feel Good Fiction With Substance," in other words, Books That Are NOT Depressing. I, for one, talk a lot about how doomy and gloomy novels seem to be lately. I loved the idea of this list. Check it out here.

- Amanda is hosting all kinds of giveaways on her blog this month. Right now, you can enter to win a copy of First Dog by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello. The contest ends at midnight today, so hurry on over there. She's been posting like crazy this month, so keep an eye on A Patchwork of Books for lots of fun.

- Stephanie over at The Written Word is giving away copies of Therese Fowler's books Souvenir and Reunion. This contest ends tomorrow, so click on over there. Interestingly, I got an email to join her virtual tour a few hours ago, so look for reviews here soon.

- One of my favorite book bloggers, Shelley over at Chain Reading, just started another fun blog about giveaways and freebies. We could probably all use a little bit of that in this crap economy. Check it out!

- I'm sure there are lots more giveaways and such out in the vast book blogosphere. Do you have any to share?