Last Child in the Woods
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Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Fans of The Anxious Generation will adore Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv's groundbreaking New York Times bestseller. "An absolute must-read for parents." --The Boston Globe
"It rivals Rachel Carson's Silent Spring." --The Cincinnati Enquirer
"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth grader. But it's not only computers, television, and video games that are keeping kids inside. It's also their parents' fears of traffic, strangers, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus; their schools' emphasis on more and more homework; their structured schedules; and their lack of access to natural areas. Local governments, neighborhood associations, and even organizations devoted to the outdoors are placing legal and regulatory constraints on many wild spaces, sometimes making natural play a crime.
As children's connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attention deficit disorder. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade-point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that childhood experiences in nature stimulate creativity.
In Last Child in the Woods, Louv talks with parents, children, teachers, scientists, religious leaders, child-development researchers, and environmentalists who recognize the threat and offer solutions. Louv shows us an alternative future, one in which parents help their kids experience the natural world more deeply--and find the joy of family connectedness in the process.
- A Field Guide with 100 Practical Actions We Can Take
- Discussion Points for Book Groups, Classrooms, and Communities
- Additional Notes by the Author
- New and Updated Research from the U.S. and Abroad
Richard Louv is the author of nine books, including The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age and Last Kid in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life is his most recent book. He received the 2008 Audubon Medal for his books, which have been translated into 20 languages and have helped to establish an international movement to connect children and their families to nature. Rachel Carson, E.O. Wilson, and others have previously received the award. Wilson and Jimmy Carter are both former presidents of the United States.
Louv won the 2007 Cox Award, Clemson University's highest recognition for persistent success in public service, among other honors. Louv is also the co-founder and emeritus chairman of the Children & Nature Network (www.childrenandnature.org), an organization dedicated to connecting today's children and future generations to nature. Louv developed the term Nature-Deficit Disorder(R), which has since become synonymous with this critical issue. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, Orion, Outside, and other newspapers and magazines, and was a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribuneand Parents magazine. He is a member of the Citistates Group, the editorial board of the journal Ecopsychology, and has served as an adviser to the Ford Foundation's Leadership for a Changing World award program.
He serves on the board of directors of ecoAmerica, a climate change advocacy organization. He has appeared on the Today Show, CBS Morning, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, and NPR's Fresh Air, among other national radio and television programs. He speaks at national and international events on a regular basis. He was the plenary keynote speaker at the American Academy of Pediatrics' annual conference in 2010, and he was the keynote speaker at the first White House Summit on Environmental Education in 2012. He is married to Kathy Frederick Louv and the father of two young men, Jason and Matthew.
He prefers hiking to writing.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781565126053 |
| ISBN 10 | 156512605X |
| Title | Last Child in the Woods |
| Author | Richard Louv |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Algonquin Books |
| Year published | 2008-04-22 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |