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ADULT
NONFICTION
your part in the estranged marriage and why
forgiveness is the cornerstone to healing and
peace. “Just as Christ’s forgiveness is
unconditional so must yours be.” Bodmer
describes the path to forgiveness, what it means,
and how to do it when it doesn’t seem possible.
Her use of anecdotes to demonstrate hard truth
is especially appealing because of the clarity
each story brings.
Each chapter contains excellent information on
issues found in divorce, such as anger, mental or
physical sexual involvement, betrayal, and
defining the real problems. A comprehensive
notes and bibliography section provides further
resources. This book is comparable to Anna
Kristin Carrols’ excellent resource, Together
Forever, which is now out of print, and would
make a good replacement. Bodmer’s book
could change the direction of your life and your
marriage.
Gail Welborn, Freelance Writer/Reporter, Everett, Washington
600’s—Technology (Applied Sciences)
A quiet world : living with hearing loss, by
David G. Myers. LCCN 00038153. New
Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2000. ISBN
0300084390, HBB, $18.50.
617.8. Deafness--Popular works; Hearing disorders--
Popular works; Hearing aids. 176 p. Adult.
In this book, David Myers introduces us to the
world of the hard of hearing. Written in the form
of an occasional journal over a period of ten
years, Myers looks at this issue from both a
professional and a personal perspective. For it is
during this ten-year period that Myers himself
wrestles with a gradual loss of hearing. As a
professor of psychology at Hope College in
Michigan, and, the author of a number of
psychology textbooks, Myers is well qualified
to chronicle the physiology and psychology of
hearing loss. However, as a person enmeshed in
the day-to-day struggle of coming to terms with
his condition, Myers must face the uncertainties
like the rest of us. It is here that his work shines.
For there is a tension between Myers’
presentation of the search for technological
advances in hearing aid devices, and his
personal love/hate relationship with his present
equipment. On the one hand, Myers lays out the
various components of hearing loss: alienation
in relationships, communication struggles, and
the essential support played by family and
friends. On the other hand, there is the personal
angst as Myers endeavors to teach, give public
interviews, and live a “normal” social life. The
juxtaposition of these two perspectives is the
genius of the book.
A Quiet World is a good introduction to the
challenges faced by the hard of hearing, and the
present and potential progress made in the area
of technology. It offers “outsiders” a glimpse
into this often-neglected world. Myers also
includes an appendix of resources for the hard of
hearing, which provides information on
publications, resource centers, and organizations
supporting these individuals.
Ted Goshulak, University Librarian, Langley, British Columbia,
Canada
Read to me : raising kids who love to read,
revised and updated by Bernice E.
Cullinan. LCCN 00027178. New York:
Scholastic, 2000. ISBN 043908721X, PAP,
$6.95.
649.58. Children--United States--Books and reading;
Reading--parent participation--United States. 151 p.
Adult.
In 1979 Jim Trelease self-published the first
edition of his The Read-Aloud Handbook.
Many revisions later, it remains the
quintessential guide to the correlation between
reading aloud to children and their future
academic success.
What Trelease’s book does in scholarly fashion,
Cullinan’s does simply and concisely. Half the
size of Trelease’s tome, Read to Me is less
intimidating to parents who might be reluctant
readers themselves.
In the first thirty pages, Cullinan makes the case
for reading out loud to children. She shares
some heartbreaking statistics: 82% of prison
inmates are school dropouts and 60% are
illiterate. But female inmates can be coaxed to
learn to read using children’s picture books—
which they, in turn, read to their own children on
visiting days.
Cullinan points out that just as a child needs
models for speech, “he needs models for
reading, too. He needs to hear what reading
sounds like when it is done by a competent
reader.” Otherwise, kids miss the flow, the
larger picture, as they get bogged down in the
chain of individual words.
If parents do not read to their preschooler, all is
not lost. One teacher who began reading out
loud to a class of struggling sixth graders saw a
leap in their comprehension—and discovered
the kids were reading ahead because they were
eager to find out what would happen next.
The body of Read to Me is made up of how-to
chapters, with tips on getting started and
suggestions for related activities. Cullinan
describes how to read to a child from infancy
through age twelve. Her book list is less
extensive than Trelease’s, with briefer
summaries, but she also includes a list of
children’s magazines, wonderful tools to delight
young readers. This inexpensive book would
make a wonderful gift for new parents.
Andrea R. Huelsenbeck, Freelance Writer and Drama Minister,
Tempe, Arizona
Kids in danger, by Ross Campbell with
Carole Sanderson Streeter. Colorado
Springs: Chariot Victor, 1999. ISBN
0781433916, PAP, $10.99.
649.’7. Anger in children; Child rearing; Conflict
(Psychology) in children. 187 p. Adult.
Originally published in 1995, Kids in Danger is
meant to help parents, teachers, and all
concerned recognize anger in children, its
possible causes and manifestations, as well as
definitive methods in handling the anger of a
child. Dr. Campbell uses short, easy to
understand vignettes of real life situations to
exemplify his points. He also explains what
anger is and what it is used for in a positive
setting. Laced throughout is Scripture to
undergird his points. Dr. Campbell spends
much of his book discussing passive aggression.
He sees this manifested in many young people’s
(and adults) lives. His visual anger ladder helps
individuals track the activities that display anger
negatively or positively. Dr. Campbell also
describes what he calls the “25%/75%” person.
The 25%’s are people who are pro-authority and
the 75%’s are those who are anti-authority. He
believes that all people fall somewhere on the
spectrum of these two categories. He also
believes that proper identification of which one
we lean to will help us handle our anger more
effectively.
The book is an attractive paperback with many
helpful sections. The notes section is useful as
are his tables and visuals within the book. The
two sections I like are the section for parents of
children with special needs, and Christians and
anger. The special needs child also needs to
learn how to handle anger and Dr. Campbell
helps the parent(s) to see how and why this
needs to be done. The section discussion
Christians and anger is helpful in showing how
pastors have suffered from anger displayed to
them and how unmanaged anger may create a
sociopath in the sheepfold.
Bianca Elliott, Teacher, Linwood, Kansas
★
The alphabet makers, a presentation from
the Museum of the Alphabet, Waxhaw,
North Carolina. Huntington Beach,
Calif.: Summer Institute of Linguistics,
1991. ISBN 0938978136, PAP, $13.95.
813.’54’20. Language and languages; Alphabet. 95 p.
Adult (High school).
On the outskirts of Waxhaw, North Carolina,
The Museum of the Alphabet stands as a unique
educational resource. In a 4900 square foot
building, the history of writing in the world’s
many different languages and scripts comes
alive. Using photographs and paintings,
sculptures and weavings, quiz boxes and
models, a special focus of this multimedia
exhibition is on people who have contributed to
this history. The museum is a dream-child of
Cameron Townsend, the founder of Wycliffe
Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of
Linguistics, and utilizes the efforts of noted
linguists, artists, and many volunteers.
This 9 x 12 book is not an ordinary museum
guide book. Rather, artistically arranged fullcolor
photographs of the museum’s paintings,
maps, charts, and other artifacts illustrate the
narrative history of writing in the diverse
languages of the world. Fine detail in several
illustrations invites the use of a magnifying
glass. A floor plan of the museum in the
introduction to The Alphabet Makers indicates
S P R I N G 2 0 0 1 7 8 C H R I S T I A N L I B R A R Y J O U R N A L