I m the new Director of Quality Assurance in a non profit children and family organization. The clarity and learning points and practical application of TQM principles in this book are exceptional. The book compares and contrasts many of the old traditional means of doing business, with more efficient and reliable, measureable means to quality management. I particularly like how the whole process of TQM is considered when comparing Japanese and American practices back in the 1980's when it became obvious for American businesses to re-examine their practices. The quality products of the Japanese were a result of using TQM princples. The books states that for every dollar we spent on prevention we spend $100 fixing problems. If all agencys did business with prevention in mind with TQM principles, many hours of headaches and problem solving would never occur, quality services, increased financial utilization, staff ownership and efficient operations would develop. There are 7 key points to developing TQM in your organization. Utilizing all seven ppoint are explained and key learning points in each chapter help capsulize each key point. I also liked the self-audit at the end of the book to help me understand where our TQM focus must be directed. Offering quality services from the onset of service delivery means fixing the problem before the problem occurs is the premise for TQM. This book capsualizes the need to and provides clarity to apply the TQM principles for the beginning organization and the seasoned or grinding organization looking for a new efficient means to manage. There is no one way to organize TQM in any agency, you have apply what works for your organization. This book has helped me conceptualize and provide evidence for the need to change and practice TQM principles.

Please note that you have mispelled the author's last name. It is AHEARN and not AHERARN in your presentation of Refugee Children.

This is a thorough look at not only Santa Claus, but his predecessor Saint Nicolas. The author goes through and compares the tales with similar instances faced by people in Scripture. In these comparisions he illustrates the differences. The author also gives the historical and mendicant nature of Saint Nick/Santa "worship."

Simple Secrets of Parenting is a wonderful book! It is easy to read and gives practical and easy examples of parenting techniques. As a parent and educator, I see many parents that simply do not know how to relate to their children. This book encourages communication and understanding. It is written in a way that it is easily understood by the average person. The length and content are appropriate even for parents who would rather be doing something other than reading!

I read this book, tried it on my hard-headed 16 year old son, and wow, was I pleasantly surprised at the results. To this day my son remembers some of those stories I told him. Then I used it on my teenage daughter, with similar results. Now I am buying it for a friend who is going through what I went through. This book helped turn Mom the Enforcer into Mom the Communicator. Thank you John Alston!

I thought this book was great for kids. I really think this should be a classic, along with Runaway Bunny (by Margaret Wise Brown) and Love You Forever (by Robert Munsch). Wonderful way to let your kid(s) know that you love them!

This is wide-ranging collection of Winnicott's writings on assorted topics of childhood and adolescence. It is especially important as a set of historic writings. His kindness and intelligence prevails. Winnicott was a child psychoanalyst with an especially tender heart, and his love of children, and respect for the efforts of families - often against unnerving odds - is obvious. However, it should be noted that some of his theories, while advanced in good faith and respected at the time they were introduced, have been disproven over the years. For example, enuresis (bed-wetting) is now known to be something that psychoanalysis does not "cure." (It is often inherited, and afflicted children outgrow it, period.) His articles on adolescence, written more than thirty years ago, are not "current," but still valuable. Winnicott's discussion of autism, while humane and well-meaning and enlightened for its time, is also somewhat off the mark, in light of contemporary findings on autism. Nonetheless, there is much that is valuable in this collection of papers. "The Niffle," with its report on a discussion about God that a small boy has with his father, reminds the reader again that Winnicott was not only capable of great love and understanding, but of awe.

Definitely worth reading.

Set in a Maryland fishing village in the early 1930's, This Child's Gonna Live by Sarah E. Wright is the harshly candid story of Mariah Upshur, the African-American wife of a poor oysterman, and who is struggling to keep her family together despite smothering press of poverty and despair. This Child's Gonna Live is the superbly written and heartrending tale of a monumental effort for family survival under the harsh realities of rural poverty. Of special interest in this Feminist Press edition of an African-American literary classic is the inclusion of the Sarah E. Wright's essay, "The Writer's Responsibility".

My son (just six) has been crazy about dinosaurs for three years, and it has become increasingly difficult to find books with unfamiliar information that are also not too far beyond his comprehension. This book fills the bill beautifully, building on his existing knowledge and stretching him to see the dinosaurs in context. It combines the easy charm of a pop-up book with the sophistication of a geologic chart. We have also been thrilled with From Dinosaurs to Dodos by Lessem.

Too bad this book is out of print!! I read this book avidly from cover to cover. As a parent I was disappointed by the plethora of plastic toys for babies and toddlers, especially things that used to be wood, metal or some other material when I was a child. Author Fisher writes concisely, giving good instructions (not easy to do in this pseudo "cookbook" for toys). One disappointment: some of the materials used frequently are not easily available where I live, so one needs to check local supply stores. For first-time parents this is also an excellent introduction to child development.