SIDS Books

I have been acquainted with Brian for several years now and also have met many of the characters in the book. In fact I have visited the scene of this incredible story. What God has done there will melt most anyone. God's work is stunningly beautiful and He has blessed Brian with a rare experience coupled with a storytelling gift. Not only will you be drawn into the story, you will - without hardly knowing it - come away trained in basic church planting principles. I recommend this book to anyone called to the mission field and to anyone called to support and care for missionaries.

Hey Brian,

I just finished your book!! Loved it!! It was so touching and heartfelt. Most of the Perspectives teachers books were great but they were more about information and following God's call for missions, which is great and very important. But your book was just a brilliant testimony of you and your families journey as an apostle, both the joys and the deep hurts. And I about lost it when I read the last part where the guy tracked you down in California and revealed God's plan for Jed's death, i was in a coffee shop full of folks and it took all my will power not to weep. God truly is amazing. I liked the way you got the idea for the title, even in the capital you still had to butcher your own meat, that rocks. I know I am biased on this book cause I want to work in Mongolia too. But is was a great read man. I don't know if you remember my conversation in Fort Smith but I know I want to work among the nomads and ride forever along the open steppe. So keep me in your prayers.

Peace, love, and harmony
Eric

And may Papa bless you and your family!!!

For some of us who wonder where God is working in the world today, this is a great read. I did frontier missions training under Brian and Louise Hogan and had heard their story before, but got so many new insights and better understanding by reading the book. It is well written, exciting, and a great way to "story" your way through George Patterson's church planting principles. It's interesting to read what happens on virgin soil when a great farmer comes in and plants good seed, then nurtures it and as a strong plant, it starts to reproduce the good seed that was originally planted. Very exciting and heart rending, the book gives a good idea of the obstacles that church planters are facing in the 10/40 window.

This is an eye witness account of how God works among people all over the world to grow His Church! Besides being extremely readable, full of engaging stories and observations of life in a Mongolian community, this book contains illustrations of key principles of pioneer or frontier missions. For example: how to lead from the middle, how to grow indigenous leadership, how to find and use local metaphors.
If you are a Christian, you'll be encouraged and challenged. If you are not a Christian, you'll see inside a Christian's heart to see what makes a missionary tick.

I happen to live near Brian and Louise and they are the real deal. No fluff or artifice here. You will LOVE this story.

This book has been a favorite in my family for generations. It is short (you can read it in an afternoon easily ) and the writing is simple and straigtforward but also sweet and magical. The author's introductory note captures my heart: "say what you like, but such things do happen. Not often, but they do happen".

This is a beautiful, timeless story, told in gorgeous prose, and charmingly decorated. I'm not the sort of person who gushes over books, but this one is true literary perfection, and not just for children. It's the kind of book that, no matter how old you are when you first read it, will stay with you for the rest of your life.

I read this as a child. It got stuck in my mind, but I could never remember the title, thinking of it only as the story of the Hunter and the Mermaid. I searched for it for years.

This is a beautiful story, one of my favorites for children.

This story by Jarrell is gentle, mythical, and stands the test of time. A short story about a solitary hunter on an island, who meets a mermaid, and together form a family with animals they meet. The tone is warm and soft, kind and at times bittersweet.

While perfect for bedtime, cold or rainy days, this book is appealing to me even as i grow older. The subtle lessons about companionship, newness, differences, loneliness, loss, and joy are not forced to the fore. Rather, an old-fashioned sense of creating an environment as a way to tell a story is key here. Inviting wilderness, homely relationships, and just enough magic and mystery to compel the story forward.

One of my most treasured books since i was a young child, the is a timeless and infinitely re-readable story.

Randall Jarrell (1914-65) is better known as a poet, although probably best known today for his poetry criticism. He also wrote a few children's book, most notably The Bat-Poet and The Animal Family, the later published the same year he died and winning the 1966 Newbery Honor. It is wonderfully illustrated by Maurice Sendak - of Where the Wild Things Are fame - in beautiful pen and ink drawings.

