Here are 100 books that The Song of the Bird fans have personally recommended if you like
The Song of the Bird.
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I’ve taught yoga and meditation for decades to children from ages 3 to 93. My Doctorate is in Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. I love to experience personal development and child development has a very special place in my heart. I learn so much from them! It is particularly fun to watch children discover and explore life. Everything old is new again! Sages of Young Ages can open our eyes if we simply open our ears to each child’s unique spoken truths.
This is a picture book. No words. Yet it displays the depth of human sensitivities as few books can. The sensitive bonding of a young woman and a dog. Each an outcast - wanting to belong - and finding this in each other. My heart opens every time I read this book. I never get tired of it. An inspiration into the kindest essence of life. It is absolutely magnificent.
From the creator of the New York Times best-illustrated children's book award winner The Only Child, comes a gorgeous and moving wordless picture book that's perfect for dog lovers.
In this heartwarming, wordless picture book that's perfect for dog lovers, a woman visits a park and discovers a pup hiding under a bench--scruffy, scared, and alone. With gentle coaxing, the woman tries to befriend the animal, but the dog is too scared to let her near. Day after day, the woman tries--and day after day, the dog runs away. With perseverance and patience--and help from an enticing tennis ball--a tentative…
I’ve taught yoga and meditation for decades to children from ages 3 to 93. My Doctorate is in Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. I love to experience personal development and child development has a very special place in my heart. I learn so much from them! It is particularly fun to watch children discover and explore life. Everything old is new again! Sages of Young Ages can open our eyes if we simply open our ears to each child’s unique spoken truths.
I love the simplicity of the stories with the catchy one-word titles. Short and sweet. They need not be read in any specific order. Each story stands on its own and each has a depth of meaning so that every time I read it I see something new in the story. This book was a model for me in my writing of Sages of Young Ages.
Through profound spiritual insights and his unique approach to the inner life, internationally acclaimed author Anthony de Mello points the way toward new levels of contemplation, happiness, love, wisdom, and enlightenment.
In more than two hundred parables and lessons about living life fully yet simply, de Mello gives examples filled with wisdom that cannot be conveyed in regular direct discourse. Rooted in the spirit of the Gospel and spanning the mystical traditions of East and West, this invigorating volume -- like all the author's previous books -- is intended to enliven our faith and free us from whatever imprisons our…
I’ve taught yoga and meditation for decades to children from ages 3 to 93. My Doctorate is in Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. I love to experience personal development and child development has a very special place in my heart. I learn so much from them! It is particularly fun to watch children discover and explore life. Everything old is new again! Sages of Young Ages can open our eyes if we simply open our ears to each child’s unique spoken truths.
"Don't take yourself so personally" says Ram Dass. His humor, his insights, his ability to capture great lessons and truths in one line. This book made me think and laugh at the same time = quite a feat! I so appreciate his fun look at life with his deep sense of spiritual understanding. Fantastic read.
One-Liners is a collection of over 200 penetrating and pithy spiritual instructions from spiritual guru Ram Dass, who describes it as a 'distillation' of the lectures he has given over the last couple of decades. His insightful quotes cover topics such as Love and Devotion, Suffering, Ageing, Planes of Consciousness, Death and Dying, Service and Compassion, Psychedelics, Social Awareness and Liberation.
I was once a little girl who loved reading, and now I'm a mother who shares that passion with my kid. Over the past few years, I've been revisiting my own childhood favorites with him (it's been a serendipitous mix of work and pleasure as I was also researching a book on one of the all-time great children's book authors, Judy Blume). The novels I've recommended here are ones that seemed to spark pleasure in the most discerning—and honest—of audiences: an 8-year-old. And unlike some old books that will go unnamed, they didn't make me cringe as a 21st-century parent.
My mom read this book to me over and over as a kid. She made up a little tune to go with the song the main character—a circle with a pie-shaped cutout—sings to himself on his journey: "Oh I’m looking for my missing piece." Now, that’s the way I read it to my son, too.
