The book starts out right in your face with its title.  Are your kids naked online?  The answer is probably, yes.  I was pleasantly surprised to see in the first half of the book that I am a pretty decent parent.  I was already doing many of the suggested ideas.  

 

What was fascinating that I had not seen anywhere else, was this serious manual, provides a list of what kids are saying online.  "New language" that they use to keep us, the parents, in the dark.  The writers also tell us if you register your copy of the book, they will send you more to add to that list.  I highly encourage you to do so.

 

While this incredible text also goes over apps, social media, and the like - it is imperative that I remind you of something the author said that I felt was epic and critical.  "No app should be permitted to be used by kids until parents have completely vetted it."  This is just a start on the great ideas and "parent-isms" that are shared within.

 

With humor and straight talk, this book is a useful tool to get in to the subjects of safety and online use.  I truly believe every parent should get themselves a copy.  Just for your FYI this is also a Kindle Unlimited option too.  I give this read a 5/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This copy was provided by Online Book Club, in exchange for an honest review only.

I adored James Harriot's All Creatures Great and Small as a child and adored Richard Adams Watership Down and The Plague Dogs as a teen. It's true I'm no environmentalist or vegetarian, and compared to many of my friends I don't rate as an animal lover. But yes, I do believe I'd love the right animal book--it's just not this one. It probably didn't help that Sy Montgomery tells us from the beginning that she takes the PETA line that rat = boy. That she sees absolutely no reason to value people over animals. That, in fact, she likes animals much, much more. It's always been an attitude that I've felt antipathy for. The author is a naturalist who has written books about the Great Apes and rare bears and tigers and dolphins after studying them in their native habitats--and she's a more than decent wordsmith. She should have been able to make me see pigs through new eyes. There are tidbits here and there in this book about pigs, domestic and wild--although I felt not enough. But despite the fact I feel as if the subtitle could be, "drop that ham sandwich!" I have to admit this book didn't do anything to really make me see what was "extraordinary" about this particular pet pig that should make me want to give up bacon. Other than that he really, really, really enjoyed eating. Really. Really. Montgomery called food "his Higher Power." Okay...

Christopher Hogwood was the runt of the litter and struggling to survive when writers, Sy Montgomery and her husband, Howard Mansfield, made the decision to adopt the diminutive but strong-willed piglet in 1990. Howard had gotten a call from friends who had quite an extensive litter of piglets. They wanted to know if Howard and Sy would be interested in giving a loving home to a piglet in desperate need of care and attention. Christopher was not just the runt of the litter but he also had every disease a pig could have and things were not looking good. Sy was out of town when Howard got the call. Sy's beloved father was dying from cancer and Howard wondered if caring for the sickly pig would be good therapy for Sy, give her something to look forward to. If Sy and Howard didn't take the undersized and weak pig, it would certainly not survive. That's how the soulful Christopher Hogwood, named after the famous musical conductor, came to find his bliss in the loving hearts and home of Sy, Howard, and the quaint hamlet of Hancock, New Hampshire.

Hogwood became a treasured member of the family and community. Friends and strangers came to visit the growing pig. Christopher had quite the reputation around town and did as he pleased. He visited neighbors and their gardens. Sy and Howard grew accustomed to the phone calls alerting them to the pigs whereabouts. Hogwood even had a police record of sorts and was often mentioned in the local police logs for his antics. But Christopher was lovingly accepted by all and quickly became a local celebrity and found himself on the receiving end of deliciously donated slops buckets from neighbors, grocers, and even a gourmet restaurant. Christopher Hogwood was a lucky pig. A splendid pig! He didn't just receive love and good will. Christopher had the ability to give as good as he got and even changed the lives of those who had the privilege to know this gloriously unique and intelligent pig.

The Good Good Pig is Sy Montgomery's loving memoir and tribute to a pig, first brought home in a shoebox, and with love and support from his family and friends, defied all odds and grew to unimaginable proportions in size and celebrity. It is the extraordinary true story of a wise and remarkable pig that changed the lives of many, who was a beloved companion and an "activist who brought people together with his beautiful love."

I want a pig!