Mary Atkinson

The author being a 'complementary therapist' member of the Association of Reflexologists and the Federation of Holistic Therapists, you could be excused for dismissing this illustrated guide for being yet another alternative medicine bullsh&t and doolali. Well, for sure Mary Atkinson believes the likes of aromatherapy, homeopathy and other snake oils of our times to have therapeutic benefits for real! But, if you can skip over such crankery, her short little book here is not too bad for show more whose who love to give/receive a nice pampering -massage, manicure and pedicure.

Basic enough to learn a few bits without being overwhelming, straightforwardly illustrated and, above all, putting a welcome emphasis on how caring for feet and hands has not only clear aesthetic and health benefits but, is also a great form of bonding, here's indeed quite a lovely little book to learn some simple massage techniques and get basic tips, from choosing oils and creams to how to avoid the most common conditions.

'Hand and Foot Massage' might be peppered with unharmful crankery (e.g. cautioning on mixing aromatherapy with homeopathy... As if! Lol!) yet its simple and no fuss approach 'to help stimulate circulation, increase mobility and relieve pain' (dixit the front cover) makes it nevertheless a nice little pampering manual.

Enjoy! show less

I enjoyed reading this book for three reasons. First, I enjoyed how the text was organized. On each page there is a main question asked (ex. Why can't I be happy all the time)? There are also subtitles and answers to these questions. Under each answer are pictures representing the questions asked. Second, I like the size of the font. This makes the book easy to read and more appealing to the eye. Third, I liked the meaning behind the book. The questions asked are often ones that we all asked show more when we were young. These are questions we didn't understand and wanted to know the answers to (ex. Why do I feel sad when mom is sad? Why does the dark scare me? Why does my friend want to play with someone else)? "Why can't I be happy all the time" is a book that answers common questions that children have when they are young. The author does a great job answering these questions honestly and providing reasons as to why we feel the way that we do. The message behind the book is that when we are young and as we get older, we have a lot of questions that revolve around the word "why". Even though the book can not address all questions a child may have, it does answer the most common ones that come to mind. show less

"Why Do Some People Use Wheelchairs?" is a book full of questions about people with different types of disabilities. The disabilites range anywhere from being deaf to being paralyzed.

This is a great book to read to kids that have questions about people with disabilities. Children tend to poke fun at people who are different, so this book may help them understand why people can be different. I felt this book had very appropriate answers. I found it very useful.

In the classroom, I would bring show more a braille book from the local library and let the kids explore the pages to see how blind people read. I would also take my class to the special education class and introduce my students to the other children who have disabilities. I would let them see how the special education kids spend their school day, and show them how the special education kids are kids just like them. In my school the average kids were seperated from the special educations kids so you never got a chance to interact. This way my students would learn how important it is to respect the special education kids and not poke fun at their disabilities. show less

A simple, fun and interactive way of sharing the benefits of positive touch and storytelling. Contains several stories to share and corresponding massage strokes.