This book recounts the historical achievements of the National PTA and its sister organization, the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers. The PTA is the result of the hard work of such women as Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Alice McLellan Birney, founders of the original National Congress of Mothers, and Selma Sloan Butler, who, with the support of the National PTA, founded the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers. When the two organizations merged in 1970, so did their identical mission to improve children's lives. The book profiles these women's work on such issues as juvenile justice, kindergarten classes, child labor laws, hot lunch programs, car safety, the Salk polio vaccine, today's National Education Goals, and the PTA Web site. The book includes:"The Historical Setting"; "The Founding"; "The Early Years, 1900-1909: Schooling Parents"; "1910-1919: For the Health and Safety of Children"; "1920-1929: Be It Resolved"; "1930-1939: The Voice of the PTA--90 Years in Print"; "1940-1949: PTA On the Air"; "1950-1959: Monitoring the Media and the Message"; "1960-1969: Bringing Justice to Juveniles"; "1970-1979: Advocates in Action"; "1980-1989: The Reflections Program"; and "1990-1997: Celebrating a Century of Commitment to Children." (SM)

Good thing Beth Kennedy likes to multi-task. As a PTA secretary, children’s bookstore owner, and single mom, Beth has to work hard to schedule time for sleuthing… Beth is excited about the spring PTA project—the Senior Story Session, which pairs elderly residents of Sunny Rest Assisted Living with Tarver Elementary students to produce a book that the PTA can sell as a fundraiser. But her enthusiasm is dampened when she discovers one of her regular customers at the bookstore, Amy Jacobson, has died from bee stings. What are bees doing out so unseasonably early in Wisconsin—and why wouldn’t Amy, who was deathly allergic, have taken greater care to avoid them? Now it’s up to Beth to get the buzz on who used killer bees to send Amy Jacobson to her eternal rest…

Two-Thirds of the world don't read. How can the church reach them? Tell Me a Story is a profound call to the global church to use storytelling, or Orality, as a primary method for communicating Christ's gospel to the world. Dennis Johnson and Joe Musser outline compelling and practical strategies for reaching children and adults around the world whose primary way of learning is through hearing oral stories. You will be inspired and equipped to make Orality, or story telling, a part of your ministry in your neighborhood, in your local church, and around the world.