The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside)

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When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables, Prince Edward Island, send for a boy orphan to help them out at the farm, they are in no way prepared for the error that will change their lives. The mistake takes the shape of Anne Shirley, a redheaded 11-year-old girl who can talk anyone under the table. Fortunately, her sunny nature and quirky imagination quickly win over her reluctant foster parents. Anne's feisty spirit soon draws many friends--and much trouble--her way. Not a day goes by without some melodramatic new episode in the tragicomedy of her life. Early on, Anne declares her eternal antipathy for Gilbert Blythe, a classmate who commits the ultimate sin of mocking her hair color. Later, she accidentally dyes that same cursed hair green. Another time, in her haste to impress a new neighbor, she bakes a cake with liniment instead of vanilla. Lucy Maud Montgomery's series of books about Anne have remained classics since the early 20th century. Her portrayal of this feminine yet independent spirit has given generations of girls a strong female role model, while offering a taste of another, milder time in history. This lovely boxed gift collection comprises Anne of Green Gables, Anne of the Island, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Favorites for nearly 100 years, these classic novels follow the adventures of the spirited redhead Anne Shirley, who comes to stay at Green Gables and wins the hearts of everyone she meets.

Customer Reviews:

The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set.......2007-09-02

I was very pleased my books came very quickly. They were new so they were in perfect condition. The whole set of books were very reasonably priced, and I'm enjoying reading them.

Just love Anne Shirley!!.......2007-07-17

This series is the most wonderful and entertaining of books!
I got the first book from the library and fell in love with it, and so bought the series from Amazon. These are my favorite books, and I am on my second time through them.

The series starts off about Anne, an orphan girl, who gets sent from the Asylum and goes to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert of Green Gables.
Her life is filled with hilarious predicaments! Dyeing her hair, falling off the Barry roof, daydreaming and imagining to much, and plus, her rivaly with handsome Gilbert Blythe.

I highly recommend this series! I loved the rest of the books as much as I loved the first! Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote a masterpice! You will definitely fall in love with imaginative Anne Shirley!

Just like I remembered.......2007-07-17

This series is really great. I started from the first book and couldn't put them down. The story is just as intruiging and wonderful as when I read it the first time when I was younger. VERY VERY VERY enjoyable!

Light Reading.......2007-06-08

Read these books when I was younger and I loved them. Bought them for my sister who is 12 and she is really enjoying reading them. Actually don't mind reading them again myself.

Anne with an e.......2007-06-04

When my Grandfather was a boy he speant time on PEI on a farm located very near where Green Gables would have been. He bought this set for me long before i was able to read and they sat on my shelf until my high school years when i finaly picked them up. I had watched the movies with my Grandfather as far back as i could remeber and assumed the books would be worth reading. They quickly surpassed all other books and became my favorite.
Now, having just graduated college and looking for a litte direction and inspiration (like Anne I'm looking for work as a teacher) I picked them back up and have been rereading them. I feel like these books such life lessons that anyone with any beliefs can read them and learn good values.
These books and movies have always been like a comfert food for me these are the books and movies i read and watch when things are going bad.
I highly reccamend these books to people of al ages, they are well worth the time, and are a nice and easy read.

Average customer rating:

Indian
Enchanting and riveting, this story will stay with you
Island Of The Blue Dolphins!
May be too adult for 10 or 11 yr olds
good

Island of the Blue Dolphins
Scott O'Dell
Manufacturer: Yearling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0440439884
Release Date: 1987-02-01

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Scott O'Dell won the Newbery Medal for Island of the Blue Dolphins in 1961, and in 1976 the Children's Literature Association named this riveting story one of the 10 best American children's books of the past 200 years. O'Dell was inspired by the real-life story of a 12-year-old American Indian girl, Karana. The author based his book on the life of this remarkable young woman who, during the evacuation of Ghalas-at (an island off the coast of California), jumped ship to stay with her young brother who had been abandoned on the island. He died shortly thereafter, and Karana fended for herself on the island for 18 years.

