Monday, October 15, 2018

Perspectives on Retirement An overview

The following is partially based on a report called Perspectives on Retirement the 15th Annual Transamerica Retirement Surveypublished in 2016.

In Canada and the United States, our retirement system has been referred to as a three-legged stool. In the United States:  the three legs are, Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and personal savings and in Canada, the three legs consist of, Old Age Security Income, Canada Pension, Registered Retirement Savings Programs. Over the last few years, critics have attacked the concepts of Old Age Security Income in Canada as well as the Canada Pension Plan.

In the United States critics have questioned if the Social Security fund is sustainable. The attacks by the critics have led seventy-seven percent of workers to be concerned that Social Security will not be there for them when they are ready to retire. In both countries, there has been a gradual disappearance of traditional pension plans provided by employers. As a result, many of us are not sure if the stool will be standing when we retire at worst, at best many of us consider that the stool has become wobbly.

Sixty-one percent of workers have not fully recovered from the recession of 2008-2009. This includes 41 percent who have somewhat recovered, 13 percent who have not yet begun to recover, and seven percent who may never recover. Because many of us never did recover there is a mistrust of government and a widespread lack of confidence in the idea that the government will help us in our retirement

Canadian and American workers are taking matters into our own hands and we are adding a fourth leg to the stool, continued work part time or full time, when we move into retirement. Sixty-five percent of workers believe that they could work until age 65 and not save enough to meet their needs. Only 51 percent of workers agree that they are building a large enough retirement nest egg.


The 17th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers released by the non-profit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® finds that 40% of Baby Boomers are expecting a decrease in their standard of living when they retire, 83% of Generation X workers believe that their generation will have a harder time achieving financial security than their parents’ generation, and just 18% of Millennials are very confident about their future retirement. Approximately half of the workers across all three generations plan to work at least part-time during their retirement.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Reading to your grandchildren part 3

The following list is from the Australian Booksellers’ Association list of 50 Favourite Kids’ Books, voted on by 5000 participants from a database of all children’s books in English and published here

Mem Fox’s best-selling first picture book about Grandma Poss, who uses her best bush magic to make baby Hush invisible.

The first book in Rowling’s series sees the young Harry journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he hones his magical powers and confronts Lord Voldemort.

First published in 1969, Carle’s collage-style illustrations follow a caterpillar as it eats its way through a variety of foods to emerge, at the end of the book, as a butterfly.

Young adult novel that tells the story of a 16-year-old cancer patient, Hazel, who attends a support group where she meets and falls in love with a former basketballer and amputee.

There are blue sheep, red sheep, a bath sheep and a bed sheep. But where is the green sheep.?

In Griffiths’ and illustrator Terry Denton’s tree house there’s a chocolate waterfall, a non-erupting active volcano, a baby dinosaur petting zoo and the Believe It Or Else museum.

In the Enchanted Wood fairy folk live on every branch of the Magic Faraway Tree, home to the Land of Spells, of Topsy-Turvy and Do-As-You-Please.

Max, sent to his room in his wolf suit, rages at the injustice. When his room transforms into a jungle, Max sails to an island where he fights the Wild Things.

Traces the busy life of Mothball, a “wombat with attitude” who wrestles unknown creatures, runs her own digging business and even trains her humans.

A mouse wards off predators intent on eating him by conjuring a fictional creature, half grizzly bear, half buffalo.

The story of young girl gifted with magical powers but saddled with dimwitted parents.

Nazi Germany, 1939: Liesel learns to read and shares the books she steals with the Jewish man hidden in their basement.

A group of teenage friends returns from a week-long camping trip to the bush to discover that all the people are missing and pets and livestock are dead or dying.

Published in 1908 and set in Canada, tells the story of an orphan girl sent to live in a farming community in King Edward Island.

Charlie Bucket realizes his dream of entering the famous chocolate factory of Willy Wonka.

Here are five more books as a Bonus

Follows the quest of hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon Smaug.

A spoilt, sickly child, Mary Lennox, becomes fascinated by a locked garden.

Born with a terrible facial deformity, 10-year-old Auggie longs to be normal. Now, for the first time, he is being sent to a “normal” school.

In the seventh and final novel in the series, Harry has turned 17, Dumbledore is dead and Lord Voldemort’s powers are increasing.


Much loved picture book by veteran Australian author and illustrator traces the around-Australia journey of eight year old Grace and her family.

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Read to your grandchildren part 2

The National Educations Association (USA) list
The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages praising Wilbur (such as "Some Pig") in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live

One-night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper. That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins.

This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return

“Do you like green eggs and ham?” asks Sam-I-am in this Beginner Book by Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss’s beloved favorite has cemented its place as a children’s classic. In this most famous of cumulative tales, the list of places to enjoy green eggs and ham, and friends to enjoy them with, gets longer and longer.  Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.

In a great green room, tucked away in bed, is a little bunny. "Goodnight room, goodnight moon." And to all the familiar things in the softly lit room—to the picture of the three little bears sitting on chairs, to the clocks and his socks, to the mittens and the kittens, to everything one by one—the little bunny says goodnight. In this classic of children's literature, beloved by generations of readers and listeners, the quiet poetry of the words and the gentle, lulling illustrations combine to make a perfect book for the end of the day.

