Allen KleinReseñas

The overall premise of Secrets Kids Know is that as adults grow up we loose our joy in life. Which affects many aspects of our lives, from our relationships, to our careers and creativity. Mr. Klein helps the reader see a wide variety of things through children's eyes -- with his delightful insights, quotes, examples, and stories.

Each chapter (or secret as Mr. Klein calls them) is a breath of fresh air, here's a brief sampling:

Be a Beginner, where we see how the innocence of not knowing something opens us up to all possibilities - without preconceived right or wrong.

Be a Fun Seeker, in which we see how clowning around like a kid can be restorative.

Be Curious, which asks us to use curiosity to inspire our goals. The child-like question "are we there yet?" can be turned around on yourself "Am I there yet?" or your company "Are we there yet?"

Be Truthful, where we learn how to see things as they are, and the value of honest observation, unclouded by adult preconceptions.

Each chapter ends with a "Grow Down" (vs. Grow up) assignment -- more of a suggestion really -- such as taking a nap, blowing bubbles out the car window during a traffic jam (gonna try that one), or consulting your child-like instinct when making important decisions.

I fear I've made Secrets Kids Know sound simplistic -- it not. The author recognizes that adult pressures, worries, and crises can't be solved by being childlike. We can't always live in the moment, as if a three year old. Instead, Mr. Klein suggests that we incorporate child-like tendencies into our day-to-day thoughts and activities in order to cope with the burdens of adulthood, not to mention the nightly news.
Unlike some other self help authors, Mr. Klein is no egotist. He happily intersperses his writing with other's stories, quotes, and insights - often causing this reader to chuckle...

"One good thing about five-year-olds is they are always just a Krazy Straw and some chocolate milk away from the best day ever." Simon Cholland

While I won't be donning a red clown nose (something the author advocates), I did refresh my walking music with some Bee Gees, helped a neighbor's 1 1/2 year old with a chalk drawing on the sidewalk, and, yes, I'll be buying bubbles.

Thank you to Viva Editions and the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest and non-compensated review.
See my entire review and others at http://www.bookbarmy.com

This is the prettiest little book. The cover is a pretty peach, and the inside is all lovely peach and green ink. The quotes are completely unremarkable, organized into chapters such as "Becoming a Mother" and "I Remember Mama". Maybe that's because it's collected from a male point of view? I found it uninspiring. Maybe when I was pregnant or newly postpartum and totally hormonal, it would have meant something. But my children are older, and this book left me flat. Still, because it's so pretty, you could give it as a gift and it would be okay. I received it as part of the Early Reviewers program of LibraryThing.

I absolutely love this book! It's filled with tons of inspirational quotes that I can use at my work on a daily basis as well as for personal use. This one is a keeper!

Always Look on the Bright Side
Celebrating Each Day to the Fullest
by Allen Klein

This one was a blast to review. Just imagine opening up any one of these 190 pages and getting a short but sweet jolt of love, life and happiness from wise and amazing people some you will know and some you will not. I just had such an experience and loved every minute of it. The cool thing is I can open this great find over and over again and get just the right pick me up at just the right time. Many wonderful topics all with thought filled little pearls of wisdom. I would recommend this zippy little number to anyone wanting a sure fire way to look on the bright side. Thanks Allen, this was fun.

Love & Light,
Riki Frahmann

Perfectl gift for a new mom of a son or for Mother's Day. More for the coffee table than for substance but there are nuggets of joy in there that are pretty wonderful to read!

I enjoyed the short quotes being separated by subject and the broad sources that the quotes were taken from, including the occasional movie or show quotes. The only thing I wish were different is that during each section, the quotes that were similar in key words were not as powerful to me when grouped together as they were. I love when a quote makes me stop and think, and strikes my very core. Often times the first quote of similar key words did that, and the second one would have if it were placed a few quotes away. I'm sure there are a lot of people that do like that about this book because it gives it a sense of organization, almost as a subcategory would, but each individual quote didn't impact me as much as I thought it could.

Happiness is a craving we all have. But we can't sit and wait for it to come our way, just as the ingredients for a recipe won't magically appear. We have to make a conscious effort to go out and "catch happiness."

Many times throughout our day we are faced with something we want and we fulfill that want. We are thirsty—we go get something to drink. We are hungry—we go get something to eat. We want to write something down—we go get a pen. Happiness need not be any more complicated—if we want happiness, we must either go get it or create it where we are. Doses of inspiration and humor that gently and joyfully help us live more peaceful, loving, and fulfilling lives.

What a wonderful book and it makes a great addition to my library. Thank you so much for putting all of these positive and helpful thoughts and affirmations together in one place. I strongly recommend this book.

In honor of Mothers everywhere this weekend, I wanted to share a delightful little book with you. Even though it doesn't come out for a few weeks yet, you can always preorder it and have it shipped right to your mom and surprise her.

This book will make moms and kids feel appreciated and loved. It will make you laugh and make you cry. There are stories that will warm your heart and quotes that you will want to remember forever. There is even a section devoted to mothers-to-be. What a perfect way to celebrate a new mom in your life, but sharing this book with her. Even Grandmas would love thinking back on their motherhood days.

With a whole section devoted to Mother's Day, one that I found particularly familiar was:

The Mother's Day Muddle By Bruce Lansky
1. Your children serve you breakfast in bed on Mother's Day
2. They also spill coffee, burn the toast and wreck your kitchen.
3. You spend all afternoon cleaning up.

This book is a wonderful way to celebrate all the moms in your life. Remember to thank them this weekend for their patience, devotion, and love.

