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I’ve just spent several days off the grid on the Isle of Mull, one of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides islands. Some people actually do this on purpose. (Of course, some people answer their cellphones in the theater, perform as street mimes, or eat snails. This does not make it okay.) Those who know me can testify that I do not see any possible virtue in taking a holiday from the internet, and thus the past week’s webless-cold turkey must have resulted from of a series of catastrophic events. (Much blogage to follow!)

However, having just and finally arrived back in civilization, I’m going to approach the existence of Friday as more of a state of mind, and go ahead and post this week’s Friday Five Challenge.

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five challenge is to take ONLY FIVE MINUTES to browse an unfamiliar category and select a book based solely on the cover art.

Text from my daughter (who I was meeting on the train): Got us seats together. Next to baby. Screaming. As they do. 

She was easy to find because, even as we approached the train, we could hear the shrieks of pure fury. “That’s okay,” I said as we took our seats. “That means he’s tired and he’ll probably go to sleep.” I was right. That baby dropped right off to sleep—three and a half hours from hell later as his father carried him off the train. The rest of the time he screamed nonstop. His parents (deaf, stoned, or both) calmly ignored his wails the entire trip.

My daughter informed me that she would not be having children, and was seriously considering moving someplace where they weren’t allowed, like prison or the set of Inside Amy Schumer. I reminded her of an incident—actually, a fairly regular occurrence—where I had to tape a cookie back together for a heartbroken toddler. I’m fairly certain that I’m not the only mother who had to remove items from the tongues of sobbing offspring who had NO idea how that rock/sand/member of the insect kingdom ended up in their mouth. And I’m darn sure I’m not the only mother responsible for blighting their child’s entire future existence by looking at them/speaking to them in public/ existing.

So when I set my five-minute timer this week, I let my fingers head through Books : Parenting & Relationships : Humor and there it was: Reasons My Kid is Crying by Greg Pembroke.

Book blurb:

20131110-150252It all started when busy father Greg Pembroke posted a few pictures online of his three-year-old son, mid-tantrum, alongside the reason his son was crying: He had broken his bit of cheese in half.

This book collects together photos sent to Greg from parents around the world, documenting the many, completely logical reasons why small children cry. (‘I let him play on the grass’ …’We told him the pig says “oink”‘ …’The neighbour’s dog isn’t outside’). Together, they are both a fond portrait of the universal, baffling logic of toddlers – and a reminder for burned-out parents everywhere that they are not alone.

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK

Book Title: Reasons My Kid is Crying by Greg Pembroke

Price: $2.22/£7.81 (Kindle)

Reviews: 7 for a total of 4.1 out of 5 stars (with almost 72% as 5-star)

Pages: 160

imagesMy Analysis: The pricing is kind of weird. As far as I can tell, a new edition has come out in the US (at a jaw-dropping $10.41) so the earlier edition is only $2.22. Still pricey in the UK though. So here is the question I had to ask myself. I’ve just spent an afternoon in hell with a crying baby. Do I want to top that with money for pictures of more adorable but crying kids? Yes at $2.22 (and for regifting later if I handle it VERY carefully), but certainly not at the higher prices.

BUY or PASS:   BUY

Here is Rosie’s Friday Five Challenge. It only took five minutes and a couple more to write up, and was a ton of fun. I hope you’ll consider joining in. All Rosie asks is that you link back to her original post here so we can all join in viewing your challenge results.

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

Rosie Amber's Friday Five Challenge. Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes.

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five Challenge. Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes.

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

  1. Go to any online book supplier,
  2. Randomly choose a category,
  3. Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,
  4. Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.
  5. If there are reviews, check out a couple,
  6. Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?
  7. I’ll be back next week with another Friday Five Challenge, do feel free to join in.