"If I had my druthers, I would make every parent of a young child read Mitten Strings for God. Then when their child went off to school, I would hand the parents Stopping at Every Lemonade Stand to read next.

"But I wouldn't stop there. I would ask everyone who ever comes in contact with kids and cares about the world they live in to read this book! It's fantastic. Empowering and positive about how we all can bring change to this world, Stopping at Every Lemonade Stand is the best book I have ever read on creating real change in our children's world.

"Author Vollbracht shows us how to create change right here, right now. He isn't asking us to spend a lot of money or lose our lives by donating all of our time away. He is saying to pay attention, show up, listen. When kids come to your door selling something, talk to them, buy their cookies, be there, learn their names. He offers hundreds of ideas in this book about how individuals can bring change in simple ways. He encourages readers to take simple steps that lead to stronger neighborhoods and communities. He isn't asking for the moon here; he is talking about saying hi to your neighbors, learning their names. The book is filled with inspiring stories of things that are already working all around the country. He is asking us to notice what is right with our world and support that, rather than always focusing on what is wrong. His point is well taken. Why do we pay so much attention to the minority of children who use drugs in middle school? Why not focus on the fact that the majority of kids don't. Let's work on making it cool to be drug-free by noticing and empowering the kids who are. And by acknowledging all the ways our kids contribute to this world, not just through academics and athletics. Every child has something to give! Vollbracht so eloquently makes the point that our children want our attention and will do anything to get it. Why don't we give them the attention for all that they do right instead of the little they do wrong.

"This is a fabulous book. I know it is going to make a difference in my life. And I am betting that it will in yours too. Let's do this! Read the book, try out a couple of ideas. Our kids deserve a better world."

Before the movie "Pay it Forward", was Small Acts of Kindness, which shows how one small act of kindness ripples through all of life and results in a surprising and moving great act of love.

Small Acts of Kindness has delighted young and old alike, and demonstrates that even the smallest of acts, if done with kindness and love, can have a transformative effect upon others.

Illustrated beautifully by Christopher Fay, Small Acts of Kindness is cast in Biblical times and begins, "One day, a little boy hugged his mother for no reason at all."

A timeless tale cast in China of an old man who teaches a young boy that what you send out on the river of life always returns. Sun Li, a boy from the countryside arrives at the river's edge with plans to continue on to the great city and become wealthy. Having no money, Sun Li asks the old man who guides the raft across the river how he might pay for his passage, and the old man replies, "Cross with me three times and your passage will be for free." Unknowingly, Sun Li embarks upon a journey that will change his life forever.

Read live over National Public Radio, Her Father's Garden tells the beautiful story of a young Tibetan girl, who inspired by her father's dream, transforms her entire village. Born on a morning when a pure, white songbird sang the most beautiful song, Mi Shan, daughter of the Innkeeper, comes to sing of the beauty of each of the villagers, who are transformed in the remarkable closing scene.

Illustrated by Janet Brooke, Her Father's Garden whispers of a promise: the promise that we can loved for who we truly are.