Arbor Day Books

Written by Lisa Himle featuring illustrations by Bruce Langton, Hands As Warm As Toast is a 32-page picturebook about the anxieties that accompany a child's first day at school -- and how comforting it is to be able to find "a warm hand to hold" when children go to school for the very first time. Young readers, especially those having to deal with their own first day at school, will particularly appreciate and enjoy the story of Libby and her mother as the young girl prepares for school. Additionally, an outstanding (and free) activity guide is available for download to parents and teachers at the Mitten Press website.

For children, confronting the uncertainty of new situations can be daunting and scary. In Hands as Warm as Toast, Lisa Himle tells a story that will help normalize the anxiety of starting school and provide comfort, guidance and support to children and parents who struggle with this often challenging task. As a clinician who specializes in working with children with anxiety disorders, I highly recommend this book to any parent whose child is apprehensive about starting school or anxious about any new situation.

We fortunate to have Ms. Himle read her book to children and families and the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. We received wonderful feedback about the tremendous benefits of this story.

As a clinician who works with children with separation anxiety, I highly recommend Lisa Himle's delightful story about a little girl learning to overcome her fear of starting kindergarten.

Although it was decades ago, I still remember my first day of kindergarten. I entered the school, with my mother, excited and oh so, scared. After reading this book, I wish I'd had had Miss Darling for my kindergarten teacher.

It's Libby's first day of kindergarten and she's scared. Her mother does what she can to reassure her, but it's not working. Libby would like nothing better than to run right out of the school. But before she can run, her teacher, Miss Darling greets Libby and asks if she would warm her cold hands because Libby's hands are warm as toast. Each day Libby warms Miss Darling's hands for her. But as the school year progresses, she notices that her teacher's hands don't take as much time to warm up anymore.

When Libby starts first grade, she meets a kindergarten student who needs the same reassurance Libby did when she started school. And Libby is just the girl to help the young child. She offers her hand to another little girl who has hands as warm as toast.

Starting school can be a daunting task for young children and they can all use a warm hand to help them along. Every child who begins school should have Hands as Warm as Toast to read and a teacher as loving, caring and understanding as Miss Darling. It would make school a safer and friendlier place.

Armchair Interviews says: Hands as Warm as Toast will warm your heart and help your child's school experience.

God gave me this book during a time in my life when all hell had broken loose. I did not know where to turn or what to do. I literally almost lost my mind, until I got before the Lord daily and allowed Him to minister to me. God moved in such a way that all I could do was write. I love trees and the passion I have for them drew me closer to my vision.

I remember a scripture that says: From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and it is the violent that takes it by force. I had to take what was rightfully mine and then I birthed Be Like A Tree, Planted ...

Be Like a Tree, Planted ... is AWESOME! The moment I started reading the
book, I noticed at different intervals, God showed UP and showed OUT!!!
Prayers were answered. I recommend reading Be Like a Tree, Planted ... to everyone.

Minister McClure is an AWESOME vessel of the Lord's Word. May your
spiritual gifts continue to shine forth. T. Reese

I feel a certain closeness to this tome, for I live in this little Georgia town and operate the Restaurant featured in the tale. Michael and his wife have been my land persons for over 10 years . . . This gifted writer has the ability to take an impossibility and build it into a charming character. His habaline grew so believibly in every aspect that I felt a kinship to him and echoed his emotional experiences as they occured. If this is his statement of personal philosophy, Michael Bishop is a very strong and admirable person! Treat yourself to a well-written story that will leave a lasting impression with you.

This book covers a vast amount of information in the typical Dummy fashion. If you know nothing about living a green lifestyle, Green Living for Dummies will teach you the basics and lots more. Because of the breadth of this book, virtually everyone will learn from it.

The book begins like most green living books do, with an overview of the importance of being green for our deeply troubled Earth.

However, unlike most eco-friendly books I've read, this one covers the gamut:

Green at Home: includes a section on detecting and banishing health hazards like asbestos and lead.Basics on green remodeling and building and on green cleaning.

Chapter on garbage. This was great, as part of the problem is the proper disposal of unwanted stuff. Includes how and what to recycle, including what to do with the problematic computers and cell phones.

Chapter on growing your own food.

The chapter on how to purchase the best green and ethical food was excellent.

