A collection of stories expands on parenting and how to deepen child/parent bonds, gain new perspectives on problems and a deeper understanding of relationships shared for success in raising children.

From the former director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, a timely and passionate case for the role of the well-designed object in the digital age. Curator and scholar Glenn Adamson opens Fewer, Better Things by contrasting his beloved childhood teddy bear to the smartphones and digital tablets children have today. He laments that many children and adults are losing touch with the material objects that have nurtured human development for thousands of years. The objects are still here, but we seem to care less and know less about them. In his presentations to groups, he often asks an audience member what he or she knows about the chair the person is sitting in. Few people know much more than whether it's made of wood, plastic, or metal. If we know little about how things are made, it's hard to remain connected to the world around us. Fewer, Better Things explores the history of craft in its many forms, explaining how raw materials, tools, design, and technique come together to produce beauty and utility in handmade or manufactured items. Whether describing the implements used in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the use of woodworking tools, or the use of new fabrication technologies, Adamson writes expertly and lovingly about the aesthetics of objects, and the care and attention that goes into producing them. Reading this wise and elegant book is a truly transformative experience.

Wisdom On...Getting Along with Parents can help you understand both sides a little better and improve your relationship. This book is about giving you insight and understanding into the dynamics of your relationship with your parents, and helping you learn to use wisdom when you interact with them. You’ll walk away from this book with a whole new perspective on the relationship you have with your parents, and how to have an even better one.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the world's leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest—a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. In this, her first book, now available in paperback, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths--that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own. Simard writes--in inspiring, illuminating, and accessible ways—how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, how they learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, characteristics ascribed to human intelligence, traits that are the essence of civil societies--and at the center of it all, the Mother Trees: the mysterious, powerful forces that connect and sustain the others that surround them. And Simard writes of her own life, born and raised into a logging world in the rainforests of British Columbia, of her days as a child spent cataloging the trees from the forest and how she came to love and respect them. And as she writes of her scientific quest, she writes of her own journey, making us understand how deeply human scientific inquiry exists beyond data and technology, that it is about understanding who we are and our place in the world.

A tool for discovering and applying God’s wisdom in Proverbs to your family life, Proverbial Kids® Lesson Plans for Parents identifies seven ABC principles for parenting straight from the Bible book of Proverbs and offers a simple two-page teaching guide for each concept. You decide how you will use this resource—family devotions, small groups, homeschooling, children’s church or camp! Pick and choose from four opening activities and four Bible stories for as many as 28 one-hour sessions and hundreds of teaching moments. Object lessons and discussion questions are included. Karen has written and illustrated a Proverbial Kids® character/story book for each theme, also available from Westbow Press. All Proverbial Kids® materials are available digitally, making it easy to follow God’s directive in Deuteronomy 6:7 for “on the road” parenting! “At last, a book that practically helps parents disciple their children. My friend Karen Holcomb has written a book series that will transform your family. Proverbial Kids Lesson Plans for Parents and the Proverbial Kids character books are practical, easy to use tools. If you seek to be an intentional disciple-making parent, you need this resource.” - Mark Smith, D.Min Senior Consultant, Family Evangelism and Discipleship Baptist State Convention of North Carolina “The Proverbial Kids series by Karen Holcomb is precisely the kind of creative curriculum parents need for family discipleship. I have found the materials biblically sound, creative, and usable by families with a broad range of ages at home. I strongly endorse the series.” -Richard Ross, Ph.D., Professor of Student Ministry, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Co-Founder, True Love Waits

In the tradition of Bringing Up Bebe and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, an in-depth look at the practices and principles of Amish parents and how they raise children who are self-sufficient, hard-working, and remarkably happy. In More Than Happy, Serena Miller uncovers many surprising insights, including the significance of real responsibilities, the wisdom of unplugging from technology, the value of unstructured time to play, the importance of firm rules, and the importance of each teenager's freedom to decide what is best for their future.

Today's parents are all but completely disconnected from the commonsense parenting wisdom of their parents and grandparents. The self-esteem parenting revolution has erased the practical insights gathered by generations of parents about the best way to raise kids. In this book, John Rosemond seeks to recover this wisdom by resurrecting what parents of yesteryear tended to say. Maxims such as "because I said so," "children should be seen not heard," and "you're acting too big for your britches" are more than cute sayings for John. They are parenting principles, springing from a biblical view of the world. John makes the case that these principles from the good old days are just as valid today and will help parents to pass on values to their kids so that they can succeed at life. Grandma was right after all!

Culture expert and veteran youth pastor, Mark Matlock, will help you line your family’s story up with God’s story in the world around you, helping you raise wise children who have the character, values, and mission that allows them to go out into the real world and live out a real faith. The Raising Wise Children ebook explores such issues as: • Helping your child make decisions • The importance of failure • Knowing God’s story for your family • Changing the story your family is in • The pursuit of wisdom, and much more God has placed us here to interact with and represent him to the world by engaging with the culture—not retreating from it. Rather than trying to isolate your children from the world or draw lines that keep them from truly engaging in the world God calls us to help and heal, you can learn how to lead your family towards an integrated life where your story and God’s story come together to make a difference in the world around you.

Part American and part French, part memoir and part guide, this book offers a fresh, unique, and powerful perspective on the challenges of parenting and how to find a rewarding path forward for parents and children alike. How should we raise our children? It should be a simple enough question to answer but in fact it is an intimidating and complex one. We often address it by deciding to do either exactly what our parents did or just the opposite. After that we rely on a cocktail of love and instinct, hoping it will be enough to overcome the difficulties ahead. Far from having perfect free will, however, we are all under the influence. The child still within us confuses, influences, or undermines all our aspirations as parents and prevents us from sticking to the philosophy we initially hoped to follow. These unresolved emotions drive us to reproduce the upbringing we received, including the behaviors that have hurt us the most. In Parents Under the Influence, Cécile David-Weill draws on her own parenting blunders and successes as well as concrete examples, case studies, and works of fiction to guide readers, helping them heal from the past and become effective, nurturing parents.

Are you struggling to connect with your child now that they've left the nest? Are you feeling the tension and heartache as your relationship dynamic begins to change? In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, bestselling author and parenting expert Jim Burns provides practical advice and hopeful encouragement for navigating this tough yet rewarding transition. If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years, including: My child's choices are breaking my heart--where did I go wrong? Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.