This is fantastic! I purchased this book mostly because of the cover (I know, don't judge a book...) This book has given me direction as a new parent on how to pray for my son. It takes different biblical characteristics ("loyalty", "humility", "patience", "love", etc.) and devotes a chapter to each one. The authors tell their own personal parenting stories, give prayers to pray, and questions you can ask/share with your child. This will be a great tool of communication for me and my son in the future. It also has places to journal your own prayers, thoughts, and stories (to share with your children as they get older?) I have also taken some lessons from this book for myself. This would make an excellent gift for new or "seasoned" parents! "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."~ Proverbs 22:6

This is a great prayer journal that you can use to chronicle the spiritual growth of your child. It's like a "baby book" for their spiritual lives. It makes a wonderful baby shower gift and will be priceless to your child when he is grown!

My husband and I received this book as a gift from some good friends upon the birth of our first daughter and we truly feel it is the greatest gift we received. There are a ton of different topics (e.g. Paticnce, Having good friends, Having a heart for missions, etc.) about which the authors write. There is scripture for each topic or attribute and quotes from different authors or thinkers on the topic. There is a prayer to pray for your child and a place to record that prayer in a journal form. There are also some great ideas on pursuing these things with your family. Each time we read a chapter and pray together we are deeply impacted. We have decided to give this book to everyone of our friends who has kids. It is a gift with eternal impact.

If my child doesn't grow up with multiple personalities it will be a miracle. I have found myself calling my Maddie everything but the name I gave her so I wonder if she feels like Hannah. This story is so cute and it's fun to read. I love the pictures and my Maddie likes to hear this over and over.

Parents will see themselves in this cute book about a little girl whose mother calls her everything BUT her name. I think any child who has heard "see you later, alligator" or similar expressions, can relate to Hannah. It is an easy read, and would be good for young children (2-7). It is funny when read with lots of expression and will keep your child laughing.

It's always fun for a child to have a book with their name init. My daughter... loved this book and brought it to school wheneverthere was a special reading event. It's silly and funny and touching. It's on our list of gift books, especially for new-born Hannah's! END

This gracefully written book tells an adventure story. It's set in the late 60s and early 70s, the time of the Great Society when hopes were high for breaking down barriers of Class and Race. It's full of unforgettable characters : Parents who live in East Harlem, near the market under the train tracks, and teachers and other people who come from outside the community and soon are engaged in learning how to work within it. Very relevant to the present day challenges of teaching and parenting.

With the start of the school year approaching, there is no better time to learn from the men and women whose struggles are documented in this wonderfully written book. The account of their journey to create better schools and better futures for the children in their community is both engaging and inspiring.

This is an exceptional book. I'm not an educator and found it spell binding. What I found most extraordinary was that, against so many odds, there were so many successes and that the school continues. The efforts of the families and teachers is humbling. One of the outstanding aspects of the book is the description of the way in which issues of class were confronted and dealt with. This seems to be an issue over which many well-intentioned efforts to change "the system" stumble. This account offers valuable insight as to how such challenges must be met. This book is of great value to anyone concerned with social change. It's also well written, which is a treat.

Being the parent of a child with PDD, I have been procuring a lot of books and materials on autism. Many of them turned out to be highly specialized and some downright negative. This book turned out to be one of the best buys which gives practical solutions to all sorts of problems faced by an autistic parent and the solutions are suggested by a child who was autistic. Also, the book is highly positive, as the child it seems, has now been fully mainstreamed and therefore this is another success story like that of Catherine Maurice which gives us parents a lot to learn and practise.
PS. The books was bought in the US and sent to me by a friend.

A lot of adults have written about their experiences with autism, but very few children have enough language to do so. This book shows you that even kids have insights into themselves.

I wish every parent of an autistic (or AS or PDD or SID or ADHD) child would read this book. I find myself constantly trying to explain to people how/why my son behaves the way he does. I've understood to some degree right from the beginning (having shadow AS dx myself), but this just brings it all into unbelievable focus. Especially for all those parents who pointlessly physically punish their children for behaviors that are neurologically-based, not attitude-based, this book is/would be a real eye-opener.

