Praise: The Blessing of a Skinned Knee

• The New York Times Magazine
  

  “The larger lesson is that children need to learn to fend for themselves…for the professionals who work with children—principals, teacher, camp directors, school psychologists—that lesson is worth the price of Mogel’s paperback.”

• Publishers Weekly (starred review)
  

  “[Mogel’s] thoughtful observations consistently illuminate and reassure. Impassioned, lyrical, and eminently practical, this inspiring volume is a real treasure.”

• Library Journal
  

  “Writing with great warmth and humor, [Mogel] gives examples from her own family life and those whom she has counseled. Highly recommended for all parenting collections.”

• Lisa Belkin
  —The New York Times

  “You don’t have to be religious, you don’t even have to be Jewish, to appreciate Mogel’s philosophy that allowing children to fall down and pick themselves up (with kisses as needed) is the way to raise resilient, self-confident kids.”

• Carrie Fisher
  

  “For anyone who has a child, was a child, or cares about children. Wendy Mogel teaches you how to raise a child to be a good person and not just raise a child to feel good. Great for the Jewish parent, great for the Presbyterian parent, the Buddhist, and even the skeptic.”

• Jacqueline Haines
  —Gesell Institute for Human Development

  A treasure trove of information for parents. Dr. Mogel’s personal and caring touch comes through clearly as she presents practical and useful suggestions for parents.

• Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin
  —Author, Putting God on the Guest List

  “Wendy Mogel presents us with one of the finest and most challenging books on parenting to emerge in recent years. In a firm and loving voice, she reminds parents and all those who care about children of the sanctity of parenting. Her blending of Judaism and parenting wisdom jumps off every page. I love her work—both as a rabbi and as a father.”

• Reverend Robert Thompson
  —Phillips Exeter Academy

  “While reading The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, I felt that I was being tutored by an elder in the ways of the world. As a Christian minister, I have found that our faiths have that relationship to each other. As a parent, I was encouraged in the very ways that our generation of parents is baffled. You have hit on all of the issues that are difficult: materialism, permissiveness, guardianship against the destruction of humane values, and preservation of sacred time and space in a harried, dislocated world.”

• Peter Cobb
  —Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education

  “Prophets call on the wisdom of a tradition, its revealed truth, to say out loud what we know but are afraid to utter. Wendy Mogel has issued a prophetic call to good parenting, one laced with psychological insight, practicality, and humor. Her words are themselves a gift of faith and a blessing.”

• Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon
  

  “We like the emphasis this book places on the parents being the center of the wheel of the family and the importance of raising children who appreciate their place in the world and their obligation to be mensches [Yiddish for ‘people of integrity and honor’].”

• Lenore Skenazy
  —Creator, FreeRangeKids.com

  “All hail Wendy Mogel’s Overparenting Anon list: Folks, Wendy Mogel got the anti-helicopter parenting movement rolling with her book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee. Here’s a taste of her fabulous list that I wish I had tattooed (just for the first 20 years or so) on my arm.”