The first thing I would say is that this book is very US based. As a mum of 4, I found it was not as useful as I hoped with very few new ideas that you wouldn’t find online. I do however think it might be useful to a new parent but with the warning that it is more ideal for someone living in the US.

This book is full of ideas for living a fulfillingly creative life as a family, incorporating creative, artisitic, and connecting rituals and activities into the daily and annual family rhythm. Soule's gentle language hearkens back to a simpler time, but her suggestions are firmly rooted in today's realities. Her obvious joy in her family is infectious, and the ways in which she celebrates the creativity of her children without shortchanging her own creative impulses is inspiring. This book will resonate with many modern parents and grandparents, and is an excellent addition to most public library collections.

The book is a really lovely book to dip in and out of. I’ve been reading it over the last few weeks and it’s a great way to spark and nurture your family’s creativity – a real guide for making creativity an intentional part of everyday life. There are some things we already do but lots to take on board and adopt for our family. I love making new family traditions but this book is more than that, it really is ideals to live by.

For me the content was very unoriginal, it had the same tired ideas as most similar titles in this genre. I would have liked to see new ideas, or even a new spin on old ideas but sadly that was not present.

Another slight departure from my usual genre, The Creative Family Manifesto caught my eye by it's title and description:
Spark and nurture your family's creativity--a guide for making creativity an intentional part of everyday life. When you learn to awaken your family's creativity, wonderful things will happen: you'll make meaningful connections with your children in large and small ways; your children will more often engage in their own creative discoveries; and your family will embrace new ways to relax, play, and grow together. With just the simple tools around you--your imagination, basic art supplies, household objects, and natural materials--you can transform your family life, and have so much more fun!

I was truly excited to get into this book and see what kind of suggestions it had as we are a pretty creative family and for years have embraced a "family night" in which we take turns coming up with activities/games or a themed evening of activities which have to be cheap or free. My girls are teens, so I knew some of it might not apply as much of their childhood has passed, but I was still hopeful for a few new ideas. Unfortunately it didn't really meet any expectations I had going into it.

It's an interesting and well-written book, and if you're just starting out as a new family that has a tendency or interest in doing life similar to the Amish, then I'm sure you'd be thrilled with this book. Even if you're a family that is completely plugged-in and tech heavy, it would be a good read to remind you that getting off devices and purposely taking time to "create" is so beneficial to the mind's development.

I think I was hoping for something with some photos, or instructions or, I'm not really sure, but I should've taken a cue from the simple hand-drawn cover that this would be a "back-to-our-roots" kind of book. Again, not bad, just not what I was looking for. It was also fairly short, but that would be due to the fact that it's mostly just a bunch of suggestions for ways to be creative, but not much instruction.

A few of the ideas that caught my eye:
Building Fairy Houses (in a park, backyard, just out in nature)
Individual Children's Albums
Adult Art Night - not a competition, just fun creating and enjoying each others' company


I'm sure the author realizes this book isn't for everyone and is just trying to inspire others to at least start. Start small and then add one more thing, then one more and pretty soon, you'll be amazed at what your children are capable of creating/imagining and you might surprise yourself!

As a Christian, I had a hard time with the emphasis on celebrating seasons and nature, rather than God and His magnificent creativity, but most of these ideas would be easily adaptable to your own family's beliefs and celebrations.

This book is part reference, how to, a story. It's a lovely book to add to any families collection of home/parenting/lifestyle books.

My child is too old to incorporate the children lessons and creative ideas but I have young children in my home often enough that having the book handy is a lovely idea. The book is written in four sections, gathering, playing, living, and connecting.

Maybe you are just discovering Amanda Soule or like me you starting lurking back in the days of blogs long before Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Like her family, her books have grown and matured and this new book is her best one yet. At a time when media distracts and busy lives scatter us, what holds us together as a family and what are we committed to for our own families manifesto?

I enjoyed many of the ideas in this book. The focus is around connecting with one another through creative activities amd reflection. It includes small tips amd steps anyonr can do to incorporate more creativity into their lives and families.

Many of the tips are things we already do in our family, but others were fun sounding new ideas we look forward to trying.

I appreciated that this book includes activities which are seasonal without being religious.

The Creative Family Manifesto, by Amanda Blake Soule, gives us as a family inspiration to be creative by using our minds and hands. It contain many projects such as knitting, gardening, playing instruments and much more. It is a refreshing book for the uniting of families again as in the past of making and sharing together their creativity. Technology is taking away the family closeness. This book gives us a push in the right direction of having healthy and fun family interaction through creativity. The author reminds us to just look at what and how our children create. It is a beautiful thing to see the wonders of our children's minds. A must have for every family, school, and library.

The Creative Family Manifesto, by Amanda Blake Soule, shares the creative life and aims of a family inspired by doing and making, and growing their talents from the ground up. It is rather reminiscent of Little Women in a modern setting, or perhaps Montessori grown up and gone wild as the family from the youngest through the adults express themselves in every creative and innovative way possible. Knitting hats, whittling wood, gardening, playing instruments, expressing love in real and tangible yet creative ways. It is idyllically idealism, making the best things out of life through simple things. It is what has been lost in life through our drowning in technology and digital landscapes that fill our brains and imaginations. Living in a virtual world is never a replacement for the lost art of living. Put down your electronic gadgets and pick up a pen, a paintbrush, an instrument. Do something and let your creative heart and being soar. The author reminds us "Stop and watch your children often. Really stop and watch, and you'll see them using such creativity in everything they do..."
This is not so much a "How to " book, as it brings reason as to why to do and make and live. There are ideas to try, and reasons why, inspirations to find and inspiration to give, games to play, and so much more. This book is perfect for public libraries, especially for your parenting or homeschool collections, and for gift giving.

Old and new ideas to play with kids, mostly outdoor but even inside. Sometimes I wonder what to do with my kid but it's not easy to find a solution, so this book offers an easy way out to escape the usual tv and videogames. But I have to admit that mostly my preference goes to books.

Nuove e vecchie idee per giocare con i bambini, principalmente all'aria aperta, ma anche in casa. Spesso mi chiedo cosa fare con mio figlio e non é facile trovare soluzioni innovative, mentre questo libro offre parecchi spunti per ovviare alla solita Tv e videogiochi. Resta comunque il fatto che se mio figlio é d'accordo, i libri sono sempre la nostra prima scelta.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!