O'Dell tells the miraculous story of how Karana forages on land and in the ocean, clothes herself (in a green-cormorant skirt and an otter cape on special occasions), and secures shelter. Perhaps even more startlingly, she finds strength and serenity living alone on the island. This beautiful edition of Island of the Blue Dolphins is enriched with 12 full-page watercolor paintings by Ted Lewin, illustrator of more than 100 children's books, including Ali, Child of the Desert. A gripping story of battling wild dogs and sea elephants, this simply told, suspenseful tale of survival is also an uplifting adventure of the spirit. (Ages 9 to 12)

Book Description

In the Pacific, there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea birds abound. Karana is the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Hers is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

Customer Reviews:

Indian.......2007-10-01

White people found her people and took them off island with lie of freedom. She escaped and remain on island with brother. Wolves eat brother. She walk alone and with a special wolf who is kind to her. one day she enter a water cave, found out the truth about her people fate. her people died and she survived. one day white people return to the island once again, she finally allow herself to join them. she became famous and she is buried in california. her clothing is in museum in Italy. wonderful story of her courage life.

Enchanting and riveting, this story will stay with you.......2007-08-27

I have to smile when reading these other reviews that say this book was one of their favorites as a child. It also was mine. I've read so many books, that most times the memory of the details within them grow dim, but not with "Island of the Blue Dolphins". I can still picture the breathtaking beauty of the island where Karana spent her growing years. I still remember her joys and trials of living alone for so long, after everyone had left. Her ingenuity and strength still amazes me. I can't wait until my children are old enough so I can enjoy this Newberry book with them. It's definitely one in a million.

Island Of The Blue Dolphins!.......2007-08-19

When I was on vacation at Martha's Vinyard I went to the book store and bought Island Of The Blue Dolphins for myself and I loved it!! I love it so much because of it's beautiful discriptions and details that I can picture in my mind. This book is beautifully written and has wonderful detail of natural survival of hunting, and making friends (Rontu and Rontu-Aru and the English girl Tutok, the fox and Won-a-nee the otter). How many wonderful and beautiful adventures of exciting survival can one indian girl have? I am 10 years old and recommend this book to whoever loves reading and is a fan of detail and beauty!!!!!!!!

May be too adult for 10 or 11 yr olds.......2007-08-15

My 11 yr old enjoyed this book but says it was too sad for her taste. Kids!

good.......2007-08-13

THIS BOOK WAS FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTER. She liked it very much. I am looking for some other books for 7th graders do you have any suggestions?

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

KCS Hatchet
Engaging
Great for youngsters
Teachers love Hatchet!
A Must-Read Book

Hatchet
Gary Paulsen
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689826990

Book Description

Alone

Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother has given him as a present -- and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart ever since his parents' divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self-pity, or despair -- it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.

Customer Reviews:

KCS Hatchet.......2007-10-06

"The nick wasn't large, but the hatchet was important to him, was his only tool, and he should not have thrown it. He should have kept it in his hand, and make a tool of some kind to help push an animal away. Make a staff, he thought, or a lance, and save the hachet."
Brian is a 13 year old boy who's parents got devorced. He was to stay through the school year with his mom and the summer with his dad, on his flight to visit his dad in a small plane, the pilot had a heart attack, jurked his leg and set a new route for the plane to nowhere. Brian, being the only one on the plane besides the pilot could not fly, and the plane crashed leaving the pilot dead and Brian stranded with only a hatchet for a tool. Brian must learn to survive in the wilderness, alone.
This realistic fictional book teaches you to never give up. If Brian had given up on getting food, building a shelter, or hope that some one will find him, he would have died. I really liked Hatchet and you if you read it, you will love it too. This book is for every person, adult or child, because of the authors way to pull you into the book.

Engaging.......2007-09-11

I read this book in trying to find one that might interest my son. It was just what I needed. My son loves hunting and fishing. He enjoys reading when the right material comes along. Hatched grabbed his attention and we have had Gary Paulsen books in our home ever since. It is a book about living in the wilderness and all that that entails. There is no offensive language or explicit language which has ruined many a good book. I recommend this to those who love the outdoors.

