B J Taylor – författare

This book discusses memoirs from my mother as she grew up and lived before, during, and after the Great Depression. It details some of her experiences. She was from a very poor background educationally and financially, like many people were during those days. It discusses her poor living conditions, her discomforts, and how she lacked any of the conveniences that one has today. It details how hard people had to work at that time and how she persevered to the endever, ever struggling to reach her goal of a permanent home. Some of the types of working conditions are described: how difficult it was to get a job that paid enough to live, how hard it was to keep enough food to eat, and how uncomfortable their living conditions were. The homes were poorly built and drafty. It emphasizes the struggle to get rid of bedbugs since they seemed to be everywhere, and just the difficulty to keep warm during winter since there was no central heat or air- conditioning. It discusses her father going to World War I and his war conditions and hazards, such as body lice, gases, death, and not having enough to eat. Then, her husband was drafted into World War II. It touches on the polio epidemic and hospital conditions. It tells how she scrimped and saved unendingly to finally reach her goal of a permanent, warm, and comfortable home. Young people will see a great deal of contrast between living conditions then and now.

This book tells about two sisters, Paityn and Paxtyn visiting their grandparents on the farm during summer vacation. Grandad tells them a pleasant story based on true information about how Mrs. Queen Bumblebee struggles to protect her babies, just as any parent would, during three episodes of danger. There was danger to the queen bumble bee, to the bumble bee nest and to the bumble bee babies. It tells how the worker bees worked at keeping their pollen baskets full to feed the babies when they arrived, while Mrs. Bee fanned, pampered and protected the nest. Mrs. Bee emphasizes how important it was for her to protect them from the elements, and ever present enemies, since they had such an important task of pollinating the farmer''s crops. Otherwise, without their help, the children of the world would have no food to eat.

Honeybun is a Lhasa Apso. The Lhasa Apso was once a native of Tibet and was used as a watchdog in palaces. No longer guarding palaces, they are loyal family companions, taking their watchdog jobs seriously. Honeybun takes her job seriously, until someone bends down to pet her. She starts to growl, but immediately turns over on her back to have her tummy rubbed. Honeybun loves everybody. She is very lonely after school begins, and her curiosity gets the best of her. After her masters, Mother, Father, Craig, Brad, and Chad leave for work and school, she jumps on the gate when she hears a dog barking, and it opens. Being curious about the beautiful, black, curly dog in her yard, she plays with him and follows him into the neighborhood until she is hopelessly lost. While searching for her home and her backyard, she plays with some kids along the way. Then, some boys throw rocks at her because she keeps chasing them as they ride their bicycles. Eventually, her three boy masters find her and take her home. Time passes and Honeybun begins to eat ravenously and gain weight. She tears and hides old newspapers under a shelf. Then, one day Honeybun builds a nest of the torn newspapers on her bed, and when her masters return from work and school, she has a big surprise for them.

In Pig Wisdom, Mr. Pig applies anger management techniques, or alternatives to conflict and violence, in the barnyard, teaching the animals to solve their anger problems constructively, rather than to harm others. Wise Mr. Pig encourages the barnyard animals to use these techniques to discourage the ill behavior of Miss Goose who constantly irritates and heckles the barnyard animals, causing them to lose their cool. These techniques are emphasized in each anger-arousing situation and reiterated at the end of the book for memory application. In the end, the barnyard animals learn to manage their behavior, are much happier, and Miss Goose becomes more tolerable, even pleasant.

Miguel Fibs! is about a little boy who has a reputation of being very good. Everyone, including his mother, father, and teacher, sees him as a very good little boy. He knows it is expected of him so he wants to be good. However, rather than to erase that image, he tells fibs to cover up that he is not always good. Then, his conscience starts to bother him, and he imagines seeing images in the mirror and becomes afraid. After a long period of worry, he confesses to his parents about his lies, explaining that he is not a good boy. His parents warmly explain that all people are bad sometimes and assure him that he is most certainly still a good boy.