Home and Family Books

Ben is eleven years old and on his way to his eighth foster home. He's lived in seven of them since he was five years old, so he knows all about foster homes and the state's system for homeless kids. And that's why he's worried about Grover G. Graham. Even the name is weird. What kind of mother would give her son a name like that? A mother who left him, that's what kind. Just got up one day and ran off, leaving her son with her boyfriend, who wasn't even Grover's father. Grover entered the system before he was two years old.

Ben has survived the system by keeping his rules. The biggest rule is: don't get close to people. Whenever he has to leave a place, he blanks it out of his mind and leaves a clean slate for whoever is next in the lineup. He keeps three goals in his mind all the time: start with now, stick it out until he's 18, and walk away from the system forever.

But when he meets Grover, another foster kid with Ben's eighth foster family, he forgets his rules before he even realizes that he's forgotten them. He starts to care. And he worries. Especially when he finds out that Grover's mother wants back into her son's life. But the foster family thinks it's great. They're helping her get her act together. They say that she's trying her best, and that Ben should give her a break and stop letting Grover get so attached to him. They say he should let go of Grover.

But he can't. Grover's mother reminds him of his own mother, who dumped him with his great-grandmother when he was a baby. Nobody's been able to find her, and Ben doesn't want to. He won't leave Grover in the clutches of a mother just like her, either. But what can he do? How can he fight the system, which is pushing Grover back? And how can he survive the system himself anymore, now that he forgot his rules?

--- Reviewed by Tamara Penny

Grover G. Graham and Me is a great book about a boy named Ben. He lives with foster parents. His mom left him and he doesn't have any siblings. He has stayed with many different families but he becomes really attached to a baby boy in one of them. I really liked it because you always wanted to read on. Sometimes you were sort of worried about Ben and sometimes it was just a fun and happy story. Also you really got to know about the characters and what they would do. That is why I really liked the book!

Our whole family loved this book and it's sequel Hamish X and Hollow Mountain. Both books are hilarious and my husband and I loved the books I think even more than the kids. If you wish to discover first if Sean Cullen's brand of humour is your type of thing then I suggest doing a UTube search for him and his Food of Your Choice bits. If you laugh buy these books!

The mysterious Hamish X is the scourge of the Orphan Disposal Agency--Agents Candy and Sweet can't seem to find a facility that can hold him. After arriving at the Windcity Orphanage, where the children are forced to earn their keep making stinky blue cheese, Hamish is soon planning his escape along with new friends Parveen and Mimi. But his plans are put on hold when the factory is suddenly attacked by a fierce gang of pirates, led by the dreaded Cheesebeard of Snow Monkey Island. In order to save the other orphans, Hamish, Mimi, and Parveen must embark upon an epic adventure across the Arctic and take on the cheese-obsessed pirates by themselves.

I can not say enough good things about this book! The author has given so much advice, both practical and emotional.

You can tell this woman was a teacher as the chapters are clearly organized with a synopsis at the end of each and other sources of info. The index is excellent (and very useful).

Best of all, she writes from the heart...she's been there and knows what the journey is like.

Rosette Teitel is a gifted author. Her book is informative, helpful and full of PRACTICAL coping mechanisms, suggestions and resources. It is clearly written and is a guide on a difficult journey. My family and I found it to be invaluable . Mrs. Teitel addressed specific issues from many angles... all in one book!!
THE HANDHOLDER'S HANDBOOK is a God-send... a MUST READ for caregivers of anyone with dementia/Alzheimer's. If you buy nothing else, BUY AND READ THE HANDHOLDER'S HANDBOOK!!

Such a wonderful, thoughtful book to read. Harmony, A girl with a breliant way of life..an amazing presonality and a great view to life. i like Rita murphy and her type of writing her books, such a book. poeple with a goal in life and a very strong feeling with there spirte, are willing to read this book. the book amazed me and probubly Rita Murphy will be my Writter.

Is it real? Did Harmony really fall from the stars into the chicken coop? Does she really have ESP? Did she really save the "Old People" from the logging company? It's all magic, and beautifully written, including desire and wishes and the beauty of the stars and heaven and nature and love and caring and, well, you make your wishes and see what happens!
This book is a jewel.

Hazel's Kitchen Table is a homey, down-to-earth cookbook filled with mouth-watering traditional recipes, from Swedish Oven Pancake, Apricot Cranberry Bread, and Sour Cream Chocolate Cake, to Ice Box Cookies, and Potato Sausage. Each delicious and homespun recipe has a brief sidebar relating how the family and guests of Hazel's household enjoyed the delicacy. Hazel's Kitchen Table is a superb cookbook for kitchens that prepare family meals with love and eager anticipation for holiday festivities, or just plain old dinnertime good eating.