The story is a sort of fable along the lines of Hans Christian Andersen or Lewis Carroll, but updated with a 1960s message. It is about a lonely hunter who lives in a cabin by the sea who with time comes to gather around him a "family" of very different creatures, first a mermaid, and then a bear, lynx, and human boy. Each is an orphan whose parents have either died or somehow left the scene. They all are very different animals yet find comfort and eventually identity with one another. It is a story in the spirit of the Age of Aquarius, when songs such as Free to Be You and Me and Free to Be a Family resonated during a cultural revolution in which boundaries of class, race and, in this case, even species were being explored, when everyone was a "brother" and "sister".

My reading of the story in its 1960s context is only one interpretation, this is not a heavy handed preachy book by any measure, it is timeless in its message about toleration of differences, the power of love to overcome anything (including for a mermaid to live on land, in effect brining a happy ending to Hans Andersen's otherwise brutal The Little Mermaid), and in particular for those who seek out love and find it in the most un-expected places. It is a short book, easy to read, and poetically written. Over the past 40 years it has found a place close to the heart of many children and adults, I only wish I had discovered it sooner.

Sid is a favorite at our house! Even when my daughter is in a foul mood, by the end of Sid we're all laughing again. The pictures are extraordinarily expressive and the story is endearing. We've even taken to call one of our cats who likes to overeat Sid!

My kids and I both love this book. The art is pretty without being distracting. Sid is drawn very expressively, and as a real character, without being a talking animal. The message of sharing, openess, and flexibility are important and come in handy in our lives.

The book, Six-Dinner Sid (Aladdin Paperbacks, purchased in 2008) included an advertisement for Cheerios printed on the inside back cover of the book. So every time you read the last page of the book, your child will see an advertisement from a cereal company. No, thank you. We prefer not to have advertisements in our children's literature.

This is a delightful story of a friendly cat! My students like to listen to this book over and over again!

Sid likes six different kinds of dinners, being scratched six different ways, and he sleeps in six different beds. He's just that way!

And... when everyone talks to each other... everyone knows, so no one minds.

An awesome polyamory fable, great for kids and adults.

What a find -- everyone needs this book! It's filled with pages and pages of great information that can save you money and aggravation. Many thanks to this author.

So informative. I was unaware of all the ways I could be scamed. I hightly recommend this book, very educational for young and old.

I found the book Scam-Proof Your Life to be very thorough in covering all catagories noted in the Table of Contents.I especially liked the "go-to" sources for filing complaints. I found, however, that the inserted information in each catagory interrupted the flow of the commentary and disturbed my "train of thought". Overall, there is a wealth of useful information in this book.

Scam-Proof Your Life is a really good book with lots of information that will teach you ways to protect yourself against the scams and frauds we face everyday. It seems like we are constantly faced with people trying to cheat us out of our money. This book is both fun to read, and very informative, and will make you aware of some of the scams used by these criminals to steal your money!

This book should be required reading for the entire country. A crisp and invigorating read, 'Scam Proof,' by Sid Kirchheimer, is packed with information on topics ranging from Telephone Service to Identity Theft; chapters 3, 7, and 8 are especially informative. The length to which the credit card companies will go to fleece Americans borders on the criminal. Furthermore, the similarities that exist between the unfair but legal practices of some of America's most powerful institutions and the ambitious professional conmen of the day are unsettling. Get ready to feel paranoid and disappointed, because this book is an eye opener.

I was given a hand-me-down copy of the InnKeeper for a Christmas present. After the 5th page I was hooked. After the 50th, the epiphany that Og Mandino still lives came to mine. I was warmed and magnetized. So good was the story that I read it all in one setting. A small book. A big story. A great Christmas present.

Set in Bethlehem, 2002 years ago, the story is about the lives of seven pople who are in the city the day Christ was born. Hillspeak readers found the personal stories interwoven here realistic and heartening. It is a book that haveing read, you will want to share and is especially appropriate for Christmas giving. The highlight of the story is the prayer Caleb offers at the birth of the new child. The Anglican Digest recommends this book by Dr. J. Sid Raehn

J. Sid Raehn's The InnKeeper is a different kind of Christmas story. It takes the reader back to the day Jesus was born, looks in on the interrelated lives of seven people in Bethlehem and the way one day changed the world.

