Home and Family Books

I thoroughly enjoyed Dale's reflections about her children. As a mother of a 2-year-old, I have a better appreciation of my son through the insights that she shared. I'm now more open to what God is trying to reveal to me through my own son.

I've also recommended this book to the mothers in our Moms In Touch group, who meet to pray for the children, administrators, and staff at our children's day care.

I received an excerpt of this book in an e-mail: the essay was a description of how one's life changes when you become a mother. It was the most amazing and accurate description I have ever read about the beautifully troubling work of parenting. Worth the purchase price of the book!

I have read the book many times, and to this day cannot read the first chapter without crying. This book reminds me how incredibly special my children are, especially on days when it's pretty hard to remember that fact. I wish I could afford to actually give one to every person I know.... I love the book and gratefully thank Dale Bourke for writing it! What a blessing!

I recently finished the second book in Hilary McKay's Exiles trilogy, titled "The Exiles at Home."

I had enjoyed the previous title in the series ("The Exiles") well enough, and this one was even better. I think the Bastable children (created by author Edith Nesbit) will always be my favourites in the "goofy-group-of-children-who-always-are-getting-into-trouble" genre, but I did warm up to the Conroy sisters a bit more in this book. They came across as a shade more likeable and less self-involved in this story (as compared to the first), primarily because all of their misadventures were the result of their trying to help others. This book is also more tightly plotted than was "The Exiles," which was a loose collection of "what we did on our summer holidays" stories. "The Exiles at Home" shows the sisters uniting to achieve a particular goal, and even manages to work in a bit of pathos towards the end; rather touching. But in general the mood of the story was very humourous, and I did find myself chuckling out loud now and again as I read the story.

Hmmm, speaking of the Bastable children, in a way this book has a theme similar to Nesbit's "The Story of the Treasure Seekers," in that the children are desparate to make money, and carry out many ill-advised schemes to that end...

Pay no attention to the School Library Journal review, which describes this book's conflict as "single and simple." Exiles at Home is instead a rich and complex and laugh-out-loud great book. The Conroy sisters, first introduced in The Exiles (because they are sent to spend the summer, "in exile," with their Big Grandma) must come up with 10 pounds a month to send for the education of a boy they have promised to sponsor in Africa. Their increasingly frantic attempts to raise the money involve them in bank robbery (what they think is bank robbery, anyway), an ill-advised kind of catering service (they make "squashy" marmalade sandwiches in the only private place they can find, the dog's kennel, and then sell them to the other kids at school, especially to a desperate character they call "The Thin One"), and some very questionable babysitting tactics (when baby Peter shows signs of learning good behavior and therefore outgrowing the need for their services, they remind him of how to get dirty and mash his food into his hair). And you will meet other wonderful characters along the way, including Joseck, the boy in Africa, Toby and Emma, the elderly couple who employ the girls as gardeners, and the fabulous Big Grandma herself. I am a school librarian and my sixth grade teachers have asked me to recommend a new readaloud title--this is it, hands-down, my number one recommendation.

Problems start for Ruth Conroy when she secretly decides to sponser a young boy in Africa so that he can go to school. Tyring to raise ten pounds a month is not as simple as she first thought, though, and so she has to let her sister, Naomi into the secret and together they come up with wierd and wonderful ways to earn the money. The Little Ones, Rachel and Phoebe aren't kept out of the secret for long though, and decide to help by selling sandwiches at school, which are made in next door's dog kennell! This hirarious book is a must for all lovers of 'The Exiles'.

Problems start for Ruth Conroy when she secretly decides to sponser a young boy in Africa so that he can go to school. Tyring to raise ten pounds a month is not as simple as she first thought, though, and so she has to let her sister, Naomi into the secret and together they come up with wierd and wonderful ways to earn the money. The Little Ones, Rachel and Phoebe aren't kept out of the secret for long though, and decide to help by selling sandwiches at school, which are made in next door's dog kennell! This hirarious book is a must for all lovers of 'The Exiles'.

We only bought the first book in the series to see if we liked it and I read it to my 7 & 4 year olds in two days!! They have never begged for me to keep reading so many times. The next day i ran out and bought the rest of the series because I was too excited to find out what happends next.