While I really like Where the Sidewalk Ends, this is hands-down my favorite Shel Silverstein book. To me, it’s about finding inner strength and self-love in a world that wants you to always be searching for something else.
From Shel Silverstein, the celebrated author of The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends, comes The Missing Piece, a charming fable that gently probes the nature of quest and fulfillment.
It was missing a piece. And it was not happy. What it finds on its search for the missing piece is simply and touchingly told. This inventive and heartwarming book can be read on many levels, and Silverstein’s iconic drawings and humor are sure to delight fans of all ages.
So it set off in search of its missing piece. And as it rolled it sang this song— Oh…
I have a passion for becoming a better human being and helping others to do the same. I spent 28 years in parish ministry attempting to remind people of the call of Jesus and the needs of the human heart. I left ministry and operated a private practice as a registered psychotherapist for almost 20 years. I am now retired and an author of three books. I'm still working at the task of becoming a better human being and helping others to do the same. The books I have recommended in my book list are all examples of people with similar mindsets.
Exploring a spiritual tradition that predates by many centuries the fall/redemption ideology of mainstream Christianity (which Gandhi referred to as a "Christianity without Christ"), Fox presents an alternative quest for wisdom based on the fundamental conviction that we are, each one of us, born into this world not as blotches on creation but as blessings, precious, beloved and of enormous worth and promise.
Fox's theology eventually won him the ire of the Roman papacy and eventually expulsion from the Catholic Church. His response? "Sometimes you have to take your praise any way you can get it!"
Here is a reissue of the critically acclaimed bestseller, named one of the "20 books that changed the world" in New Age Journal's Annual Source Book for 1995. Maverick theologian Matthew Fox provides a daring view of historical Christianity and a theologically sound basis for personal discovery of spiritual liberation.
In this revolutionary work, Fox shows how Christianity once celebrated beauty, compassion, justice, and provided a path of positive knowledge and ecstatic connection with all creation.
I have been to hell and back over the years. After experiencing childhood abuse, I lived through a succession of traumas with my family including fraud, painful experiences in church ministry, a death threat, and a catastrophic house fire accidentally started by my mother-in-law. While I was helped by counseling, prayer, and caring friends and mentors, something was still missing. I needed to process all that pain and loss but didn’t know how. I had to learn how to grieve. Over years of rebuilding, I’ve lived the lessons of lament and know the healing that is possible when pain is metabolized.
I discovered Cole Arthur Riley through her breath prayers and curated wisdom around liberation through her Black Liturgies account on Instagram. Her words in this book are poetry and good medicine for my soul.
Her story of learning to love her physical body as she lives with chronic pain is wise and freeing. I didn’t know how much I needed her wise reimagining of the story of the garden, the fall, and what it means to find home.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the “necessary rituals” that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.
“This is the kind of book that makes you different when you’re done.”—Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter
“Reaches deep beneath the surface of words unspoken, wounds unhealed, and secrets untempered to break them open in order for fresh light to break through.”—Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing and…
As a moral philosopher, I ask practical questions: What kind of person am I becoming? What kind of life will I live? What loves, hopes, and fears drive my choices and shape my relationships? Character formation moves us from vice to virtue. It starts with self-reflection and moves toward intentional practice. Over time, those practices shape us and add up to a way of life. You will be formed—but how? Glittering Vices, like my job, combines my passions for character development and wise teaching. Enduring the fiery furnace of cancer treatment made formation an urgent, life-changing topic for me. I hope these books open your life to renewal too.
This is the most “how-to” book on the list. Whether we are reflective about it or not, our character will be shaped and our lives transformed into something—the only question is In what way? and For what end? John Stott once said that “Spirituality is not a condition into which we can drift.” Steve’s book teaches you how not to drift through life.
Steve’s ministry (Leadership Transformations) helps Christian leaders and laypeople live renewed and beautiful lives. This book walks you through a process of self-reflection and intentional choice to create a “rule of life”—an intentional rhythm or pattern of our days that primes us for spiritual growth and attentiveness to God.
