Parents Guide to Minecraft Reviewed by Admitted Non-Gamer

Think you need a PhD to figure out what Minecraft is all about? Well, maybe you do, maybe you don't. Dr. Lisa Regula read The Minecraft Guide For Parents by Cori Dusman, and now she's well on her way to understanding not only the game, but also the people who play. 
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I have to start out by admitting my own bias, as a sort of disclosure - I’m not a gamer.  I’ve only started getting into board games even the slightest, and I’m still staunchly not a fan of video games; some have accused me of not knowing how to relax and have fun.  At the opposite end of spectrum is my husband, who was a serious video gamer up until we came to this town for grad school.  He made a reasonable recovery while he was in grad school, but has since been slipping into gaming habits, but with board games this time.  Thus it was no surprise when games for our (then seven year old) son became a fairly big point of contention in the house.  I wanted to wait until he was developmentally ready for video games; my significant other wanted to just let him have at it. 

Sig-o won; I came home one day last summer to find them playing LEGO Star Wars on the PS3. 

Now that Pandora’s Box was opened, we began the refining process of what games to allow, under what rules, for how long, etc.  Every parent out there knows the drill, I’m sure.  Eventually, child’s preferences also became clear, and Minecraft has been a staple ever since.  We have the pocket edition for iPad and for Android, but have been struggling with limits and, frankly, our child’s obsession with the game.  It’s not just playing the game at this point, but talking constantly about the game, drawing and planning for the game, trying to convince us to give him more time for the game.  I was hoping that this book would have a little bit of advice on how to handle all this (and maybe some hints to help him do the tougher stuff he wanted to do).

Whew.  And here you thought you were reading a book review, not a confessional, huh? 

The book itself is pretty comprehensive.  It covers building advice for parents, really basic details on Minecraft for those of us who are only being pulled kicking and screaming into the Minecraft world, technical details of purchasing and installing Minecraft, information on online communities, and- most importantly from my perspective- suggestions for improving game behavior, limiting obsession, online safety, conflicts around the game, and even addiction (no, we don’t think it’s necessary to put our son in a 12-step program yet, but the summer’s only half done).

The topics are addressed thoroughly, but not extensively, so your questions are answered (or you have tools to answer those questions) without feeling drowned in details.  The glossary is helpful in letting parents and kids speak the same language and better communicate with each other and other gamers.  The parent-child computer contract is something that sig-o and I are looking forward to trying with our child, but it’s still a work in progress.  My biggest critique is that, like most other Minecraft books I’ve found, this is written very much for the computer-based game, so not everything is applicable to our editions.  From a marketing perspective, this is part of the brilliance of Minecraft, having stripped down but free or cheap options seems to open up the game to a more diverse gamer group.  In reality, it serves as a dealer’s first, cheap sale to get you hooked on the item.  And believe me, most of the kids I know with the cheap versions end up spending a significant amount of time whining that they want to be able to do what all their friends can do on the computer version, which is very not-free/cheap.  Dusman’s son was 11 when he found Minecraft, and I have no doubt that that is a far more appropriate age to begin gaming- and her discussion of the game is from that older child perspective- but the issues that Dusman brings up and gives suggestions for can be applied with or without modification to a wide range of ages.

As games go, Minecraft is a better option than most of what else is out there, and this book is a great introduction for parents to the world of Minecraft, no matter what level their kids are at.  I’m still not sold on video games as wonderful, amazing things that every child has a right to play, but this is definitely a “know your child” area; my child is prone to obsession and fixation, and gets emotionally ramped up easily (as do I).  For more laid back kids and parents, this might be less a problem.  Either way, The Minecraft Guide for Parents is a solid tool with well-researched advice that has real potential to help families cross the turbulent water of computer game negotiations. 

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If I could play video games, I'd create a world called Thanks and send Dr. Lisa Regula an invitation to join - as a trusted player, course, and I would certainly not rig it with dynamite. ;) Seriously, I'm no gamer and yet I'm raising one, so my gratitude runs deep for this, Dr. Regula's second guest review on this. The first explored another world I've yet to enter, where I suspect my son will venture, too. 


