New Releases by Phyllis Alsdurf

A young girl''s idea to organize a town square hunt for valentine''s cards invigorates her community and brings them together.

Spring is here, and the farm is waking up to new life! A young girl and her family are ready to celebrate the new life of spring. She meets baby animals, helps prepare the garden for planting, and collects pussy willows by the marsh. As they get ready to host a community Easter egg hunt on the farm, the family also decorates eggs with natural dyes and makes funny gifts from egg shells and grass. From the bestselling author of Thanksgiving in the Woods and A Simple Christmas on the Farm, this bright, hopeful story invites readers to gather and celebrate the beauty of spring. Backmatter includes handmade Easter craft activities, including coloring eggs with natural dyes and making eggshell critters. Easter on the Farm is the fourth in the Countryside Holiday series.

From the author of Thanksgiving in the Woods and A Simple Christmas on the Farm comes another fall holiday story. The apples are ready for harvest and Halloween is here! What better way to celebrate than by donning homemade costumes and going to the local apple orchard? In this charming story, a boy and his family enjoy everything the orchard has to offer, including searching for scarecrows, getting lost in a corn maze, and going on a hayride. Phyllis Alsdurf''s nostalgic storytelling and Lisa Hunt''s cozy illustrations will have you counting down the days until Halloween and apple orchard season! Backmatter includes a search-and-find key for finding scarecrows in the book and instructions for decorating a homemade trick-or-treat bag. Halloween in the Orchard is the third in the beloved Countryside Holidays series, along with Thanksgiving in the Woods and A Simple Christmas on the Farm.

When a little girl finds out her family is planning a "simple" Christmas this year, she''s not so sure about it. But soon she gets into the spirit of simplicity and generosity by making presents and Christmas decorations with her parents and grandparents on their family farm. She and her mama share Christmas cookies with friends they meet, inviting everyone to join them for Christmas in their little red barn. Warm and heartfelt, this story invites children and families to imagine an inclusive Christmas, focusing on the simple pleasures of connection, community, and the care and generosity shared by making things by hand. Step-by-step directions for creating three handmade Christmas gifts are included at the end of the book. Full of warmth and nostalgia, the Countryside Holiday series celebrates family, community, simplicity, and generosity.

A boy relates the preparations for, and enjoyment of, his family''s annual Thanksgiving in the Woods celebration on his grandparents'' farm. Includes words to the Shaker hymn Tis a Gift to be Simple and notes about the real gathering on which the story is based.

A young girl spends a day helping her father milk their cows, as she does throughout the year.

Each year three to four million women are severely assaulted by their husbands, ex-husbands or boyfriends. Battery is the single major cause of injury to women. And Christians are not exempt. Women are being choked, spat upon, hit, pushed, bitten, dragged by the hair and kicked -- by Christian husbands. Unfortunately, the church has all too often ignored this uncomfortable subject. Citing their finding from extensive research and summarizing eight years of interviews with victims, abusers, and pastors, James and Phyllis Alsdurf provide a comprehensive treatment of this troubling topic. They show the psychological, spiritual and personal impact of wife abuse and call the church to reexamine its role in addressing the issue.