How to Raise an American: 1776 Fun and Easy Tools, Tips, and Activities to Help Your Child Love This Country | 
 enlarge | Authors: Myrna Blyth, Chriss Winston
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $6.31
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Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 105545
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 0.7
ISBN: 030733922X
Dewey Decimal Number: 649
EAN: 9780307339225
ASIN: 030733922X
Publication Date: June 24, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
“Ideas even the busiest parent can use to instill a sense of patriotism within their family.” ––Washington Times
Do you love America? Now, what about your kids?
How to Raise an American shows you how to make patriotism an important part of your family’s daily life, with engaging and entertaining ideas on every page. This practical and easy-to-use guide offers tips, games, activities, quizzes, and information that will help your children to become proud Americans, including:
•Dinner-table debates that will have the whole family talking
•Road-trip ideas that bring America’s history to life
•Books and movies that exemplify our shared ideals
•Inspiring stories of American courage, honor, and ingenuity
•Fun and educational ways to celebrate American holidays such as the Fourth of July and Veterans Day
Part discussion on patriotism, part American history primer, part activity guide, How to Raise an American will teach your kids to love and respect our country.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Worth Reading Even If You Disagree With Authors' Politics June 27, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
"How to Raise an American" contains many excellent suggestions for how parents can help their children learn to appreciate this country's many blessings. Part 2 of the book in particular rates 5 stars for all the wonderful ideas for celebrating the holidays, field trip resources, book and movie listings, and suggestions for "patriot projects". I wish that the authors had devoted more space in the book to this section as it's wonderful.
Part 1 of the book is devoted to the the author's diatribes against the forces they see as destroying patriotism in this country. While I'm certainly no fan of the elite media, the entertainment industry, ivory tower academics, and so on, I found their arguments to be a bit on the partisan side. Patriotism shouldn't be a conservative vs. liberal thing but something that we should all be able to agree upon whatever our political leanings. The authors should have striven for a more politically neutral tone because their message is too important. I fear that only those who agree with the authors' politics will read this book, and that's really too bad :-(
Let's agree that some people WANT to raise Americans April 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sheesh! I read some of the negative feedback for this book. It doesn't seem as though those reviewers really read the thing.
*****
The title of the book is provocative: How to raise an American!
If you think that is part of your job as an American parent, then this is a great book to help you out.
The authors start with the knowledge that American culture is geared away from patriotism. Even if you live in a heavily Mormon area or on an overseas military base (I have lived both places), you are likely to encounter folks ignorant of American history, if not outright hostile to America.
And if you have kids, who knows what they are seeing on tv and in school? Certainly the news media, Hollywood, environmentalism, and the music industry are not going out of their way to portray America as a good and decent place. Just the opposite. But people are turning away... network news is losing viewership, newspapers and magazines are in circulation crises, and anti-war films are bombing at the box office. People *know* this anti-Americanism is wrong and untrue.
So what to do?
Let's start there. The authors specify some textbook horrors of anti-Americanism, to get you thinking. They give plenty of examples of stuff you wish your kids were not exposed to.
And then they turn it around to give concrete examples of what to DO. How to engage your kids in discussions about what is true about America? How to plan daytrips and vacations that expose kids to American greatness. How to select books, movies, and music that instills a sense of pride and encouragement in American kids. Ways to celebrate holidays and get involved in the community. How to get kids interested in the biographies of great Americans. How to make being an American a thing... worth being.
Because let's face it -- America is a shining city on a hill. It is the last, best hope of mankind. I owe it to my kids to let them hear the side of the story they are not going to get from the media.
I think the best part of the entire book (and it's a good book!) is the section that goes state-by-state and lists five (often more than five) great American destinations. I wish I'd had this earliler -- my kids have already been to 20 states, and now we'll have to go back. :)
And my rationale for giving only 4 stars is... I wish they had more movie/book/web page types of selections for younger children. If you have tweens or teens, tally ho! This book is for you.
With littler ones, I would recommend looking at some of the Lynne Cheney illustrated books, like "Our 50 States" (really good) or "America: A Patriotic Primer" (really really good) -- the illustrations alone are worth the price of the books. Your big kids will like those, too.
 How to raise an American November 23, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I look forward to reading the book. I was bless to hear hear speak. She truly loves this country and wants young children to understand and be proud to live in the greatest country in the world. Everyone who has children should own this book.
Great Resource for Parents (and teachers) November 9, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I liked this book.
The first half of the book is devoted to telling you why YOU need to teach your children patriotism. Included are ideas to do so. Then, the second half of the book gives ideas on how to teach your children about America.
The first holiday mentioned was election day. That was lucky for me, I read it at the end of October.
Very liberal people probably will not like the first half of this book. However, this book has excellent ideas about what to do for your children, ie. dinner discussion ideas, places to visit, holdiays to celebrate and ways to do so, etc.
This may be the most important book published in years September 30, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
With a son-in-law still serving in the military after his retirement and a grandson having just graduated from West Point and going to Ranger school, imagine my shock to hear our 15-year-old granddaughter telling her brother that America isn't worth fighting for. I could hear her ancestors (who have fought in every war the USA has faced, beginning with the Revolution and French/Indian Wars) rolling in their collective graves. However, I'm smart enough to know not to argue with her. I have, though, been looking for a way to change her mind.
Then I stumbled on this book at the library. THANK YOU, Ms. Blyth and Ms. Winston. This is exactly what I need. Fortunately I love history, especially American history, and can easily take the projects and ideas in the book and develop them to fit our family.
Furthermore, I am relieved and encouraged to see that others have not only recognized the problem but have studied it and have found solutions to offer. It's always nice to know that one isn't fighting alone.
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