MennoLink Books and Music

Veteran camper Tammerie Spires began her forays into the out-of-doors as an eight- year-old, continued as a teen and young adult, and is still at it with her husband and their two preschoolers.

What keeps her camping--and has enlarged her enthusiasm for it--is discovering that "Camping with kids is laugh-out-loud fun." So is this book.

IF you want to camp but don't know how to start, Spires lays out the plan in bite-sized steps. Each one is clear and good-humored.

IF your kids are little, A Guide to Happy Family Camping will help you get them--and yourself--ready to go.

What to do when you get "there," what to eat, when and where to sleep, and who does what--Spires covers it all as a buoyant, yet experienced friend.

She wraps it all up with an exhaustive directory of Lists to make (Planning, Packing, and Preparing), of magazines and websites to consult, and of U.S. Parks and Wildlife Departments to visit and contact.

Whether you're in a hurry or have all afternoon to give, whether your child is new to cooking, or experienced with stirring and chopping, this collection has a recipe that suits your situation (How about "Green Noodles," "Very Chocolate Cherry Cake," "Bruschetta," or "Bibb 'n' Orange Salad"?).

Author Tammerie Spires is as full of good advice and good humor as she is in her other two books--A Guide to Happy Family Camping and A Guide to Happy Family Gardening.

Copyright 2000.

Using her family experiences, Vernell Klassen Miller weaves many threads into the fabric of these meditations on adoption. She includes theories about bonding to infants and other children, the stages of relinquishment and adoption, and how "entitlement" happens, and the advantages of adoption.

Don't do anything until you've read A Guide to Happy Family Gardening. It is clear it is precise. It is hard- won wisdom from a mom who's been seven years in the adventure. You can begin anytime of the year. Spires starts with the "Dreaming Season" and then steps her readers through "The Digging Season," "The Planting Season," "The Tending Season," "The Harvesting Season," and finally "The Sleeping Season." Along with more than 100 tips are family gardening stories; a few "straight-from-the-garden" recipes; lists of magazines, catalogs, and web sites offering more specific information; and detailed drawings for building a composting bin, a cold frame, and more. Whether you begin with an amaryllis bulb, a "garden-in-a-box," or a terraced plot, here are clear and specific steps for succeeding and keeping everyone in a pleasant mood.

Drawing on her own experience, Donoghue reaches out to all who parent alone and invites them to build with her a community of mutual encouragement and trust in God.

A unique personal flavor, Meditations for Single Moms will inspire single parents as well as those who support them.

Author Sandra Drescher-Lehman has been a parent long enough to voice the utter exhaustion that lies beyond the glow of cherubic infants and charming toddlers. She hates whining and houses that dissolve into chaos. She gets undone by pre-dinner tensions and bickering siblings. She's been withered by temptation to list all she's accomplished on a day spent at home with her kids. She's caught herself drawing comparisons with the tidy artsy mom down the street.

But for all those moments, including the time she looked at her kids and wistfully imagined "their parents" coming to pick them up and spirit them away, she furnishes a brief meditation.

Moms, dads, and single parents will find renewed energy from these short daily meditations. Sandra Drescher-Lehman stands right beside you. She's an adult friend, but she only stays a minute!

Copyright 2000.