I grew up living above our family funeral home. My parents were exceptionally compassionate people. I learned through their kind upbringing that heaven was and is, here and now. Death was not only an inevitable part of life but a daily part.As an adult, I became a Yoga Teacher. Yoga means union. It's an exploration into the intimate balance between body and mind. One particular yoga pose essential to every single class – Savasana or Corpse Pose. A coincidence a young girl raised in a funeral home would end up teaching daily classes of corpse pose? I think not. And through it all bloomed Floretta. The story of life and death coming together into a magnificent circular experience. Bilingual yet parallel worlds amidst beautiful chakra colors.
I firmly believe a great children’s book is a great adult’s book too. This one sure fits the bill. Humpty Dumpty has that infamous fall off the wall and what happens to him afterward is funny, healing, and magically majestic. If you know of a child (or adult) in the hospital or simply someone having difficult times, this is a book of humor, acceptance, and creative transformation. It’s a permanent fixture on my bookshelf.
Everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after? This captivating picture book from Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat follows Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher who loves to be high up on the city wall. But after his fall, Humpty is terrified of heights and can no longer do his favourite things. He finally pulls together the courage to climb back up the wall. In a surprise twist, Humpty transforms, turning into a magnificent bird, and learns that sometimes you have to fall... before you can fly.
What child doesn’t like a cuddly kitty-kat? Nini is all cozy in her city apartment, when one day her owner surprises her by taking her on a far-away trip. As Nini settles into her travel black bag she enters a sleep of many dreams. She awakens into a mystifying and incredible reality. An outstanding story that any child would love. Helpful for children going through transitions too. Nini, in her eloquent and lovely illustrated silence, understands.
Nini the cat is very, very worried. She loves her comfortable windowsill perch in her sunny home in the city. But the clues are clear: Nini's people are going away. Will they take her? Or will they leave her? And if they take her (and, oh, she hopes they do), will she like wherever it is they are going? Will it feel like home?
Anita Lobel's masterful picture book is for anyone who adores cats and for anyone who has ever moved to a new place. But most of all, it is for anyone who loves coming home.
It sure takes a village to turn an award-winning Disney Pixar movie, Up into a Read-Aloud Storybook, and this cast of creative characters does it well! A terrific story about those significant changes in life and about not closing doors to the inevitable new adventures to come. Heart-warming and brilliantly crafted. See the movie! And do certainly read this lovely book version too.
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What is this book about?
A Little Golden Book retelling of Disney/Pixar Up! Meet Car and Russell. Carl is old and lonely. Russell is young and looking for a friend. When they’re thrown together on the adventure of a lifetime, they discover that friendships are great at any age! This Little Golden Book retelling of Disney/Pixar Up will appeal to adventurers of all ages.
Rain can be a bummer unless you can find fun ways of transforming it into an experience of wonder and fun. And that’s exactly what this book does. Fun, fun, fun! Unless you live in the Sahara Dessert, almost every one of us will encounter a rainy day - if we’re lucky!
Molly hates rainy days. The gray sky, the soggy wait for the school bus, they seem to make everyone grumpy. Everyone except her friend Sophie, who shows Molly the magic she has been missing.
The simple, poetic language in this lovely book takes readers on a journey from the girls' first tentative steps into the drizzle to a rain-drenched romp in a puddle. The lyrical text is perfectly matched by the joyful watercolor paintings, which capture not only the color and beauty of a rainy day, but the warm interactions of the girls' blossoming friendship. An exuberant homage to finding…
I continue to be inspired by a vast array of new books on the market. This is for sure one of them. It’s the type of book you don’t need to read in any specific order. Instead, just open up to any page and be inspired by words and watercolors. An example from one page of the book,
“Sometimes I think you believe in me more than I do,” said the boy. “You’ll catch up,” said the horse.”
A book for all ages, a book for all time. Adapted into a short animated film, coming this Christmas.
Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most important life lessons.
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared millions of times online. They've also been recreated by children in schools and hung on hospital walls. They sometimes even appear on lamp posts and on cafe and bookshop windows. Here, you will find them together in this book of Charlie's most-loved drawings, adventuring into the Wild and exploring the thoughts and…
Floretta is the story of an old woman who discovers life beautifully anew thru the helping hand of a child. The chakra colors of dawn and twilight are woven through the pages by the brilliant illustrations of Brooke Dahmen. Written in English and Spanish, an MP3 comes with to easily learn the spoken translations. Josephine Budilovsky masterfully reads the Spanish translation alongside Joan’s Chicago English. Subtle harp music guides the page turns. A simple way to begin learning either language. The Academy Award-winning movie Coco inspired the publication of Floretta - a story written by Joan decades earlier.
I have been to, and loved, North, Central, and especially East Africa for over fifty years. Only six times have I been to Africa on holiday; more often, perhaps twenty or more times, as a television producer. Working in Africa gains a perspective of reality that the glories of vacation do not. Each has its place, each its pitfalls like stalled plane rides with emergency landings in the bush or attacks by wildlife. But, in the end, the magic of the “otherness,” what an old friend called “primitava” captures one’s soul and changes your life.
Keen to rekindle their love of East African wildlife adventures after years of filming, extreme dangers, and rescues, producer Pero Baltazar, safari guide Mbuno Waliangulu, and Nancy Breiton, camerawoman, undertake a filming walking adventure north of Lake Rudolf, crossing from Kenya into Ethiopia along the Omo River, following a herd of elephant making their annual migration.
Stumbling onto an elephant poaching, the team become embroiled in true financing of terrorism for al Shabaab –ivory sales–and are determined to stop the slaughter at any cost. Ivory trade financing terrorism involves UN refugee camps with two hundred thousand displaced Somali persons, powerful…
A documentary team hiking through East Africa collides with a gang of deadly poachers, in this gripping adventure by the author of Kidnapped on Safari.
Years of filming, extreme dangers, and daring rescues have taken their toll on documentary producer Pero Baltazar and his team. To relax and reconnect with the East African wildlife they love, Pero organizes a walking safari for him, his camerawoman Nancy Breiton, and their elite guide Mbuno Waliangulu. Still, Pero has trouble truly disconnecting from work. When the team comes across a herd of elephants making their annual migration north of Lake Rudolf, Pero decides…
