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May 15, 2011

Skylar rated it:

This is typical sentence from Last Child in the Woods: "he offered no academic studies to support his theory; nonetheless his statement rang true." That about sums up this book: it's not empirical, but, nonetheless, it rings true—more or less.

Full review here.

5 comments like (13 people liked it)

Feb 24, 2008

Nicole rated it:

I would give this a 3.5 rating if I was allowed.

After that caveat, I have to say that overall this book left me feeling sad, a little hopeless, nostalgic, grateful, and angry. I had a childhood spent outside; in the fields and woods behind our house and on camping and fishing trips with my Dad. I know how formative these experiences were to my personality, spirituality, politics, and attitude about so many things. I have always pictured my child/ren having a similarly intimate r More...

0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Apr 11, 2008

Nell rated it:

The idea that struck me the most is that it is not just good for children to be outside in the grass, in the trees, in the creeks, wandering and unstructured--it is vital, as necessary every day as is food, water, and sleep. The accounts of how disconnected today's society has become from nature were dispiriting, although there were also many examples of communities and schools striving to reconnect children to the natural world. I also enjoyed the arguments against several things that drive me More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Apr 02, 2009

Audrey rated it:

This book has been criticized because it doesn't really offer empirical evidence, but I think for those of us who spent time wandering the woods (we had 40 acres that I knew like the back of my hand) as kids, we know what a gift that outdoor time can be for kids. That's why this book is a must-read for parents and educators, I think -- to remind us of what's out there and possible and what we've forgotten. It may be that "nature" therapy can work as a form of behavior therapy for ADHD More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2011

Tim rated it:

What a significant piece of literature.

At first glance, and even through the first chapter, one could confuse Louv for an overaggressive hippie whose soul purpose is to let mankind wander barefoot while living solely off fruits and berries.

Instead, however, Louv has masterfully woven together monster topics such as parenthood, education, diet, relationships, and even religion--all in one book. This book should be read by all human beings, and I do not mean that in a hyper More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2010

Debbie rated it:

Charlotte Mason got it right. Children need the outdoors.

It turns out the outdoors also need children. Richard Louv points out the incongruity behind the environmental extremists who want to set aside nature without allowing mankind to interfere, and the fact that our children aren't experiencing nature first-hand, since they aren't getting the chance to play, live and explore the outdoors unencumbered by interfering adults. This, he says, results in children who have no love for nat More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2008

Cynthia rated it:

This one is a must read for anyone with children of their own, children in their life, teachers... Actually this is for all humans who grew up with or without nature...
It shows the shift in how children were relating to the outdoors 40 years ago and how they are today. It explores the effects that technology and too much time inside is having on young lives and on the life of the planet.... It is hart warming and funny, it will bring you to tears and make you get outside yourself and take More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Aug 13, 2008

Mehrsa rated it:

I think every parent and educator should read this book or at least hear the thesis and give it some thought. The point is that children need nature--especially free play where they can roam and discover and create in the wild and that we, as a society have instilled too much fear of nature in our children and also outlawed a lot of free play and the changing landscape and culture have moved children into cities and away from farms.

The author also claims that this "nature-defi More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2009

S. R. rated it:

Now, any book that insists kids should be spending more time playing outside than in front of a screen is, in my case, preaching to the choir. I don't need to be convinced. I need data and ideas and backup.

Louv makes many interesting observations and provides some references to research that supports his claims, but not much in the way of in depth examinations of those studies. (I am a skeptic even when presented with data that backs up my beliefs.) I would have liked to see more of More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 11, 2008

Tony rated it:

A book I strongly recommend, although I wish the information/research/extrapolation was farther long the developmental cycle. In a nutshell, the author coins the term 'nature deficit disorder' was some sort of easy-to-use term to somewhat anchor his still developing notions that children need unfettered time in un-organised nature. They need to be able to play in the margins, where the truly interesting stuff is happening (one study among scant few mentioned [for reasons that I will discuss late More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 04, 2008

Christina rated it:

I mostly read the middle, since I don't need to be convinced that significant exposure to the natural world is essential for kids, or that there is less of it today than there was a generation or two ago. The back of the book promised to provide "solutions" and I wanted to see what those would be.

