Family Resources Books

As a Director of Religious Education in a large parish, this book has become an invaluable tool in planning our intergenerational faith formation gatherings. We have had one once a month since September and I have used some aspect of this book every time.

It's very user friendly and you can adapt it to your own circumstances.

Designing book-based programs for preschoolers and young school age children is a breeze when you have this book handy! I just received my copy yesterday and I have already planned several programs. The advice and tips are useful, but the programs are just great. The games and activities are easy to understand, the directions are clear and the ideas are innovative and fun. The clever step-by-step illustrations bring the crafts to life. The fact that pages are reproducible for an entire class is a huge bonus!

It took awhile, but I just read Lotte Bailyn's "Breakingthe Mold: Women, Men and Time in the New Corporate World" ... . The fun in reviewing a book seven years after publication is the future perspective. In this case, the author was amazingly prescient!

The book is written for social scientists, managers, unionists, and the general public, and is very readable. Basically, Bailyn challenges our thinking about work/family and especially about the way work is designed. Like Hochschild's work, much of the purpose is to make our society value time with families and particularly children. Like Fried's much later work, there is a clear feminist perspective. Like Williams' recent book, issues of fairness are framed in terms of current career structures and the ideal worker norm generating discrimination against women in particular and parents in general. Most impressive, in the concluding chapter Bailyn foresees the increases in worker autonomy and flexibility that were later documented in the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce, and she both predicts and explicitly responds to the backlash against w/f policies which did in fact develop. In other words, if you want a wonderful summary of where the field is headed today, it is virtually all here (without the latest references :-).

But there is more. What moved me to read the book at this time was my own conclusion that solving the "time divide" between overworked and underworked Americans is going to be a bit trickier than just creating part-time professional careers (a daunting and worthy task in itself). The fundamental problem is that the overworked folks tend to be professionals and the underworked tend to have less education and fit into very different occupations. To shift work from the first group to the second will therefore require redesigning jobs and tasks.

Here is where Bailyn's work remains path breaking today. Chapter three documents the distinct w/f pressures and opportunities associated with several different occupations. Although the chapter is brief, it provides enough information to draw the reader successfully into two of Bailyn's key arguments. The first is that jobs and occupations are sufficiently different that no one policy prescription will serve to resolve w/f conflicts. The second is that successful w/f policies will require redesigning work with the active participation of those doing the work. Since writing the book, Bailyn has set out to make these things happen in research projects with many other folks here (including Francoise Carre, Susan Eaton, and Paula Rayman, although I'm sure there are many others).

Although I remain optimistic regarding the opportunities for public policy intervention, Bailyn is very convincing in her claim that we must allow employees to bring their family commitments to work if we are to succeed in creating better lives for American families. Indeed, I think this has already happened in large part, otherwise the backlash would never have occurred.

A great piece of writing and highly recommended!

Cheers, Bob ...

Lotte Bailyn's book, "Breaking the Mold," was originally published in 1993, but I didn't discover it until the late 1990s. It was and remains one of the most influential books in terms of my own thinking about work and family. So... I was ecstatic when Lotte and Cornell University Press decided to publish an updated version. The entire book is indeed updated with the latest figures, cites, and stories, but the marvelous heart remains. That heart is one of the most concise, lucid accounts of how the corporate workplace functions in modern America to create gender inequality and inefficiency, and of how we can move forward with an agenda of breaking assumptions regarding work, gender and life by introducing 'small d' democracy into the workplace. The logic of the work is that the American workforce is now more diverse, both in terms of family commitments and culturally, and that efficiency and equity considerations both require a rethinking of out-dated assumptions regarding face time and of our work-before-all-else culture. Lotte asks managers, employees, families (and readers) to look beneath the surface of current practices, to look beyond inefficiencies as technical 'job' problems to be solved and instead view them as involving people with lives at home and in the community - and gender. The book provides countless examples of people who have done this at home and in the workplace, and even on rereading it, I found myself constantly having "aha!" moments. Among my favorites: a brief but brilliant description of academic life and why it is so hard to combine with anything else, and the story of a couple of parents that really put things together with reduced hours, yet struggle endlessly again the forces of long, uninterupted work hours... This is a must-read for anyone in the field, and should be for all Americans.

