READY OR NOT Preparing Our Kids to Thrive in an Uncertain and Rapidly Changing World

Narrator Abby Craden's vocal gravitas works well with this sobering audiobook about preparing children for 21st-century adulthood. Beyond her intuitive connection with every phrase and sentence, Craden's performance expresses Madeline Levine's altruism as faithfully as her desire to wake up parents who have fallen into bad habits or are unsure about what good parenting is. A psychologist and educator best known for her arguments against overparenting, Levine offers big-picture observations and suggestions that may seem overly intellectual at first. But Craden's performance softens the writing and helps listeners absorb the core message: Children benefit when parents are less anxious, less quick to protect them, and more accepting of their child's priorities. T.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2020]