Customer Reviews

Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet

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Tracey Bianchi begins by admitting how far from green she was, leaving marinara and candy for the ants, broken branches, and toilet paper in her wake, a far cry from the Boy Scout motto of `leave no trace.` Tracey just as quickly tells how she became a green mama. Because she lives in a suburban area her book has a suburban flair; however many of her suggestions can be taken on by urban and rural households as well.

Tracey admits she owns a station wagon and only bikes for fun, her kids love fruit snacks with high fructose corn syrup and she highlights her hair. She is admittedly an average girl trying to make a difference in God's green earth.

It made me think, when Tracey stated that we are stealing from our children, and their children, when we drive gas-guzzling SUV's, and by taking more than our share of resources. I found myself highlighting ideas throughout the book; such as, on a hot summer day use a clean squirtable ketchup bottle to cool off with.

Tracey very eloquently reminds the reader that God created the world and would have us learn how to care for it. In order to help the reader become more eco-friendly Tracey has added what she calls "Green Steps" at the end of each chapter. These "Green Steps" are tips and ideas for your family to try. It's a way to decide what will work and what may not work for your family. I appreciate her honesty of what worked for her and what didn't.

Going green may seem like a difficult task, but as Tracey says, "Once you sniff out the scams and lock your loyalty into a few solid companies the green road is wide open, and getting what you need becomes easier."

Throughout this book, Tracey does not attempt to make you feel guilty, for what you may or may not be doing, she is simply giving suggestions and states that you should do what works best for your family.

This book would be a good addition to the library of a family that is truly interested in becoming better stewards of this creation that God has given us.

*Zondervan provided me with a free copy of this book to review.

Going green is a popular topic now-a-days. We're inundated with suggests for electric cars, getting new heat pumps, water heaters, etc, and getting rid of our old appliances and buying new "greener" ones. But sometimes our financial situation just doesn't allow that. So how can you go green without going into debt?

Tracey Bianchi has written this book for busy moms who want to make wise choices for her family - and makes simple suggestions for going green. Simple things, like reusing scrap paper for your to-do-lists or recycling your cans and bottles. But there are also more complex suggestions if you are already doing the simple stuff.

Ms. Bianchi includes creative tips and spiritual inspiration to help you make wiser environmental choices in the community, office, or at home.

GREEN MAMA is filled with suggestions, most of which are common sense ones. But they are shared with real life stories, such as the time Ms. Bianchi went hiking with a real eco-friendly man as their guide, or stories about her children discussing why trees are important. And Ms. Bianchi recognizes that not everyone will be able to follow all the advice. Such as, I live in a rural area with no public transportation and am twenty miles from the nearest grocery store. I won't be riding the bus or biking any time soon. But the tips are there in case you are in a situation where you might be able to use it.

I already incorporate most of the ideas into our lifestyle, and with homeschooling, that might make it a bit easier, since the children are raised with it day in and day out. But still, even if you don't do anything right now, there are things to try, and simple suggestions included in each chapter, as well as questions to answer at the end, with plenty of room to answer them. If you want to go green then GREEN MAMA is definitely a good place to start. Ms. Bianchi suggests borrowing a copy of this book so you don't waste resources, but I don't think the publisher would be behind that suggestion one-hundred percent. And since you might want to refer back to it occasionally, I suggest buying your own copy.

I read the book as a mama that was feelin' like I was pretty green. Whether it was inpsiring me to make more thoughtful purchases of coffee and chocolate, plant my veggie garden already, or to get rid of my kids plastic sippie cups, this book helped add to the list of ways to be more green. It goes deeper though. THe author does an amazing job of connecting us back to the reasons WHY to be green. It reminds us of our connection to one another from Chicago to California to Zambia and Haiti. How our choices and purchases can make a difference to each other and in a very larger and more importance sense, to God. In the most fundamental way, this book reminds me of how being Green is serving humanity, bringing hope, and honoring God.

This book is a great read! The author is humorous, down to earth and willing to share the best and worse of parenting moments. I think everyone can relate to something in this book. For someone like me that is new to the environmental movement, I believe that the book provides some practical, step-by-step ideas on how to begin to make changes. While each of us could do more to help the environment, the author honestly supplies some real life tactics, without making one feel guilty.

If you are looking for ways to make the earth a better place, this is a great book. The unique aspect of this book is the connection between environmentalism and Christianity. It is beautifully written and made me think about how preserving the earth is part of my faith and beliefs.

Also, this book really stuck with me. I actually removed a cardboard box from the trash can the other day and put it in the recycling pile. I am trying Tracey Bianchi! Thanks for a well-written book.

Really love this book! It's very practical and doesn't make you feel too guilty for not being able to do all things green - great ideas to incorporate into your everyday life! And it's good for more than just mamas!

In wonderful, readable prose, Tracey Bianchi articulates everyday dilemmas and global concerns. Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet is an incredible fusion of personal memoir, how-to-book, and ecological apologetic. A must-have for all who hope to bring deeper consciousness, faithful understanding to their citizenship in this world.

Green Mama is thoughtful, funny, honest and insightful. Not only will this book educate you about the green conversation, it will inspire you to make doable, sustainable changes that truly make a difference in the life of your family and people across the globe you've never met. My family lives more purposefully because of this book. Not to mention, it's a great read! Tracey's conversational style will make you feel like you're having coffee with a good friend, laughing out loud and learning a lot about life and faith along the way. Love this book!

Want to have a guide to help you be guilt-free? You may want to check out Green Mama by Tracey Bianchi.

Each chapter is devoted to how you can help "go green" as a parent with children creating chaos in your home. Yes it is possible to be environmentally friendly and raise kids.

At the end of each chapter are resources and tips in how you can practically go green. Bianchi calls these Green Steps.

I must confess that I tended to skip past what she wrote in order to read the steps at the end of each chapter.

You'll learn how to start small by taking baby steps toward your new greeness, and how to select certain types of material used in clothing. Ever heard of stainless steel sippy cups?

I think the biggest obstacle for a parent to go green is the labor that it would take to make these changes. It's just so much easier to purchase stuff from Wal Mart or Sams.

I loved the resources that this book packs. If nothing else, it's a good place to start and begin doing your own research in what you can do.

This book was provided for review by Zondervan Publishing

"Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet" is a helpful handbook for committed parents who want to work realistically towards an eco-friendly life style, involving their families and loved ones in the long term goal. "Green Mama" gets to the heart of so many dilemmas that confront all good parents in this daily battle. Frequently the best advice is to choose a simple strategy and adapt it to your family. Sometimes the "green" thing to do is to use what you have and just make do. Many inspirational Bible quotations stud the pages of "Green Mama," helping the struggling reader find center and focus and hope in the midst of discouragement and chaos. Humor helps, as always. "Green Mama": is written by a nonjudgmental mother who has experienced the crucible of daily parenting and is still willing to talk about it. The author takes to heart her lifelong responsibility to raise a family who care enough to learn to act as stewards of earth instead of mindless consumers and users. In addition, each chapter of "Green Mama" has a review section at the end called "your eco-examen for chapter __" which asks two questions, what green ideas suggested will work for you and which ones won't? Other resources are organized and presented in the Green Mama Resource Guide at the end of the book. "Green Mama" is a truly useful eco-educational tool that does more than preach to the choir; it gets to the heart of commitment and the reality of daily deeds of faith and preservation for the planet we are given.

LOVED this book. It was written from a Christian perspective though anyone can get great information from it. It did not make me feel guilty for not being as green as I would like. It instead gave me very easy helpful tips to start doing today. Very good resources also to refer too often.