Great for youngsters.......2007-09-07

My 15 year-old goddaughter suggested that I read Hatchet. Clearly it is written for a young audience. I thought it was very, very good, adventurous, and a page turner. It's a story of success under very adverse circulstances. I've since given Hatchet as gifts to youngsters.

Teachers love Hatchet!.......2007-09-02

Brian Robeson, a thirteen-year old boy, is traveling to visit his father who was recently divorced from Brian's mother. The small plane he travels in crashes, killing the pilot and leaving Brian as the only survivor in the Canadian wilderness. The book documents his struggle for survival and dealing with his emotions.

Hatchet remains one of my favorite children's books-one that I felt compelled to read every spare minute until finished. Teachers continually laud this book not only for it's enjoyable reading, but for its many themes-divorce, survival, courage, resourcefulness, determination, confidence, self-esteem. It's also a great learning tool to teach different reading comprehension strategies.

A Must-Read Book.......2007-06-27

And that about says it. Gripping narrative, a quick read, a book about discovery and growth into self-reliance. The Brothers Karamazov it ain't, but this is a book every child and every adult should read.

Average customer rating:

Only her way of viewing the world may help her family
Good enough, I guess
Glittering, Shining
A Shining Book
Kira-Kira

Kira-Kira
Cynthia Kadohata
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689856407

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In Cynthia Kadohata's lively, lovely, funny and sad novel -- winner of the 2005 Newbery Medal -- the Japanese-American Takeshima family moves from Iowa to Georgia in the 1950s when Katie, the narrator, is just in kindergarten. Though her parents endure grueling conditions and impossible hours in the non-unionized poultry plant and hatchery where they work, they somehow manage to create a loving, stable home for their three children: Lynn, Katie, and Sammy. Katie's trust in, and admiration for, her older sister Lynn never falters, even when her sisterly advice doesn't seem to make sense. Lynn teaches her about everything from how the sky, the ocean, and people's eyes are special to the injustice of racial prejudice. The two girls dream of buying a house for the family someday and even save $100 in candy money: "Our other favorite book was Silas Marner. We were quite capitalistic and liked the idea of Silas keeping all that gold underneath the floorboards." When Lynn develops lymphoma, it's heartbreaking, but through the course of her worsening illness, Katie does her best to remember Lynn's "kira-kira" (glittery, shining) outlook on life. Small moments shine the brightest in this poignant story; told beautifully and lyrically in Katie's fresh, honest voice. (Ages 11 to 14) --Karin Snelson

Book Description

kira-kira (kee ra kee ra): glittering; shining

Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering -- kira-kira -- in the future.

Customer Reviews:

Only her way of viewing the world may help her family.......2007-08-07

Cynthia Kadohata's KIRA-KIRA tells of Katie and her family, who move from a Japanese community in Iowa to Georgia, where younger sister Lynn teaches the family a special way of seeing the world, beyond the immediate future. When Lynn falls ill, only her way of viewing the world may help her family in the moving KIRA-KIRA.

Good enough, I guess.......2007-07-19

I honestly have never felt so let down by a Newbery book. As an English teacher, I usually love them. But this story just does not ring true in so many places that I have to give it three stars. Had its editor done his/her job better, perhaps it could have earned more.

I live in GA, where the story is set, and my husband has had cancer, which one sister also fights. Granted, some of the scenes about Lynn's cancer and its wearing on her caregivers are very well-written; however, I think it was implausible that the sister who so desperately wants to see the ocean never does. I mean, in southwest Georgia, they would not have been more than 5 hours from the Atlantic and less than that from the Gulf. Also, some of the scenes crash into each other with no transition at all--it nearly drove me mad. Also, the ex-best friend would have come to the funeral. They always do.

Parts of it were excellent, but many parts were not. For desperate AR readers, however, I'm sure this would be a quick last-minute read!

Glittering, Shining.......2007-07-08

I really liked this book. The author has great descriptions, and I felt like I could relate to the characters. Of course, there's the younger sister who wants things to stay the same, and the older one who just changes with time. This is one of those books that truly makes you cry. People call some books tearjerkers, when they aren't all that sad. But this book ... it made me cry and think. It gave me a different outlook on things. Life is short. This book will remind you of that. I recommend this one. It'll show you that there can be sad endings, but all in all, your world can still be kira-kira (shining).

