If I weren't me / What else would I be? It's a universal question that we all wrestle with, particularly as children. And it provides creative fodder for poetry teacher hal evans, who brings the sensibilities of Ogden Nash and Shel Silverstein, illuminated with zany mashups by illustrator Kevin Pope.Leading the reader through a poetic menagerie in which our narrator tries on different guises, evans puns and brays and marches his way through a language-arts funhouse, adopting stances ranging from droll to comical to clever.As they engage in evans? infectiously zany wordplay, kids respond in kind, blissfully unaware that they are absorbing poetic structure, form, and technique.

Common Ground is the story of two unsuspecting singles falling in love when their paths cross on common ground. A letter hidden away, a triple espresso, and a song about why God made the moon unfolds in a delightful "happily-ever-after." Though it reads like a fairy tale, it is most assuredly true.

Having found the answer to the question posed by her book, Who Would I Be If I Weren't So Afraid?, Ginger Grancagnolo, Ed D, teaches us how to do the same thing ourselves. The author describes seemingly endless years that she has spent struggling with paralyzing fear to help others comfort our own insecurities and anxieties. Through comprehensive analyses of the different kinds of relationships in which we engage and of the various models through which we define ourselves, she emphasizes that even the most fearful among us can escape from the psychological obstacles that prevent us from leading healthy lives. The simple exercises that she provides enable us to regain our self-worth and to discover the tools we need in facing intimidating environments. Who Would I Be If I Weren't So Afraid? is beneficial to anyone who knows what it is like to be a victim of fear.