Leader

I came across this group leader's guide at a Palliative Care conference. As I volunteer at our local hospice I thought that it would be a good tool for our lay leaders. I was right! What surprised me was that the professional bereavement counsellors were enthused about it as well. I think that the best think about it is that you can pick it up and lead a group from it. Everything is laid out in detail and when you use the participant manuals that are also available then you don't have to worry if you've got all the handouts. They're all in it.
We've used the material a couple of times already and I think that it'll likely become one of the staple groups that we run.

Our Church began a community Bereavement Support Group last year using the Bereavement Ministry book. We found it to be extremely helpful. Ater gathering persons from our parish who had experienced different losses to be facilitators and having a few informational meetings we were quickly prepared to meet the needs of our community through the sessions the book had planned. With this book we have reached and shared our ministry with a large number of people. It can be used for all faiths and even includes questions for each session to use in small group sharing. Everything you need to get started in Bereavement Ministry is in this book. Very well done.

For some reason I always thought that relatively little was known about the life of Betsy Ross. She is remembered because of the story of how she came to make the first flag for the United States, a story that she told to her grandchildren, one of which, William Canby, popularized the story of making the flag. In June of 1776 Betsy Ross was a 24 year old widow whose husband has just been killed during the American Revolution. However, in this volume for the Revolutionary War Leaders series, Susan Martins Miller goes well beyond the famous story to tell the life of a young woman who grew up during the American Revolution and saw not one but two husbands die during the war.

Granted, Miller is clearly working from limited historical resources. There are many times in this book where she talks about historical events in Philadelphia in a general sense along with some speculations about what Betsy and her family did during those times. The book also looks at the history of the American flag; for example, as long as flags had seven red stripes and six white stripes, American flag makers could shape and arrange the stars in any way they wish (e.g., stars with six points arrange up and down in a 1-3-5-3-1 pattern). However, the main thing is that out of a limited amount of historic information, Miller is able to provide additional facts and weave together a fuller portrait of the life of Betsy Ross.

The book is illustrated with both historic paintings and ethics as well as contemporary photographs of the Betsy Ross house and other things you can see in Philadelphia today. In the back of the book young readers will find a Glossary, a Chronology of Betsy Ross's life and a Revolutionary War Time Line. Other volumes in the Revolutionary War Leaders series look at Nathan Hale, John Paul Jones, George Washington, and other founding fathers; of course, Ross is the only woman on the list. Chelsea House also has series devoted to Colonial Leaders (e.g., Lord Baltimore, William Penn) and the Civil War (e.g., Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman). All of these series are quite good in terms of providing looks at many of the key figures from these periods that are mentioned in American history textbooks.

I chose to read Big Annie of Calumet because it features a strong female protagonist, who dedicated a year of her life to working to improve the lives of her family and friends during the Industrial Revolution. She is not only a positive role model for young adults, but also her story is inspiring and interesting for all ages of readers. It is another reminder of those who gave so much so that we can live as comfortably as we do, which is the theme of the book. In 1913 Annie Clemenc, the wife of a Croatian miner, led copper mine strikers in Upper Michigan in daily protest demonstrations against unsafe working conditions, long hours and low pay. Her determination, courage and strength were aimed at the powerful Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. Annie was born in 1888, the oldest of five children, to George and Mary Klobuchar, who were immigrants from Croatia. Her father worked in the C & H Mines for thirty years and Mary worked as a cook and maid for a wealthy family. Annie graduated from a C & H school and became a church worker, who helped crippled miners. She also helped the family by doing laundry for other families. Even though they worked hard, there was no guarantee that there would be enough money for food and clothing. When she was eighteen, she married Joseph Clemenc, a Croatian miner. If Annie was lucky, she could earn fifty cents a day scrubbing floors and washing other people's clothing. She had grown up in poverty, living in a shack and wearing secondhand dresses. She would either continue to live in poverty or she would march against the people who kept her in poverty. "In the summer of 1913, she decided to march." The story is set against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution and the author devoted the first chapter and much of this book to describing the struggle by the working class during that period in U.S. history. He explained that the number of immigrants to this country was the largest movement of people in history. He also explained that a small group of men gained control of the natural resources. Focusing on profit, these men seemed to forget the workers on whose backs they amassed great fortunes. He shows the reader how men, women and children worked ten to twelve hour days, sometimes seven days and week and earning less that ten dollars a week. Women and children averaged five dollars a week and they worked in unsafe conditions. The author tells how Big Annie marched daily against the giant C & H Mining Co. and provoked them to take several actions against the miners. The striking miners were opposed by the state militia, business owners in the town, which was run by the mining company, and by strikebreakers. They faced shootings and beatings and even the courts and gained international attention in the news media. You'll have to read this wonderful book to find out what happened, but it's a wonderful read and well worth your time! A great book for all aged readers! I give it five stars!

Concise and balanced, this is the best book about President Bill Clinton currently available. Well written and gorgeously illustrated, I would recommend it to both older children and adults.

An account of how the man who brought the IRA to its knees in mid-Ulster was betrayed whilst in prison. An interesting read, although why the author got the ludicrously biased "Tim Pat Coogan" to write the intro is beyond me.

Zita Allen brilliantly portrays the lives and times of some of the women who were an integral part of the civil rights movement. Allen takes a new perspective on an issue that has been covered in so many different ways, and she does it effectively. A must for classrooms

This is a compendium of four other toolkits. Each book contains a wealth of information on facilitation skills and how to generate participative involvement of people in solving problems. Books come complete with instructions and ideas, master copies of 150 Square Wheels cartoons and transparency masters, reproducible worksheets designed around very common themes, and other supporting materials.

Purchasing the book gives you a very wide variety of illustrations that can be used for training and development opportunities in all industries and businesses. Purchasing the book gives you the right to maintain one complete set of materials for your delivery - there are no other fees.

I recently read this book and was inspired by its message. Not only does the book convey to young children the value and importance of the printed word, but it also imparts some very empowering messages about the good that can happen when people decide to change their thinking.
After realizing what a world without words would be like, children are taken on a wonderful journey through an enchanted world filled with words, letters, pictures and ideas. Children receive a palpable appreciation of the value of the printed word in their own life, and the importance of literacy in contemporary society.
I would highly recommend this book to all parents of young children.

This book departs from the standard practice of empty rhetoric penned by starry-eyed academians. In THIS book, we see what real people do for real success.

I was able to formulate my own plan for success, by looking at what these people do. This vicarious learning is the best approach for such a subject matter, and it has become a competitive advantage for my company.