Lots of recommendations for what changes the author would like to see made to the school/education system (pre-k through college), to how we build our cities/towns, and to how our More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Annalisa rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself analyzing the way I interact with nature and the encouragement I give to my daughter to do the same. She's not really a play in the dirt kind of a girl and when she told me she was bored on a sunny afternoon a few weeks ago just after I started this book I told her to go outside and play. I looked out the window a few minutes later to see her lying in the grass reading and had to laugh that she wasn't technically playing outside. At least she was feelin More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2007

Kim rated it:

As a reader, a would-be environmentalist, and a mom, I felt like Richard Louv was writing this book for me. Like so many other former kids who remember lazy days of running free through the woods, wading in streams, and catching toads and butterflies, I am saddened by our current video-game culture in which kids have more electronics than they know what to do with and yet are utterly bored (I have a teenage nephew; I've seen it with my own eyes). I hate the fact that parents can no longer let th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Carrie rated it:

I feel like this is a book every parent should read. Personally, I ate it up because he explained in words what I have always felt and wanted for my children. He does back up some of his ideas with research, but also with a lot of anecdotal evidence. I did a lot of underlining and I like to keep the book handy to remind me to make sure my kids get dirty during plenty of unstructured outdoor time.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 27, 2007

Joy rated it:

I picked this book up at Mt. Rainier while I was waiting in line to pay for a National Park passport for Rebecca. One of my biggest struggles living in Indiana has been having the knowledge that outdoor opportunities for Rebecca are much more limited in scope than that which I grew up with. The environmental ethic is much different and ultimately I want more for Rebecca than what she is being exposed to. I've tried, to the best of my ability, to provide her with opportunities and think given my More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2010

Brooks rated it:

Validation of all the horrible things I do to my kids. A bit too much on the theory and environmental activitism, but some good practical ideas. Basically, we all need nature to keep ourselves calm. Autistic kids may do better with more time in nature. A lot of "when we were kids" we were outside all day and we were better for it. A lot of theories that outdoor time stimulates all sorts of other skills in science, SAT scores, and math. Some of the actual practical ideas...
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1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 18, 2009

Keith rated it:

With its heart in the right place, this book needs an editor--it reads like a rambling, book-length review article. I don't dispute the message and there were nuggets of interest (how do we allow for rambunctious play that doesn't hurt habitat?). However, if I were against this or didn't believe the premise, I don't think Louv would have changed my mind. He doesn't makes a strong argument (the evidence is circumstantial and sentimental)--just a long one. You don't need to read this book to k More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2008

James rated it:

A little long-winded, but this guy reminded me of how fortunate I was to grow up with a cabin in the woods, to have gone camping, to have caught frogs and followed streams and examined plants and animals. It's also a wake-up call to parents who are afraid to let their kids explore the woods alone (they might get a scrape or even break a bone! damn), or stress their children out with organized sports and structured activities and don't foster curiosity with (and thus a penchant for) the natural s More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 11, 2010

Erica - rated it:

After attending a lecture by a law professor who is interested in land use and how cities are planned and how this effects children, I decided I need to read this book. It's a bit dense but listening to it as an audiobook has made the material fascinating and quite enjoyable. Though I'll admit at times I had to take a break and come back to the audiobook. Some areas of the book were more dense than others and I'm hesitant to recommend it to friends.

All too often I see kids in the library who do More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Okay, actually I read most of this book last year, but then it disappeared mysteriously -- until I finally discovered it behind the couch! It took a while to get back into the train of thought I'd left weeks (months?) ago, but I was very glad to finally finish it.

This was a life-changing book in many ways. It was one of those perfect books just two steps ahead of the reader's brain -- I was more than ready to agree with nearly everything contained within. And that covers a lot of groun More...

