5 comments about Keys to Successful Stepfathering (Barron's Parenting Keys).

1. I'm about to marry a wonderful woman who has 3 daughters, the eldest is almost a teenager. After a particularly trying weekend, I went to Amazon and bought 3 books on being a stepfather. The other books were okay. Then I read this book. Carl Pickhardt is very careful and thoughtful when choosing his words. Every word was there for a reason and carried enormous weight. The book was insightful, meaningful and accurate. The advice is valuable, but it is the thoughtful, no-nonsense insight behind that advice that is priceless. It is easy to read, but better than that, it grabbed my attention from beginning to end. I've made a note to reread this book every year. Good job Carl!



2. This book is right on the mark. It validated a lot of the emotions felt in this situation and explains how to deal with them positively. I would reccomend this book to any stepfather.



3. Buy this if you are a Stepfather (or one to be)! I bought 3 books on the subject, but none came close to Pickhardt's book. He is on point. With loads of useful advice. I felt like he knew my exact family relationship with his examples. I wish I had bought this earlier in my relationship. Thanks to the author.



4. I bought this book as a tool as I am blending my family with my new partner. I bought it for him to read, but it has been just as informative to me! It really explains things from the "step" father's point of view, and has helped me to realize the things I can do to help. It has also made me realize that all of the things happening in my little family are pretty normal. I highly recommend this book for a new stepfather, stepmother or even the biological parent that is blending his/her family!



5. This book is well thought out...and that's the challenge.
   
   Step dads want to know what to do now...not sit and read a long drawn out theory about step fathering and step kids.
   
   I struggled through this book, because of the deep theory...like running in sand, struggling to get what I needed out of the book. Phrases like "...They may exploit this perceived unfairness to justify becoming more ruthless..."
   
   What? Lets just say after a divorce, the patterns are interrupted and deal with them. Too many words get in the way.
   
   There is a challenge to readers of this book to memorize statements and comments. That will make you appear fake...even if your intentions are right. Kids know. You job is to Connect! By being yourself.
   
   With that said, Let me recommend you read Chapter 10, Chapter 13 and Chapter 25. Other chapters in the book are too much sand...too much theory.
   
   Overall, if you want theory get this book. If you want something to use now, read chapters 10,13 and 25. Don't memorize it, be yourself and your kids will respond.

5 comments about When Pleasing Others Is Hurting You: Finding God's Patterns for Healthy Relationships.

1. I recently found out (at age 46) I am codependent. This has shaken my world. This book was extremely helpful. It gives a thorough description of the symptoms of codependency and why it develops. It also gives the reader hope that life can (and will) be different in the future. I especially appreciated the Christian viewpoint and the fact that it didn't assume an alcoholic problem in the family is the cause. Many other situations can cause a child to grow up codependent. It is very readable and other members of the family who live with the codependent will benefit from reading it as well.



2. Until this book I didnt even realize I was a people pleaser, just knew the back cover had some substance and points for my life. Then I bought it and read it and it changed my life! I went from worrying over everything and everyone. Worrying over how others felt even if I was right to stand up for myself to being a stronger woman. Men really will fill the voids in our emotional life! This book teaches you where you learned it, what caused it and how to eliminate the issues. Go Women! And it said some MEN are people pleasers too! Just about every emotional issue I had was linked some way to this! I feel great now! Most importantly, I understand completely.



3. If your not co-dependant before you read this book, you will be after. This book leads you to think one thing and then hits you with another at the last minute. This book will force you to seek counseling after you read it. I thought the book would be about helping me understand what to do when I feel certain feelings when others hurt me, but it's nothing like that at all. Advoid this book.



4. This book was recommended by a friend who thought it might be helpful. It has changed the way I see things, and most important, has helped me take much better care of myself. I am working my way out of codependence, a problem I've had much of my life. I'm learning how to set healthy boundaries, and this helps me be a better friend to others. I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to learn to set healthy boundaries for themselves.