Your personal rule of life is a holistic description of the Spirit-empowered rhythms and relationships that create, redeem, sustain and transform the life God invites you to humbly fulfill for Christ's glory.
All of us have an unwritten personal rule of life. We wake at certain times, get ready for our days in particular ways, use our free time for assorted purposes and practice rhythms of work, hobbies, and worship. There is already a rule in place that you are following. Isn?t it time to give up your unwritten rule and prayerfully write one that more closely matches the heartbeat…
My passion for leading began as an athlete in high school, and being part of a team that depended on me showing up and leading myself. Attending the United States Military Academy as part of the second class of women, ignited my desire to earn the respect of those I would lead by being a person of character and competence. After 31 years of leading teams in the Army, I wanted to continue to serve and lead by sharing my leadership lessons learned and expertise gained from those years of service with the corporate sector. To whom much is given, much is expected.
It was completely refreshing to read stories that reminded me that love still matters, especially in our actions, but also in our perseverance and pursuits. It made me think hard about what was fueling my desires, thoughts, actions, and impact, and resulted in my wanting to make sure that it was love for life and others.
This book aligned with my belief that we should take our jobs seriously, but ourselves less so—that it is healthy to see the humor in ourselves and situations. Most significantly, I learned that my focus should be on doing, not just being.
Can a simple concept shift your entire world? Bob certainly thinks so. When it comes to loving your neighbors, rather than focusing on having the "right answers" or checking the "right boxes," what if you decide to simply DO love? To shamelessly show love and grace to those around you? What would that look like?
It might look like spending sixteen days in the Pacific Ocean with five guys and a crate of canned meat. It might look like taking your kids on a world tour to eat ice cream with heads of state.…
As a moral philosopher, I ask practical questions: What kind of person am I becoming? What kind of life will I live? What loves, hopes, and fears drive my choices and shape my relationships? Character formation moves us from vice to virtue. It starts with self-reflection and moves toward intentional practice. Over time, those practices shape us and add up to a way of life. You will be formed—but how? Glittering Vices, like my job, combines my passions for character development and wise teaching. Enduring the fiery furnace of cancer treatment made formation an urgent, life-changing topic for me. I hope these books open your life to renewal too.
I love Barton’s personal and practical approach to a key cluster of spiritual disciplines in this accessible overview. She explores how to encounter God in Scripture and in prayer, how to practice solitude, self-examination and discernment, how to honor the body and keep sabbath. Individual chapters are framed by an introduction to spiritual formation and book-ended by combining them into a single rule of life. Think of this book as a fresh update of Richard Foster’s classic, Celebration of Discipline. (See her Transforming Center website for more.)
Do you long for a deep, fundamental change in your life with God? Do you desire a greater intimacy with God? Do you wonder how you might truly live your life as God created you to live it?
Spiritual disciplines are activities that open us to God's transforming love and the changes that only God can bring about in our lives. Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a "rule of life" that allows for regular space for the practice of spiritual disciplines, Ruth Haley Barton takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas…
From about the age of 14, I have been exploring how unusual ideas and experiences might change a person’s life. This led me to become an author and experimental psychologist studying the effects of religious beliefs, rituals, and meditation exercises on our minds and bodies. I have spent a good part of the last 4 years putting together a book which tries to answer many of my questions on the varieties of meditation practices around the world.
Here we have fragments of the lives of female and male hermits living in the Egyptian desert, trying to live the Christian life away from the temptations of cities. Colourful depictions of their relationships, experiences with angels and demons, and the techniques used to move closer to God and conquer human frailty. These accounts are a superb antidote to today’s mindfulness which feels rather mind-numbing compared to these accounts of meditation.
The Desert Fathers were the first Christian monks, living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In contrast to the formalised and official theology of the "founding fathers" of the church, the Desert Fathers were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer and poverty in direct and simple response to the gospel. Their sayings were first recorded in the 4th century and consist of spiritual advice, anecdotes and parables. The Desert Fathers' teachings and lives have inspired poetry, opera and art, as well as providing spiritual nourishment and…
