Boys Will Put You on a Pedestal (So They Can Look Up Your Skirt)

By: Philip Van Munching

Narrated by: Philip Van Munching

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Life can be pretty tricky when you're a teenage girl. New things matter: Clothes. Parties. Boys. Suddenly being liked and being popular don't mean the same thing. Your parents get completely bizarre when the subject of dating comes up. A friend you've had forever stabs you in the back for no good reason. Everybody you know seems to feel free to comment on your constantly changing body. Drugs and alcohol go from being what you see "bad" kids doing on television shows to what you see your friends doing when no adults are around. How are you supposed to deal?

Since life doesn't come with a set of instructions, it helps to turn to people who have been through the stuff that you're facing. Even parents can help. (Really!) In Boys Will Put You on a Pedestal (So They Can Look Up Your Skirt), former teenage boy, and current dad of two daughters, Philip Van Munching helps guide you through some of life's most confusing topics. From Beauty to Grief, from Sex to Fate, Van Munching covers the things you most want to know about and, in his wise, warm, and funny way, offers advice on how you can become the young woman you most want to be.

©2005 Philip Van Munching (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Critic reviews

"Weaving together humorous anecdotes and sound advice, devoted dad Van Munching, whom Couric calls 'my personal Dr. Phil', shares a lifetime of wisdom for parents and their growing daughters in this brief book....While the book is geared toward daughters, the content is just as applicable to sons, and readers of all ages will find it a useful tool for opening discussions about life's difficult issues." (Publishers Weekly)

Well loved by my girls

We first got this book when my oldest daughter (now a freshman in high school) was in 5th grade. She loved it!! Listened to it over and over. Somehow we lost the copy. But my youngest daughter is now in 5th grade and we decided to get another copy for her. It's nice to have these books passed on between sisters.

We thank you Mr. Van Munching!

buyIT!

If you have daughters in this trabulent, principle hostile world, buy this book-book version or audio.
It helped me a lot explaining to my daughters what is going on in the real world and how they are supposed to related with it.
This book has been a tremendous collection of advice and counseling for young teen girls.

Practical advice to religious sermon

This book starts out very well. Philip Van Munching makes some great points and interesting observations. Then he begins to drop famous names and explain his own religious journey and biases in detail. It is clear that this author grew up in the Catholic or similar church and has a bone to pick with anyone who has strong religious beliefs. The last couple of chapters strongly advocate an "everyone is god" and "there is no absolute truth" viewpoint, and the way that Van Munching applies stereotypical labels to people with certain religious views is very out-of-place in a book intended for large audiences. This book that starts out with objective, practical advice for girls and ends with very subjective views on religion.

Preachy and hypocritical

My impression of this book:
"Hey girls, isn't it horrible that you are judged by a double standard and shouldn't we keep our mind open to all possibilities? Yep, that sure is a nice thing to say! Anyway, don't show any skin or cures or you're a slut! You can be any (monotheistic) religion you want (atheism doesn't count). And remember, if you get assaulted while drunk, it's partially YOUR fault."
Very out of date and judgemental to it's target audience. Avoid it.