Subsequent chapters included green clothing, ethical investments, donations and banking.

Transportation, green travel...

Even working in a green environment was covered.

Like I said, a green soup to nuts books. Lots of good, current information. Highly recommended.

Author of award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet

When I first read this book decades ago, I knew immediately that this woman was right about motherhood. I did have one child, who is now grown and turned out very well, but the experience was eerily and exactly what this book predicted. I must have read hundreds of books on parenthood while I was struggling with it in the day-to-day, but it's telling that after nearly 30 years, this is *only* one I remember--for its truthfulness. It's shameful this is out of print now; it ought to be required reading for all young girls.

I was 20 when I read this book and it scared me so bad that I put off having children until I was 37. Finally I started trying only to find out that I was infertile. I am now 42 and have 2 adopted children from China that are the joy of my life. I urge women reading this to consider that some decisions are irrevocable and just because the stars have kids at 48 doesn't mean that YOU will be able to without spending a king's ransom on dangerous fertility treatments.

I read this work a year or so ago, and have never forgotten about it. I am searching for copies for every mother I know, it was that good. It made me laugh, cry, and feel not so alone in resenting my children at times. It is the most realistic portrayal of MY motherhood experiences I have ever read. If, at times you feel guilty and not up to the demands of motherhood, this book is for you.

I read this book when I was feeling stressed out over Motherhood. (I was a very young Mom with two children) That was over 15 years ago and I still remember so much about this book. The author makes the point that being a mother is not all sweetness and lace - but self-sacrifice and more self-sacrifice. She makes a good point - that Motherhood is not for everyone. It is a decision that should be made carefully and thoughtfully and no one should ever be pressured into having a child.

Around this same time, Ann Lander's survey came out - where she asked her readers - "If you could do it all over again, would you have children?" And a large majority said "NO!".

This book explains the reasons some folks regret having children.

This is a wonderful generational saga that takes place in Europe. Told by a master storyteller, it is a tale of love, betrayal, and hope that spans two World Wars. It begins in 1914 with Rubin Hack, a barrister and beloved son of a prominent and wealthy English family. When he falls head over heels in love in Paris with Magda, a beautiful Hungarian eking out a marginal existence as a cafe entertainer, he and Magda set in motion events that would have ramifications for decades.

Those who like historical fiction with a strong injection of romance will find much to enjoy in this well-written, page turning novel.

Cynthia Freeman was an unknown author to me when I picked up this book at a library book sale. I am now searching for and reading all she has written. Not only is this a great book to read, it is very well written! I was an English major and a retired educator. Not too many romance novels are as good as this one.

What a great book, i've thoroughly enjoyed it,
It becomes hard to put down when you start reading it, the plot moves fast and the reader is never bored with useless information and attention to details. I love the fact how the fictional events portrayed in the book tie in with actual events of the past century , such as WWI and WWII. The book explores the sorrow of losing loved ones and human emotion and feelings. While at the same time showcases the lifestyles of English and French elite societies, which is used to show that money after all is not the solution to all of life's problems. Sometimes the circuimstances one finds himself are not solved by buying your way out. I would definetely reccommend this book!!

Hesiod is often overshadowed by his--most probable--contemporary, Homer. Both poets descend from ancient oral traditions, and are considered by many scholars today to be the pinnacle of this tradition. One can see why after reading one of their epic poems. However, they differ greatly in their styles: from their choice of meter to their subject matters. This is because they were most likely of different "poetic groups." Hesiod stresses the story of the Gods and classifies them through their geneaology, particularly in his Theogony. This is, however, more exciting than it sounds. It is the story of the Titanomachia, the battle of the Titans. "Works and Days" is a gem. Most of the poem is spent giving advice on agriculture and farming, but it also has some very enlightening things to say about daily life and social behaviour...beware ladies, for there is an unkind line about women in the Works and Days...don't let it stop you from reading this great work though. Read it and love it!

Hesiod was a bit of a disappointment for me. The Works and Days was full of agriculture tips and his advice on how you should live your life. There was very little to do with the ancient Greek Gods and was just the advice of one man on how an individual should conduct themselves. Theogony was more of what I was looking for with a version of the origin of the ancient gods. Hesiod spells out the beginnings of the gods very well and it was the most enjoyable part of this book. I would recommend Homer or Virgil before trying this work.