In this sequel to When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune, Shayla's father has a baby daughter with his new wife. The baby is born on Shayla's birthday and has Shayla's eyes. As Shayla is learning to accept the new baby, Gift, she is also dealing with Kambia, who is getting threatening messages from someone while she is trying to recover from what happened before. Also in the midst of everything, Shayla meets a boy named Lemm. Lemm is a gentlemen who does a lot of sweet talking, and really likes Shayla, but he has real problems too. This is a great book, and anyone who liked the first book will really like this one too.

Shayla is young, black, and feels that now that her father's new wife has given birth to a baby (born on Shayla's own birthday!) that she has been replaced in her father's affections. Shayla can't even confide in her best friend, Kambia Elaine, because of not wanting to diminish Kambia's own happiness at finally being part of a loving family in her own right. Nor can Shayla confide in a new friend, Lemm, when she discovers that he has his own troubles and tragedies that he is trying to keep secret. Lori Williams' Shayla's Double is a superbly written, emotionally articulate novel of unconditional love, human heartbreak, and family relationships. Highly recommended for young listeners 10 through 18, this 10 hour, 30 minute Listening Library unabridged production is flawlessly produced and aptly narrated by heather Alicia Simms.

this was a great book, just as good as Lori Aurelia Williams's first book. it focuses on friendship and growing up. shayla must deal with some really difficult issues. her father has a new baby that she fears will take her place and someone begins sending Kambia packages that remind her of her childhood, sending her into her own little world for hours at a time. i can't wait to see what else williams writes.

This book is exactly what parents need who want to be positively involved in their children's education. Williams defines the educational lingo (babble)-- effectively empowering parents to understand what's being taught (or not taught) in the schools. A great tool for any parent who desires to make real changes and improve the quality of education their children receive.

An outstanding guide to educate the parent and improve education in the public schools. Points out the approaches you can take to make your child's education the best. Extremely well researched with references and websites, including citations to other books on specific problems of public education, such as Outcome Based Education, Goals 2000, etc.

This book opens the door to the problems that plague our public education systems. From reading failure, out-come based education, sex education and other non-academic teachings. This book is entertaining and informative. It empowers parents to go to their schools and take back the classrooms. The list of resources will help with any concern you might have about your child's school and quality of education.

Looking for family entertainment? This book provides a great opportunity for kids and parents to share thoughts and feelings together. Parents take your time with this book, the message is great and the illustrations full of color and Creature Character! Enjoy!

Whether by car, train, plane, or boat children and parents will enjoying traveling with the colorful creatures in this book. The bold and bright illustrations combined with whimiscal rhymes help children and parents discover new ways to talk about their feelings and emotions.

Great book, After reading the book and matching the creatures to there feelings, I was excited to read the book to a child.
The illistrations match so well with the meanings that a child would be able to relate to the Creature. A parent reading this to a child would open the discussion about things that maybe would go unnoticed. Great book!

Bill Stillman writes with exquisite sensitivity and calls the reader to share that respectful approach. This helps the reader learn how to support the person(s) whom they love who happen to have autistic experiences. Further, this approach leads readers to examine their interactions with all other people.

Bill writes about his own experiences as well as the lives of others. These vignettes were wonderful illustrations of how those with autistic experiences live. One of the greatest gifts of this book, however, is its tacit invitation to all readers to examine our own lives. This is especially poignant for those who are "typical."

I found myself asking if we wouldn't all be better off by recognizing and embracing the autistic features that lay dormant in each one of us. Being sensitive, saying what we mean (and meaning what we say), and recognizing our own difficulties in communication (especially when frustrated) could make life more pleasant for everyone.

Those with an autistic experience have much to teach; we all have a responsibility to learn.

This is a must-read. Highly recommended. I am a parent of young child who has high-functioning autism, and I have gained some very good insights from Mr Stillman's writings. He also helps us see ourselves through the eyes of those we think of as 'different' -- not always a pretty sight!

This is a terrific, unique book. It is filled with incredibly helpful insights. I have found there are 2 kinds of books on autism --the "clinical" type which gives descriptions and teaches interventions, as if we're all merely onlookers. The second type is the (auto)biographical. This book is finally a new and much needed genre. Mr. Stillman takes you right into the world of a person with an autistic way of being. It's not an ailment to be "fixed". He explains how ASD is a way of being. He draws from his experience with many children and adults, filtered through his own Asperger's experience.

