Archive

Edited by Glen Miles and Josephine-Joy Wright.
Paternoster
ISBN 1842270605
£24.95

Here is a book to be deeply explored. It is a miscellany of international perspectives on the lives of children, stretching from the hard-earned insights of Keith White at Mill Grove to children at risk in Cambodia.

It is this international aspect that gives the book a vibrancy and fresh dimension, so often lacking from just a single perspective. Celebrations are, by definition, happy events and while there is much to celebrate in the experiences of those children described, there is also more to learn if we are to shape the lives of the next generation.

The book has an unapologetic Christian perspective and provides a synthesis of secular and Christian insights in key areas that affect children. Structurally it moves from children in their social and economic contexts, and how we listen to them, to resilience, practical issues involved in working with children, and evaluation and staff development.

The final case studies alone provide a rich mix of the difference and the transferability of child care across the globe.

For those who believe that the earth is not so much inherited from our ancestors as borrowed from our children, there is much to learn about the debt we owe them.

Chris Hanvey is UK director of operations, Barnardo's.