I believe Ayers used fiction and lies to try to make a "silk purse out of a sow's ear"! He wants his audience to "see" his pathetic, useless, violent, criminal life as some sort of heroic journey. Ayers fails, except with people who are probably as useless and messed up as he is. He regrets not doing more as a Weatherman. Since his main activity as a Weatherman was bombing, I guess he regrets not bombing more targets. There are 55 reviews of his book and only 15 give him 5 stars. Those 15 may be his former comrades in the Weathermen.

While reading his book, I kept trying to understand why Ayers became a domestic terrorist. I suspect being a middle child of five children he needed to find some way to be noticed, so he became a rebel and did poorly in school while his two older siblings were scholastic stars. His parents finally sent him to a private school, but he continued his "rebel" role. The anti-war movement was a perfect group for Ayers to find drugs, free sex, feelings of power, and a cause to rebel against. Ayers never mentioned considering any non-violent means of protesting, he went straight to using bombs. He also never mentioned considering protesting against any of the most evil and destructive governments in the world, such as Communist China and Communist Russia.

Ayers wrote that the Weatherman always phoned and warned people before they set off bombs. Ayers neglected to mention that his girlfriend's Weathermen cell was responsible for at least two incidents where they INTENDED to harm people with their bombs and did NOT give any phone warning. For example:

His girlfriend's Weathermen group accidentally blew themselves up while making a bomb filled with nails, a bomb that they intended to set off at a non-commissioned officer dance for about 240. Since they added nails to the bomb, it is clear they intended to do as much harm as possible. If they had been successful, they would have killed and wounded many officers and their wives. Luckily they only killed themselves.

The book begins when Ayers starts his fugitive life after he learns that his girlfriend has been blown up. However the book has very little information about Ayer's "fugitive days". Because his focus is not of his "fugitive days", I suspect that Ayer's fugitive days were really easy years of living under his parent's financial support until his father's money paid for lawyers who figured out how to keep Ayers from ever paying for the deaths and destruction for which he, as a leader of the Weathermen, should be held accountable. Then once Ayers didn't have to worry about getting arrested, his father probably paid for him to get a college degree and then used his influence to get Ayers a job. It is too bad that Ayers wasn't in Communist Russia when he was playing his domestic terrorist role, he might have learned just how much better the USA is than the system his communist influenced Weathermen admired.

Only in the America can an unrepentant domestic terrorist like Ayers become a professor and probably try to produce more domestic terrorists. Only in America! I hope Ayers understands just how lucky he is to live in the USA, but I'm afraid he is either too dumb or too brain washed to understand that regardless of the mistakes the USA may have made, the USA is still better than most of the rest of the world. Ayers should check out the book, "Death by Government" to learn about the real evil and cost of communism. Communists were responsible for about 62 millions deaths in Communist China and 35 million deaths in Communist Russia. Yes, it is really too bad Ayers didn't live in either Communist China or Communist Russia.

Bill Ayers is frustratingly vague on the specifics, hazy on the details of his life, his motives, and what compelled him to transform himself from an ordinary college student into a radical activist and leader of the Weather Underground, a group that took their protests to violent extremes.

Ayers expresses little regret for his actions, including his part in the bombing of the Pentagon. What few Americans may realize is that the early 1970's, the country was terrorized from within, by daily bomb threats and actual devices that were planted in public places. Ayers dismisses these fears, explaining that the bombs hidden by his group were always revealed in advance by telephone calls placed to the media and also to local police. This doesn't make his crimes any less violent, dangerous and disturbing.

Don't waste a dime buying this book. Check it out from the library or steal it, to paraphrase both Abbie Hoffman and an earlier reviewer of this book.

Recently in this space I reviewed the documentary Weather Underground so that it also makes sense to review the present book by Bill Ayers, one of the `talking heads' in that film and a central leader of both the old Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground that split off from that movement in 1969 to go its own way. Readers should see the documentary as it gives a fairly good presentation of the events around the formation of the Underground, what they tried to accomplish and what happened to them after the demise of the anti-war movement in the early 1970's.