A Shining Book.......2007-06-15

Kira-kira means glittering in Japanese, most things that glitter get the attention of the looker, and this book got my attention as the reader very quickly with a near-tragic meeting with a dog. Kira-Kira is the story, told through the words of Katie, a young Japanese-American girl, growing up in the 1950's in a small Georgia town, not overly populated with Japanese-Americans. Katie's story revolves around her family, with the main focus on her sister, Lynn, who she adores and believes is a genius. As is the case in life there are happy and sad times, just like this book where you can read about racial injustice,friendships,financial struggles,and a family's hopes, dreams, and losses.

Kira-Kira.......2007-05-13

Excellent story of a family that experiences hard times and death of a child. Well-written, well read!

Average customer rating:

engaging classic
Great for first time readers
fantastic adventure
EXCELLENT!
Elmer and the Dragon -- a CLASSIC

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon
Ruth Stiles Gannett
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0679889116
Release Date: 1997-11-25

Amazon.com

My Father's Dragon--a favorite of young readers since the 1940s and a Newbery honor book--captures the nonsensical logic of childhood in an amusingly deadpan fashion. The story begins when Elmer Elevator (the narrator's father as a boy) runs away with an old alley cat to rescue a flying baby dragon being exploited on a faraway island. With the help of two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, chewing gum, and a fine-toothed comb, Elmer disarms the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island. The quirky, comical adventure ends with a heroic denouement: the freeing of the dragon. Abundant black-and-white lithographs by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (the author's stepmother) add an evocative, lighthearted mood to an already enchanting story. Author Ruth Stiles Gannett's stand-alone sequel, Elmer and the Dragon, and her third volume, The Dragons of Blueland both received starred reviews in School Library Journal and are as fresh and original as her first. (Ages 4 to 8)

Book Description

The classic fantasy trilogy of Elmer Elevator and the flying baby dragon has delighted children and their parents for generations. Now, on the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary, Random House is proud to bring the three timeless tales together in one beautiful commemorative edition, complete with the original delightful illustrations. A Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, My Father's Dragon is followed by Elmer and the Dragon ("rich, humorous, and thoroughly satisfying"*) and The Dragons of Blueland ("ingenious and plausible, the fantasy well-sustained"*). Each story stands alone, but read in succession, they are an unforgettable experience.*Library Journal, starred review

Customer Reviews:

engaging classic.......2007-07-05

I recently purchased this CD set for a long car ride with my almost four year old. He loves listening to stories and this is no exception. The first of the three stories is our favorite, but all are well read; the narrator does the voices very well, which is most of the fun. These are classic tales, well worth exposing your children to. (The only caveat to the "classicness" is that they also contain material not sensored for modern political correctness. . . a slap, the word "queer", animals that consume humans, etc.).

Great for first time readers.......2007-06-04

Many years ago my wife and I were looking for a good book to give to our son as one of his own to read. The teen-age daughter of a friend recommended My Father's Dragon and it was perfect our son loved it and it is very good for young readers. He often returns to read the book again, 5 years later.

Just this past year we were struggling to get our 7-year old daughter to read anything, she would do anything not to read. I just handed her "My Father's Dragon" and she spent an hour reading it without a peep. She raced through the book in 2 days and it now moves from book to book with confidence and enjoyment.

I recommend this book highly for young readers. It's fantastic.

fantastic adventure.......2007-05-18

Young Elmer Elevator is, like Kipling's sailor, a "man of infinite resource and sagacity." When a stray cat he befriended tells him about a baby dragon being held prisoner on a far-away island, Elmer immediately puts together an eclectic selection of useful objects, stows away on a boat, and sets out to rescue the dragon. Such odds and ends as chewing gum, a brush and comb, hair ribbons, rubber bands and lollipops all turn out to be exactly what's needed to handle difficult situations. The second book in this three-in-one tells of Elmer's equally eventful return home. The third covers a second rescue, this time involving an entire dragon family. The stories are inventive and fun, and the pictures are delightful as well, leaving the reader wishing for more.

