Big Ideas for Curious Minds
Edited by Alain de Botton
Illustrated by Anna Doherty
Great Britain: The School of Life Press, 2019. Informational, p. 147.
While most kids may not know what the word “philosophy” means, every kid knows how to ask questions. Big Ideas for Curious Minds encourages kids to “be wise” by breaking down some of the major questions about personal identity, human reactions, and the meaning of life which middle-grade kids start to wrestle with. Using a conversational tone, kids feel like they are talking to a friend about what’s on their mind as opposed to reading a textbook that talks at them. Big ideas from famous thinkers like Socrates and Immanuel Kant are distilled into catchy titles such as “Know Yourself” and “When Someone Is Angry, Maybe It’s Not You Who Is Responsible.”
This book approaches life’s major questions in small stand-alone chapters to allow kids and parents alike to read as much or as little as they want in a single sitting and invites reflection with list making activities at the end of some chapters. In addition, each chapter ends with a brief sketch about the thinker mentioned and helps kids see why their ideas are still applicable today. Beautiful illustrations throughout invite children to connect with big thinkers. Anna Doherty does a wonderful job of representing the thinkers as children so that kids can relate to them on a personal level.
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