Helen Plum Library

Featured by the New York Times as one of Tina Turner's favorite books of inspiration-a blend of Eastern wisdom, feng shui, and the simplicity movement. Wabi Sabi is a Japanese expression meaning "wisdom in natural simplicity." Wabi Sabi helps us to see the beauty in imperfection, to discover that our unique flaws also can lead us to our greatest strengths and treasures. No one is perfect-in fact, we all are perfectly imperfect. That is the paradoxical...

A big sister teaches her younger siblings some important words, like "responsibility," "perseverance," and "respect."

"Mrs. Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt...

"We live in an interesting time. Materially, everything is the best it's ever been--we are freer, healthier and wealthier than any people in human history. Yet, somehow everything seems to be irreparably and horribly fucked--the planet is warming, governments are failing, economies are collapsing, and everyone is perpetually offended on Twitter. At this moment in history, when we have access to technology, education and communication our ancestors...

Relates three times that nine-year-old Iggy got into trouble, two of which he does not regret and one for which he is very, very sorry Welcome to the wonderful world of Iggy, where the motto is: It seemed like a good idea at the time. Iggy is not a bad kid - he's really not. Okay, so he's done a few bad things. And okay, he's not very sorry about most of them. No one got hurt! Except for that one time when the Best Idea Ever turned into the Worst...

When Samantha, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a wealthy, perfectionistic, Republican state senator, falls in love with the boy next door, whose family is large, boisterous, and just making ends meet, she discovers a different way to live, but when her mother is involved in a hit-and-run accident Sam must make some difficult choices

When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate contemplates how to make her feel better and what it means to be kind. From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving and thoughtful story explores what a child can do to be kind, and how each act, big or small, can make a difference or at least help a friend

"Notre Dame Philosophy professors Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko have gone deep with that work in their wildly popular and influential undergraduate course GOD AND THE GOOD LIFE, in which they wrestle with the big questions about how to live and what makes life meaningful. Now they invite us into the classroom to tackle such issues as what justifies your beliefs, whether you should practice a religion, and what sacrifices you should make for others--as...

Offers a selection of letters written by successful and prominent people from diverse fields directed to their own younger selves, offering inspirational advice for growing up Gayle King shares her favorite inspiring letters from the popular CBS This Morning segment Note to Self, in which twenty-first century luminaries pen advice and encouragement to the young people they once were. What do Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Ruth, Kesha, and Kermit the...

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City juvenile justice system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, she finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chence to make a home for herself withing a secret team of young MI6...