For example there is the story about a little girl who laughs inappropriately. Rather than lecture us on how to teach her when it is ok to laugh, he explains WHY SHE LAUGHED. (It's hilarious.)I took this story to my (adult)ASD brother. He identified immediately, telling me a few of his own stories. We laughed and laughed!

I am the sister, mom, and aunt of people with an autistic way of being. Mr. Stillman's insights have helped me immeasurably in my relationships with them and others. You need to read this.

Don't Divorce Your Children honors the children of divorce and offers practical ideas on how to handle real life challenges. It describes anecdotal situations in a diary format and discusses how to handle them so that the relationship between parents and children are strengthened. The chapters are in an easy to read format that allows you to zero in on a situation that matches your own.

As a step-mother, this has been a very helpful guide to me when confronted with the negativity and unhappiness of my husband's ex-wife and how her manipulative behaviors effect the children and add stress to the transition between her home and ours. It helps me to be supportive of the children and of my husband at the same time.

The book is filled with wise insights, comfort, and good counsel. It has been a lifesavor through the journey as the children have grown older and established their own identities. While their parents have been divorced for 8 years and the children are now young teens, each stage has taken on a new nuance, and this book has helped my husband and me to maintain a sense of humor and connectedness as a family.

It sometimes takes a lot of emotional energy on the part of parents and children to work through these solutions, and this guide has given us permission to remain firm in being actively involved in the children's lives (even if their mother wishes we would move to another planet.)

A consistent and helpful approach is provided no matter what age your children are or whether your divorce is new or long-standing. This is a book worth buying and reading again and again as you encounter new and different situations.

Children don't share our perspectives. Developmentally they have very different needs than the adults in their lives. Divorce can rock even the firmest foundation we have given them. This book gives parents the ablility to seek simple solutions from different perspectives. Answers that were easy, can get more complicated with divorce and it is refreshing to find solutions that use common sense, and place not winning or losing but succeeding as the goal, The authors, understand both children and parent needs, and the importance of building good relationships for all involved. I highly recommend this book, I have had opportunities to put the authors' guidelines to use and they work - for both parents and children, empowering all involved.

Just like your divorce, you probably won't like everything in this book, because no matter who you are, you can't help using the kids somehow to act out your own issues with your soon to be ex. This book really takes on the specific issues that effect children, so if you are serious about wanting to spare them long lasting problems as much as possible, read this book and pay attention to what it says.

This is a very very basic book on organizing your home. If you were just beginning a system of organization, didn't know where to start at all, or had not read another book about organization; then this might the book for you.

If, however, you are like myself- fairly organized and looking for a few hints and pointers and possibly some better ideas of ways to organize, you can skip this book. Personally I suggest to my friends that they consider 'Confessions of a Happily Organized Housewife' by Deniece Schofield. (Both her books are well worth the money!)

So- here is my opinion: IF you have never organizined before this is a very non threatening book with some great ideas for organizing various parts of your home. The author does a great job of explaining how to sort through things for importance, how to keep a system going once it is in place, and ideas of how to organize what you do keep. I just find it a VERY BASIC book. If you are already somewhat organized in your life or have already read some books on this topic, you can probably skip this book.

Debbie Williams takes to heart the concept of "feed a man a fish and he's full for a day, but teach him how to fish, and he'll have food for life." Her book, "Home Management 101: A Guide for Busy Parents," can take even the most organizationally challenged person and help them become more organized.

Whether your home is chaotic, cluttered, or just needing more systems for organization, this book is for you. Ms. Williams' writing style is delightful and easy to understand. It's like having her there as your personal guide in tackling that cluttered closet or chaotic kid's room. I used her book as a guide to organize two of the most chaotic rooms in my house. Before reading "Home Management 101," I was too overwhelmed to even begin. "Home Management 101" is a book I'll keep handy to refer to again and again.

The great thing is that Debbie Williams offers affordable organizational coaching services, which I've also used. She's got a wonderful way of helping you see exactly what you need to do and comes up with creative solutions that keep the whole family excited about being organized...

Williams' book is filled with organizing tips that are not only practical, but are also easy for any busy family to implement into their households. And after following her suggestions in the chapter on office management, I found working space in my writing area, I did not think even existed! Priscilla Y. Huff, author of 101 Best Home-Business Success Secrets and HerVenture.com.