Free-Range Kids
by Lenore Skenazy

The best thing about working in a library is getting to skim the first 10 pages of every new nonfiction book that comes in. As reference is part of my job, I do try to look at every book, so that I have some basic concepts about the subject matter when trying to help people find info. In a given day, I’ll peruse political science, criminal justice, home carpentry and fad diets.

Except for the books on my own favorite subjects, those 10 pages are more than enough. Occasionally, however, the material and writing style grab my attention enough that I’ll bring a title along on lunch break for another chapter or two.

Or, in this case, every lunch break for a week so I could finish it.

Now, I should be upfront about why I referred to this book on child rearing “categorically unnecessary”: I don’t actually have any kids. Folks who do have children may interpret it a little bit differently. You’ve been warned.

The book began as an article by Lenore Skenazy on letting her 9-year-old use the subway by himself, earning her a flurry of talk show attention and the title “world’s worst mother” from many of them.

The main point of the text is the huge gulf between most people’s perceptions about the lurking dangers of the world (i.e. an unknown child predator lurking behind every shrub), and the much less dramatic picture offered by actual crime statistics and simple logic. (Apparently Amazon reviewers and Snopes readers are two discrete sets; every single one of the reviews I saw treated the poisoned Halloween candy thing like some Promethean revelation.)

While the above makes for fun trivia, what really kept me reading was the author’s style. Conversational with being cutesy, and imparting knowledge with sanctimony, with plenty of humorous asides. Recommended for just about anyone as a light but thought-provoking read.