Customer Reviews

Knowing Me, Knowing You: The I-Sight Way to Understand Yourself and Others

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I recently reviewed this book for my homeschooling column on BellaOnline and was very impressed. It would make a wonderful textbook for a psychology class taught to teenagers. Not only does it travel back through the history of psychology, but it offers an easy and practical application. The book follows four very different teens through the challenge of working together on a school project. As we learn about the preferred interaction styles of the teens, we find ways to work with others who are different from us. The evaluation form to discover your preferred method of interacting is easy to do and points out that it is only a guideline, and also that people react differently in different circumstances. I was extremely impressed by this fun-to-read tool. Free Spirit books are always educational without being preachy or dull!

This book is right for kids who are very keyed in on themselves ... almost to the point of self-centeredness. It relies on Maslow's hierarchy of needs to induce children to be open to new ways of relating to others, and it uses quiz formats and questions to get them to see the world through other eyes.

It's ok insofar as it goes, but there's not much in the way of bringing out the best in a child within this book. It's more geared toward how to manipulate others by seeing their perspective and touching their hot buttons. In that sense, it seems disrespectful of other people and other styles of communicating.

We have enough of that in the world.

If your child really doesn't get that they are lucky and blessed and need to be respectful of others, then this book is an eye-opener for them. But it may not do much to turn that inner core of selfishness into better things.