Small Animals by Kim Brooks

SMALL ANIMALS is a newly released book by Kim Brooks from which she has adapted an essay, “Motherhood in the Age of Fear,” for The New York Times. That piece was trending for days so clearly the changing ideas about parenthood and the emotions involved are hot topics.  SMALL ANIMALS is a fairly slim text which begins with a chapter on “The Day I Left My Son in the Car” and goes on to examine the consequences for Brooks and her family of what a stranger viewed as criminally negligent parenting.  She shares her personal experiences, but also offers commentary and analysis on the anxious, overprotective, and often competitive parenting that has evolved in America. SMALL ANIMALS is not as much of a “hands-on” parenting guide as I had originally expected, but parents, mothers especially, will relate to many of Brooks’ observations such as when she had dinner with several childless women: “They had different kinds of relationships with different kinds of people. Their identities were still malleable, multidimensional. They were still, in some essential way, the heroes of their own stories.” Likewise, students studying authoritative, authoritarian, and indulgent parenting styles may find this text helpful (Brooks includes about six pages of notes and references) and an insightful perspective on questions of balancing freedom and control with children. Starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal.