Book Review :: Making a Family Home by Shannon Honeybloom ::

Making a Family Home

Written by Shannon Honeybloom
Photographs by Skip Hunt
Published by SteinerBooks
Copyright 2010
88 pages

"The domestic arts - cooking, baking, cleaning, making, and so on - are central aspects to creating a living, artistic home atmosphere.  Natural materials - wood, stone, cotton, wool, silk - help to keep children (and adults) in touch with nature and natural processes.  Attention and consciousness toward our inner life keeps us striving as individuals."

Publisher's Summary:  Making a Family Home is a book of real beauty, both personal and universal.  In describing her home and family life, Shannon Honeybloom shows how she made - and how we can make - a house into a real home as she shares her own efforts, hopes, and lessons in making a safe and healthy home that provides warmth and intimacy for the whole family.

Illustrated in color with lively, evocative photographs, Shannon invites the reader into her home and offers warm encouragement and practical suggestions for virtually every aspect of bringing love, comfort, and beauty to a family home.  The chapters in Making a Family Home range from "At Home with Children" to "The Front Porch," from "The Playroom" to "The Backyard and the Garden."

Shannon Honeybloom is a friend and confidant who offers gentle suggestions and wise insights for parents who wish to surround their family with the best possible home environment.

Mary Elizabeth's Musings:  The minute I received Ms. Honeybloom's gorgeous book in the mail for review, I have to admit I knew I would love it! The warm, inviting cover instantly beckoned for me to sit down with a cup of hot tea, get comfortable, and enjoy a lovely read.  Ms. Honeybloom's personal, yet elegant writing style combined poetically with Skip Hunt's delightfully colorful photographs.  Truly, this book was the gem I had expected!

Ms. Honeybloom graciously invites us into her entire home, kindly walking us through every room, every corner, and every aspect of her family's domicile to show how she has made a beautiful place for her children to call home.  Utilizing the Waldorf approach to child-rearing and homemaking, which emphasizes a variety of natural sensory experiences, Ms. Honeybloom offers gentle musings of how to integrate this amazing approach into the life of the home.

Mr. Hunt's photography allows us to fully engage in our visual awareness, as his unique vision through the photographic medium helps us feel at home with Ms. Honeybloom and her family.  With gentle, warm use of light, Mr. Hunt captures the intimate feeling of hearth and home conveyed through Ms. Honeybloom's prose. 

Ms. Honeybloom has created an absolute joy of a book in Making a Family Home, and generously invites all of us to share in that creation through our homes.  You will truly do yourself, your home, and your family a favor by reading this book and implementing Ms. Honeybloom's approach to homemaking and child-rearing.

** To find out more about the Waldorf approach, visit Why Waldorf Works. ** 

** I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Honeybloom for the chance to read and review her wonderful book.  I would also like to thank her for allowing me to feature her on my little blog this past Tuesday.  In case you missed my interview with Ms. Honeybloom, just click here! **


As always, extending ten thousand ((hugs)) to you,