Told in lean, precise prose, The InnKeeper engages the reader with fresh descriptions of biblical scenes that effectively modernizes the well worn cliches of the nativity story.

Nathan, the inn keeper, is at the center of the narrative. He is a compellingly real character, showing both the ugly and honorable traits of a complex personality. His fears and convictions (taxes, business savvy, hopes for his children) are easy for the modern reader to understand and identify with.

(Raehn's portrayal of) Nathan's son, Caleb...a dissonant student of the priesthood, sometimes gets in the way of a brisk narrative. However, certain scenes that revolve around Caleb's growing spiritual crisis are powerful statements of his struggle with spiritual faith.

The Roman centurion, Sidrick, offers an austere counterpoint to the bustle of Bethlehem during the census taking. His cool, understated dignity is a fine creation that brings a sense of perspective to Caleb's effusiveness and proves every path to belief is not the same.

Nathan's daughter-in-law (to be) Leah, is represented as a saint on earth giving not a second thought to sacrificing her comfort and dignity for the accommodation of others.

The InnKeeper succeeds in keeping the reader turning the pages. The well-written passages far outnumber moments of pedantic awkwardness. The language is clear and fluid, allowing for a pleasantly accessible read.

Fans of the historical novel may be disappointed by The InnKeeper's slender 96 page length, but Raehn wastes no words in this tightly constructed novella.

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed, " The Inn Keeper ".
What an exciting and unique twist on the Christmas story we all have heard for years.
I purchased the book during a recent business trip in Atlanta.
When I got it home I started reading it and I could not put it down. The very next morning, I called (the publisher) and ordered fifty copies. As soon as I received them I sold 47 in one day. I Immediately had several customers call and want to order more. I have already reordered this book two times,( fifty copies each time) and I am getting ready to order it again.
What a wonderful and glorious story... and I know that everyone who reads this will be touched by its message.

My wife purchased a copy of The InnKeeper from Highland Books the other day. She wrapped it up and gave it to me this evening. She said I had to open this gift early. When I opened my package I found a book. I'm not much of a reader and rarely read for pleasure. My assumption was that she gave it to me early because she knew that it would probably take a few days for me to read, that is if I chose to read it at all. Tonight she went to bed early. I am a third shift worker with 5 days off and have no idea what to do with myself. After flipping channels and finding nothing on television, I decided to pick up the little book.

My original goal was to read a chapter. After I read about 10 pages, I noticed that there was not any chapters. Next, I determined I would read 1/3 before retiring, then it was 1/2, then it was 3/4, and then I finished it.

For me, the InnKeeper was very enjoyable, moving, and inspiring. Thank you for not feeling as if you had to overdevelop the characters but kept the story simple; telling just enough to make this beautiful story fit into the framework of history.

I also feel I need to thank you for the reminder of my own InnKeeper heart. It sure is crowded.

This book is amazing to read and an informative joy to view the many photos. Jerry Maren has done so many endeavors and diversified ones in his life as recorded in this book. I have the privilege to know Jerry and his wife for many years. They are both very wonderful people. I think you will enjoy this book very much.

Jerry Maren has had the most incredible career. I had no idea he went on to do so many things after appearing in The Wizard of Oz. "Short And Sweet" is primarily a picture book. It is like a scrapbook of his life. There are photos on almost every page showing the author working with everyone from Groucho Marx to Barry Manilow. And who knew that he was one of the aliens in the original Star Trek?

He tells his story in a gentle fashion. It is not a catty tell-all book. He is very respectful of everyone he worked with. Well, ok, he mentions a couple of people who drank a bit too much, but that is as gossipy as it gets. He comes across as a man who genuinely loves his work, enjoys himself, and enjoyed his years of working in Hollywood.

It was fun learning a bit more about the other Munchkins, too. I enjoyed this book a lot.

