projects

book cover of A Field Guide to Getting Lost, by Joy McCullough. Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Her mom is a penguin researcher,
his Guatemalan dad was an artist –
what on earth could they have in common?

Sutton thrives on order, routines, things going precisely according to plan. She is not happy about her robot still stuck in its maze, or Dad starting to go on dates, or Mom not getting home from Antarctica in time for her tenth birthday, not happy at all.

Kids are heroes in the fantasy stories Luis writes, but in real life his many serious allergies have made his widowed mom super-protective. Hiking in a Seattle park with Sutton and her dad sounds a bit risky – maybe dating is making Mom less focused on Luis’s health.

Could Sutton and Luis learn to get along as well as Mr. Wong’s cat and Mrs. Banjeree’s dog, apartment best friends?

Can their different problem-solving styles get them out of a perilous situation?

Told in alternating voices, this Field Guide to Getting Lost might actually be a way that Sutton and Luis can find themselves. Read chapter 1 here free, courtesy of the publisher.

When has a occasion you’ve dreaded turned out to be not so bad after all?
**kmm

Book info: Field Guide to Getting Lost / Joy McCullough. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

A new project – yay!
New goals – hurrah!
Roadmap outlining how to do it all… umm?

Frame it right and your goal is indeed do-able IF you have some guidance that’s based on tested practice.

Peruse chapter 1 of Doable on the publisher’s site free here, then grab a copy at your local library or independent bookstore – you’ll refer to it often!

And be sure to check out the free resources on the author’s website, including your own personal Doable workbook and an ebook of career tips.

So…what do you want to do?
**kmm

Book info: Doable: The Girl’s Guide to Accomplishing Just About Anything / Deborah Reber. Beyond Words/Simon Pulse, 2015. [author site] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: If you’ve ever begun a great project or set an important goal, then lost enthusiasm partway, take heart and reach for Doable, which will help you get where you want to go in life.

Step-by-step, the author outlines the 8 stages of doing what you deem important:

Define Your To-Do
Detail the Little Tasks
Defend Against Obstacles
Develop Support Systems
Determine What Success Looks Like
Do the Work
Deal with Setbacks
Deliver the Goods

Common pitfalls, workarounds for stalled projects, and examples from young women who’ve accomplished much are provided with each stage so that you can go from almost to all done on your own timeframe.

Whether you want to change yourself, change your school, or change the world, you can use the steps, worksheets, and good advice in this book to create a goal that you can control and a plan for reaching it. (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)