Reviews & Awards

Book cover Kids in Musicianland by Karyn Rashoff, 2nd Edition

Karyn’s Second Edition of Kids in Musicianland: 5 Reasons To Stick With It – also gets 5-Star Ratings on Amazon.com!

Kids in Musicianland

With so many bad avenues for kids to travel down
By K. Allison Davison on May 4, 2016

This book provides encouragement for those with kids at the crossroads of quit versus continue on a musical path. First person accounts of the struggles faced to keep music in their young lives help kids to realize that they are not alone and most have had obstacles or discouragements along the way. With schools debating music class as an elective and cutting those programs, this book needs to shine. Personally, I was in choir all four years of high school and, while I didn’t have any interest in making it a career, that doesn’t mean it didn’t positively influence my young life. With so many bad avenues for kids to travel down, one would think that encouraging the continuation in positive programs is vital. Rarely do you hear someone in adulthood say they regret continuing a hobby but rather they regret giving it up so easily. I recommend this book to parents or teachers who can influence kids to follow their musical dreams.

Don’t give up…
By Beth Winterson on May 1, 2016

Imagine you are at a party where many successful musicians and a variety of musical professional are attending. While there you are having casual conversation about their musical life and mention that you have a child that is currently playing an instrument or taking voice lesson, etc. and they are thinking about quitting. What advice would they have to give you in order to help your child? This book feels a little like that.

“I want to QUIT!” This book uses words of successful musicians and a variety of professionals in the music industry. Their stories are meant to inspire young people to “stick with it”. Each story is different, each professional has a different background or way in which they stuck with it.

This book encourages them to get past their discouragements and rough times and instead gear up with mental tough techniques and love. These shared stories give an insight into others thoughts of giving up and how and why they “stuck with it”.

One lovely theme was “at some point everyone gets discouraged. It is a natural part of the learning process”. Ask yourself how making music makes you feel, and are you willing to go without that special feeling if you were to quit? If they truly love music, they will be willing to work through their discouragement. They should focus on the positive aspect of music.

There were great ideas like make personal goals and completing them. Often we get discouraged because we can’t see where we are going. Work hard at something, and the payoff is that you become better at it.

The author mentions a website in the book for parents who want to support their kids, but can’t afford lessons. This website invites people to do blogs which can be so helpful to those learning or needing extra help.

The target audience for this book would be middle and high school students that want to quit music, and even their parents to help understand that all musicians go through this frustration. There are helpful hints and ideas that others shared.

To read more reviews, visit Amazon Customer Reviews of Kids in Musicianland.

Be sure to visit the Kids in Musicianland website for tips, resources, and more!


Logo Paris Book FestivalThe results are in for the 2016 Paris Book Festival!

Karyn’s first book Parents in Highschooland: Helping Students Succeed in the Critical Years won an award. It was given Honorable Mention in the General Non-Fiction category.

Karyn Rashoff’s new book Kids in Musicianland: 5 Reasons To Stick With It won Honorable Mention in the category of Young Adult.


Rave Reviews and Awards for Parents in Highschooland!

5-Star Rating on Amazon.com

Awards for Parents in HighschoolandWonderful, must-read book for parents of teens!
By Nora2983 on September 28, 2014
Format: Paperback
What a book! Rashoff breaks down her advice into easy-to-read sections with real-world examples from parents and teachers on what worked (and what didn’t) when it came to raising their teenagers. I am keeping this book for years to come as my kids approach the high school and teenage years. So many lessons to be learned and creative ideas to try! Learn about NAGI, setting expectations on the grade/report card front, curfews, and understanding your teenager. Excellent resource for parents and even teachers/counselors!

Awesome Guide for Parents!
By Pammysue on September 11, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
This book is full of excellent information not only for high school parents but for all parents who strive to raise successful students I feel. The stories and advice given here from parents, students, teachers, counselors, and others are put together in an easy to read format. The thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter reinforce what the author is trying to get across with each section. “Successful parenting doesn’t depend on family income or the educational level of the parents. Instead, success comes from establishing and maintaining a consistent policy-one that both the parent(s) and student(s) fully agree upon-plus lots of loving reinforcement.” I definitely recommend this fabulous book to all parents. Thank you for sharing Karyn!