Great books for all ages!!

This little book captures your imagination and will give reading pleasure to anyone who is a kid at heart. This would make a great gift to kids of all ages. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series.

I know as an adult I'm not suppose to be enthraled by a child's stories but I began reading this to my daughter as a night night book and ended up finishing it myself after she was well off to sleep. I just could not put it down. Then the next night my daughter insisted on me picking back up where she had fallen asleep and she would not let me stop reading until I had finished the book again. We just had to get the second and third books in the series, "Too many parents" and "Tha Hardest Lessons".

I am a mental health clinician, providing mental health treatment to both children and adults who've experienced abuse & neglect. This book is a wonderful tool for assisting children in understanding what is happening to their families. It does a nice job of portraying outcomes in a "hopeful" light. Finally, it is a great tool for facilitating conversation with the less-enthused late school age child, who is not necessarily happy to be placed in mental health therapy.

With so few books available for foster children, this is an amazing resource! The concepts are presented in such gentle, reassuring, and child-friendly language. I think that books like this really help children to know that they are not the first or only child to go through the traumatic experience of being separated from there birth family (and possibly abuse and neglect). And when they know they are not alone, it may help them to believe it is not their fault. Once again, it is very well written, and the artwork is quite nice.

Christine Mitchell, author and illustrator of:
Welcome Home, Forever Child: A Celebration of Children Adopted as Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Beyond

Written by Julie Nelson, who has taught in at-risk early childhood settings for nearly 30 years, Families Change: A Book for Children Experiencing Termination of Parental Rights is a simple, softcover picturebook about the realities of when families have big problems and need to change so that kids can be safe. The illustrations, painted in warm colors, evoke a powerful sense of hearth and home while the text gently discusses difficult situations. "When families change, kids can remember the happy times and the sad and mad and scary times too. Kids can remember and love their birth families. Kids can love their new families too." The last few pages offer a serious message to parents, foster parents, social workers, teachers, and caregivers, offering basic information about how to support and encourage young children amidst the terrifying crossroad of the termination of parental rights, as well as a list of resources and organizations created to help such children and those who look after them. Highly recommended especially for sharing with children in foster care or other, similar situations.

I am a bit prejudiced when it comes to this hospital. Our daughter is an RN on 3-W.

I just love this book. It covers a lot of medical issues, both urgent and not-so-urgent. It helps you calm down in a crisis and it is not so overly wordy that you have to keep scanning to find what you're specifically looking for for advice. Not everything can be taken care of at home and they do not hesitate to tell you to seek emergency action. There's humor (ie. Colds, the Flu and the Great American Runny Nose - Your Basic Everyday Head Bonk), a suggested list of items for your medicine cabinet. There is a large range of ages involved, but most advice can be used by adults, too.

This is a GREAT baby shower or newborn gift. I've given several.

P. S. Our RN and her husband is expecting their 1st baby and our 1st grandbaby in June. She already has a copy and has given them as gifts to her side of in-laws and friends.

When a child actually does hurt themselves this book is easy to flip through and find what you need quickly. It gives you helpful suggestions on what to do and what warnings signs to look for that may indicate a trip to the ER or Dr's office.

This is a book you can pick up when faced with the problem and make a decision. And it works for children and grown-up problems. A friend called me over to her house to help her decide if she needed to go to the hospital--she is 60--I am 55 ---she had fallen --we used this book to figure out what to do. We went to the hospital because she did have a broken bone. This is an easy to use reference and it is cute too!

This is a terrific resource for those who are in charge of the home. Kathy Peel has great ideas and suggestions for home management including finances, cooking, entertaining, home organization. This is not one of those home organization books whose suggestions are so detailed that the average person would never follow through with them! It is great!

I felt completely inspired and renewed after reading just the first few pages of Kathy's book. She redefines the role of "homemaker" and gives women (and men) who run their homes the recognition they have always deserved by giving them a more legitimate title-Family Manager-and by breaking down the job of family manager into manageable departments like Home & Property, Food, and Family & Friends. She puts into words what I have felt all along but didn't quite know how to phrase. Her book is a great way to get yourself organized and motivated to be the best family manager you can be.