I have read several Oz books before, and this is one of my favorites. I love all the pictures and stories that were included from Jerry Maren's career before and after the Wizard of Oz. In the writing, it feels as though you are sitting down and listening to Jerry tell stories about the good ole days. Very easy reading, and highly recommended for any Oz fan!

"Short and Sweet" is just that. Jerry Maren's book covers his 60+ year career in and out of Hollywood, and is loaded with rare photos. Who knew Maren was in Star Trek the original TV series, Lidsville, Bewitched, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, New Zoo Revue, and many others, in addition to well known roles such as a Munchkin in Oz. Edited by Stephen Cox, author of some of the best TV and movie books ever written.

Very enjoyable! What a great career Jaren Maren has had -- so much more than the Lollipop Munchkin that I never knew. His story is told in a very down-to-earth manner, with lots of great behind-the-scenes photos and anecdotes. I'm glad that I've had the chance to meet this Hollywood Legend in person, and now know his history a lot better!

What an incredible book. Sid was the first "Rock Impressario". The book details not only his responsiblity for the British invasion but also his life...from a child to his current status. Sid did it all...from the Newport Jazz Festival to Carnegie Hall. And somewhere in the middle is the amazing story of how he found and brought the Beatles to America..long before Ed Sullivan even knew they existed. A warm and touching story about the man who truly is responsible for Rock and Roll in the 60's and 70's...and even influenced music today. The book is easy to read and the stories are told as if Sid and the reader were having a conversation over dinner. What a great book!

If you're looking for a great read for the beach or a long flight, buy this book. It's tremendous fun. I was genuinely sorry when I reached the end. The authors convey the excitement that seems to have characterized the earlier years of rock. I can't wait to read it again

Sid Bernstein is the legendary impresario that brought the Beatles to America. He presented the original Beatles American debut at Carnegie Hall, as well as the Shea Stadium concerts. As the title, suggests, The Beatles are not all there is to this promoter's career. Bernstein also promoted Tony Bennett's first Carnegie Hall appearance, a series of Judy Garland concerts, Richard Pryor's first times in front of a large audience and more. Bernstein briefly headed The Newport Jazz Festival, brought the Bay City Rollers to American and took The Rascals to England. As a result of these associations, this autobiography becomes a history of the formation of American pop music into a stadium-filling sensation. These stories populated by figures like Woody Allen, Tito Puente and Miles Davis are told in a engaging, personal manner. That is Arthur Aaron extracted these stories from Bernstein and presents them to us in language warm and natural, as if Sid were telling us himself over dinner.

If you are a beatles fan you must read this book. Sid takes us behind the scenes with many stories about the beatles and the concerts (shea,carnegie hall),and his encounters with them over the years. He also shares his life with us from the his years in the war to his roots in the promotion-manager area. Sid was responsible for such artists as the Rascals,Tony bennett,abba,& many others. If you love music this book is a nice look at these artists and how they were represented and in many cases what has happened to them. All well written thanks to Arthur Arron's great translation of sids stories. Sid is a warm sincere guy and this book is like sitting down over a cup of coffe and danish and having him tell it all to you..Thats how comfortable and easy going it is.. A MUST READ FOR ANY BEATLES OR MUSIC LOVER.

Arthur Aaron has captured all the elements of Sid Bernstein's life. In fact, his story reads like a Hollywood motion picture: Sid's humble beginnings on the streets of New York, his early love for quality entertainment, Sid's devotion to his loving parents and family, WWII, his uncanny abilities to discover and promote talent and offer it to an eagerly awaiting world, Sid's promotion of The Beatles at Carnegie Hall and Shea Stadium, and his years as a manager for the Young Rascals. Throughout Sid's career, the biggest names in show business crossed his path. Sid also talks about some of the pitfalls of the promotion business - deals that soured, and entertainer foibles.

Sid Bernstein is a man who made it big as a promoter without cheating, lying, or backstabbing. Sid Bernstein is a gentleman.

"Not Just The Beatles" tells it as it was. I couldn't put it down. If you are a Beatles fan, a music lover, a musical researcher or historian, or are in the entertainment business, or if you just want to read a good story, then buy this book!

