I highly recommend this book, mainly because Bushyhead of the Eastern Band of Cherokees is an excellent teacher, and Mr Pennington did a good job of translating .. wado to them both for bringing such a gift to our children outside the rez!

Daniel Pinkwater is noteworthy in many respects, but what fascinates me most is the way in which he manages to be brilliant, moving, and profound without ever accentuating the negative. This autobiographical collection of brief, bite-size narratives (perfect for bedtime, the bathroom, or the ten-minute break at work) chronicles Pinkwater's development as an artist/writer, and gives the reader the opportunity to enjoy the world through the eyes of a funny, intelligent man who truly loves life. This is a non-fiction, non-children's book by a children's author.

My 3 year-old picked out this book and requested that we read it many, many times. After about twenty readings, I realized the appeal of the stress-free action. The egg rolls and rolls, but in time there is a natural resolution to the problem. There is no bad guy. The egg, like the gingerbread boy, keeps going, but in the end you have a fuzzy chick. As it turns out, my 6 year old is exactly at this reading level. After this book, she felt confident enough to tackle the Little Bear book. The Chick That Wouldn't Hatch was a big hit at our house.

This is my favorite childrearing book of all time.

Were it more available, it would be quite controversial as it is WAY out of the mainstream. Greenberg is writing about his own experiences as a parent, teacher, and former child. Each chapter is devoted to a different topic. Some examples follow:

The Decision to Have a Child - Don't have children until you're ready to take the responsibility.

Nursing - You're a mammal. Mammals nurse their young.

The Years One to Four - This is the true adolescence and should be treated as such. These years will be difficult and you must be strong to get through them effectively.

Ages Four and Up - Older children have all the same reasoning capability as you do, and should be treated accordingly, with freedom, respect, AND responsibility.

Sleeping - Sleep with your kids, and don't force them to go to sleep when they don't want to. Everyone sleeps and will sleep eventually.

Eating - Provide a variety of healthy foods. Your child will take it from there.

This is just a smattering of Greenberg's childrearing philosophy, which he presents unapologetically in a readable, intellegent format. Perhaps because this book was not printed to be a bestseller, he does not try to pander or appeal to everyone. Not everyone will like this book. But it's a GEM for parents who want to raise self-reliant, compassionate kids.

Incidentally, I've met Greenberg's son, and he seems to have turned out pretty well!

For almost 17 years or so now, I have loved this book. As I continue to grow older this book continues to sit on my shelf one of the very, very few I have not let be removed yet for safe keeping. I read the classic poems, which it is full of often and love what I have found in this fabulous book. If your a poetry fan, have young children, or just happen to come along it, it's definitly atleast worth a look at, and mabie you too will see what i have found.

I actually read this book before one of Homma Sensei's others (Aikido for Life), but I felt it was helpful to me as an adult student of aikido as well as a parent of a [maybe-] future-aikido child.

In the first half of the book Homma Sensei gives a very detailed and convincing account of how he came to the martial arts (and aikido in particular), and how this has shaped his practice as a teacher. He gives many easily-recognizable examples of conversations he's had with parents who want to enroll their kids in his classes. These would be comical if not true, but they serve to illustrate many of the wrong reasons parents want kids to participate in martial arts.

In the second half, he gives examples of many of the exercises children in his aikido classes perform, accompanied by black-and-white line drawings. These would be very helpful for parents with a child in aikido (as a way to understand what the children are doing, and to help them practice at home), but certainly can *not* substitute for the expert guidance of a certified instructor.

Interestingly, even though I bought this book [ostensibly] for the day my son might show an interest in coming to the dojo with me, it was very useful for my own aikido training. Homma Sensei stresses personal responsibility, as well as the "right" reasons for studying aikido, and I found this refreshing as a beginner myself. [It was also useful, in reading another of his books (Aikido for Life), as he gives a rather detailed account of his own study of aikido in this one -- which helps one understand why he feels the way he does about certain aspects of training.]

Highly recommended.

This book has so much information packed into just 48 pages! Everything from chinese numbers, confusian saying, family life, chinese names, Chinese New Year, The Chinese Calendar, Coloring sheets, a Maze, recipes, and more activities than you can possibly do in a day. I would highly recommend this book to parents and teachers. It's one of the best I've come across. I can't wait to make moom cakes with my daughters on the next full moon!

The book content is extreamly good, however the way the book is bound makes it break very easily. If you are patient and good with library tape you will enjoy this book. Based on content alone 5 stars--but with it falling apart on you it's not that great.

I love the latest book! I took it with me on a trip I took in February and read it the entire trip. Three plane rides later, I was still reading in the evenings, and the whole way home. My book is now dog-eared with underlining, corners of pages folded over, etc. It sits on my desk and I open it up for encouragement and inspiration, and share passages with my students. Thank you for a lovely contribution to my world of dance.

Book Review Christian Peacemaking: From Heritage to Hope by Daniel L. Buttry

Buttry, a clergyman of the American Baptist Church has written a most readable and informative book on the nature of Christian peacemaking. Each chapter begins with a personal story in which the author or a family member has been involved in an experience that sets the stage for the subject of the chapter. Rev. Buttry writes not only as an observer of the scene, but as one who has been personally involved in discovering that Christian peacemaking is practical.

Buttry grounds his thesis on the biblical record of the teachings of Jesus and lays out the foundations for nonviolent response to human conflict.

He recounts numerous instances likely unknown to the average person, in which nonviolent responses to conflict have been successfully employed in real-life situations. He relates the well-known struggles of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and other luminaries in their respective areas of conflict. He reveals roles played by less well known persons, where the nonviolent approach contributed significantly to successful resolution of the problem.

In all fairness, the author concedes that nonviolence and conflict resolution are not panaceas for dealing with all the ills of a conflicted world. Many heroic efforts fall far short of "living happily ever after". Nevertheless Buttry quotes Bishop Francisco Claver, leader of the nonviolent movement in the Philippines in a statement that seems to summarize his own position: "Active nonviolence is not just a tactic to be used to achieve an end, to be discarded if it does not achieve that end effectively. It is a way of life, an ethic, a spirituality, something that goes beyond the mere utilitarian and practical."

This book is meant for the reader who is willing to consider the possibility that nonviolence based Jesus' teachings may be a superior way to deal with human conflict or to the person who is looking for hard evidence to support the contention that Jesus' way is a practical alternative to violence in this modern era.