New Releases by Diane Iverson

Prescott was declared Arizona''s official Christmas City by Gov. Rose Mofford in 1989, but it was the perfect place for an old-fashioned family Christmas long before that. With its lovely Victorian houses and charming town square set in lights for the season, it''s easy to go back in time. In December of 1935, during the Great Depression, Hannah Grace Meadows was just short of eleven years old. Her papa was a ranch hand, coming home to his family of seven every weekend he was able to get away from the job. Still, money was very tight, so Hannah came up with what she thought was a clever plan to help Santa out a bit. That''s when things got worse. Join Hannah on a Prescott style Christmas adventure.

On the heels of World War II, the communist leader of Yugoslavia attempted to wipe out the ethnic Germans (Donauschwaben) living within his borders, many of whom had been loyal Yugoslav citizens for generations. History books have been silent on this tragic ethnic cleansing, but Josie shines a light on the atrocities Tito committed against these people and one family in particular. Cowritten by Josie''s daughter and niece, this book is the fictionalized account of four-year-old Josie who is separated from her family, after many of the Donauschwaben are murdered, she is initially interned in a concentration camp with her twelve-year-old brother and later, frightened and alone, she finds herself in Rudolfsnad, a death camp Every time Josie thinks freedom is within reach it''s snatched away and yet she holds fast to hope, trusting that God will somehow pull her and her family through this darkness, just as he carried them through Hitler''s war. An extraordinary story of faith and courage, Josie speaks up for the forgotten victims of the Donauschwaben genocide.

In this wonderfully practical and human book, we are invited to turn our attention towards investigating our spiritual reality. Ronald Tomanio, Diane Iverson and Phyllis Ring describe how that experience is met and encountered and why it is indescribably fulfilling - the very purpose for which we were created. Drawing on a letter of the Universal House of Justice of 19 November 1974 that provides a possible sequence that such an investigation of reality might follow, the authors explore the process - and pitfalls - that we can encounter along the way. Some of the steps identified by the authors that can guide the soul safely along the road of development include: * setting aside blind imitation of the past * learning to build the good rather than fighting evil * choosing acts of service commensurate with our spiritual understanding * listening carefully to our intuitive voice * knowing our purpose * regarding our fears as illusory and * acquiring a sin-covering eye.

A brief description of each season and activities for elementary school children at various age levels.

Contains original art work, color separations, sketches, research notes, typescripts, childhood assignments, newsletters, early published works, photographs, and other materials created and accumulated by Diane Iverson. The materials are organized into four series: books (Discover the Seasons, 1996; I Celebrate Nature, 1993; My Favorite Tree, 1999), early published works, miscellaneous and personal, and Arne Nixon Center visit and donation of papers.