In the Innocent Eyes of a Child, follows the story of a girl, named Brighteyes, who was born into dysfunctional family. She was subjected to years of abuse. At the age of five, she is abandoned by her abusers and ends up in the foster care system. She journeys through the foster care system going from home to home. She tells her story through her eyes, as she grows up never finding the love, care, and family she desired. She experiences the path of the foster child is often filled with challenges that are overwhelming, frustrating, and heartbreaking. She experiences more abuse which was often ignored in the system. Her mistreatment by some of the foster parents causes a great deal of pain, which is evident. She copes by "flying away." She takes the reader through the journey of each place she goes-her feelings, hopes, and dreams. These are often filled with disappointments, betrayal, and tears. Many do not know what happens to foster children as they journey through many homes-- while never finding any love or stability. While on her journey, she dreamed of being rescued by a loving family. This wasn't only her journey, but the journey of a lot of foster children-- forced to grow-up this way. The phrase, "What is in the Best Interest of the Child," is often challenged. Through it all, she still had hope that she would find a place called home.

Have you ever thought of how children really feel while they are trapped in a war zone, surrounded by nothing but chaos? Did you ever stop and consider what goes through their minds and what is felt in the hearts while their childhood is ruined, lives interrupted, and dreams shattered in the most heartless way? Ever wondered what it might feel like drifting to sleep under the echoes of grenade explosions or walking to school dodging bullets?

Discover an age-old parenting method that treats children with dignity, respect, understanding, and compassion from infancy into adulthood. The Natural Child makes a compelling case for a return to attachment parenting, a child-rearing approach that has come naturally for parents throughout most of human history. In this insightful guide, parenting specialist Jan Hunt links together attachment parenting principles with child advocacy and homeschooling philosophies, offering a consistent approach to raising a loving, trusting, and confident child. The Natural Child dispels the myths of “tough love,” building baby’s self-reliance by ignoring its cries, and the necessity of spanking to enforce discipline. Instead, the book explains the value of extended breast-feeding, family co-sleeping, and minimal child-parent separation. Homeschooling, like attachment parenting, nurtures feelings of self-worth, confidence, and trust. The author draws on respected leaders of the homeschool movement such as John Taylor Gatto and John Holt, guiding the reader through homeschool approaches that support attachment parenting principles. Being an ally to children is spontaneous for caring adults, but intervening on behalf of a child can be awkward and surrounded by social taboo. The Natural Child shows how to stand up for a child’s rights effectively and sensitively in many difficult situations. The role of caring adults, points out Hunt, is not to give children “lessons in life”—but to employ a variation of The Golden Rule, and treat children as we would like to have been treated in childhood. Praise for The Natural Child “I had grown jaded with the flood of parenting books, but The Natural Child is a rare and splendid exception . . . . I can’t praise it sufficiently, and would place it along with Leidloff’s Continuum Concept and my own Magical Child . . . . It could make an enormous difference if read widely enough.” —Joseph Chilton Pierce, author of The Magical Child “In prose that is at the same time eloquent and simple, [Hunt] provides a mix of useful parenting tips that are supported by the philosophy that children reflect the treatment they receive. This is no less than an impassioned plea for the future—not only our children’s future, but the future of our way oof life on this planet.” —Wendy Priesnitz, Editor, Natural Life Magazine

Surviving a horrific school shooting, a six-year-old boy retreats into the world of books and art while making sobering observations about his mother's determination to prosecute the shooter's parents and the wider community's efforts to make sense of the tragedy.

The National Socialistic upbringing in the League of German Girls uses paramilitary like disciplinary measures to build their loyalty and moral character. Coupled with neo-pagan rituals, songs, and folklore, "Through Innocent Eyes" captures the self-actualization of ten-year-old Gertrude as she progresses from childhood and living in poverty to adolescence and becoming "one" with her country. By age fourteen, Gertrude is chosen for Country Service Camp, called "Landjahr." Here, she will receive the very best rural education, for the Reich only wants the healthiest and strongest girls. In 1941, there are twenty-six thousand girls in Landjahr, and Gertrude Kerschner is one of them. "This is the most authentic book I have read about the girls in the Hitler Youth. You capture the essence in detail." Irmgard M. Nagengast "To be alive today and see a book written about our time in Landjahr Lager Seidorf brings back wonderful memories." Eleanor (Nelly) Mohler Landjahr Madel "What a beautiful tribute to your mother. I will always remember our time together in Landjahr as if it were yesterday." Steffi Pucks Landjahr Madel "Your book gives an intimate accounting of the Hitler Youth girls as seen through a child's eyes. This book takes me right back in time." Ellie Musial Landjahr Madel"

Reminiscences of the author's early youth.

Carter Ross, the sometimes-dashing investigative reporter for the Newark Eagle-Examiner, is back, and reporting on the latest tragedy to befall Newark, New Jersey, a fast-moving house fire that kills two boys. With the help of the paper's newest intern, a bubbly blonde known as "Sweet Thang," Carter finds the victims' mother, Akilah Harris, who spins a tale of woe about a mortgage rate reset that forced her to work two jobs and leave her young boys without child care. Carter turns in a front-page feature, but soon discovers Akilah isn't what she seems. And neither is the fire. When Newark councilman Windy Byers is reported missing, it launches Carter into the sordid world of urban house-flipping and Jersey-style political corruption. With his usual mix of humor, compassion, and street smarts, Carter is soon calling on some of his friends—gay Cuban sidekick Tommy Hernandez, T-shirt-selling buddy Tee Jamison, and on-and-off girlfriend Tina Thompson—for help in tracking down the shadowy figure behind it all. Brad Parks's debut, Faces of the Gone, won the Shamus Award and Nero Award for Best American Mystery. Now Parks solidifies his place as one of the brightest new talents in crime fiction with this authentic, entertaining thriller, Eyes of the Innocent.