5. Granted, I'm only 1/2 way finished, but within the first 2 chapters I was making some SERIOUS life/attitude/perception changes. I like being a giver, someone EVERYone can depend on (including myself). I tend to think, "At some point in time these people will come around and be there for me, too!" But often times, at the end of the day I just feel spent. Too tired for anyone, including my self. This book has helped me gain a clearer Godly perspective on the people in my life, recognizing patterns that are both healthy & unhealthy, and I've learned how to begin a healthy change so at the end of the day I feel I've done well for myself, as well.
   
   If you are the kind of person who tends to depend on others, I would like to recomend this book to you, as well so that you may see how your needyness and co-dependancy effects those who care for you.

5 comments about The Truth About Children and Divorce: Dealing with the Emotions So You and Your Children Can Thrive.

1. I used this book and several others in a talk given to grandparents of children who are coping with "Divorce". This book was helpful not only in helping the children, but, it was helpful to the parents and grandparents.



2. This is a somewhat positive outlook on divorce through the eyes of a professional who considers the children first. He offers practical, helpful advice for setting up things like visition based on the particular aspects of a divorce.



3. I needed some words to use to tell my teen-aged daughter and pre-teen son about our divorce. Dr. Emery wrote it is important to tell children in this age who initiated the divorce, and I used a his words, almost to the letter. So far, that has backfired with my daughter, who is very, very angry with me. I still believe the book will be a good reference, but I am ambivalent about taking his advice quite so literally.



4. I would recommend this book for anyone that is even thinking of getting a separation or divorce. Some of it seems like common sense, but when you are going through the trials of a divorce or separation, common sense can go out the window.



5. This was helpful and provided direction. It provided very straight forward advice during a shaky time. Recommend it.

5 comments about My Pregnancy Journal.

1. I bought this journal for a "Secret Sister" and she absolutely loved it. She and her husband have been jotting down special moments throughout her pregnancy...
   
   I give it 2 thumbs up!!



2. It has beautiful pictures.
   You can record each special time during your pregnancy.
   Excellente gift.



3. I kept pregnancy journals with my second and third pregnancies, but for some reason it never occurred to me to keep one with my first pregnancy. I've always felt like there was something missing from my collection of keepsakes because of this, so I went looking for a book I could use to record my memories from my first pregnancy. This book was *perfect* for that. It is organized by trimester instead of week-by-week, so it was OK that I didn't have exact dates for things like the first time I felt my baby move etc. It has enough questions to prompt me to write about things I might otherwise have forgotten, but the questions are broad enough that I can rely on my memory for the answers. It never asks for dates or specific things like, for example, the measurement of my belly during my eighth month, so I can be very honest when completing it even though I'm not using it as a journal so much as a memory book. Highly recommended even for (especially for) women who have already had their babies and want a place to record their special memories.



4. This journal is a work of art! Anne Geddes, once again, has done a superb job! A wonderful way to savor the miracle of pregnancy. The pictures are beautiful. This would make a great gift!



5. My daughter-in-law loved this gift so much with her first baby, that this was all she wanted when she became pregnant again.

5 comments about Native Guard.

1. As I read these poems, each offers a an insight which calls me to visualize the scenes that are portrayed. I've reread several passages to confirm their impact.
   
   This book is great example of powerful modern poetry. I'll recommend it to many. it offers a profound mix of history and personal experience. Trethewey reveals her life and thoughts fearlessly.



2. This is a fascinating life story, told through intricate, strong poems. If you like poetry, or storytelling, this is a fine collection.



3. 
   
   Weighted with temperament and the presence of graveyards, Trethewey paints vivid images of a past aware of its own history and the death of loved ones:
   
   "It rained the whole time we were laying her down:
   Rained from church to grave when we put her down.
   The suck of mud at our feet was a hollow sound.
   
