Slate.com has a very timely piece about good books to read to or with your kids in the midst of a financial crisis:
"The first time I heard the word recession, I was 10 years old. It was 1978, and my parents, like everyone we knew, were cranky and stressed out about gas shortages and rising food prices. One of the ways I coped was by burying my nose in books and discovering kids who had it worse than I did. Like Ramona Quimby, whose dad got fired and took up residence on the couch. And Laura Ingalls, whose dad kept hitching up the wagon to drag his bonneted brood to the middle of nowhere. Many of the books I discovered during the late '70s featured themes of economic hardship that made my circumstances seem manageable by comparison—a happy coincidence, I thought at the time. Looking back, I'm not so sure this was an accident. A review of popular American children's books of the past century reveals a recurring theme in the children's publishing industry: When times are tough, cue the stories about times that were even tougher."
Click here for a slide show on great children's books for tough economic times.
"O Son of My Maid-Servant! Let not poverty trouble thee, nor rest assured in wealth. All poverty is succeeded by wealth, and all wealth is followed by poverty. But to be poor in all save God is a great blessing; make it not small, for in the end it will make thee rich in God. This condition is hidden in the verse of the Qur'án: "Ye are poor," but the blessed word, "God only is rich" shall appear, shine forth and illumine, like the true morn, from the horizon of the lover's mind, and shall be established upon the Throne of Wealth."
(Baha'u'llah, from Compilations, Baha'i Scriptures, p. 180)
I agree, it is always easier to get through things when you see that there are others out there who may be less fortunate than you. Tonight my kids and I read a great book about a little disabled dog (true story)- "Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Dog," written by Barbara Techel. The story in this book taught compassion towards those who are disabled (both animal/people). It really helped my kids appreciate what they have- good health, and the ability to run and play.
ReplyDeleteWishes, For Alix (Douglass)
ReplyDeleteAlways searching, may you find;
if you run-down,
may you wind;
every year
may you grow
reaping only
what you sow
sowing only in the seed
what will ripen into need
what will sweeten to the touch
seeming little, being much.
May your playmates be a song,
may your friends just skip along
laughing you into their game
letting you remain the same
in their hearts and on their lips
even when their fingertips
have to let you go your way—
glad they saw Alix (Douglass)today.
James A. Emanuel