It’s that time of year again! It’s been a tough few years for kids and teachers alike. Here are some books from Richter Publishing to help us all get back into the grind for fall 2022.

From “Stand-up Comedian to Stand-up Teacher” is the story of Mike Rivera, “America’s Most Hilarious Teacher.” Talented and experienced in the worlds of both comedy and teaching, Mike brings together the unique perspectives of a nationally touring stand-up comedian, and an award-winning teacher, with the purpose of invigorating today’s American classroom. He calls this “The Comedy/Teaching Craft” and “The STAND-UP Strategies.” (Click the pic to get on Amazon)

This Spanish course is a detailed guide to learning the Spanish language. Particularly, it is intended to help students approach real-language usage. In many leccións, everyday topics are discussed, including very useful vocabulary. For those cases in which vocabulary is extensive, a part is integrated into the lección’s grammar section, and the rest is discussed separately. In addition, many English translations are included for ease of understanding. Separate leccións are devoted to the distinctions between ser and estar, and por and para. Exercises are used to make their distinct application clear and understandable. The four past tenses are also clearly explained. Exercises illustrate when each should be used. At the end there is a vocabulary that contains all the Spanish words in this book. In addition, as a small bonus many other important Spanish phrases and words are also included in this vocabulary. This book can help anyone learn Spanish in a quick and easy approach! (Click the pic to get on Amazon.)

You are a high school student, and for some reason you’re not inspired to do your best work. In fact, the only reason you even work as hard as you do may be due to a fear of punishment from authority figures. You’ve noticed other students that seem to be focused, but you don’t know how they do it. You have interests, but nothing that keeps your attention for long, or relates to a path where you will enjoy personal achievement one day. You may have talked with teachers, counselors, other students, and parents about your future, but nothing seems to click. What do you do? Where do you go to find your path? How do you find a path? Is there even a path for everyone? You may wonder, why can’t you just pick something, and have it inspire you so that you enjoy learning? Why do some seem to have it so easy? Over half the students I work with are sitting high school just “floating” along until something, anything, catches their attention. Many take the default path and pick college, or the military thinking this “experience” will solve their dilemma. This isn’t because they are bad kids, stupid, can’t do the work, or don’t care. These high school students want to be inspired to do great things and have a successful life, but don’t know how. I, too, was a “floater.” With grades and SAT scores in hand, I would sit and watch the students that knew what they wanted to do and pick those paths with confidence. I knew early that a job wasn’t going to be the ultimate living strategy unless I was able to use all of my talents and do great things. I had great teachers and coaches in high school who constantly challenged me; the problem was that I knew they would be gone the moment I moved my tassel from right to left. What the hell was I going to do with my life? As a person who has sat through two college graduations asking, “What am I going to do now?” I can honestly tell you, it isn’t a great feeling. Once I finally jumped from the “job” ship and really worked to forge my own path, I learned a real smack in the face lesson; I had wasted time. What did I waste time doing? I wasted time not developing the skills that would transfer to any path of success I chose. Once I jumped the “job” ship, I had to learn a whole new set of personal characteristics and skills in order to achieve my dreams. In Learning Curve: How to Prepare for Success When You Don’t Know Where Your Life is Going, I share my story, and then a list of characteristics each student can develop before success happens, so that when they find their passion, these skills will be a part of their character, and the transition toward success will be easier, faster, and more rewarding. Over time, these characteristics will become stronger as they are practiced with intent to find the path that is right for you. Your “WHY” should be based on the life you desire. By waiting until you know exactly what you want to do to develop these characteristics, you waste valuable resources, such as time and money, and may not be able to make up the ground when you finally are “inspired.” This results in missing valuable experience and opportunities while adding unwanted confusion and frustration to life. By developing the right personal characteristics, you will have a greater chance of grabbing that opportunity that is important to the success you desire as it starts to reveal itself. If your “WHY” in life is to be happy, achieve personal defined success, and wake up many days knowing you are making a difference in this world, then you should read this book. As you complete the chapter, work to answer the follow-up questions that are at the end of each characteristic. Don’t worry if you can’t answer them all at once, you are a work in progress. (Click on pic to get on Amazon.)

Is there anything better for students than being in the class of the cool teacher? When it comes to being a teenage student, and being forced to attend school, there is nothing better than a class where the teacher is passionate about education. How do these popular teachers continue to be the sparkle in the eyes of so many children, while there are others that can’t get them to pay attention? Rock the Crowd shares the methods of those teachers that are considered cool by students, while maintaining the best relationships for valuable learning to take place. For the “cool teacher,” the front of their classroom is their stage, and every day, for hours, they give the greatest performance their students have seen to date. The crowd-rocker teaches with passion and convictions that inspire real student connections and learning that last a lifetime. These teachers are popular, year after year, while others are still struggling to learn how to relate to the students. In Rock the Crowd, I share all the things cool teachers do that make them successful in working with, and producing, successful and long lasting, learning-centered relationships. Rock the Crowd is great for teachers who are struggling to find their teaching groove and to re-energize those that are already grooving. (Click on pic to get on Amazon.)

Processing death with a child is not an easy task. In fact, many people find it overwhelming and do not know how to initiate the conversation with young children. Using books, or bibliotherapy, as a method of explaining loss and grief is an effective tool for complex conversations. The book Riley and Milo leads young readers through the stages of grief such as: denial, anger, bargaining, sadness and acceptance. As the puppy Riley is processing the death of her best friend Milo, she explains her feelings and the impact of Milo’s death on her life. This book was created to help naturalize the emotions and experiences of young readers who are coping with grief and loss. (Click on pic to get a copy on Amazon.)

Cassie L. D’Addeo, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified School Counselor residing in Manatee County, Florida. When moving to Florida five years ago, Cassie opened Green Couch Counseling, LLC a private counseling practice servicing children, adolescents and adults. Cassie has a passion for helping people and dedicated her life work to assisting people through life’s most difficult challenges.

This book was created as a graduate school project while completing an internship with Broward County Public Schools. In January 2010 prior to graduation, the earthquake in Haiti occurred bringing hundreds of children from Haiti to the Fort Lauderdale area. Many young children were experiencing extreme loss and grief from the aftermath of the earthquake. Cassie used bibliotherapy as a means of communicating and processing grief with the children. At this time, the first draft of the manuscript was created. Cassie graduated Nova Southeastern University with a masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and went on to provide clinical services in outpatient, residential, home-based, and in the school setting.

In May 2020, Cassie experienced her own loss, after tragically losing her canine companion, Riley. Riley was born in Wisconsin, May 2013, and started training to be a clinical therapy dog at eight weeks old. Within her first year of life, Riley completed her training, certification and her clinical internship with Youth and Family Counseling in Libertyville, Illinois. Riley served many years as Cassie’s co-therapist. In the Fall of 2020, Cassie’s mom suggested that she finish the project she started 10 years ago in honor of her canine co-therapist, Riley. After revisions and name changes, the final manuscript was completed. Riley and Milo: A puppy’s story of coping with grief and loss is Cassie’s first children’s book publication.