Title: The Pre-School Bite Book
Author: Mimi Soes
Publisher: Authors Press
ISBN: 978-1643143187
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoirs, Child Development
Pages: 26
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
The Pre-School Bite Book is a rather unique blend of factual child development behavior interleaved with the memoirs of the author as a teacher in the Los Angeles, California school district. Handling toddlers and Pre-K children has been dissected into many behavioral categories, peeling the onion so to speak, on the human instances of conditions leading up to a “bite event” – explaining the many scenarios of the “Bitor and Bitee.” Whenever the bite occurs, it is always immediately followed by an ear-piercing scream, plus often tears and a flurry of bizarre coping behavior of all the kids and people in the area. Yes, it is as common as a sneeze, known to the teachers and care-takers of these young kids as an unavoidable occurrence, complete with latten parental involvement criticizing the adult teachers with having a lack of supervisory skills.
Author Mimi Soes writes in a style more reminiscent of what one might hear in a presentation in front of a group; complete with simple illustrations of people and children by artist Cedar Plata, which add a depth of validity to the narrative. Mimi Soes drills in the point teachers and day-care givers are underpaid and overworked; describing the chaos which occurs during times of “peeing and pooping” accidents, clothing mix-ups, and the inevitable projectile vomiting which occasionally becomes a real mess to clean up. Yet she circles back to biting as the prime mis-behavioral aspect of her book’s dissertation.
One major reason for this violent behavior is “the line” kids place around themselves during playtime. For example, someone would may have completed building a thing with toy pieces, and another kid recklessly invades the other’s space, destroying the creation and causing untethered hostility and anger – even for a split second. Human emotions are powerful motivational forces, and toddlers do not yet know how to control themselves. Also, kids always put things in their mouths, and with their teeth growing, they don’t realize the damage a bite can have on their victim. (Or do they?)
At the end of the book, words of wisdom are generously quoted by famous people, each with significant impact as relating to the themes in the book. But the one which made me laugh out loud is the quote by the English poet John Wilmot. He said, “Before I got married, I had six theories about bringing up children; Now I have six children and no theories.” The good news is that this problem will be outgrown by all “Bitees and Bitors” eventually as they age up.