I had hoped that "Mom's the Word" would be filled with little stories and sweet thoughts about moms and motherhood, and that it would offer inspiration, but it is more of a quote book. Even still, it is not a very good quote book. When the author introduces the first section (or chapter) of the book with, "According to Wikipedia...", my stomach turned. He was looking for a source to define "motherhood", and should have used some sort of more reliable resource, in my opinion, or even his own definition; as this is a book of quotes, another quote is seriously redundant.

Klein has billed himself as the world's first and only "Jollytologist"; I would have expected something more fun than what is included in this book. Several of the quotes are just the wrong side of pithy or funny; here is a good one, attributed to Groucho Marx: "My mother loved children -- she would have given anything if I had been one." Funny, but not so inspirational (even though I love Ann Lamott): "It's so expensive and time-consuming to have a baby; you might as well keep hothouse orchids. At least you can sell them."

My last gripe is that the pages are sort of cream in color, with peach and teal type. It's a little hard on the eyes, which makes it all the more difficult to enjoy. I'll keep this one with my other quote books: nice as a reference, for when I can't access the internet (heaven forbid!).

A cute and giftable little book of quotes about moms. The chapters of different quote themes, such as Becoming a Mother or Mothers & Sons might be helpful if one were looking for something specific. I was afraid at the beginning that this would be one of those quote books where nearly everything is attributed to Anonymous or to someone no one's ever heard of, but a nice proportion are quotes from people you might actually like to quote.½

This would make s wonderful gift for Mother's Day. Everyone should read this book, because they will find themselves with some of the same thoughts that some very noteworthy people voice in this book. It makes you reflct on your relationship with your children and your mother.

This is a sweet book full of wise, humorous, pithy and some cute sayings. The authors range from the very famous to anonymous. This is the sort of book that you can pick up and put down easily anytime and not worry about losing your place or losing the thread. Most of the sayings are fun to read - I thought just a few were not great or maybe just didn't fit but otherwise I enjoyed this little book. It would make a good mother's day gift.½

Not a bad book. There were a few funny stories, which I repeated to my daughter. It's a compilation of quotes and anecdotes relating to motherhood. Many of them are amusing, or thought-provoking. However, many of them are also very old saws by now, and you are likely to have heard a good 20% of them before reading this. It might make a good addition to your Mother's Day present. I will probably look at it again from time to time, or give it to my mom. I'm not so sure I would give it as a stand-alone gift, though.

recommended for: those who enjoy quotes

I’m a sucker for quotes so I love this one. Divided into sections by topic. Quotes lofty & humble, serious & funny from a wide variety of people. Wonderful gift book.

Perfect for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays, or just days to say "I love you," which really is any day, this collection of quotes—some tender, some hilarious, and some just spot-on—is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. I love how the quotes aren't saccharine and try too hard to make love look like a beautiful, ethereal thing; Words of Love shows the ugly and the difficult—often in sardonic and humorous ways—which strengthens the value and worthiness of love all the more. The negative light shined on foolish first loves and on marriage is amusing—it doesn't deceive us further into thinking everything about love is wondrous, and it keeps the book grounded.

There are way too many analogies that I tired of after a while. It seems like people have a penchant for comparing love to random things, e.g. "Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new." If we're comparing loves to stones and bread, we might as well compare it to pencils ("Love is like a pencil; it always has to be sharpened and used") or bookshelves ("Love is like a bookshelf; it has to be filled or else your life will feel hollow and empty") or kiwis ("Love is as sweet and as sour as kiwifruit"). Some of them were just ridiculous.

I can't say I was highly touched by this book, but skimming through the quotes with a loved one is definitely a fun, meaningful way to spend time.

Pros: Vast array of different kinds of quotes // Witty, touching, and inspiring all at once // Doesn't idealize love // Well-organized into different categories, such as First Love, Romantic Love, and A Mother's Love that make it easy to find quotes

Cons: Some repetitive quotes // Overdone on analogies

Verdict: As wise at it is wonderful, Allen Klein's pocket-sized Words of Love will capture your heart and bring you back to your first kiss, first touch, and first time. This eclectic compilation of quotes on every type of love—defining love, falling in love, first love, romantic love, loving couples, motherly love, self-love, physical affection, the overbearing power of love, and unconditional love—is perfect for gift-giving or just to keep close for inspiration. Add this one to your bookshelf!

7 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): Not perfect, but overall enjoyable.

Source: Won from publisher for Valentine's Day contest.

Give Yourself or Someone Special the Gift of Postive Thought.

The title of this book really caught my interest. Who doesn't want to live a joyful life? And if you do why not do it with gusto. I think everyone can relate to that. With the author being a motivational speaker I was curious to see what she had to tell me. One concept I really like about this book is how it is divided into sections, like Arts, Creativity, Family, Nature, Pets, Friendship, Laughter, Beauty, Faith and a few more. Each section provides a collection of insight to motivate and uplift the reader daily, if read as such. I feel this book does just that and it actually has inspired me in sharing, which I do by placing the quotes in emails to others. Although I read through this book in a few sittings. I feel this book is actually meant to read slowly day by day and more so on those days when one feels they need a pick-me-up.

So does this book make my life more joyful? I believe for one to lead a joyful life one must work at it. Just like one must work on friendship, love and relationships. For this to happen one has to have the right tools to teach us and help us daily into implementing positives into our lives, and this book is a good start. I recommend this book to anyone looking for inspirational and motivational quotes and advice. It also makes a great gift for that special someone.

If you have lost someone in the past, this inspiring book is a must read.

If you need some uplifting words to help get you thru the day, this is the book.