Everybody wants to be loved. We all need affirmation, acceptance, and approval. Let's face it: It feels good to be appreciated and admired. But when we depend on the approval of others to feel good about ourselves, it's impossible to have emotional stability or a healthy self-image. And when our value is based on how people see us rather than God's unconditional love for us, our desire for approval can become an addiction. In THE APPROVAL FIX, #1...

Gerald, whose communication in the form of clangs, toots, and blasts, distresses his parents and the kids at school.

Duck is feeling pretty good about himself. He can flip on a skateboard, and he's a great friend, too. Then Cat comes along and seems so cool, with his high scores on video games--but Cat also does some mean stuff nobody likes! Then Cat gets caught up a tree and needs help. In three short chapters, perfect for readers just gaining confidence, Duck and his pals show Cat that being cool includes helping others and not dissing your friends.

Illustrations and simple, rhyming text introduce a school where diversity is celebrated and songs, stories, and talents are shared.

Mike's a mixed-race boy, completely comfortable with his identity and his parents--and his wild, curly hair.

Sweet, plucky Linus cannot quite seem to fit into the rigid confines of his strait-laced world--and maybe that is not such a bad thing.

As a preacher's daughter, Monique is expected to be an example at church although she hates its restrictive rules. When she discovers she physically cannot have sex, and after her boyfriend breaks up with her for that reason, two unexpected teens from church become her main supports as she desperately tries to break the rules against all the odds.

Lucky is a young red squirrel who was rescued from a hawk, and now must somehow make his home among the Cloudfoot clan of the larger, gray squirrels who live in the city park--and trouble is brewing for the rival gray squirrels known as the Northenders are planning an invasion.

Rhyming text and illustrations celebrate being content with the skin in which one lives, whatever that skin might be. With the ease and simplicity of a nursery rhyme, this lively story delivers an important message of social acceptance to young readers. Themes associated with child development and social harmony, such as friendship, acceptance, self-esteem, and diversity are promoted in simple and straightforward prose. Vivid illustrations of children's...