Feeding A Monster

Presents a comprehensive history of the Boston Red Sox baseball league describing the players, coaches, management, and politics that contributed to their 2004 World Series championship.

Discusses how to develop and maintain healthy self-esteem and a positive attitude.

A Halloween-themed rhyming board book with cut-through mouths to feed.

The book is divided into three parts. Using Mary Shelley's classic tale of horror, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, as a metaphor, I explain why too many Americans are turning into monsters. Too many Americans are becoming self-alienated and their children are not succeeding in our schools. I also explain what educators have mistakenly emphasized and tried in order to solve the problem. Part I: Making the Monster builds a definition of personal addiction. I argue that addicts teach addiction to others and that a vast population of Americans is deeply involved in an education in addiction. Part I deals with human needs, desires, and current cultural trends that give birth to addictive personality traits, the monster habits that I talk about when I show the Pet Monster to my pupils. These traits breed self-doubt and low self-esteem. They undermine our relationships and hinder our ability to love and care for ourselves and others. When we can't love ourselves, our children learn not to love themselves. They have difficulty adjusting to the demands and responsibilities they face in school. Addiction has become an entrenched cultural phenomenon. I argue that certain cultural trends are creating personal isolation, family dysfunction, and personal self-doubt. We are witnessing a withering of character and moral value. We are seeing a failure of commitment to personal growth. Part II: Feeding the Monster shows why more and more American families are becoming codependent to addictive cultural values and how this trend leads to the birth of the monster habits that keep our children from succeeding in school. I also discuss the ways our schools themselves support and nourish addictive tendencies in families and students. I look at the debate surrounding school reform and show how, although it is well intentioned, it is also misplaced. In Part II, we learn why we don't see our mistakes and why both parents and educators have developed blind spots in their vision of education. We're so accustomed to the supermonster of addiction that we just don't see it anymore. This is the true failure of education. We're not admitting that cultural codependency to addiction-to the monster-even exists. Part III: Taming the Monster explains what we can do to save ourselves from slipping farther into monsterhood. I suggest what schools, families, and communities must do to foster academic success and breathe value and character back into the lives of children and society. I also provide an outline for educational recovery. Only when we take steps to kill the supermonster and free ourselves from monstrous habits will we be able to stop the destruction that the monsters bring, the destruction that can end our world.

In the book, Don't Feed the Monster, three young siblings are constantly arguing. The quarreling creates a monster that is fed by their growing anger. The monster grows as the siblings continue to fuss and fight. The parents eventually call an important meeting to address the issue. Don't Feed the Monster is a story about compassion, respect, and forgiveness and also addresses how families can strive to achieve peace and harmony in the home.

For fans of The Book With No Pictures and The Monster at the End of this Book, this funny and interactive picture book showcases a word-eating monster and the (adorable) surprise behind this frightful creature. Beware: There is a sleeping monster within these pages. But this is no ordinary monster. This monster eats words. And when the monster is awake, it gets HUNGRY. So you have to be very careful and very quiet while reading. If you hear a growl—run fast. Oh no, what’s that? The monster’s woken up! How are we supposed to finish this book when all the words are being eaten? And who—or what—is this fearsome creature exactly? The answer to that question, I’m afraid, is totally . . . adorable.

Beginning with concise discussions of each of the food groups, along with the newly redesigned food pyramid, Ed Miller looks at all aspects of health and nutrition in this accessible and informative book. Fun facts about different foods are included throughout to keep the reading upbeat and clear distinctions are made between healthy and not-so-healthy meal choices. Readers will learn about nutrients, how to read foods labels and what it means to count calories. Readers will also learn how to develop healthy habits, such as making time for breakfast, tips for packing the best lunch, and the benefits of having a sit down (versus fast food) dinner. Overviews on food illnesses and disorders are included as are the importance of sleep and exercise. With Edward Miller's comprehensive writing and clear format, making healthy choices truly becomes easier.