I would recommend this book for all ages. Our resident four-year-old has asked that it be read again and again.

Other recent favorites include Just So Stories and Mountains of the Moon.

EXCELLENT! .......2007-05-04

My 5 year old and myself enjoyed this book very much! I can't say anything negative. It is a great book!

Elmer and the Dragon -- a CLASSIC.......2007-02-15

I heard 2 of the 3 stories contained in this book read to me when I was
in Grade School [2nd grade]. The chapters are short enough to be used as a night by night READ to a young listener, prior to bed time, but these stories are charming even for adults to appreciate.
The main protagonist of this child's classic is a boy of 11 or 12 years of age by the name of Elmer Elevator. He travels abroad (on the advice of his newly acquired pet cat), and meets a juvenile dragon who is held captive by a jungle full of selfish animals. Elmer rescues Boris (that is the dragon's name), and that is where their adventures together begin. These stories have been in print for over 50 years but still retain their sparkle and charm and are timeless and fun for especially young readers or pre-reading listeners.

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Ed Templeton: The Golden Age of Neglect

Manufacturer: Drago
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 8888493026
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Book Description

There are teenage smokers and drinkers. There are those whose despondence reads clearly as they confront the camera with vacant eyes. This, quite simply put, is The Golden Age of Neglect--a classic example of Ed Templeton's work which is deeply anchored in street life and street style, music (rock, punk, and rap), and graphic culture (wall paintings, murals, tags, and graffiti). This is the vision of an artist who crosses the realms of art, sports, sex, drugs, violence, fashion, and youth. A fixture of the Los Angeles skateboarding scene, Ed Templeton has been producing photographs, documenting a real story of his life, international tours, and encounters in the skateboarding world for over 10 years. Fuelled by incredible raw energy, irreverence, and spontaneity, his work is comprised of an extraordinary number of photographs and canvases, as well as a body of graphic work from drawings, sketch books and collages to montages and correspondence. This book is the reprint of the original version, which quickly rose to cult status shortly after its first printing in 2003.

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Good memoir
Easily the Best Book I've Read This Year
stellar
Shattered childhood
A moving, memorial of a memoir...

Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir
Mary-Ann Tirone Smith
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743279786

Book Description

With beauty, power, and remarkable wit, Mary-Ann Tirone Smith interweaves a bittersweet portrait of growing up among the working stiffs of 1950s Hartford, Connecticut, with the chilling progress of a serial pedophile who threatens to shatter her small town's innocence. In Girls of Tender Age, Smith lovingly evokes the jubilance and chaos of life in her extended French-Italian family and the challenges of living with her brother Tyler, an autistic at a time before anyone knew what that meant. Hanging over Smith's rough-and-tumble youth is the shadow of the approaching killer who forever alters the landscape of her childhood.

Customer Reviews:

Good memoir.......2007-09-24

It's good, but it is rather slow. Most of the book consists of the author's family memoir. Very little is actually given to the murder. The biggest problem I had with it, is that the author's anger, at her mother, at the 50s, at the Catholic church, at the lack of services for autistic kids, at "the government," whatever, comes through loud and clear and continually. It's less like a book than like having your irate neighbor in to blow off steam at your kitchen table. Some people will probably like that about it. I felt that the author lost credibility there.

Easily the Best Book I've Read This Year.......2007-08-28

The author brings us back to what family life was like in a small American city in the early 50's- a time when most people didn't bother to lock their doors. She portrays the effects of a horrific crime on the community, her friends and family, and herself. This true story evokes a gamut of emotions from laughter to suspense to anger to deep sadness. I couldn't put it down.
As one who grew up in the same neighborhood, and whose destiny was subtly influenced by the events of the story, I found it especially compelling.

stellar.......2007-08-24

This is the best book I have ever read. I give it to all people I care about. She is a very gifted writer.

Shattered childhood.......2007-07-26

Growing up in the '50s, Mary-Ann Tirone understood that certain things were never discussed...especially with children.