My mom is the author of Hazel's Kitchen Table and I am very pleased that she did this. Now I can alway look back at this book and remember my grandma and Hazel and their lives up in Door County. Way to go Mom

When I picked this up, I wasn't sure what to expect so I thought I'd write a few lines here... This book is very informative- lots of simple but effective strategies to help protect yourself and your family from disease by avoiding toxic chemicals and getting proper nutrients. I was surprised to read how many products that I thought were safe are really dangerous to my health. I'm still amazed at how hard it is to find this kind of information and how uninformed most doctors are about environmental causes of disease. Holler for Your Health: Be the Key to a Healthy Family, contains information that everyone needs.

The author has done a very good job at explaining the strong links between diet and our environment and various ailments including stress and diabetes that makes for very interesting reading. I always felt the genetic link to obesity to be hogwash, but the author did a good job at convincing me the biological reason for the linkage. After reading this book I was sufficiently convinced to buy hormone free milk for my children and certain organic produce for the family, utilize a water filter for the home, and cease applying traditional lawn fertilizers on my lawn in favor of more natural, organic alternatives.

I smiled as I read this book. I could just picture each child sitting with Granddaddy,or leaving notes for one another. Sometimes, it is just nice to read stories about a happy family, doing things together, enjoying each other. I look forward to the next book.

Whether you think your family experiences are unique and unusual or if you have grown up in an "average American home", this book will give you a fresh and inspiring look at all you may have taken for granted. Sally takes simple daily events in her life and shows us the beauty in all of our lives.

This is a wonderful book to read slowly and absorb. Here's a perfect gift for someone you love.

This is one compelling story of all of the above rolled into one 41 year old man convicted of killing a cop.
HERO - he risked his own life to save a mother and son from a car explosion that blasted him into a hospital.

KILLER - He was sent to prison 10 years ago for killing his cop partner and dealing drugs. He finally confessed.

CONVICT - after 10 years in prison and 8 years of solitary confinement he was allowed to work on the road gang cleaning up roadsides. He was chained to his hospital bed after the explosion.

HUSBAND - FATHER - he did what it took to protect his wife and daughter.

NOW he has no memory of his past life and needs to find out what kind of man he is. This is Ryan Murphy.

Julie Farrell and her son, Nick were caught in an accident and nearly left to die. Gratitude brought Julie to the hospital to see how Ryan was fairing. Would he live? Would he come out of the coma?

Julie had worked for the prosecuting attorney and quit after sending an innocent man to prison for 5 years. Could she save Murphy or was he a munipulating killer? Should he be set free?

Was he an arrogant loner with no remorse for his crime? The mystery surounding Murphy's past caught at her legal mind to solve the puzzle. Could she put her own son at risk for a convicted killer? Why had he confessed, was he really guilty?

Yet love springs up in the darndest places - Nick, a little 4 year old, gave Ryan unconditional love. Ryan knew that he would have to leave, to protect this woman and her son.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - definitely excellent --M

Through smoke and mayham, two strong arms and a gentle voice coaxed Julie Farrell and her precious boy to safty. To mom and son, Ryan Murphy was a hero. To everyone else, he was a killer, destined to remain behind bars for life. Instead, Julies brought him home Her lawyer's instinct and woman's intution screamed that this savior without a memory was a good man, an honorable man... an innocent man. together, they were the perfect... and a perfect family. But Julie had been wrong once before, and she only preyed that her heart hadn't led her to invite a murderer home for christmas...An intresting mix of holiday cheer as a woman fight for her man and a happier ever after Christmas for those she love. This book show the true meaning of Christmas love and family.

This book is a nice, simple story with a great message: when you want to get a pet, adopt! The pictures are lovely and the book was written by a teenager, which makes it appealing and lively for young children. I highly recommend it.

This is a cute book for the child that is an animal lover. A donation was made to petfinder.com and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Aunt Mary's Doghouse, that's great. The book isn't illustrated, but done with photographs. It's about a girl finding the right pet for her, and it's a pet from a shelter. If you love this book and love cats, check out "Hobo Finds A Home" which is about a stray cat who found a home.

If your family is like ours, something is going on all of the time. Needless to say, it keeps a parent on their toes.

We have read a number of parenting books, including those which focus on behavior management throught conseqences.

Not to say that these books are without value. They do help. This book takes things to the next level.

If you want your children to learn important life values, then this is the book for you. The authors provide helpful suggestions on how to blend values with discipline in raising your children. The goal is to build a family with a sense of closeness as well as order.

Admittedly, it has taken a little time to adapt this new approach. My wife and I were raised differently and it takes time to develop new habits. I must say however, that we have started to see some positive changes in our household since incorporating the approaches mentioned in this book.

If you consider yourself a parent with "more to learn" then this book should be a consideration in your library of resource materials.

Another superb book from Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller
on effective parenting. Through out this book they deal with
various issues of parenting and provide very practical and commonsensical solutions. It is also a very interesting read as it contains very good illustrations and examples.

Highly recommended tool/book for Home Improvement !!!