Kathy has a wonderful writing style which begs you to keep on reading. Her suggestions are 'doable' and inspire you to get started immediately. For stay-at-home Moms, Kathy adds to your self-esteem. As a working Mom, whose been 'on the other side,' it made me feel a bit guilty (she's got a book for working moms too, though!)

I especially love how Kathy doesn't claim Martha Stewartitis: she recognizes her weaknesses (cooking) and realizes that NOBODY can do it all. A great read for busy mothers of all walks of life.

The House on Beartown Road tugged at bitter-sweet memories as I identified with the craziness we all go through trying to do all the necessary and out of the ordinary things as a mom, daughter and full time career counselor. The humor, pathos and frenetic moments stood out in the book as universal elements all of us go through when parents become children and out of necessity give us over their life. As Ms. Cohen remarked "the usefulness of being constantly busy gave me little time to think about all the things bothering me," with a new full time job, a house to run with three active children, and a run away mom who came to visit me and never went home again. As she described in her book, life takes a toll on everyone in our immediate families and it takes a long time for life to ebb and flow into any kind of natural order. Sometimes I feel that my mom died cell by cell. Elizabeth Cohen helped me remember what I went through but more importantly, find closure. I thank her for putting into words the impossible things that we go through to cope and make life work.

I've never been to Beartown Road but thanks to Elizabeth Cohen's vivid portrait of her life there, I've come to know the place. She writes in such a way that I "felt" the seasons change as well as "saw" the changes in Elizabeth and her family. Elizabeth's struggles were portrayed with clarity, warmth, honesty, and poignancy. In describing what life was like on Beartown Road, Elizabeth's sense of humor carried her and this reader through the hassles and triumphs.
I once read a quote that went something like this, "You're never ready for what you have to do. You just do it." That's what Elizabeth did as she undertook the care of her aging, ill, father, Sandy, and the nurturing of her blossoming infant daughter, Ava.
I laughed, I cried, I related. I highly recommend "The Family on Beartown Road."

Elizabeth Cohen pulls no punches in this beautifully-written story of the year she served as caregiver to her father, Sanford, who struggled through the late-middle stages of Alzheimer's disease. Suddenly the single mother of a toddler and responsible for Sanford's care, she sets down a record of her daughter's growth, her dad's decline and her own struggle as a caregiver. In this unsentimental, yet lyrical book, Cohen writes about her father's tantrums, having to clean him after he has soiled himself, and her difficulty finding daytime caregivers while she works. She also writes about their deep moments of connection that transcend the logical workings of the mind. As she records this watershed year, she finds both meaning and grace in her role as daughter and caregiver. The strongest point that this book makes is that Alzheimer's disease does not dissolve relationships; it transforms them.

After caring for my father, who had progressive dementia for over four years before his death, I regard this book as a gift and an inspration. A caregiver's job is a lonely one. No matter how much we try to connect with support groups and with other family members, we must shoulder an overwhelming responsibility. Books that detail the stages and symptoms of Alzhiemers and tell caregivers how to cope are important. The Family on Bearstown Road is a guide of another sort that is equally important.

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's HUGO PEPPER comes from the author of the Edge Chronicles but provides a different adventure in a set of 'far flung' travels of one Hugo Pepper. Magic and adventure blend for advanced elementary to middle school readers, powered by black and white drawings throughout and providing a swift action-packed story based on a flying sled time machine. Young fantasy readers will relish the action.

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell first came to attention with their intriguing series, the Edge Chronicles. These books conformed to a recent trend in children's books of having well made hardcover editions sized for young readers' hands filled with Mr. Riddell's brilliant illustrations. I have been reading this series to my two sons, age 7 and 8. The difficulty is that as attractive as these books are, the Edge Chronicles are not really appropriate for younger readers. There is some complex psychology of guilt and blame, some very gory descriptions and deaths, and some quite scary moments. I have had to edit as I read aloud, and even skip a few paragraphs.

