Paint is peeling on the library ceiling, bathroom tiles are missing off the floor, and there's a cracked windowpane in the main chapel. These are just a few of the many fix-it projects needing attention at the Carmelite House of Prayer Oakville Monastery just off the Oakville Grade on the way to St. Helena.

NEW YORK -- The party line at most schools is that diversity is embraced. But do all teachers always demonstrate such tolerance in the classroom?

Paint is peeling on the library ceiling, bathroom tiles are missing off the floor, and there's a cracked windowpane in the main chapel. These are just a few of the many fix-it projects needing attention at the Carmelite House of Prayer Oakville Monastery just off the Oakville Grade on the way to St. Helena.

"How much do we tell our daughter about the after effects of Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, the Asian tsunami, and other disasters? I don't think kids need to know the details or full scope of some tragedies." -- Kerri Greene-Curtis, mother of a 5-year-old.

Although she doesn't consider herself a children's author, Joyce Maynard's own experiences both as a parent and a child are driving forces in her writing, and she writes with a special empathy for kids caught in an adult world of secrets, shame and silence.