Book Business
Drawing Out the Leader in Me, an art activity book for kids ages 4-8, is available for holiday gift giving. Pair the book with new crayons, watercolor markers, or colored pencils and you have a creative gift. This activity book sparks conversation between grandparents and grandkids. The whole family may get involved in leadership conversations.
To order Drawing Out the Leader in Me please visit https://lioncrestleadership.com/product/drawing-out-the-leader-in-me/
Order a copy for your child, grandchild, or neighborhood friends. You may also order the hardcover picture book, Ready, Set, Lead! from this website. The picture book and activity book are a strong duo—loaded with interesting, fun information about leadership.
Brain injury author and educator Donna O’Donnell Figurski invited me to appear on her blog talk radio show, “Another Fork in the Road.” Her show is broadcast nationally and internationally. Donna and I swapped stories about caregiving, advocacy, self-care, isolation, and other topics. To listen to the show go to https://survivingtraumaticbrainijuury.com/2015/07/21/speak-out-in-the-air
Please read Donna’s book, Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver’s Tale.
Reviews
I read a variety of books and just finished Gifts of the Crow by John Marzluff and Tony Angell. My hometown of Rochester, Minnesota has a terrible crow problem. Thousands of crows live here. Crow droppings appear on rooftops, sidewalks, parked cars, park benches, trees and foliage. When the art center chose the crow for its logo I was puzzled. Why a crow?
Gifts of the Crow answered the question. This book is a cross between a textbook and story book. Though it contains more information about a crow’s brain than I need to know, I enjoyed the book. Tony Angell’s line drawings are detailed and charming, but I wish they were larger. Each drawing is worthy of a half page of space. Still, I learned many fascinating facts about crows.
Crows mate for life and stay together as families. They remember human faces and can “read” them. These ancient birds show gratefulness by delivering gifts—a shiny piece of foil, a small hunk of metal—to helpful humans. Crows know how to make and use tools, such as bending wire into a loop to get food from a jar.
If you are interested in biology, wildlife, birdwatching, or a curious person, Gifts of the Crow is for you. The research is impressive, and the stories will make you gasp in surprise or laugh out loud. Crows have been around for 30 million years. Now, rather than thinking of them as pests, I think of crows as survivors—alert, adaptive, amazing.
From My Window
What a month! After testing negative twice for covid-19 I tested positive. The retirement community quarantined me for two weeks. I wasn’t allowed to walk to the other side of the building to dispose of trash or down the hall to do laundry. Every day was a day of suspense. Thankfully, I never developed symptoms of the virus. I am one of the lucky ones—blessed beyond measure.
Earlier in my career, I was a food writer for a local magazine. I love to cook and love to bake. The other day I decided to make oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips. When I looked in the cupboard, however, there were no chips. I did find two gift chocolate bars, cut them into pieces, and added the chunks to the cookie dough. This photo by Kathy Meyer, RN shows me holding a sample cookie. Can you see the chocolate chunks?
I’m excited. Ready, Set, Lead! is being made into an audiobook. According to Julie Bromley, Marketing/Audiobook Manager of BQB Publishing and WriteLife Publishing, the recording process takes six or seven weeks. Audiobooks benefit youngsters. “Introducing small children to the world of audiobooks will ignite their love for reading,” says Bromley. I agree wholeheartedly. Watch for the audiobook on Amazon!
Quote of the Month
This quote from Pablo Picasso is the perfect quote for the December newsletter: The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.