Karen McDonald

The stars were in alignment to transform the isolated hamlet of White Oak Flats into the major tourist destination that Gatlinburg is today. Settlers arrived at the end of the 18th century to farm, and a community emerged. When the ladies of the Pi Beta Phi Women's Fraternity established a school in Gatlinburg in 1912, the mountain people learned they had the skills to produce marketable, handmade items. With interest in a national park developing in the 1920s, people began to visit the area to buy handcrafts and to enjoy the scenery. Enterprising residents then built hotels and shops to accommodate them. Today, Gatlinburg supports approximately 11,000 people with an active chamber of commerce, a prize-winning community center, an outstanding public school system, a national art education center, and a nationally known public library.

Discover bees, space, Mars and Earth, all in one book! Bees do an amazing job helping plants, animals and humans live on Earth... and their star pollination skills could even be useful in space! Fly through this book to find out how bees might help humans live on Mars, and how they might inspire space inventions of the future. This book is from Readerful's Independent Library. It is for children aged 7 to 8 to read without support. Readerful: Inspiring Children to Read More Readerful is a specially designed reading library that motivates children aged 4-11 to develop a lifelong love of reading. The series offers contemporary, inclusive books across three key collections: Books for Sharing: Picture books to be read aloud by an adult for inspiring reading sessions Independent Library: Fiction, graphic texts, character mini-series and non-fiction for children to read independently Rise: Fully decodable books for older struggling readers to read independently. How Readerful works: • Read aloud the Books for Sharing for magical reading sessions that motivate children to read more. • Encourage children to choose a book to read by themselves, from Readerful's Independent Library or from Rise. You'll find links between the books' topics, vocabulary, characters and authors - all designed to keep children reading, boost their vocabulary and develop their knowledge of the world around them.

Were There Any Witnesses? doesn't come from success, but from struggles. These poems are some of the answers from God as I brought my questions to him. Since everyone has struggles and questions, I think many people will be able to relate and be encouraged. You are not alone in your stumble through this world. Hopefully, these poems will shake a little salt, shine a little light, and share another little voice echoing "nothing new under the sun" to the next generation wandering through this wilderness we call life.In November 2015, Karen McDonald was chosen by Eternal Ink E-zine as the first place winner in their annual poetry contest with her poem "By the Things That Are Made," based on Romans 1:20. Acts 1:8 "You will be my witnesses...."