This is a collection of the author's personal experiences as a hospital chaplain. It is like a short story anthology, one chapter, one self-contained anecdote. That's a compliment: the book reads well. The empathy that the author's profession requires of her carries through to her care for the reader as well. We, the audience, gain knowing what it feels like to be both in the position of the patient needing spiritual aid, and of the often awkward, anxious, yet gratifying, position of the one offering it.

Definitely recommended for those considering hospital or hospice chaplaincy as an honest, empathetic view into the field. But also recommended in its own right for the general audience as a collection of interesting tales on the difficult border of medicine and meaning.

Make it into a TV show! Not the opposite of House MD, but a complement.

"Building Up Zion's Walls by James Perkins is a great book for pastors and parishoners in churches looking to develop ministries committed to uplifting the black family. It is targeted to the African American church and community. However, I believe it is an effective tool for those serving or worshiping in cross-racial appointments as well. The book attracted my interest for two main reasons. First, it isn't just reflective; it provides a plan for the betterment of individuals. Second, it incorporates the collective input of so many dynamic leaders in the church today. Each chapter highlights a program taking place within experienced congregations and communities that have reputations for growing and developing ministry. I would highly recommend this book to anyone committed to strenghtening and enhancing the wonderful blessing of African American community life."
-reviewed by Rev. Joseph Daniels, pastor of Emory United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C. in UM Connection, March 15, 2000

Highlighting actual professionals working in the field of family and consumer sciences (home economics) was the most interesting part in writing this book. Through the many profiles, it is evident that the careers in this field are extensive and interesting. They include the occupations of teaching and education but much more. For example, the traditional subject areas (foods and nutrition, clothing and textiles, child development, housing and interiors, human relationships, health and family living) are explored in each of five career fields: business, education and communications, human services, science and technology, and the arts. The pros and cons of entrepreneurship and types of businesses that lend themselves well to self-employment are included.

In addition to spotlighting actual careers, thirteen chapters cover general career education information, such as choosing a career, developing skills for job success, and finding and keeping a job. These chapters incorporate the skills that employers look for in new employees.

Careers in Focus - Family and Consumer Sciences is a textbook intended for secondary study, as well as vocational and technical education studies. However, its information is specific to anyone who is choosing a career, finding a job, and/or wanting to be successful in the workplace.

My background is in education. I have taught in Missouri and Wisconsin schools for over 25 years. My special interest in the field of family and consumer sciences has inspired me to write several cookbooks and guides to nutrition and physical firness.

May this book inspire you to choose a career that will be right for you!

This is a very hands-on and literature-based Kindergarten art book. It has a story, then 5-6 ideas of creative things to make that correlate with that story. It's so much fun! Stories include: The Gingerbread Boy, Androcles and the Lion, The Little Engine that Could, The Lion and the Mouse, and The Hare and the Tortoise. What a great way to combine storytime and art time!

Finally, a voice of reason surfaces from the detritus of the flotsam and jetsam of our celebrity-influenced culture. I cannot remember the number of instances I thought, "Yes! He's right -- I know that, too!" when I was reading his book. Hayutin tells the truth about what's going on today with our youth in a manner that every parent can relate to. And he's not timid about asking uncomfortable questions or heralding the truth, even if it's not quite "politically correct". What a breath of fresh air! His book is a passionate plea for the Silent Majority [my words] to wake up and join the movement to recognize the importance of basic morality and truth-based philosophy in teaching our children. If his writing style is a bit intense at times, it is consistent with the intensity of his message about the very real dangers facing our children today in a culture that is depraved. Bravo, Mr. Hayutin! We the [Silent Majority] agree with you and will be silent no more. Thongs for 13-year olds? Not in my household.

Whether you are a community development planner, in resource development, a child care provider, parent, or private-sector business, this is the bible of options available to employers in the work/life arena. For those jumping on the bandwagon to increase productivity, retention, and recruitment within their community or workforce, this is the book to get. For those enhancing the awareness to employers on the direct relationship that child care has on their bottom line.....this is the book. Filled with understandable, comprehensive information, this book is a must for any consultant, human resource manager, or anyone working within the child care arena. Folks, it's finally here...the message..."the reason that child care exisits, is because parents work." This book is for anyone who wants to affect productivity and profit margins in a positive manner.