Under the Chinaberry Tree: Books and Inspirations for Mindful Parenting » (1ST)

ANN RUETHLING founded Chinaberry Books Service in 1982 and launched Isabella, a catalog for women, in 1996. A mother of two, she is active in the American Booksellers Association and the Educational Paperback Association. She lives in Spring Valley, California. PATTI PITCHER is Director of Merchandising for Chinaberry and cofounded Isabella with Ruethling. She lives with her husband and four children in Seattle, Washington.

Celebrating Chinaberry's twentieth anniversary, the women behind America's beloved children's book catalog share their wisdom about the joys of children's literature and parenting.

The Chinaberry catalog was created when Ann Ruethling became troubled by the violence in many old-fashioned nursery stories and the poor grammar or mediocre plots in newer children's books. Handpicking a hundred high-quality titles a year, she has become an indispensable friend to thousands of parents, and Chinaberry has become a gold standard for its industry.

Under the Chinaberry Tree celebrates the world of children's books. In warm "one-mother-to-another" prose, Ruethling and her business partner, Patti Pitcher, reflect on the family-first concepts that resonate so strongly with Chinaberry fans and all parents. Exploring the books that have made a difference in their children's lives, the tender experience of reading with children and the moments that make parenting a unique journey, this guide is sure to enrich every family's bookshelf.

Library Journal

This heartfelt book, a guide to the very best in children's literature, is filled with morsels of cheerful yet substantial wisdom from Ruethling and Pitcher, mothers and business partners who run the successful Chinaberry catalog. Each chapter includes musings on parenting, recommended books, practical ideas and advice, recipes, crafts, and random boxed paragraphs of homespun wisdom: subjects range from helping kids learn to read to creating daily rituals to celebrating the seasons to cultivating patience and compassion in one's self and one's children. The real treasures within each section, though, are the book reviews: the authors' choices, based on their obvious love of books and their prodigious breadth of knowledge, are intellectually impeccable and emotionally inspired. The book's overly precious design-a plethora of dainty hearts and insects everywhere-belies the mostly sagacious content, which will be invaluable for any parent wanting to make worthy reading decisions or gather tips for more profound communication and celebration with their children. An engaging companion to Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn's The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting; recommended for public libraries.-Asha Curran, "Library Journal" Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.