The following is from the authors webpage
Love You Forever started as a song.
“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
as long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.”
I made that up after my wife and I had two babies born dead. The song was my song to my dead babies. For a long time, I had it in my head and I couldn’t even sing it because every time I tried to sing it I cried. It was very strange having a song in my head that I couldn’t sing. For a long time, it was just a song but one day, while telling stories at a big theatre at the University of Guelph, it occurred to me that I might be able to make a story around the song. Out popped Love You Forever, pretty much the way it is in the book.

The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace.

From soaring to high heights and seeing great sights to being left in a Lurch on a prickly perch, Dr. Seuss addresses life’s ups and downs with his trademark humorous verse and illustrations, while encouraging readers to find the success that lies within. In a starred review, Booklist notes, “Seuss’s message is simple but never sappy: life may be a ‘Great Balancing Act,’ but through it all ‘There’s fun to be done.’” A perennial favorite and a perfect gift for anyone starting a new phase in their life!

The story of The Little House sends a message of being careful what you wish for and about family values. The grandfather cared for his family so much that he wanted to make sure this house would last a lifetime. He built it so that no one could take away a gift that would outlast his time on Earth. This lesson in the story is very important in any stage of a child or adults life. There are a million activities one could do with this book and as a teacher, I would have students look up the history of their house and find out all the neat little things you just never think about. This book was wonderfully written and perfectly illustrated.

The Polar Express is an old-fashioned steam train that takes children to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to meet the red-suited gentleman and to see him off on his annual sleigh ride. This is a personal retelling of the adult storyteller's adventures as a youngster on that train. The telling is straight, thoughtfully clean-cut and all the more mysterious for its naive directness; the message is only a bit less direct: belief keeps us young at heart. These are scenes from a memory of long ago, a dreamy reconstruction of a symbolic experience, a pleasant remembrance rebuilt to fulfill a current wish: if only you believe, you too will hear the ringing of the silver bell that Santa gave him and taste rich hot chocolate in your ride through the wolf-infested forests of reality.This review was written by Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus Reed Business Information, Inc.

Skippyjon Jones is no ordinary kitten. Oh, no. . . .He’s actually El Skippito, a great sword-fighter ready to battle banditos the world over! With a little imagination and a whole lot of fun, this frisky cat dons a mask and cape and takes on a bad bumble-bee to save the day. And along the way, he’ll be sure to steal young reader’s hearts

The real-life, classic story of a dyslexic girl and the teacher who would not let her fail. Patricia Polacco is now one of America's most loved children's book creators, but once upon a time, she was a little girl named Trisha starting school. Trisha could paint and draw beautifully, but when she looked at words on a page, all she could see was jumble. It took a very special teacher to recognize little Trisha's dyslexia: Mr. Falker, who encouraged her to overcome her reading disability. Patricia Polacco will never forget him, and neither will we.

13.         The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss
Poor Dick and Sally. It's cold and wet and they're stuck in the house with nothing to do . . . until a giant cat in a hat shows up, transforming the dull day into a madcap adventure and almost wrecking the place in the process!

Friday, October 12, 2018

Read to your grandchildren part 1

I thought I would compile a list of top children’s books from various sources. We are getting close to Christmas and many of you do your shopping early and one of the best gifts you can gift is the gift of a book. 

The first 12 are from Today’s Parent and list what they think are the top 100 Canadian children’s books. The next 13 are from the National Education Association and is from their top 100 Books. The final list is from Australia. The reason for this list is my grandson who is in grade 2 is reading at a grade 5 level according to his teachers and so I thought I would do some research on books from Australia or Canada that will stimulate his imagination. 

You may have some children or grandchildren who are good readers or who you want to become good readers so this list of 25 books is a start.

Top 12 Canadian Children’s Books as chosen by Today’s Parent
During World War II, 10-year-old Norah and her brother are sent away from their parents in England to navigate a new life in Canada, in this touching historical account.

Melodramatic and relatable Anne-with-an-E is an 11-year-old orphan who finds love, loss and belonging in picturesque Prince Edward Island.

Famed Canadian painter Ted Harrison illustrates the haunting classic gold rush–themed poem.

Stella is eager to swim in the sea, but her little brother, Sam, has some reservations in this whimsical first book of the Stella series.

In this exciting fantasy novel, a young Silverwing bat named Shade is separated from his family and must embark on a dangerous journey to find them.

In a small Quebec town, life revolves around playing hockey and the Montreal Canadiens, but trouble brews when Roch outgrows his Habs sweater and receives a Toronto Maple Leafs one as a replacement.

A Cree boy and a Caucasian orphan living with his uncle set out on an exciting—and, at times, nail-biting—Arctic adventure.

A little fish steals a large sleeping fish’s teeny bowler hat. He’s pretty sure the big fish won’t catch him!

In this classic girl-power tale, Elizabeth’s betrothed, Prince Ronald, is captured by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. She uses her wits to save him, but was it worth it?

Based on true events, this bittersweet tale follows a young Aboriginal girl through her last few days with her family before she’s sent to a residential school.

A fun collection of poetry by Canada’s Father Goose includes classic rhymes like “Skyscraper” and “Wiggle to the Laundromat.”

Misunderstood Jacob Two-Two finds himself at the mercy of the mean Hooded Fang after insulting a grown-up.