"Goddesses Never Age" by Christine Northrup, M.D.

I found out about this book and author from an organic women's newsletter.  The subject matter intrigued me, so I started to read the book.  There is a lot of advice in these pages, most of it a bit unconventional.  It's good that the author is a doctor because that gives her thoughts credibility.  There is a lot of eastern meets western medicine in this book.  A large focus of the book is on stress and emotions.  When patients are happy and carefree, they tend to have better health.  However, the author does not ignore physical aspects of life such as poor lifestyle, cancers, and genetic disorders.  Yes, there is a time and place for medication / surgery.  But the key is that every woman must first examine their personal life to see if there is something that could be triggering their bad feelings.  A portion of the book focuses on women's sexuality, which some readers (including myself) may be a bit uncomfortable with.  On the plus side, since the author appropriately titled each chapter, it is easy for readers to skip chapters that they may not enjoy.  At the end of the book, there are ample resources for diet and exercise, as well as women's health in general.  there is even a 14-day plan to help women feel their best at any age.

"Pumpkin Patch Blessings" by Kim Washburn, Jacqueline East

Autumn is such a pleasant time for me.  I love to admire the fall foliage, get our my cozy sweaters, tour pumpkin patches, and eat pumpkin-flavored food.  Well, all these good feelings have been swaddled up into a cute little children's book!  Two children--one boy and one girl--explore the blessings of fall.  With birdies, bunnies, lady bugs, and other natural friends, they truly have a blast.  The kids eat pumpkin pie and corn-on-the-cob.  They ride a horse-drawn hay wagon.  They even pick their own pumpkins.  Throughout the hard-covered, full-cover story, the text is a nice sized font.  With simple rhymes of a few lines per page, this book is suitable for pre-k through grammar school children.  Also, while the book has blessings in the title, there are no religious undertones in the book.

“Manners” by Kate Spade

What I enjoy most about this book is how fun it is to read and how quick it is for easy reference.  There are not lengthy paragraphs or essays on etiquette.  Rather, there are snippets from real life on how to deal with awkward and commonplace scenarios.  Not sure how to write a thank-you or when to send it?  Not sure if you can re-gift an item and who to re-gift it to?  Not sure how to act at a party or how to RSVP to said party?  This book will help you!  Obviously, it does not cover every single event, but it does include enough to give the reader a crash-course in how to behave.  The illustrations that line the pages are colorful and amusing.  

"The Berenstain Bears' Caring and Sharing Treasury" by Jan and Mike Berenstain

This hardcover book is not a single story but rather five books in one!  In these pages, readers will learn about different jobs in the community.  There is an emphasis on how everyone has a unique purpose and no one job is more important than another.  When the kid bears start gossiping, there is a story about the damage that can do.  However, there is still reconciliation and the emphasis on saying sorry when one has done something wrong.  When the bears try to constantly one-up each other, Grandpa Bear comes in and puts life into perspective.  No one needs to prove themselves by making others seem inferior.  In another story, when family members are in an emergency, the whole town comes together to help out.  There is yet another tale that teachers youngsters not to judge others based on looks.  So many good morals are shown in this book without seeming corny.  The reading level is grade school and up--I would not use this with book with a toddler.  While religion is not pushed in this book, there are Christian undertones.  A preacher is included in some stories, and there are references to the New Testament Bible.