Seeing Past Z: Nurturing the Imagination in a Fast-Forward World

By Beth Kephart

Book Overview

In gorgeous prose and through personal stories, Beth Kephart resoundingly affirms the imagination as the heart of our ability to empathize with others, to appreciate the world, and to envision possibilities for the future. The star of her story is once again her son, Jeremy (as in her National Book Award-nominated A Slant of Sun), now fourteen years old--a child who at first resists storytelling, preferring more objective and orderly pursuits, but later leads a neighborhood book club/writing group and aspires to follow Steven Spielberg into moviemaking. Embedded in the text and appendices are examples of how to inspire children to read, write, and dream.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393058824
• ISBN13: 9780393058826
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Every One's Imagination Needs Nurturing

Although cast more as an encouraging model for adults involved in nurturing and shaping children's lives and their imaginations, this is a delightful read for any age. We can all remember our childhoods. We all have imaginations that still need nurturing in a fast-forward world. And, we can all enjoy beautiful writing wherever we find it. I especially enjoyed her chapter, "The Stuff of Memory," which reads smoothly like a personal essay that reveals hints to twitch our memories and the telling detail. --Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

You can't go wrong with Beth Kephart!

Buy and read everything Ms. Kephart writes. No disappointments, EVER!!

A book to change the world

I'm not a teacher, or a parent--but I loved this book, and consider it extremely important. Disguised as a collection of some of the most lyrical and evocative essays you will ever read, this book is really the operating manual for a child's imagination. How to nuture it, challenge it, and importantly, give it space to flourish--how to let the life of the mind grow into a garden, and not a parking lot. Yet this is not a book full of instructions (although there are excellent and very specific guidelines you can use to start a reading and writing group for kids on your own)--this book is an open door. Read it, give it to every parent, librarian and educator you know--and next thing you know, we might have kids who will be brave enough and free enough to imagine our world into new wholeness.

An important, touching book

I read Seeing Past Z with excitement and envy. Finally, a book that puts words to so many of the feelings I have as a mother, aunt, and teacher. Beth Kephart reminded me how important imagination is to every day life, and she's given me a book I can share with friends as we struggle to raise our sons and daughters with care. We're always complaining about how competitive everything has gotten in our kids' lives. Seeing Past Z has given me a way to do something about that. Thank you, Beth Kephart.

A beautiful salute to imagination

Seeing Past Z is the author's account of the importance of imagination in child development. Given the busy schedules of children today and the enormous pressures to succeed, taking time for imaginative play and story telling is often not just overlooked but impossible. This beautifully lyrical book addresses the need to take that time and tells what can be gained. She makes important points thoughtfully and with beautiful prose. I enjoyed it tremendously.