Customer Reviews

Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was loaned this book by a mother of eleven, so I thought it might be worth reading. The book is written by three homeschooling siblings: girl age 22, boy age 16, and girl age 12. They take turns writing on the same topic. The book is filled with humorous family stories which help to illustrate the points they are making. Their father illustrated the book, so there are plenty of homespun pictures to keep your interest.

The book begins with a general overview of WHY it is important to want to have your brother or sister as your best friend. When I began reading it myself, I thought, "Dull. Why doesn't this book move faster?" But, as I have been reading it aloud to my kids, I see that it moves just fast enough to convict, but not so fast to overwhelm.

The book continues with talking about how doing big things for God requires us to begin by doing "little things" for our siblings, how different people view the world differently, and covers the topics of forgiveness, humility, birth order, praising one another, and truly building friendships. It's a logical progression with more and more practical ideas as the book goes on.

The book is geared for a Christian audience, although not necessarily a homeschool one. It makes a great read aloud as you can read a whole chapter (long) or one of the three sections (shorter) or even part of the shorter sections each day. There are plenty of useful lists which you can read aloud to your children to help them to remember what it is that a servant would do, etc.

Once I finished reading my borrowed copy, I got online and ordered my own! I have seen changes in my children since we started the book, but it's not been a magic wand. Sigh. I wish I could get one of those from Amazon...

To negative reviewer: I am genuinely sorry you were offended by this book and there is no intent to offend with this review.

Obviously, you have every right to share your opinion regardless of whether it is fair to the authors' intent. But first, I would like to say, authors have the right to reflect their own viewpoint in their own books. I do not see that the authors of this book had any intent to deceive any potential consumers.

Secondly, the description (and editorial reviews included in the description) that Amazon provided for this book clearly show the intent and focus of this book is on building familial relationships through a God-centered perspective. I quote from the description given by Amazon: "The book is full of Godly wisdom". *And the product description and what is included on the back of the actual book (in case this book was not purchased from Amazon) states: "...the close relationship that God intends...", "...the treasure that God intended...", and "how we have learned to become best friends". In this last quote, the authors are sharing with us what has helped them. Apparently, they believe the way they became best friends was because of this Godly focus.

Next, six of the eight reviews written before your review was written, directly mention that this book has a Godly, Christian, or Christ-centered approach. Since your review was written for Amazon customers, I must assume that the reviews for this book could have been seen by you before this review was posted. The negative and seemingly scathing review seems to have been a little harsh and unjust considering the honesty of the authors and the audience they are intending to reach.

I really don't believe the authors were deceitful. Since, I have read the book from cover to cover, read all the reviews I could find for this book, and viewed the description and editorial comments, I think that this book is excellent. It gets right to the heart of our own self-centered attitudes keeping us from thinking of others as important. We have to put other people's opinions and views above our own and really be happy for them even when it doesn't seem fair. People can only be truly happy when they are not constantly thinking about how they can be happy and stepping on everyone around them to get to that "happy place".

It is my belief that we cannot be truly happy, genuinely get along with others in any situation, and teach children to do so without the help of God. As for getting along with others being "on the surface", we have to do what is right whether we like it or not. If I feel like stealing a car but don't because I know it is wrong and I don't like what consequences may come, am I then a thief anyway, or am I learning a strong moral value and putting it into practice? We do what is right before we feel like it, that is how we learn. Pretty soon, we really want to do the right and moral thing. I know in my heart that my attitude for getting along is genuine not a surface act, and I see a genuine attitude of concern in my children's faces toward their siblings and cousins.

Now about the book - Topics covered in this book that may help you decide if this is a book for your family are:

Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home: In Crisis
Why your own family is often your biggest struggle -
Would you like to get along with your family as well as you do with your friends?
Can you name six major reasons why most families have struggles?

Chapter 2: The Chance of a Lifetime
Your life work starts in your family -
Do you know God's first requirement for leadership?
Have you discovered how God is using your family as His training program in your life?

Chapter 3: Skunks and Mothballs
Looking at the future picture -
Do you know how to make a cat and dog best friends?
Can you name at least twelve benefits that result when brothers and sisters are best friends?

Chapter 4: Problems Come and Problems Stay
Finding the root problem -
How many conflicts in your family result from past problems?
What are three keys to forgiving when you don't feel like it?

Chapter 5: Peace Treaties in the Living Room
Healing hurt relationships -
If you could push a "restart" button for life, would you?
What type of person can apply the hardest chapter of this book?

Chapter 6: Home Survival Kit
The number one key to all relationships -
Would you like to know why you had your last argument?
You may have the key to your house, but do you have the key to your home?

Chapter 7: Oh Brother!
Dealing with "Brothers" and Sisters -
What should you do when your brother or sister is bugging you?
Are "automatic responses" good or bad?

Chapter 8: The Door to My Room is Locked
Three Life-Changing attitudes -
Do you know how to stop an argument once you are in the middle of it?
If you could see inside your brother or sister, how would it change your attitude?

Chapter 9: Too Big, Too Small, Too Short, Too Tall
What's your birth order -
Do you know the common weaknesses of firstborns?
Can you name five blessings that come from the youngest?

Chapter 10: Family Warfare
The amazing weapon called "praise" -
Do you know why this is a best-kept secret?
Are you pleased with how you respond to criticism?

Chapter 11: Did You Say "Friends"???
Practical ways to build a friendship -
Are you ready for a practical idea to help you get from "just getting along" to being best friends?
What does mountain climbing teach us about relationships?

Chapter 12: Are You on the Front Lines?
Having Family Ministry -
Do you know the very best thing your family can do together?
If you knew what God wanted you to accomplish in your youth, would you do it?

**One last thing about this book: There is no animal abuse in this book. There are some funny things that happened and some animal mishaps that are amusing, but those who have or are around animals know that some really bizarre accidents can happen that are not intended abuse by people! Animals can get into situations (of their own doing) that in no way reflect abuse or intended harm by the humans around them. By the way, the front cover shows a dog and two cats snuggling in front of a doghouse.

(I do not know the authors of this book and had never heard of them prior to reading this book. I'm just a mom with several children as well as nieces and nephews that I watch on a daily basis for various reasons. This book has been a wonderful help in their relationships with each other as well as my relationship with them. I cannot begin to tell you how many things come up in our everyday lives around here that are directly addressed in this book. What a BIG HELP to a very busy mom and aunt!!!!)

If you are a Christian family, especially, with more than one child, you need this book! My kids are loving this one. I read it aloud to them and they never want me to stop. The book is written by the children, for the children, so it speaks to them in a way that I can't. Excellent information, well worth the money - good buy!

I ordered this book thinking it would give ME some great parenting tips, but it has been invaluable to use during devotional time with the kids. It was written by kids, and our children really can relate to the way this is written and presented. Great!

This book is written by 3 brothers and sisters and gives interesting insight into how different we are from one another! THe book jumps around a bit, (I mean, it is written by kids), but it has sound advice about having a conscience clear of offenses between you and your siblings as well as a servant's attitude. I liked that it discussed birth order as well. I was afterward quite inspired to work on my friendship with my siblings and not just learn to "get along" but to truly grow into becoming best friends!

It is rare that I find a book that I keep going back to again and again, but Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends is one of those books! It was so well written, entertaining, encouraging, challenging, and full of great practical advice. My children and I have been gleaning nuggets of wisdom from the Malleys for years.

What makes this book so terrific, is that each chapter is applicable to every relationship, not just the sibling relationship. In every chapter find myself thinking of ways I can apply the Malley's advice in my own life. There are sections on sensitivity, humility, praise, forgiveness plus lots more. My favorite chapter addressed why it's important to pursue positive and Godly relationships even if the effort is completely one-sided. Each chapter is broken down into several sections. Each sibling writes a section from his/her own perspective, then there is a bible story used to illustrate the point and a self-assessment quiz.

Do yourself and your family a favor and buy this book!

This is one of the best books I have read in quite a while (and I read a bunch of books). It is not only practical for siblings but it is practical for all of us who live in a family (which would be every single one of us). We are reminded that we are to serve others -- and the "mission field" should begin in the home! We should seek to put others before ourselves -- and that includes our siblings. Basically they go through Christian virtues and remind us how we should be applying them to our families, which as they point out, we frequently fail to do. Oftentimes we hold our siblings up to a higher standard than we do our friends or even ourselves. This is wrong, of course. I found this practical in even how I relate to my husband, my own siblings, and my own children. This is a great book that I would recommend to any Christian!

I bought this book because I could see that my homeschooled 11 and 8 year olds were starting to have problems and conflict. I couldn't be happier with this purchase. The writing style is so entertaining that my children ASK me to read it to them. The practical advise is presented in a humorous way that can be understood by even the youngest family members. I have recommended this book to several friends and they have been as enthusiastic about it as I have. When we were finished, my children wanted to read it again. A great help in an age old battle!

This book was really fun to read. The 16 yr old boy was really funny. It really made me think about the future. I mean, I'm not getting rid of my 3 brothers any time soon, so I probably need to learn how to deal with them. It might be helpful if we can live together for the next 5 yrs at least without always biting each others' heads off.

My oldest daughter (age 9) has always been very selfcentered. Reading this book together has helped her realize the plan God has in her life with her little sister. Sometimes the lessons are not easy for her to swallow but she seems to understand them better after hearing from the Mally children.