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Feb 12, 2009

Nikki rated it:

Although there were probably flaws in this book and in some of the author's arguments and suggestions, I gave it five stars because I think it's an important topic that was reasonably well addressed. Even as a fairly sedentary child who loved to read above all things, I spent plenty of time outdoors, climbing trees in the swamp behind our house, imagining on the rocky beach of Long Island Sound, throwing sticks for my grandfather's dog to catch.... My own children had more freedom than many in t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Anthony rated it:

This book is important. Important enough that it was the talk of the ANJEE (Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education) conference at the beginning of January. Important enough that Randy's Books, the main bookseller at the conference every year, sold out on day one and the rest of us had to mail/back-order it from them. Important enough to bring one teacher at the conference to declare: If you teach children, you need to read this book; if you have children, you need to read this book; if More...

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Jan 04, 2012

Lisa M. rated it:

It was taken for granted by generations past that all children would have the opportunity to experience a childhood full of natural and outdoor play experiences. This is why, according to Louv (2005), we do not have older data and evidence based on longitudinal studies to compare today’s children to, and therefore, do not have much by way of scientific research backing up the arguments that he makes in his book. Louv (2005) also notes that presently research continues to be slow to come because More...

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Nov 08, 2011

Joy rated it:

A scientifically and anecdotally researched look into the lack of connectivity between contemporary people and natural environments, and the effects that seem to accompany this breach between man and nature. Specifically explored are the correlations between nature-exposure in youth with general emotional and mental development, and the corresponding deficits that are accompanying many of this generation who have little contact with the natural world.

This is a fascinating subject, but More...

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Sep 09, 2011

Jen rated it:

Richard Louv doesn't pull any punches when he describes the growing distance between today's average American childhood and the direct experience of nature. Screen time takes up increasing amounts of our children's time, often to their detriment. Whether in terms of academic achievement or physiological and emotional health, studies show that the direct open-ended experience of nature confers innumerable benefits to human beings of all ages. Unfortunately, our children are growing up in a world More...

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Jul 20, 2011

Anna rated it:

"Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv is a must read. I whole-heartedly recommend this important book! The first time I heard Richard Louv was at a N.A.E.Y.C. conference where he spoke about "the nature and child reunion" and I was so inspired by him. This book reminded me how important being in nature is for my physical, spiritual and mental health. This book has re-opened my senses to the truth that I am a part of nature and even though I live in a city, I have th More...

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Apr 09, 2011

Jeffrey rated it:

Do not let the title of this book deceive you. Your children do not suffer from "Nature-Deficit Disorder." In fact, Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, admits his unease with the appropriation of medical science jargon, but says that â€œparents and educatorsâ€ understand the term very clearly.

Unfortunately, that alone does not justify such disingenuous, hyperbolized nomenclature. It does, however, set the tone nicely for his argument that the senses of young Am More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 02, 2010

Becca rated it:

This was another book that is based on a great idea that I believe in, but didn't hold my interest. I felt like the author kept leading me along, implying that there was something interesting or substantial coming ahead but it never arrived (at least, not in the first half of the book).

The book talks about how children don't have unstructured outdoor playtime anymore and what impact that may have on them. The author explores many different aspects of this, but everything in the boo More...

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Jul 10, 2010

A rated it:

In choosing to read this book, I had hoped to get more encouragement and impetus to continue to expose Grace & Ian to a lot of outdoor time. The book delved into so much more than merely "saving our children from nature-deficit disorder." I guess a lot goes into such a lofty goal.

I didn't need to be convinced that time spent outdoors is invaluable for children. I already know that. What I didn't realize is that many roadblocks to this end have been put in place by our soci More...

0 comments like

May 12, 2009

Deanrx rated it:

I would agree with what others have posted. Louv makes some compelling arguements, yet fails to back it up with sound data (mostly because little data exists). Also, while I agree with what he terms "Nature Deficit Disorder", I believe he stretches the positives of unstructured natuer play a little too much. Additionally, his bias is evident in that some outdoor activities seem to less desired (i.e. hunting) to others (i.e. building tree houses).

I do, however, agree with More...

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