Thank you Sid for your wonderful life. Thank you Arthur for letting me relive it!

Just finished reading this book and was hoping for more. The reader is hoping for another chapter. Is it up to our creative mind to continue it, just like an artist that leaves a painting unfinished and makes us wonder about the subject, how we could finish, help and continue it? (like myself like to do in my paintings). It took me to another place with an universal problem and that one can relate with the people so well and what they have inherited is an universal ripple effect. Similar to the Amazon region so close to my up bringing and my heart. Since the outside progress is endagering their existence then the outside characters are well needed to bring it back were the natives were and to risk their lives for them. In the process, sometimes for their own motives, they are sucked up in this disputed environmental balance with all risks. Urs Gerhard certainly played the hero's journey well which ends up in sacrifice. From sacrifice comes birth and from birth the awakening to help this problem. We certainly are all touched by it. Well put, congratulations!
How is the author finding inspiration to continue writing the next chapter? I can understand that one is submerged into their work (as it happens with me also) and forgets the time, to convey with words the messages that we need to know. The author is a wonderful messenger with great influence on us. That remains me of these wise words: "The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose" that especially young people need to know. Your life sure shows that purpose! Hat's off!!!

I knew Paul Spencer Sochaczewksi in another life and his ability (unknown to me until now) to communicate ecological concerns in a thrilling and interesting book is beyond belief. A highly recommended read for both supporters and sceptics of what ecological issues mean to all of us.

Redheads is a great adventure story. I was glued from the first to the last page. This is a five star book.

The30-year conservationist and writer Paul Spencer Sochaczewski brings his rich experience and gifts to a smart and fascinating eco-thriller that smoothly blends philosophical explorations with wit, sexy humor, and heart-thumping action.

The story is set in the world's oldest rainforest, home of tribal people (the Penan) of Borneo who for thousands of years have lived in physical and spiritual harmony with the ancient forests and its multitudinous life. (And according to the dust-jacket bio, it is a world well known to that the author who had spent years in the Borneo jungle as Peace Corp volunteer and World Wildlife Fund director.) But loggers armed with chainsaws and shotguns threaten to reduce this lush and final frontier to barren wastelands. That is, unless a band of quirky and desperate characters can prevent them.

Like the rich rain forest fauna, the author casts a diverse and well-conceived band of characters into this engaging battle of eco-ideals, corporate greed and political corruption--rainforest natives turned eco-guerillas by an elusive but charismatic Robin Hood figure from Switzerland; a feisty and passionate primate specialist scrambling to complete her research on the mating patterns of orangutans while trying to barter time from government officials; a doctoral student who has developed sign language communication with orangutans in the hope of shedding light on the causes of autism in children; a government administrator who is bedfellow to loggers and conservationists alike; and, of course, the "redheads" of the title, those charming and magical creatures whose needs and desires blur the distinction between human and ape.

This is a must read for anyone who cares about the natural world and our place in it.

I've always wondered how the environmental movement really works, and I know a lot more about now than I did before. In Redheads, Paul Sochaczewski does a great of being both informative and entertaining, and he tells a great story to boot. Redheads is well worth its modest cost, and the time invested in reading it is time very well spent.

This by far, was an amazing SIDS book. It's been almost a year since we lost Jacob to SIDS, and I still go back and re-read the book. It's so hard to find people that could relate to your SIDS loss, and this book is full of them. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book.

I've been through this loss. Chances are, if you're searching for this book, you have just experienced your own loss. READ this book.

If you have lost a child to sids then you must get this. It was recommended to me and it has been a valuable tool. It is fully of case studies, answers to questions you wont have thought of and usefull information on how to try and get through this.

Horchler and Rice give comfort, encouragement, and insight to the issues that surround Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infant Death. Families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby will find many questions they may have answered among the pages. The topics covered bring a sense of normalcy and healing to the bereaved as the authors guide the reader down the path of surviving their loss and again finding joy in living.