By T Thompson on October 9, 2014
Format: Paperback
WOW! Karyn Rashoff wrote an amazing book chock full of excellent advice to help both children and parents succeed in the difficult teen years. While this specifically addresses difficulties and solution for problems in high school, it also has a wealth of information for parents of younger children. I have an 8th grade student, and I wish I had the opportunity to read this book several years ago to help instill certain study habits when she was younger.

Advice is given in this book by many people including professionals who have worked in the school system for numerous years as well as parents who have successfully raised their children to become successful adults. There is a section where students explain what their parents did to help them thrive and a section that offers tips to help parents create a better study environment. There is also information from people of other cultures as to what they find helpful along with ideas to help those new to American schools, and finally how to successfully plan for college.

The teen years can certainly be tumultuous. This is a great book that offers a lot of wisdom from many people in numerous situations. I think every parent can gain a lot of insight into their child and how to best encourage them to do their best by reading this book. It is obvious that Karyn wants all young adults to become the best they can be and with this book, parents have a much higher probability of helping their child flourish!

Wonderful resource for parents
By Veronica on October 16, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
“Parents in Highschooland” is a wonderful resource for parents concerned about their teens. As a former high school counselor and a mother, the author offers wonderful suggestions for creating home environment
that is conducive to achieving success at school. There are numerous helpful interviews with successful teachers and parents. This book can be useful to parents of children of all ages.

To read more reviews, visit Amazon Customer Reviews of Parents in Highschooland.


BookExpo America

Parents in Highschooland  is proud to be exhibited in the New Releases section at Book Expo America at the Javit’s Center in NYC.

 


Education Category Finalist and Winner in the 2014 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Eric-Hoffer-Award-Banner

The Eric Hoffer Award was created to promote writers, authors, and independent presses. Less than 10% of the titles become category finalists and this is considered a distinction of its own merit. Finalists are selected by category scoring. There are typically 1-6 books per category selected as a finalist. Finalists fall into approximately the upper 10% of all books that entered the contest.


Awards for Parents in HighschoolandWinner of 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards in the Education category.

 


hdr_sanfranbookfestivalSan Francisco Book Festival 2014
Honorable Mention in the Category of General Non-Fiction


Publishers Weekly“Rashoff uses her considerable experience (33 years as a high school counselor) to provide practical advice in this no-nonsense guidebook for parents and students. Rashoff’s tone is compassionate but firm, and she uses snappy, memorable comparisons to get her points across, while employing advice from families who have successfully navigated high school.”


Beverly Hills Book Awards“It is our great pleasure to inform you that you are a Winner in the Education and Parenting & Family categories of the 2nd Annual Beverly Hills International Book Awards. Your book, Parents in Highschooland, truly embodies the excellence that this award was created to celebrate, and we salute you and your fine work.”
Beverly Hills Book Awards


5-Star Rating

5-Star Rating

“Rashoff’s experience is amazing, and this little book is chock full of great ideas and excellent advice. The beauty of this book is the way real-life examples shine a light on the problem/solution dynamic without becoming personal or accusatory. The chapter on what is negotiable and what is a given should be pure gold for parents.”

Read the full 5-star San Francisco Book Review.


Rashoff says, “I’m so honored that “Parents in Highschooland” is represented to universities, schools and libraries by these two fine companies, Brodart and Quality Books Inc.  I’ve loved spending time in libraries since I was a little girl, and I’d forgotten how peaceful yet stimulating a library is with all of those brains working at top speed. People of all ages are engaged in learning and stretching themselves a little further. I returned to my local library while working on the book and was impressed by the cheery helpfulness and tenacity of the librarians. They were almost as enthused as I was about my project and didn’t whisper at all!  Thinking outside of the proverbial box as librarians are trained to do, they knew where to look and what to find for me.  Their minds are just a little different in a wonderful way, and I salute all librarians!”

Brodart Company.“Our commitment to exclusively serving the library community began with ingenuity and a clear, plastic, book cover. In 1939, Arthur Brody, a Columbia University student involved with architectural photography, washed the emulsion off some film and folded it around his books for added protection. When the covers’ popularity grew among his fellow students, the plastic book jacket cover was officially born, as was Brodart Company. Today, the covers are used to protect the original paper jackets of library books, giving them a longer shelf life and increasing their circulation. Brodart evolved into a full-service library company, serving all facets of the library market.”

Read more about the Brodart Company.


I invite you to send me your family’s personal success in Highschooland to possibly share with other readers in my future book. I look forward to hearing from you at info@karynrashoff.com.