This is to put into context what a joy the Far Flung Adventures series is. You get the same clever plot, whimsical inventions, incredibly beautiful illustrations and striking characters we have come to expect from this creative team. However, it is all very much accessible to kids under age 12. There may be danger or the threat of violence but there is no imagery or description that would give a parent pause. The protagonists in all the books are younger than the Edge books, making it easy for kids to identify with the heros/heroines.

My boys have loved Fergus Crane and Corby Flood, and were swept away with Hugo Pepper. They love leafing through the book to look at the illustrations, unfolding the gorgeous map and referring back to the earlier books to characters and events referred to in the latest installment. They are captivated by the plot and held breathless by the adventure.

In this book Hugo Pepper comes back to Harbor Heights from the Frozen North on a flying sled, and lands in the middle of a mystery that involves dastardly deeds, conniving characters and perhaps lost pirate treasure.

If your children are fans of Spiderwick or Harry Potter they are in for a real treat! Did I mention I liked it too?

This is the third book in the "Far Flung Adventures" series by the dynamic duo that gave us "The Edge Chronicles". This adventure series is for younger readers from about eight, and each book includes a fold out map cleverly disguised as a dust jacket.

Although each one can be read on its own, you should still read Far-Flung Adventures: Fergus Crane (Far-Flung Adventures) and Far-Flung Adventures: Corby Flood (Far-Flung Adventures), because there are sneaky references to these highly imaginative books in Hugo Pepper.

In a nutshell, young Hugo Pepper is rescued from the perils of the Frozen North by a couple of reindeer herders after his parents become the special of the day for a pack of marauding polar bears. Ten years later, he sets off to find his real home, and lands up in Firefly Square, where he meets a cast of eccentric and magical characters, including land-loving mermaids, tea-blenders, moth-eating dogs, and cloud sheep whose wool is in high demand, to say the least. The villains in this book are exceptional also - a snooping, conniving cat lady and an editor with an axe to grind who controls a work force of snow monsters.

Filled with action, adventure, intrigue and even treasure-hunting, this book is another must-read from Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.


Amanda Richards, March 31, 2007

It must be really strange for a child of immigrants to understand what their parents are feeling about their other country and culture. Some may or may not understand their parents first language. I am eager to share this book with my students and see what they think.

Faraway Home is the story of a young girl whose father must go away to his home land to see his mother. The girl (Desta) isn't very happy about this. The illustrations (by E. B. Lewis) are simply stunning. This is a truly spectacular book

In this beautifully illustrated story, a young girl comes to terms with her immigrant father's plans to visit his country of birth, Ethiopia. In the process, she learns about the differences and similarities between his childhood and hers and, more importantly, about the enduring strength of the love between parent and child. This wonderful book is perfect to share with the child facing similar fears about whether a parent will return from a journey to a distant place or the child perturbed by immigrant parents' longings for an unknown and strange land. For every parent and child, it is a great introduction to a family discussion of "when I was your age, we ..." Highly recommended.

Amie Crouch uses her expertise in feng-shui and organization to help teenagers through the hardest time in life and she manages to do so without talking down to teens. It's refreshing to see a book for teens that helps them sort through their feelings and gives them tools and advice that they can implement right now--in their very own room. In a world where kids are bombarded with celebrity nonsense, trashy tabloid headlines, and a silly image of what beauty and happiness is, it's nice to see books like this geared toward them. We need more books for teens to help them through this tough time that seems to only get tougher with each generation and teach them how to find peace in their life and be happy with themselves. This book is a great start.

I am a 17 year old teenager getting ready for college. This workbook helped me to organize, prepare, and realize my potential to be able to do anything in High School, I set my mind to do. Every teenager should have a copy to work with their home and school environment so things don't become so stressful.

Amie takes you step by step in a fun and interactive way through the process of keeping your space balanced. She keeps her ideas and projects simple and easy to accomplish in a short amount of time,so you can see fast results!

I'm the author of "Starting Your Journey of Holistic Health" and I highly recommend this book for teens interested in balancing their space for maximum success!

Amie, I can't wait for the "grown-up" version!