THINKING ABOUT GRADUATION YET?

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it”
-Albert Einstein

Have you considered gifting your graduates with a book as they step out and continue their way down the long path of life?  Whether they're moving on from Kindergarten, Middle School, High School, or College, they've gained knowledge, but have really only just begun their lifelong journey of acquiring wisdom!

I hope you like these selections - some are fun and celebratory, some inspirational, some were chosen by me, and others from a survey I put out to my friends. (C.S. Lewis won!)  Click on the titles to see more details about each selection...do you have any to add??

FOR THE YOUNG (AND YOUNG AT HEART):
ONLY ONE YOU by Linda Kranz. There's only one you in this great big world. Make it a better place. Adri's mama and papa share some of the wisdom they have gained through the years with their eager son. Their words, simple and powerful, are meant to comfort and guide him as he goes about exploring the world. This exquisitely illustrated book explodes with color and honest insights. Kranz's uniquely painted rockfish, set against vibrant blue seas, make an unforgettable and truly special impression. Only One You will inspire parents and children of all ages as they swim through the sea of life.


WHEN I GROW UP by Al Yankovic. To read my past post about this book CLICK HERE.


OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! by Dr. Seuss. Inspirational yet honest, and always rhythmically rollicking, Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a perfect sendoff for children, 1 to 100, entering any new phase of their lives. From kindergartners to graduate students, all will glean fun pearls of wisdom about the big, bountiful future.


OH, THE THINKS YOU CAN THINK! by Dr. Seuss. "Contains one of Dr. Seuss's solid-gold morals, the joy of letting one's imagination rip."--The New York Times.


MIDDLE SCHOOLERS
C.S. LEWIS' LETTERS TO CHILDREN A collection of letters to children from C. S. Lewis that will enthrall Narnia lovers. Most children will skip the foreword by Lewis' stepson and the brief sketch of Lewis' childhood (although both are accessible to young readers) and go straight to the letters themselves. Most of the letters concern Narnia, but there are also touching letters to Lewis' godchild. Some letters offer encouragement and advice to young writers. The letters answer questions that today's children might still have.


HINDS' FEET ON HIGH PLACES by Hannah Hurnard. This allegorical novel is the story of a young woman, "Much-Afraid", and her journey away from her Fearing family and into the High Places of the Shepherd, guided by her two companions "Sorrow" and "Suffering". It is an allegory of a Christian devotional life. The title is taken from Habakkuk 3:19, "The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." I loved having this book read aloud to me the summer I was going into 6th grade.


HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE GRADS:
WHAT THE DORMOUSE SAID:  Lessons For Grownups from Children's Books, compiled by Amy Gash.  Illustrations by Pierre Le-Tan and Judith Viorst. This one-of-a-kind collection reminds us not to lose sight of the values and virtues we learned as kids. Here are over three hundred quotations from over two hundred well-loved children's books.


THE LAST LECTURE by Randy Pausch. When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give his "Last Lecture" talk, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form.


MEDITATIONS FROM A SIMPLE PATH by Mother Teresa. This work typifies the simplicity of the life lead by Mother Teresa. The major themes of the volume are as follows:
- The Fruit of Silence is Prayer.
- The Fruit of Prayer is Faith.
- The Fruit of Faith is Love.
- The Fruit of Love is Service.
- the Fruit of Service is Peace.


MOTHER TERESA: IN MY OWN WORDS by Mother Teresa. A timeless testament to the power of her words. Here are the same quotes, stories, and prayers that helped strengthen and inspire the poor, the dying, the suffering, and the doubting who she met during her lifetime, and that will continue to strengthen and inspire all who read them.


THE FOUR LOVES by C.S. Lewis. A candid, wise, and warmly personal book in which Lewis explores the possibilities and problems of the four basic kinds of human love: storge (affection), phileo (friendship), eros (romantic love), and agape (charity or God-love).


THE ABOLITION OF MAN by C.S. Lewis.C.S. This appears to be a book specifically about public education, but its central concerns are broadly political, religious, and philosophical. In the best of the book's three essays, "Men Without Chests," Lewis trains his laser-sharp wit on a mid-century English high school text, considering the ramifications of teaching British students to believe in idle relativism, and to reject "the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, to the kind of thing the universe is and the kinds of things we are."


THE GREAT DIVORCE by C.S. Lewis. C. S. Lewis takes us on a profound journey through both heaven and hell in this engaging allegorical tale. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis introduces us to supernatural beings who will change the way we think about good and evil.


THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by C.S. Lewis.  Lewis' satire is a Christian classic. Screwtape is a veteran demon in the service of "Our Father Below" whose letters to his nephew, Wormwood, instruct the demon-in-training in the fine points of leading a new Christian astray.


LEFT TO TELL: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, by Immaculee Ilibagiza.  (Think of a Rwandan version of THE HIDING PLACE.) Terrible, yet triumphant at the same time.


RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON: A STORY OF HOMECOMING by Henri Nouwen.When Henri Nouwen stumbled across Rembrandt's painting, Return of the Prodigal Son, he began a spiritual journey that would help him understand the biblical parable as well as the story of his own life.


THE WAY OF A PILGRIM translated by Helen Bacovcin. This classic work of Russian spirituality has charmed countless readers with its tale of a nineteenth-century peasant seeking the truth with simple humility, finding joy and plenty everywhere in life as he practices the prayer of the heart, "Lord Jesus Christ Have Mercy on Me".


All books are available from Amazon.com, ConciliarPress.com, and EighthDayBooks.com.