## Follow my reading adventures on Facebook, Tweet along, or tell me you want your review here - guest reviewers are always welcome in my world! No dynamite, I promise. 

Walls Bares, Bears Much in The Glass Castle

Jeanette Walls' adventurous childhood, thanks to her rather dangerously degenerate parents, scarred her inside and out. She also came out of the experience with a wicked sense of humor and a delightful way with words.

The Glass Castle is a book that I am glad I could not write - I didn't move halfway across the country locked in the back of a U-haul, visit call girls, or build character fighting with sewer rats while growing up, for example - but I am glad Walls wrote of her experiences.

It is a work of nonfiction that is quite difficult to believe at times.

Even more surprising, in the acknowledgement, Walls thanks just about everyone in her family for their support. Memoirs like The Glass Castle, at least the ones I know, don't come out of families where everyone is still speaking to each other. It seems the Walls family could appear together on the Dr. Phil show and no one would need to be restrained.

The book opens in the present, in New York City, with the author in a limo rolling by a dumpster where her mother is foraging. That kind of opening is called a "good grip" and Walls doesn't let go as she drags you into the past with her. First stop: the kitchen, where as a toddler, Jeanette was badly burned. She was cooking her own dinner. Which isn't necessarily neglectful or bad - why, don't you think we coddle our kids a little too much, really?

See, while the Walls kids had little growing up - including food, safety, and the records they sometimes needed to be enrolled in school - they had smart parents who expected the kids to learn and reach their full intellectual and creative potentials. It could be argued that the parents were criminally negligent, or that they did as well or better than the "average" family, whatever that is.

It certainly could be argued, too, that Walls is overly driven and has been all her life in an effort to hide from or overcome her past. It's hard to suggest she's not at least a little scarred by her upbringing; and yet, we are all better off because she chose to share the stories behind those scars.

Which makes me think maybe the Walls parents weren't quite as bad as they sound, and makes me remember something my parents taught me: people who live in glass castles shouldn't throw stones.

~Diane Stresing

Don't it figure? Just as I was about to hit 'publish,' I find out the movie is going into production. Which prompts me to say two more things: 1, Read the book before you see the movie. The book's always better. And 2, How can a 23yo director "get" this story? Wishing you luck, Jennifer Lawrence... and lots of insight. 

The Beaded Moccasins: Thought-provoking, YA or not

Lynda Durrant's The Beaded Moccasins: The Story of Mary Campbell, classified YA (young adult) historical fiction, certainly makes a dandy diversion for young female readers - say, 10 and up - and a lovely choice for parents (ok, Moms) to read aloud to their daughters. But if you like US Colonial history, or wish to think deeply about what family is and what that means, don't look for a preteen excuse to read this book. March right up to the library shelf and grab it.


The story in a nutshell
Taken captive on her 12th birthday, the book follows Mary as she walks from Eastern Pennsylvania to the banks of the Cuyahoga River with the Delaware tribe who planned to make her one of their own. Along the way - for more than a year - Mary struggles with what family is, and what it means to be who she is. The author carefully tells a tale of assimilation and growing up, brilliantly blended into the historical backdrop of colonial expansion. The story is gripping and well-told; the author's excellent research provides an accurate setting and many exquisite details.


Field Trip with the Author!
Lynda Durrant will be on hand to chat with hikers, historians, writers, and just plain ol' fans at Mary Campbell Cave, in Gorge Metropark on Saturday, October 22. We'll meet at 11am at the marker to the cave, and once we're all talked out, I plan to hike the park's namesake trail - it's a beauty. Won't you come, too?  Don't miss your chance to get even more insight into Mary Campbell's experience, a fascinating era in US history, and a little exercise on one of NE Ohio's prettiest trails.

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Attention book clubs: I've always thought this title would be the perfect selection for mothers and daughters to read together; it's certainly ideal for moms, in general, and it offers a great historical perspective on parenting.