Trophy Child: Saving Parents from Performance, Preparing Children for Something Greater Than Themselves

In this "Anti-Tiger Mom Book"%E2%80%94an allusion to the controversial parenting book by Amy Chua%E2%80%94Cunningham offers up a screed against modern-day "vanity parenting." As described by Cunningham, this phenomenon manifests as an obsession with a child's performance in extracurricular activities%E2%80%94one that ultimately defines worth based on the values imposed by parents and adults. Cunningham's book is designed as a guide to help parents raise their children not based on worldly standards, but on God's standards. It's difficult to be sure if Cunningham's prose is pedantic%E2%80%94but it certainly sounds that way in this audio edition, thanks to the slow, painfully overenunciated narration of Kirby Heyborne. His reading is so monotonous and precise that it's hard to imagine it appealing to Christian parents hoping to raise pious and faithful children. In the end, both Heyborne and audiobook sound disingenuous and affected. A David C. Cook paperback. (Sept.)