Do dinosaurs buy bull?
There's a terrific book series out for preschoolers and brand new readers. Its the "How Does a Dinosaur..." collection by Jane Tolin. If you've got kids or grandkids, buy them every one written. The books teach good behavior by showing examples, good and bad, and they do it in a fun way for kids. I'd put this little readers book series at the top of the heap all by myself even if it hadn't already won the honors from every legitimate book award critic out there.
While I don't suspect we'll be seeing the title "How do dinosaurs know what's not Shinola?" coming off the author's desk at any time soon, the need is certainly there - for sure.
Behavior is one thing but learning to discriminate wisely is quite another. If Jane Tolin doesn't expand her series to teach critical thinking, somebody needs to fill in the gap.
Carl Sagan offered his "Bologna Detection Kit" to adults - a way to see all the way through bad science and the loads of other bunk ideas we each encounter on a daily basis. Simply put, Sagan's system is a very polished version of how one can easily know the difference between shit and Shinola - its excellent - yet it's unfortunately something that's out of reach on a skill level way above the understanding of those who need it most of all - little kids.
I hope our atheist and secular community will seek out its most thoughtful childrens book authors and promote the messages, good values and lessons they have to give. Kids need their own "New Atheist" authors... Let's all help find them.
While I don't suspect we'll be seeing the title "How do dinosaurs know what's not Shinola?" coming off the author's desk at any time soon, the need is certainly there - for sure.
Behavior is one thing but learning to discriminate wisely is quite another. If Jane Tolin doesn't expand her series to teach critical thinking, somebody needs to fill in the gap.
Carl Sagan offered his "Bologna Detection Kit" to adults - a way to see all the way through bad science and the loads of other bunk ideas we each encounter on a daily basis. Simply put, Sagan's system is a very polished version of how one can easily know the difference between shit and Shinola - its excellent - yet it's unfortunately something that's out of reach on a skill level way above the understanding of those who need it most of all - little kids.
I hope our atheist and secular community will seek out its most thoughtful childrens book authors and promote the messages, good values and lessons they have to give. Kids need their own "New Atheist" authors... Let's all help find them.
.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment