Rating: 
Summary: philosophy?
Review: a woefully overdirective book that gives children a pre-set choice of answers rather than inspires them to come up with their own creative and reasoned responses. Would that the author had more respect for children's capacity to engage in autonomous thinking.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughts on Philosophy for Kids by a Philosopher Mom
Review: As a PhD in philosophy and as the mother of a two year-old, I was interested in finding a book that dealt with philosophical issues, but in plain language easily accessible to children. What I found was this book: David White accomplishes a lot in _Philosophy for Kids_. White discusses 40 basic philosophical questions you'd find in any introduction to philosophy course (like "Can you doubt that you exist?")and does it in a simple conversational style. Through these questions, White acquaints children with some key philosophical figues, enabling them to eventually associate major thinkers with the philosohical questions (and answers) that made them famous. He also encourages children to think about these issues themselves and develop answers of their own (perhaps different than those of the thinker). White does this through a series of discussion questions at the end of each issue meant for individual contemplation or group discussion. Finally, White provides a short glossary of important philosophiocal terms that can eventually be worked into the child's vocabualry as he/she matures. In all, White offers a great introduction to the world of philosophy for children of different ages. Depending on the age and intellectual maturity of the child, this book can either be a gateway into showing a child how to look at the world more deeply, or as a means to seriously familiarize a child with key philosophical concepts, persons and terms.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging Philosophers of All Ages
Review: I bought this book and several other "introductory" philosophy books to help me create a high school elective in philosophy. The other books I purchased used the traditional method of simplifying some of philosophy's abstract concepts, some better than others. But Philosophy for Kids is different in that it uses questions and clarifying exercises to help students (and anyone else who reads the book) to understand the philosophies and opinions that they already hold. After using this book in the classroom my students were able to find out just how philosophical they already were. This book does not have to be read from beginning to end, but can be explored by whatever topic/question appeals to the reader the most and then moving on to other related questions. Any reader, of any age, can get to know themselves better by reading this book. And isn't that one of the main goals of philosophy?
Rating:
Summary: philosophy?
Review: I have been looking for a book to get my middle school
gifted classes interested in talking about philosophical
issues and this is one book that I have found that addresses
that need. The actual organization of each section isn't exactly what I
would like, however. I think the students might be more
interested in a confrontational approach. What I mean by
that is that the book asks the question and then gives the
students some choices. It then goes on to explain that how you
selected your answers determines whether you think like X, where
X is a famous philosopher. It is at this point, that I would find it interesting to
interject some controversy. X thinks this, and here is
why, but Y thought this and these are the resons why they
disagree. I would also like more of the multiple choice questions.
The students seem to really like taking mini-tests to
see what they are like, e.g., if you marked mostly A's
you are an Aristotelian, if you marked mostly B's you
think more like Des Cartes. Nevertheless, I have found the book to serve its purpose.
The students are discussing philosophy and they are
exploring the fact that perhaps the teacher doesn't have
all of the answers. Maybe nobody knows all of the answers.
Maybe, even, they might get a chance to make up their own
minds. In that sense, this is a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: What makes a GOOD book?
Review: I have been looking for a book to get my middle school
gifted classes interested in talking about philosophical
issues and this is one book that I have found that addresses
that need. The actual organization of each section isn't exactly what I
would like, however. I think the students might be more
interested in a confrontational approach. What I mean by
that is that the book asks the question and then gives the
students some choices. It then goes on to explain that how you
selected your answers determines whether you think like X, where
X is a famous philosopher. It is at this point, that I would find it interesting to
interject some controversy. X thinks this, and here is
why, but Y thought this and these are the resons why they
disagree. I would also like more of the multiple choice questions.
The students seem to really like taking mini-tests to
see what they are like, e.g., if you marked mostly A's
you are an Aristotelian, if you marked mostly B's you
think more like Des Cartes. Nevertheless, I have found the book to serve its purpose.
The students are discussing philosophy and they are
exploring the fact that perhaps the teacher doesn't have
all of the answers. Maybe nobody knows all of the answers.
Maybe, even, they might get a chance to make up their own
minds. In that sense, this is a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonder-ful Resource
Review: I used this book to help me frame out the philosophy segment of my middle school gifted and talented class. The book is organized in terms of branches of philosophy: values, knowledge, metaphysics and critical thinking. Under each heading are thought-provoking questions that draw the reader in. Each of these is followed by a brief activity that links the question to kids' lives. After they are hooked in, the author explains the idea being discussed, and introduces the philosopher responsible for the idea. This structure of focusing first on the practical implications and then working backwards to the idea worked very well to catch and hold students' interest. The way the book is organized also makes it more flexible. Each question provides an independent lesson. You can skip around, and answer as many as you like. The length of each lesson also supports the ease of use, although with many you may want to extent it with the For Further Thought section.
If you want to try something fresh with your students, but philosophy intimidates you, don't worry. There is even a section in the back called How to Philosophize if you are not a Philosopher, which is loaded with practical advice, suggestions for classroom procedures, and specific teaching tips for each of the questions discussed. It even includes typical student reactions.
Overall, the students enjoyed the activities and questions in this book. It was not always easy for them to accept that there are no easy answers, but they were definitely engaged and challenged by the material. I found it to be a wonderful, helpful, handy, practical resource for introducing young people to philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: A well presented and mind-expanding educational resource
Review: Philosophy For Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder... About Everything! is an educational guide by David A. White (Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy, DePaul University) specifically for young readers and their teachers and homeschooling parents about philosophical debates concerning values, knowledge, reality, and critical thinking. Brief introductions to the teachings of famous philosophers throughout history, issues of basic logic and reasoning, notes and suggestions "for further thought" and more fill this unusually well presented and mind-expanding educational resource.
Rating:
Summary: Great Resource
Review: This book proved to be a great resource for my third grade "Philosopher Juniors." It was a great springboard. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A good discussion starter...
Review: This is an excellent classroom discussion starter which relates philosophy to kid's real-life concerns. There are multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter that hekp kids start thinking about the issues and discussion ideas. It is appropriate for kids as young as 8 and as old as 14.
Rating:
Summary: A good discussion starter...
Review: This is an excellent classroom discussion starter which relates philosophy to kid's real-life concerns. There are multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter that hekp kids start thinking about the issues and discussion ideas. It is appropriate for kids as young as 8 and as old as 14.
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