Nurturing Creativity Through Poetry Writing

After a few years of teaching high school English, Michael was disillusioned with uninspiring conventional curriculum. Good students simply tolerated the boring content-driven curriculum better than the less academically inclined students. He started reading about an old concept, through a new term: Emotional Intelligence. An epiphany struck: If emotional intelligence (EQ) development was more of an indication of future success than IQ and was vastly more teachable, why did schools not emphasize the development of emotional intelligence?

For the next 25 years as a high school English teacher, Michael drew and learned from vast resources to better understand, articulate, and embed Healthy Habits of the Mind in his everyday lessons. He developed a list of Healthy Habits of the mind which he could discuss with students. Appreciating a curriculum that became relevant and engaging, students invested energy and often discovered their own creativity and voices.

Eventually, Michael understood how developing writing skills and Emotional Intelligence strengthen and reinforce each other. Students who took more risks, succumbed to fewer fears, and developed a revision mentality were better at all life’s tasks, not just writing.

Ochala and The Pilgrims

As the Pilgrims anchor at Plymouth, ten-year-old Ochala becomes the first Native American to witness these intriguing newcomers. His discovery prompts him to rush back to his village and alert his family and the respected sachem Massasoit. Intrigued, the sachem sends Ochala and his father to discreetly observe the Pilgrims from the forest’s safety, seeking to understand these strangers.

Ochala and the Pilgrims places young Ochala at the forefront of key historical events that unfolded between the Pilgrims and his tribe. The story takes a significant turn when Ochala’s actions profoundly impact his life and those around him, following the disappearance of a Pilgrim girl in the woods — an event inspired by true history.

The book vividly portrays the Wampanoag way of life, from their skilled woodcraft and agricultural practices to hunting methods, tribal customs, and even their language. It offers insights into how the Wampanoags lived in harmony with nature, in stark contrast to the Pilgrims’ initial attempts to settle in Plymouth. The first Thanksgiving is featured near the end of the book.

Featuring historical figures such as Massasoit, Squanto, Samoset, and William Bradford, Ochala and the Pilgrims delves into themes of friendship, jealousy, decision-making, and patience.

Authored by Michael Tougias, an esteemed expert on this historical era, this meticulously researched tale provides young readers with a unique, enlightening perspective on the Pilgrims’ arrival at Plymouth. Tougias has been recognized for his balanced portrayal of both Native American and Pilgrim cultures, earning accolades from Native American groups and the Mayflower Society.

October Moon

Trumpet player Jeffrey Lewis Dean visits Israel on tour with his jazz band during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. His tour guide is the beautiful of Aviva Darr, who is there to guide and, unbeknownst to them, protect, the band.

As they tour Israel, the known terrorist Jialdi is terrorizing the country through bombings while evading the military no matter how hard they try to stop him.

As tensions rise, Jeffrey gets entangled in a situation beyond his control, while falling in love with the woman who could save him in more ways than one.

Of the Sun Fire

Moonlight glints and winks with a soft hum as girls in soft satin dresses dance around the fire. I can taste notes of empty forests and flowers smeared with blood on my tongue. Different reasons of their betrayal plague my mind. I opt to scream inward and swallow the lump in my throat. I see the candles lighting the wooden staircases of the haunted castle as I step in. The sight reminds me of when I was a child and held bears made of cotton tightly out of fear when I was left alone. I look down at my feet to see pictures of old loved ones crushed under them like worthless blossoms. Do I feel happy? Sad? Gloomy? Maybe all of them at once. I guess that’s the life of a dandelion girl.

The poems and pictures in this book represent the struggles I felt as an outcast and how I learned to find an exit for myself in the wonders of the world. I tried to capture the feeling of being rejected and later accepted into a new world in the poems and pictures I gathered. I hope people with similar experiences can read my book and feel a little less alone than they did before. I hope they realize things will get better. Your wings of fire will emerge.

Ogmond

When the problems with the Earth’s inhabitants’ civilities, humanity and care for the planet reached it limit…

When pollution, greed, selfishness, and lawlessness created a universal problem…

One man had answers and took necessary actions, applying his special skills, discoveries, and knowledge to save and restore the civilizations and the planet.

This man’s name was Ogmond.

Oh no, Joe!

A smooth-sailing bike trip to the store is abruptly stopped in its tracks. A bewildering situation requires swift investigation. What a predicament!