To get a better understanding of what drove thousands of young American students into opposition to the American government at that time the documentary Rebels With A Cause (also reviewed in this space) is worth looking at as well. Between those two sources you will get a better understanding of what drove Professor Ayers and many others, including myself, over the edge. Professor Ayers makes many of those same points in the book. Thus, I only want to make a couple of political comments about the question of the underground here. They were also used in my review of the Weather Underground documentary and apply to Professor Ayers thoughts as well. I would also make it very clear here that unlike many other leftists, who ran for cover, in the 1970's I called for the political defense of the Weather Underground despite my political differences under the old leftist principle that an injury to one is an injury to all. Moreover, and be shocked if you will, the courageous, if misguided, actions of the Weather Underground require no apology today. I stand with the Professor on that count. Here are the comments.

"In a time when I, among others, are questioning where the extra-parliamentary opposition to the Iraq War is going and why it has not made more of an impact on American society it was rather refreshing to view this documentary about the seemingly forgotten Weather Underground that as things got grimmer dramatically epitomized one aspect of opposition to the Vietnam War. If opposition to the Iraq war is the political fight of my old age Vietnam was the fight of my youth and in this film brought back very strong memories of why I fought tooth and nail against it. And the people portrayed in this film, the core of the Weather Underground, while not politically kindred spirits then or now, were certainly on the same page as I was- a no holds- barred fight against the American Empire. We lost that round, and there were reasons for that, but that kind of attitude is what it takes to bring down the monster. But a revolutionary strategy is needed. That is where we parted company.


One of the paradoxical things about the documentary is that the Weather Underground survivors interviewed had only a vague notion about what went wrong. This was clearly detailed in the remarks of Mark Rudd, a central leader, when he stated that the Weathermen were trying to create a communist cadre. He also stated, however, that after going underground he realized that he was out of the loop as far as being politically effective. And that is the point. There is no virtue in underground activity if it is not necessary, romantic as that may be. To the extent that any of us read history in those days it was certainly not about the origins of the Russian revolutionary movement in the 19th century. If we had we would have found that the above-mentioned fight in 1969 (the SDS splits) was also fought out by that movement. Mass action vs. individual acts, heroic or otherwise, of terror. The Weather strategy of acting as the American component of the world-wide revolutionary movement to bring the Empire to its knees certainly had (and still does) have a very appealing quality. However, a moral gesture did not (and will not) bring this beast down. While the Weather Underground was made up a small group of very appealing subjective revolutionaries its political/moral strategy led to a dead end. The lesson to be learned; you most definitely do need weather people to know which way the winds blow. Start with Karl Marx."

TO THINK THAT THESE PEOPLE WILL MAKE MONEY OFF THIS HOGWASH IS VERY DISTURBING. THE AUTHOR GOES ON AND ON ABOUT HOW "RIGHT" HE WAS TO ENGAGE IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES - WITHOUT MENTIONING THE PEOPLE HE HURT BY HIS ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. BUT WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME, IS HIS MEMORY OF A 1981 ROBBERY WHERE 3 INNOCENT MEN WERE KILLED IN COLD BLOOD - THE AUTHOR DOESN'T EVEN CALL IT A ROBBERY - BUT A WAY TO GET MONEY FOR THE CAUSE. FURTHERMORE, HE GOES ON AND ON ABOUT THE HORROR OF SPECIAL RIGHTS OF WHITES OVER BLACKS, BUT FAILS TO MENTION THAT IN THE TRIAL OF THE 1981 ROBBERY KILLERS, THE BLACK ACTIVISTS GOT 75 YEARS TO LIFE, BUT KATHY BOUDIN - A WHITE FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR - PLEA BARGAINED WITH THE HELP OF HER WHITE DADDY LAWYER AND ONLY GOT 20 YEARS AND IS NOW OUT ON PAROLE. DID SHE HELP HER BLACK FELLOW ACTIVISTS? HELL, NO. WHAT HYPRICATES!!!

Contrary to what others may think/say about this book, the Weathermen was a group who wanted to promote peace. They wanted to create a revolution for a better world. It is a misconception that they were "cop killers" or were "terrorists." They simply wanted people to wake up to the atrocities of the Vietnam War and rampant racism in America.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Dorhn and Mr. Ayers and they are two of the nicest people I know. They both are firm believers in peaceful resolution to problems of social injustice and are inspirational at panel discussions.