Some of the 2009 Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winners

As someone who's had two back surgeries, I'm always looking for easy, natural treatments to alleviate chronic pain and also strengthen my wonky lumbar area. This book really delivers. The author provides lots of photographs to show proper posture as well as easy techniques to achieve a pain-free back.

The author lives a few minutes from Los Angeles and grows organic produce in her kitchen garden; her backyard is also home to her goat and Araucana chickens (you know, the chickens that lay the pretty light blue eggs). This cookbook is replete with great healthy recipes that will feed your soul as well as your body.

Educator Linda Lantieri and psychologist Daniel Goleman have given parents and teachers a guide to help children become emotionally intelligent. This book, which comes with a CD, teaches how to quiet the mind and build inner strength.

I started eating Stonyfield Farm Yogurt when I found out how much sugar is in other yogurts. The author (the founder of Stonyfield Farm) tells how it is possible to have an economically-successful company while promoting green sensibilities. Hirshberg also discusses other companies with similar philosophies to his own. And guess what? There are coupons in the book for Stonyfield Farm products as well coupons for other companies’ products.

This picture book biography is about an African woman who grew up in Kenya surrounded by trees. When she returned to Kenya after attending school in America, she noticed barren land where beautiful lush trees had once been. She started by planting some trees in her back yard, and that was just the beginning. Children will learn how Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai's passion and dedication for the environment led to the Green Belt Movement, which over the next 27 years planted 30 million trees across Africa.

This tome is a lush photographic tour of natural landmarks from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. These natural places, wildlife refuges and sanctuaries have been saved through the efforts of conservation philanthropy. This book comes in its own slipcase. This would make a gorgeous gift!