Books about Neighborhoods from Amazon.com

For decades the accepted wisdom has been that America's mainline Protestant churches are in decline, eclipsed by evangelical mega-churches. Church and religion expert Diana Butler Bass wondered if this was true, and this book is the result of her extensive, three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country. Her surprising findings reveal just the opposite—that many of the churches are flourishing, and they are doing so without resorting to mimicking the mega-church, evangelical style.

Christianity for the Rest of Us describes this phenomenon and offers a how-to approach for Protestants eager to remain faithful to their tradition while becoming a vital spiritual community. As Butler Bass delved into the rich spiritual life of various Episcopal, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Lutheran churches, certain consistent practices—such as hospitality, contemplation, diversity, justice, discernment, and worship—emerged as core expressions of congregations seeking to rediscover authentic Christian faith and witness today.

This hopeful book, which includes a study guide for groups and individuals, reveals the practical steps that leaders and laypeople alike are taking to proclaim an alternative message about an emerging Christianity that strives for greater spiritual depth and proactively engages the needs of the world.

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Price: $7.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is a powerful book, a window on aspects of America most people would rather ignore. To their great credit, the authors--David Simon wrote Homicide, the basis for the popular television show; Edward Burns is a former Baltimore police officer, now a public school teacher--refuse to sensationalize their subject or make its people into stereotypes. For a year the two hung out in a West Baltimore neighborhood that was a center of the drug trade. At the center of the narrative is the McCullough family--DeAndre, age 15, and his drug-addicted parents, Gary and Fran. While reading The Corner, there are times when we pity them, times when they make us angry. The book's strength, though, is that we always understand them. .
Price: $9.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Gardening can be a political act. Creativity, fulfillment, connection, revolution--it all begins when we get our hands in the dirt. Food Not Lawns combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own "paradise gardens." But Food Not Lawns doesnÂ’t begin and end in the seed bed. This joyful permaculture lifestyle manual inspires readers to apply the principles of the paradise garden--simplicity, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and community--to all aspects of life. Plant "guerilla gardens" in barren intersections and medians; organize community meals; start a street theater troupe or host a local art swap; free your kitchen from refrigeration and enjoy truly fresh, nourishing foods from your own plot of land; work with children to create garden play spaces. Flores cares passionately about the damaged state of our environment and the ills of our throwaway society. In Food Not Lawns, she shows us how to reclaim the earth one garden at a time..
Price: $15.47 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Life in Sassafras Springs has always been predictable, boring even, but one afternoon that changes when Eben McAllister's pa challenges him to find Seven Wonders in Sassafras that rival the real Seven Wonders of the World. The reward? An adventure that Eben's been craving -- a trip to Colorado.

Even doesn't think he'll have any luck -- he can't think of one single thing that could be considered wondrous in Sassafras -- but he's willing to try. Little does he know that the Wonders he'll discover among his neighbors, friends, relatives, and family will give him the adventure of a lifetime...without ever leaving his home..
Price: $2.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Authoritative yet accessible, Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the newest evidence about early brain development and how children learn to speak, think, get along with others, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the surrounding context-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Are the early years a time of vulnerability or resilience? To what extent are our future prospects constrained by how well we navigate them? How can we get all children off to a good start in life? When should we worry? The committee provides a framework for approaching such vital questions and explores how scientists know what they know about childhood development.

This timely release will be important to all those who care about children and their families: policy makers, educators, researchers, program administrators, advocates, journalists, caregivers, and parents..
Price: $26.27 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Miss Bindergarten sure knows how to show her kindergarten class a good time! Today is field trip day and everyone's favorite canine educator has quite a few alphabetically enhanced adventures up her sleeve. "Adam's dad's a chaperone. Brenda's mom is, too. Christopher says, 'Hey, don't leave yet--a stone hopped in my shoe.'" With her lively, fidgety classroom full of alligators, beavers, and cats, Miss Bindergarten first sets out to visit a bakery, where her eager charges learn how to cut out cookies and squirt pink icing on "scrumptious chocolate cake." From there, the class goes to the fire station, the post office, the library, and finally, to the park for a picnic. Along the way, each child, in alphabetical name order, discovers something new: "Jessie learns Stop, Drop, and Roll." "Quentin checks the scale." Extra-perceptive readers will notice that the shapes Miss Bindergarten posts on her easel at the beginning of the day continue to show up throughout the field trip: circular cookies, rectangular letters, triangular sails in the library book illustrations, and a star on a ball at the park.

Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff are the creators of three other popular Miss Bindergarten titles: Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten, and Miss Bindergarten Stays Home from Kindergarten. Wolff's bouncy illustrations perfectly capture the very squirmy, active nature of kindergartners--more than one kindergarten teacher will recognize a few hippos, monkeys, and tigers from his or her own classroom. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter.
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Packed with flaps, Cars, Trains, Planes, and Trucks takes kids on a learning adventure through Discovery City. The Little People® make it fun to learn all about the vehicles found in a neighborhood, at the airport, at the train station, in the city, and in the harbor. For added educational value, each locale also reinforces one learning concept-colors, pairing, matching, counting, or shapes.

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Price: $3.60 [Notify me when price goes down.]