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Summary: Inviting discussion
Review: I love this book. It certainly invites conversation regarding issues of control and freedom. Some adults may feel that this book is inappropriate for children because it will stike "fear in their hearts." I've had some very interesting discussions with students as young as second grade who were able to speak about their experiences regarding "control" and "freedom". As with most experiences, conversation helps students explore and clarify meanings relative to personal experiences. This book pairs well with other books such as "The Problem with Pulsifer."
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Summary: Great Discussion book
Review: I read this book aloud to my fifth graders. We discussed the book and the metaphorical implications. What does it mean to lose freedoms? Why are rules made? How does a child obtain more freedom? Do parents have rules that society sets? An excellent book if discussed WITH the children. It helps them understand society and how some of us are ready for some freedoms and some aren't.
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Summary: it's a metaphor, silly
Review: i think this book is really about people giving up control of themselves and letting the government "take care" of them.
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Summary: For Adults
Review: I was disturbed by this book's target audience. I'm a teacher and I believe that readers as young as those the book is aimed at are not mature enough and will get the wrong message. I think the message young readers will come away with is "Don't upset the adults or you, too, could be locked away in a box."The book jolted my senses and I kept thinking about it for weeks after I read it. The Box really speaks to adults and is a must read for anyone who works with children. It's a good book for psychology and philosophy students to debate. I think the book also addresses a common fear among parents with children like those in the story. That is: the powers that be (social workers, school teachers, administrators etc.) could meet and decide that the parent's child needs to be locked away. In light of the awful happening at Columbine High School there is a tendency in all of us to want to clamp down on youth at an eariler age and examine all of their psyches more closely; get the troubled ones locked away somewhere so they won't hurt anyone.
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Summary: Belongs in a box
Review: In Toni Morrison and her son Slade's children's book debut, they forgot that their audience is children and speak almost exclusively to the adults who will probably buy it. Shallow illustrations are repetative and droll, preachy refrain was tiresome to this adult. My children were bored too soon and so was I. Ms. Morrison is a treasure in adult literature. She should stick with her strength and leave this type of writing in its box.
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Summary: Thinking Outside The Box?
Review: Patty, Mickey and Liza Sue all must live in a big brown box with doors that open only one way because they "can't handle their freedom." Patty's infraction is that she went four times to the toilet and talked in class; Mickey hollered in the hallway of his apartment; and Liza Sue, who lives in the country, let the chickens keep their eggs. These three kids do good things, however. They fold their socks, hang up their clothes, do fractions and give up peanut brittle, for example. Written by Toni Morrison and her brother Slade and lushly illustrated by Giselle Potter, this little book sends the message that parents should let their children be given a chance to handle their freedom. What a wonderful lesson for parents to learn!
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Summary: To Free or Not To Free
Review: The Big Box - a nice metaphor for the process by which adults tend to stifle the creativity, energy, and innocense of our children by forcing them to conform to our orderly, "boxy" world. Instead of celebrating their feisty ideals and championing their crazy nature, the powers-that-be pride themselves on gathering to diagnose and treat them for it, as if it were somehow criminal. Kudos to Toni Morisson and her son Slade for their fabulous depiction of an area where awareness is the first step to an alternative solution for today's youth. Enjoy sharing this one with your children and get ready for some interesting feedback!
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Summary: A Provocative Idea With An Important Message For Adults
Review: The first few pages made me uncomfortable (I'm not sure why). Then as I read on, I found myself cheering for the children and their freedom. I began to love the words and the rhyme. It certainly resonated for me..having raised one child (now 30)who epitomizes the concept of allowing children freedom of expression. She has grown into a creative, fearless woman who is living her dreams. Parents should read this book alone,then again with their children, followed by discussion about the meaning of freedom. While I do not believe children should run the show, they do need an environment in which they feel safe enough to express themselves. This would be a wonderful book for the Montessori Schools!
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Summary: Not for 4 year olds
Review: The message meant more to me than to my young children. They didnt understand why the children were being locked in a box. They think playing in cardboard boxes is fun, not a punishment for exercising too much freedom. I could see using the book as a basis for discussion, but I think it may just scare children that they too could be locked up by their parents.
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Summary: Brilliantly insightful yet disturbing modern day parable
Review: The story seems to hit home, but hit hard. As an African American psychologist, who works in schools, I think that the 8-12 year old audience could be very disturbed by the imagery of being locked away, for mere exhuberance. But the story also oversimplifies the nature of emotional disturbances and behavior disorders, for which intervention is not just an adult world's attempt at control and conformity. If children can participate in making decisions in their life, and follow through responsibly, to their community, then their freedom is often their own. I think the political commentary is really directed at adults, and thus the target audience should not be children.
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