   I wander now among names of the dead.
   My mother's name, stone pillow for my head."
   (Graveyard Blues)
   
   Finding portents in simple childhood acts, the more mature poet replays such impulses in a new light:
   
   "how they'd dry like graveside flowers, rustling
   when the wind blew- a whisper, treacherous,
   from the sill. Be taken with yourself,
   
   they said to me: Die early, to my mother."
   (Genus Narcissus)
   
   Bi-racial, the poet blends the spirit of her parents with the inevitability of their destinies and the legacy to their child:
   
   "Already the words are changing. She is changing
   from colored to negro, black still years ahead.
   This is 1966- she is married to a white man-
   And there are more names for what grows inside her."
   (My Mother Dreams Another Country)
   
   Recounting the discoveries of childhood with a history in the south- war and miscegenation- I am struck by the poet's embrace of time and place, the troubled years of war and the ubiquitous presence of race in daily life; yet she instinctively draws beauty where there is none, an intimate awareness of her parentage and position in a black and white world she treads so intuitively. There is much to be learned simply by listening to Trethewey's words, caught in the magic of her introspective nature. Luan Gaines/ 2007.



4. Native Guard
   by Natasha Trethewey
   
   Natasha Trethewey's Native Guard is a superb example of storytelling through poetry. Her seamless imagery flows like lyrical essays inviting you into her world of "southern living" as seen by a woman whose mother was black and father white; a product of the infamous unwritten law of the two races mixing in the 1950's.
   Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, there is no denying that Trethewey has a distinctive style and demands the attention of word artists. The title poem, Native Guard, is not only a poignant excerpt of Civil War history buried in the hidden archives of the south, Trethewey professes the contributions soldiers of African decent who served this country in the name of freedom for all men.
   Native Guard opens with a story/poem of the disappointment of her mother at 16, who left "the dirt roads of Mississippi" on a train to California to meet her father only to find him nowhere in sight. Trethewey sweetly illustrates the torment of physical abuse by her stepfather, mourns the passing of her mother, the cross burning in her front yard, and the beauty of the South with all its degeneracy. Her stories flow in sonnets, a pantoum, and a verse form I have yet to identify illustrated in "Myth" (page 14) which left me awestruck. Her poetry exudes a gentle anger that is soothed with a balm of historical lessons.
   Native Guard is familial history and southern history. Trethewey provides notes for the epigraphs she used as well as the sources used to create the title poem "Native Guard."
   I highly recommend purchasing this book, if for no other reason, for the fact that the sister won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry! I only wish I counld have purchased the first edition!



5. This is a thin book (not the gift edition) but it's very deep. It expresses what modern poetry needs & that is a sense of place & a new historical perspective. I picked this up because of the first poem in the book, Theories of Time & Space & I am not disappointed in the least. This book seems to carve "place" & put you there where the author is experiencing "living."

5 comments about Learn to Swim: Step-by-Step Water Confidence and Safety Skills for Babies and Young Children.

1. This is a great resource if you are a new parent, pregnant, or are a child swim instructor. It gives you a lesson by lesson outline. Very useful!



2. Learn to Swim: Step-by-Step Water Confidence and Safety Skills for Babies and Young Children is a beautiful book about teaching kids to swim. It has great pictures, step by step instructions, and games and techniques for teaching your children how to swim. I especially liked the fact that it very clearly stated what children can learn at each stage. So Caleb is now old enough to be learning how to hold his breath. (He's 11 months old.) They not only said he can learn how to hold his breath, but explained how to teach him and what to watch for to see if he's comfortable with it or we need to take some more time. I now have a very clear guide of what I can work on with him and what I might want to wait a bit on.



3. We got this book and have found it to be very easy to understand, there are a lot of detail on every chapter which should guide you to teach how to swim from a baby (6 months) to a toddler.
   I recomend this book to everybody who wants to teach a child to swim



4. We were very excited to get this book after reading all the reviews, but we were insulted reading it. My daughter is 9 months old, we've been taking her in our pool for a couple of months now and she is way beyond this book. I was hoping it would teach her a technique for survival in case she ever fell in accidently, like the "Infant Swim Resource" does, but it doesn't even come close. We absolutely got nothing from this book. We already know all the basic stuff, it's almost common sense, what a joke this book is.



