Early childhood educators face many challenges and stresses today. This heartwarming collection of 20 stories by Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld will help you remember why you became a teacher and why what you do every day is so important in the lives of young children. You'll read about classrooms filled with joy, laughter, love, and a celebration of learning. This book was copublished by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Redleaf Press. Born and raised in New York City, Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld began her teaching career in Albany, New York, in 1956, teaching fourth grade. Since that time, she has taught adults and children of all ages and grades, from Head Start to Upward Bound, from New York to Hawaii. Her special love is celebrating the arts and creativity in all her programs. Since 1970, Mimi has been totally immersed in the education and arts community in Columbus, Ohio, now her home base from which she travels extensively to be with teachers, university students, and children. The author of many poems, stories, and novels, her books Teaching by Heart, Celebrating Young Children and Their Teachers, and Creative Experiences for Young Children are widely used. Her children's novel, The House at 12 Rose Street, one of the first controversial stories for children, was adapted for an After School Special and nominated for an Emmy. The recipient of many honors, Mimi's favorite comes from a child who wrote, "Mimi, you are the Queen of Fun!"

First Published in 2017. This book is grounded in real events because values should not be regarded as abstractions but as the substance of our lives. It is helpful for those who are engaged in the important and ongoing struggle to identify and practice those values which are meaningful to them as members of a community.

"Published in conjunction with the Perkins School for the Blind."

In Tales in the Key of Life, a father and daughter writing team partner to share a collection of diverse short stories that touch upon love, betrayal, innocence, horror, and murder as a group of eclectic characters face a variety of challenges, each in their own unique way. Tiffaney knows that fate controls her life. While attempting to find reasons behind the sudden deaths of both her parents, Tiffaney embarks on a journey with her fiancé to fulfill her mother's last wish--where the supernatural is about to collide with a life-altering reality. Karen is drowning amid a life of routines. After she reaches for a life preserver she hopes will bring more excitement into her blah days, she soon discovers that her rescue may cost her more than she is willing to pay. Horace is determined not to use cocaine again. But as he waits in his van for yet another innocent child to "rescue," Horace knows he is addicted to something far worse than drugs. Tales in the Key of Life is a compilation of seven short tales that lead others into the minds of individuals who will do whatever it takes to survive life's greatest trials.

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People). The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. “Duckworth’s ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better” (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit’s most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference. This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” (The Wall Street Journal).