The SIDS Survival Guide was my beacon of light during the darkest part of my life. My son, Dominic, passed away from SIDS on April 10, 2001, at only 4 1/2 months young. I began to reach out and search for all the information I could find on SIDS, drinking it all in by the bucket. A few months after he died, I found "The SIDS Survival Guide", and am so incredibly thankful. There was so much information, so many stories so like my own. I shed many tears while reading it for the first time, and even now, when I go back to read sections, I still cry. I am now expecting our second child in June 2002, and am scared to death. But knowing that I am informed about SIDS is somewhat of a comfort to me; in a way, I am as prepared as I can ever be. I would recommend this book to anyone expecting a child, who has a young baby, or knows someone who is or does.

My husband and I lost our son to SIDS in September of 2000. Our souls have been torn. The grieving process over his death has been draining. I recall little over the past 4+ months since his death. The one thing I do recall is thinking I was going crazy. I had wished their was another SIDS survivor I could speak with. Someone who could possibly relate to what my husband and I were going through. Someone who could understand our emotions. I searched under the keyword SIDS and found this book. I have not read the book in its entirety. I have read the sections I have needed at the particular times in my grieving. This book has helped me confirm that I am not going crazy. What I am feeling, though very personal, is normal. I feel this book is a neccesity for any parent who has to suffer this terrible tragedy. I have placed an order of these books in my babies memory to send to my state SIDS Coordinator in hopes that other parents may find comfort in its contents. Thank you Joani and Robin.

I'm giving this to my daughter for her birthday soon (along with another book and other related items). Once I get her feedback, I'll update my review with actual info.

My grandson is 8. This is a wonderful book and
just right for his age.

Only twelve years old, Edmund Amos Peters has already lived a life filled with incredible adventures. He and his father went down in a ship after leaving New England. Edmund was saved by Captain Gallows, one of the fiercest pirates still taking prizes in 1846. Nicknamed Shipwreck, for obvious reasons, he stays on as a cabin boy for the pirates.

I've read several of Siddhartha Fleishman's novels over the years, starting with BY THE GREAT HORN SPOON! when I was younger than my ten year old. I've always enjoyed the way he's clever with his characters and situations, and the fact that he doesn't dawdle. His stories always have the characters doing something at a frantic pace.

Packed full of adventure and interesting characters, THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA captures the imaginations of kids (and adults!) from the opening pages and doesn't let go until the end. There's always some problem Shipwreck and the brave Captain Gallows have to deal with.

After arriving in San Diego, California, which at that time is Mexican property, Captain Gallows declares that he's going to go straight. He buys himself new clothes, a ranch, and even renames himself. As Don Alexandro, he sets himself up in business buying cow hides.

This is old-style adventure writing at its finest. There are mysterious characters and nefarious doings from the opening pages, and a sea battle as Americans sail into the harbor in an effort to take the city in the final pages.

In between those hooks, the juvenile novel jumps through hoops to entertain young minds and adults as well. I loved the lady bandit and her semi-stalwart gang, and the pistol duel that Captain Gallows arranges for the control of her and her crew.

The descriptions of the places and the people brought a lot of images to mind. They all seem true to life.

THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA is a 2008 Sequoyah book. Kids in elementary school get to vote on the best of the lot if they read three of them. Parents are welcome to help, and I heartily recommend reading this one aloud, taking turns with your child if your child can read.

A young cabin boy's ocean life of high adventure is about to change. Anchored off California in 1846 as Mexico and America were at war and with her pirate days closing fast, the Far East pirate ship..with a figure-head of a huge jeweled eyed rat..comes home to rest.

This is a fun quick read that is sure to please the young and old adventurer. Written primarily for the younger grade schooler, this is good clean book. Filled with twist and surprises along the way, it is sure to please. Every Sherlock Holmes fan has heard of the giant rat of Sumatra but Doyle never wrote more than a passing word or two about the adventure. Just enought to peak the readers curiousity. Well, no Holmes here but just fun reading.

" "Shipwreck," a twelve-year-old cabin boy, narrates a swash-buckling adventure containing an abundance of plot dualities, twists, and turns. His breezy narrative takes readers into the waning days of Mexican rule in California and a high-spirited romp of revenge, romance, and rivalry." (summary by Texas Library Association)