5. Learn to Swim is an amazing resource for nurturing parents who love spending family time with their children. The authors, Rob and Kathy McKay, are world renowned for their gentle teaching methods, curriculum and caring philosophy. Learn to Swim not only shows you how to teach your infant and toddler how to swim, but also how to skillfully and gently guide your child through subtle ages and stages. If you are looking for aggressive survival back float, this is not the book for you. If you are going to ignore your child's feelings or force skills on your child before they are ready, this is not the book for you.This book is a perfect choice for parents who wish to honor their child, engage them in play and share with them as a family the joys of learning to swim, and enjoying the water for a lifetime. We love this book, it's practical, step by step guidance and positive message. Read between the lines... this book speaks volumes not only about swimming but about parenting, mutual respect and eventually gaining safety skills in a appropriate, sane and sensible manner.

3 comments about Great Big Book of Children's Games.

1. I do not own this book, but I put it on my "wish list". I currently have it checked-out from my local library for the second time. What a wonderful book for such a great price! I plan to use it for birthday party activities, kids church activities, etc. This book is well worth the price!



2. The Great Big Book of Children's Games is full of fun games of all sorts: Ball Games, Water Games, Chase Games, Card Games, and so on. Many of the games are well-known childhood classics, but many of them are either foreign or totally new.
   
   The book offers lots of ways to play versions of popular games with a make-your-own version. Naturally, it doesn't tell you explicitly, "Don't buy game X, you can make your own!", but it does give great instructions on how to make paper playing boards for games like Shut the Box, Beetle (like a drawing version of Cootie), and also how to get the most out of a game like Checkers.
   
   As far as outside games, it can't be beat, there are dozens of variations on classics like hopscotch, hide-and-seek, and that eternal favorite: tag!
   
   This book is a great gift idea for Moms, Teachers, Daycare Providers, and it's a great one to leave around for the teenaged babysitter if you're going out and you don't want the kids to spend the evening in front of the TV. Wonderful!



3. This is such a great book! I was looking for some activities to keep the kids from being bored. What a wonderful surprise! This book was way more than I expected. There are tons of activities--card games, outdoor games, pen and paper games, travel games, table top games, blacktop games, and much more. As we looked through the book I remembered some of these from my own childhood, but I probably wouldn't have recalled them without this book to prompt the memories. I was very pleased and the kids love it. There are so many games that they will not be bored for a long time.

3 comments about Letters to Penthouse V: The Ways of Sexual Pleasure in All Their Dazzling Variety.

1. In my opinion, this book is the best one in the Penthouse Letters series. It's a great loveplay aid with lots of good ideas and stories to get things going! I especially like how they have put stories together by subject and content. There is a lot of erotica out there, but very rarely will you find a book this well put together and down to earth while at the same time sensual, sexual, and just plain HOT.



2. This is by far the best in the series. I have purchased several copies of this one as I have worn out several copies. Guaranteed to get you and your lover aroused and more.
   Do not read this one alone ...



3. Even though this Letters was published some time ago, it still holds up. It's very organzied and the Letters, themselves, are sizzling. A definte read, along with Husband Swap and Roughing It: Two Dirty Stories, which I also really, really liked.

No comments about Married In Seattle: First Comes Marriage\Wanted: Perfect Partner.

5 comments about A Mother's Heart: A Look at Values, Vision, and Character for the Christian Mother.

1. I give this to everyone I know expecting a baby! It's a wonderful book!



2. My sister-in-law wanted this book after getting her a copy I had to get myself one too. This book has been very encouraging to me as a mom, keeping me reminded of God's grace in my role as a mother.



3. I've read and re-read and re-visited this book for years as I've raised my young kids. I feel that I have been 'mentored' by Mrs. Fleming as I have listened to her input and direction in this book. She is a worthy role-model for anyone who wants to learn to leave a legacy through your family. I buy for it for other moms (especially as they get into the toddler years, not so much the 'first baby' phase).



4. This is a wonderful book for any mom! I got it for a baby shower gift! The author survived having 3 kids and being on the mission field! Very encouraging!



5. I've underscored and starred so much of the copy in this book. Enriching, encouraging, thoughtfully written. A treasure in my library.