My kids and I just finished reading My Body My House by Lisa Beres of Green Nest. This is a book meant to teach kids about eco friendly and green living and the dangers of having toxins in your home. It follows the story of a boy who lives in a beautiful wood house surrounded by trees, birds, and butterflies. It also sits adjacent to a garden fresh with healthy and delicious food. The home is a happy and healthy one and so is the body that lives in it (the boy). As the book delightfully tells us, one was made from Heaven and the other a seed. The House provided everything the boy needed for comfort and happiness….that is until happiness became dependent upon “keeping up with neighbors” who were remodeling to make their houses bigger, more elaborate, and with more creature comforts.
The boy begins to remodel his home too…replacing hardwood floors with fluffy carpet, adding central heat and air, uses insecticides, and paints inside and out. The boy was not considering that these new features or products might not be healthy or safe. He only cared about presentation and appearance. The home keeps objecting, saying that things were better as they were and that the new additions could mean poisonous air. The boy ignores all pleas from the home and continues with his renovations. Well, as you can see the boy slowly poisons his own home and begins to get sick. He sees the error of his ways and he and the home work to try and restore the balance that has been lost.
Among things I really liked about this book are the whimsical illustrations and the concept of the book…that our homes are no place to keep toxins if we seek to stay healthy. I did think the way the book was presented though was a bit confusing for children and it may well go over their heads.
Among the things I didn’t like so much about the book was the fact that is the boy is always referred to as “the body”. Perhaps this was done to avoid selecting a gender, I am not sure, but it was rather strange. I mentioned that the book may go over the heads of children, especially concepts like keeping up with the Jones’s, as this is an adult pastime. Also the book didn’t flow well. The language was not rhythmical and it was hard to read.
A big plus though is that portions of the proceeds for this book are going to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition.
There are more and more books on the subject for adults, but it’s an interesting and uselful concept to try to aim it at children… shame that some if it will go over their heads. Sounds like it’s worth reading though. Love your site! Thanks for all of the great tips!
I think that my son would really dig a book like this. He is six and I have created a monster, lol. Anything that comes into our home gets the third degree from him…How was it made, did it come from overseas, does it have chemicals, could we have made it ourselves….I am so, so proud of him but on the occassions that I want to be lazy and sneak something “bad” in, it is impossible! lol Thank you for the review, it sounds like a great book!
The picture on the cover is so cute! I can’t wait to see the rest! I am so getting this for every kid in my life (and one for me, too!)
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I received the book and I want to thank you! My kids LOVE it. My six year old agrees with everything in it and uses it as “justification” of his natural lifestyle. He said “See Um-bah (grandmother), chemicals are BAD!”. My two year old daughter also love it. I’m not sure how much of the story she has absorbed but she sits and looks at the pictures and gives them names, etc. It keeps her attention longer than most of her toys, lol. Thank you again. :)