"Cindy Traisi has done it again. She has brought me joy with her storytelling abilities and brought this self-perceived, tattooed tough guy to tears with her accounts of the injured wild animals passing through the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Southern California. "Cindy's first book, Because They Matter, was a constant nightstand companion when my children were younger. My daughters demanded "just one more" of the heart-touching stories of the remarkable job of treating wild animals while they are trying to get by as best they can in a world dominated by human hazards. Some animals in her stories make it, too many don't, but every one of Cindy's accounts of the work done by her husband, Chuck, and their dedicated staff allows readers to appreciate the personalities and endearing qualities of nature's wonders. "Because They Matter, Too is filled with new heart-lifting and heartbreaking stories of the wild animals that live all around us in Southern California. If you love nature, or just love expert story-telling, Because They Matter, Too is a must read. As my daughters put it: just one more Cindy! Better yet... keep them coming, Cindy." -Loren Nancarrow, Weathercaster and Environmental Reporter- KGTV San Diego

The message "You matter to God" is presented using the parable of the Prodigal Son. Cartoon. Age range: Children, Youth, Adults

The author of "Gender Trouble" further develops her distinctive theory of gender by examining the workings of power at the most material dimensions of sex and sexuality. Butler examines how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the matter of bodies, sex, and gender.

When a gang of weasels teases the animals at the zoo, Harriet Hummingbird and her friends find a way to reassure each animal of his or her unique beauty and importance.

We all know one hard and undeniable truth: Physical beauty comes with tremendous power, and tremendous benefits. Those who possess it are generally luckier in love, more likely to be popular, and more apt to get better grades in school. But very few of us realize just how much looks affect every aspect of our lives. Recent studies document that people blessed with good looks earn about 10% more than their average-looking colleagues. They are also more likely to get hired and promoted at work. What exactly is this “physical attractiveness” phenomenon and how does it affect each and every one of us? Dr. Gordon L. Patzer has devoted the last 30 years to investigating this unsettling phenomenon for both women and men, and how it touches every part of our lives. In Looks, he reveals not only its impact on romance, but also on family dynamics, performance in school, career, courtroom proceedings, politics and government. Looks is the first book to explore how the power of beauty affects both sexes and how the rise of reality TV shows, cosmetic surgery, and celebrity culture have contributed to our culture’s overall obsession with being beautiful. Unflinching and topical, Looks uncovers the sometimes ugly truth about beauty and its profound effects on all of our lives.

One of the main points of this book is to question should we incarcerate the elderly especially who suffer from a mental illness? If we incarcerate the elderly how should they be treated? Our prisons are full of elderly people who have suffered a mental breakdown and are presently suffering from a mental illness. Also can we treat a 70-year-old as we do a 20-year-old while incarcerated? The obvious answer to that question is no but yet we do treat them the same. I wish to demonstrate that incarceration time for the elderly is much worse than it is for the young or middle age and even worse yet for the mentally ill. This should be taken into consideration when prosecuting and sentencing the elderly or mentally ill. Can you treat a mentally ill person the same as a person who is not suffering from a mental illness? I would like to believe that most Americans would answer the previous two question with a big “No” Yes, I will agree there are a minority who are still so dangerous to their fellow man even at a late age that they have to be incarcerated but again I believe it is a small minority. How should we treat elderly who have mental breakdowns as so many will? In the United States if a person has a mental breakdown they are three times as likely to wind up in a prison than an appropriate hospital or mental institution. Should our prisons be filled with the mentally ill as they now are? The older we get the more susceptible we are to a mental breakdown as the incidence of dementia substantiates. As an example consider how vulnerable the elderly are to Alzheimer’s disease the largest form of dementia as we age. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is 17% for the age group of 65 to 74 years and 47% for 75 to 84 years. It almost triples in just a decade. Before we prosecute do we make the proper effort to diagnose to find out why the elderly and people as a whole commit crimes? In my case why does a man in his so-called golden years become a criminal after living a productive, law abiding and good life? Did I just repress my criminal instincts and desires for six decades or did I repress my feelings from traumatic events which could lead to mental illness?

From acclaimed Nigerian storyteller Atinuke, the first in a series of chapter books set in contemporary West Africa introduces a little girl who has enchanted young readers. Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa, amazing Africa, with her mother and father, her twin baby brothers (Double and Trouble), and lots of extended family in a big white house with a beautiful garden in a compound in a city. Anna is never lonely—there are always cousins to play and fight with, aunties and uncles laughing and shouting, and parents and grandparents close by. Readers will happily follow as she goes on a seaside vacation, helps plan a party for Auntie Comfort from Canada (will she remember her Nigerian ways?), learns firsthand what it’s really like to be a child selling oranges outside the gate, and longs to see sweet snow. Nigerian storyteller Atinuke’s debut book for children and its sequels, with their charming (and abundant) gray-scale drawings by Lauren Tobia, are newly published in the US by Candlewick Press, joining other celebrated Atinuke stories in captivating young readers.

'A clear, concise, easy-to-read account of the issues between sex, gender and feminism . . . an important book' Evening Standard 'A call for cool heads at a time of great heat and a vital reminder that revolutions don't always end well' Sunday Times Material Girls is a timely and trenchant critique of the influential theory that we all have an inner feeling known as a gender identity, and that this feeling is more socially significant than our biological sex. Professor Kathleen Stock surveys the philosophical ideas that led to this point, and closely interrogates each one, from De Beauvoir's statement that, 'One is not born, but rather becomes a woman' (an assertion she contends has been misinterpreted and repurposed), to Judith Butler's claim that language creates biological reality, rather than describing it. She looks at biological sex in a range of important contexts, including women-only spaces and resources, healthcare, epidemiology, political organization and data collection. Material Girls makes a clear, humane and feminist case for our retaining the ability to discuss reality, and concludes with a positive vision for the future, in which trans rights activists and feminists can collaborate to achieve some of their political aims.