It’s not all fun and games, as one determined youngster with an uncalculated plan, attempts to match wits with a four-legged culprit named Joe.

Oh no, Joe! is a fast-paced and fun time, read in rhyme.

A celebration of unconditional love between a boy and his dog… because kind little people grow up to be kind big people.

Oil & Gas Design Engineering Guide Book

Oil & Gas Design Engineering Guide Book consists of a set of valuable practices applicable to design engineering services, such as: Projects Engineering Design House Requisites, Guidelines for Technical Package Writing, Quality Assurance Management System, Typical set of Project Design Deliverables and some prevalent Design Engineering Software. It also includes guide notes for various oil & gas facilities, such as pipelines, piping, tanks, pressure vessels, rotating equipment, heaters, heat exchangers, effluent water treatment systems, and flares. It is noted that the documents and articles included in this book will surely be of assistance and value to the readers and specifically to engineers in the Oil & Gas field.

Olive Everything

Olive is a young girl who loves everything. She loves all her clothes and wears more than she needs. She loves all the things her mother makes for breakfast and asks for some of everything. Rather than making a choice, Olive says yes to this, yes to that, and nothing is left out. This becomes a problem when she starts school and is expected to wear one outfit, have one breakfast food, and there are so many other things she must choose. Choosing one thing over another feels like something is being lost, and Olive worries that she’ll never get a chance to have the things she didn’t choose. Her father helps her see that making choices is a privilege, not a loss.

Ollie Gets Lost in Manhattan

Ollie, the little pot-bellied pig with a heart on his nose, so enjoys being a part of six-year-old Suzie Jones’ family. Little Ollie lives with the Jones family in a high-rise Manhattan apartment. He is happy and New York City is an exciting place to be, until something frightening happens, which causes Ollie to be alone and lost in vast, busy, and sometimes scary, New York City.

What was the terrible event that caused Ollie to be lost?

Will Ollie ever find his way home?

Will Suzie Jones ever find him in a city of more than eight million people?

Will Ollie be lost forever?

What happens to the sweet, little pot-bellied pig who is afraid, alone and lost in big New York City?

Omar's Artichoke

What possible good can come from a 16-inch square of dry dirt in a big grey city? It’s just concrete dust and city dirt surrounded by sidewalk.

What happened next when Grampa gave a rumpled bag with a wilted spiky plant to Omar took the five year old’s life in a new direction, sparking a new interest, a daily conversation. That 16-inch square garden became the center of his and his grampa’s life.

That summer they spent watching over the grey-green spiked artichoke plant in its impossibly improbable garden surrounded by sidewalk.

Who knew that almost magical changes could happen to that scrap of dirt and stringy plant with just a bit of help from a little boy and an elderly man.

On a Pilgrimage with Augustine’s Confessions

In his ground-breaking work The Confessions, Augustine of Hippo (AD 343-430), a prominent theologian and philosopher of early Christianity, paved the way for self-disclosure and the art of writing one’s life story. In On a Pilgrimage with Augustine’s Confessions, Dr. Blom delves into Augustine’s role as both protagonist and reflective narrator, portraying him as Christianity’s original existential hero.

Blom draws parallels between Augustine’s journey and that of the wanton prodigal son, viewing Augustine’s address to God as the voice of an ‘everyday man’ struggling to find his way home – a spiritual homecoming. By masterfully weaving together Jungian archetypal psychology, mythology, biblical interpretations, and autobiography, Blom invites the reader to embark on a captivating journey that bridges the gap between Augustine’s musings and meditations from the fifth century and the present day.

On a Pilgrimage with Augustine’s Confessions offers a fresh perspective on a timeless classic, making it an essential read for anyone seeking to explore the depths of the human soul and the enduring relevance of Augustine’s wisdom.

On Call At the John

On a humid southern night in a busy inner-city hospital, an inexperienced white male intern and a strong black nurse with years of experience are faced with the daunting task of changing a little girl's life. Estelle's laceration is just the tip of the iceberg, leading to the discovery of the worst wounds she's ever endured. As they delve deeper, the intern, May, quickly learns that abuse of all kinds is a daily occurrence in the inner city, perpetrated by both ordinary people and community leaders. Poverty, addiction, racism, and lost hope have created a breeding ground for unimaginable suffering.

Little did May know that this journey would lead him to confront history and look into the eyes of the killer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As he grapples with this revelation, May realizes that his own transformation is just as crucial as Estelle's recovery.