Retired local pediatrician Dr. Joan MacCracken has adapted and translated “Trisba & Sula: A Miskitu Folktale from Nicaragua/Una leyenda de los miskitos de Nicaragua” from the Miskitu region on the northeast coast of Nicaragua.

The bilingual children’s book features Spanish and English translations on each page and was illustrated by a well-known Nicaraguan artist, Augusto Silva.

For the past five years, MacCracken has been traveling to Nicaragua with Partners in Health, a group of health providers working to improve the health of residents of the Nicaraguan city of Puerto Cabezas and outlying areas.

MacCracken’s efforts now include the educational needs of children in that country and she hopes one day to build a public library for that city.

By raising money to publish the book through contributions from family and friends, MacCracken will be able to use all profits from its sale to promote literacy in Nicaragua.

To tell more about this folktale, which never has been written before in English, MacCracken will present a short slide show of Nicaragua and its children and sign copies of her book at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Bangor Public Library, and at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Blue Hill Library.

Under the direction of Richard Young, coordinator of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program, Toys for Tots representatives will be at the University of Maine men’s basketball game at 7:30 tonight at Alfond Arena on the Orono campus, where they will gladly accept your contributions.

Volunteers also will be at the UMaine men’s hockey game Saturday, Dec. 10, as part of their continuing effort to obtain enough toys to meet the holiday needs of children and teens in area communities.

If you live in the Belfast area and recently have experienced the loss of a loved one, you might be interested in attending a Support Group for the Recently Bereaved.

Co-facilitated by Margie Spencer-Smith of Waldo County Home Health and Hospice and Flick Shooter, bereavement coordinator of Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County, the group will meet on Wednesdays for nine consecutive weeks.

The meetings are 4:15-5:15 p.m. each Wednesday, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 7, and ending Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Waldo County General Hospital’s Education Center, 118 Northport Ave. in Belfast.

The only location exception is the meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 14, when the group will meet in Waldo County General Hospital’s basement classroom.

The purpose of group is to provide support for individuals through the holiday season and part of the winter season.

For information about this program, call Waldo County Home Health and Hospice, 338-2268.

Thanks to Iris Simon, we again will follow the progress of the Healthy Hancock Lose and Win 2006 program.

Some team captains already have attended their first meeting, but if you have not yet formed your team, another meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8, and you can obtain more information by calling Health-Link, 667-2474, or The Healthy Island Project, 367-6332.

Simon reports that teams of four to 10 adults can include co-workers, neighbors, family and friends, and you’ll have fun coming up with a catchy team name.

Sponsored by Healthy Hancock, a coalition dedicated to improving the health of residents in Hancock County, Simon reported last year’s participants lost a total of 3,288 pounds during the 10-week team challenge.

Dr. Erik Steele will lead the Lose and Win 2006 kickoff on Thursday, Jan. 5.

For information about how you can improve your health and your lifestyle by participating in this very successful, fun and challenging program, call one of the numbers above.

Seniors can have a prescription drug plan comparison tool prepared online from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the D.P. Corbett Building at the University of Maine in Orono.

There is no registration required and there will be a mail option for people not able to stay to get their computer tool.

You should bring a list of your current medications, your ZIP code, the name of your pharmacy and, if possible, a copy of any letters you received from Social Security related to “extra help” for this prescription drug benefit, suggests Valerie Sauda, director of outreach at Eastern Agency on Aging, which is collaborating with the University of Maine Center on Aging to offer this service.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.