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About the Book (Excerpts & Info):
Ken Magee has had a life filled with both challenges and adventure. As a Hospice Medical Director, he recognizes too often that records of such treasures are lost. In recording riches from his own childhood, he journeys back with his grandchildren to these early years in the Great Depression era. He challenges you also to tell and record your own life stories. Don't leave those treasures buried.
The childhood we wish we had experienced
"What a great book for all ages. For adults, it is reliving the childhood we had, or wish we had had. For children, it is a foray into the land of adventure. The simple pleasures Ken Magee was able to experience with a little imagination can inspire today's children to enrich their childhood. If you can't grow up with these adventures, you can at least read about them."
Leo H. Criep Jr., M.D. (Houston, Texas)
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Recapture your Inner Child
"It has been a pleasure to read this treasure of a book with my daughter. It reveals the creative spirit of a child, so often lost in the passive entertainment of t.v. watching and video games. It helps us see the value of creating more free space in our children's lives to just "be" and to use their incredible imaginations in play. As an adult, "Mudwatching" has brought back a flood of happy memories from my my own childhood. I find the author's creative use of speaking in a child's voice very effective.
My mother is celebrating her 90th birthday soon. . .I plan to send a copy of this book to her. She is planning to write down her childhood memories and give this as a gift to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at her birthday celebration. This book challenges us to record our stories and pass them on to those we love.
My daughter and I highly recommend this book!"
Faith Marsalli (Klamath Falls, Oregon)
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"In Mudwatching: Adventuring with Grandpa, Ken Magee has given us a unique window into a happy childhood in rural Oregon during the early part of the twentieth century. The book is written in an engaging and entertaining manner and is a delight to read. We get a real sense of how people lived and how they felt about their world. We gain insight into relationships and lifeways, work and play, everyday life and celebrations. We are reminded that a good life can be lived during tough economic times as well as times of plenty-something that is important to remember in the challenging days we are currently living in. Beyond that, the book does something else that is truly important-it encourages us to think about the stories that make up our own lives and to record them in some way for the generations to come. Mudwatching shows us one approach. Ken writes from the perspective of a kid going on these adventures, taking one of his grandchildren along on each one. This is just one way to tell these stories. You may tell your stories differently, but the important thing is to tell them. This book will help you do that, not only by bringing up your own memories, but also with the help of one of the appendices, which includes a list of specific questions you can use as prompts to being recording your own stories. It's an important thing to do and as Ken urges us to remember, we should do it now while we can."
Shari Burke, M.A.-Anthropologist, Community Educator, Life Story Facilitator, Writer
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"Mudwatching - What a delightful book! All the way through I kept thinking how wonderful it would be if every little child in America could have such a growing up, even with a rascal manipulating them, like that one called Kenny. But that's where so much of the humor comes in and I really do like subtle humor. Perhaps the most appealing story for me was the one telling about leaving home, and then needing to be near the water at the back of the house. And those pathetic creatures called girls you had to put up with. It is well written. It's a great job. Keep on truckin'."
Lindsley Rinard, Author and retired educator in languages
"We are very pleased to have a copy of your most interesting book. The children and I have been reading a couple of chapters each evening at the dinner table. What a great conversation starter!"
Christopher Zoolkoski M.D., Niger, Africa
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"A thankful teacher gives you an 'A' for a splendid job at writing. My grading was half what you say and half how you say it. You did a superb job on both."
Jean Underwood, Retired educator, Oregon Institute of Technology
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Thank You,
Ken Magee