But when her 11-year-old classmate Irene is brutally murdered, it rocks the entire community. At the time, the city of Hartford, CT was relatively safe, inhabited largely by poor immigrants, a place where doors were unlocked and children could walk freely by themselves. So who would imagine that a walk to the corner grocery store for potatoes could end so horribly for little Irene?

Forbidden to speak about Irene -- by both her teacher and her parents -- Mary-Ann supressed the period until college, when she was required to write an autobiography for a class. Her professor encouraged her to investigate the topic, as the adult Mary-Ann realized she didn't even know if Irene's killer had ever been caught.

Tirone Smith interweaves the story of Irene with the story of her own dysfunctional childhood, growing up with an autistic brother before any such term existed. All she knew, as a child, was that the family's world revolved around Tyler, and his demands were precise and odd -- no noise of any sort; nothing with the color red; reading every war book every written and acting the stories out. Every time Mary-Ann tried to speak to her parents about her own life, they would simply remind her that she should be glad she wasn't Tyler.

As a native of Connecticut, well familiar with the Hartford and Newington area Tirone Smith describes, I can imagine with even more clarity the events recalled, though they took place in a time long before mine. While Irene's death was indeed a tragedy, ignoring her life is something that no one should do...

A moving, memorial of a memoir..........2007-06-27

My wife read this book as her current, monthly, book club assignment with such obvious delight that I picked it up when she was done, and, very quickly, this Internet junkie could not put it down. Mary-Ann Tirone Smith's engaging style snared this reader into understanding and sensing her childhood as she lived it.

My background as a first-generation American of Russian descent, growing up on the north side of metro-Boston, enabled me to relate fully to the nuances of Smith's immediate and extended ethnic family.

The book is an exquisite combination of memoir and mystery, interspersed with interesting and appropriate items of historical significance that broadened the book's appeal for the history-lover in me.

This was my first encounter with a book without quotation marks delineating dialog. This caused me to reread numerous passages for a proper understanding. If this was Smith's intention, then she succeeded.

Some reader reviews are critical of Smith for what amounts to a lack of political correctness (pc) toward certain characters. Remember that the life-experiences about which Smith wrote predate the scourge of pc. Had she fallen into the pc-trap she would not have been true to her times.

To the reader who grudgingly parted with a 1-star rating for this book because of being "bored, bored, bored" by the personal accounts of Smith's life:
Pray tell, what do you think a memoir is?! After reading all your other pans of books one can easily conclude that reading is not your thing. Why do you bother?

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This book had me psyched from the beginning.
The Magician Trilogy
Good homework reading
Book Review for Snow Spider
book review for snow spider

The Snow Spider (Magician Trilogy)
Jenny Nimmo
Manufacturer: Orchard Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0439846757

Book Description

On Gwyn's 9th birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him--a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound magic, Gwyn throws the brooch to the wind and receives a silvery snow spider in return. Will he be able to use this special spider to bring his missing sister, Bethan, home? THE SNOW SPIDER spins an icy, sparkly web of mystical intrigue that sets the stage for the next two books in this outstanding trilogy!

Customer Reviews:

This book had me psyched from the beginning........2007-07-26

When I was finished with the book I was already wishing to read the sequel of this book "Emilyn's Moon". When I read this I pictured myself on the Mountains and looking at the Island of Wales. I was all over this book 24/7. Rating this book I give a 5 out of 5. I sugest those who want a good but not long book read this! - Reader Nick age 10 permissioned by mom

The Magician Trilogy.......2007-07-13

This review is for all three books in Jenny Nimmo's Magician Trilogy (The Snow Spider, Emlyn's Moon, and The Chestnut Soldier).

Jenny Nimmo's writing style is very powerful, and her characters come to life as you read these books. The descriptions of locations (people's houses, the Welsh countryside, the town, the school) are so vivid that you can immediately picture yourself there. These books have a few scary parts, but the endings are very positive and satisfying.

These books are recommended for anyone who enjoys fantasy or Welsh mythology. Similar books include Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Sequence and Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles.

Good homework reading.......2007-06-19

I picked up this book for my [...]son since he was required to read something for 20-30 min twice/week in [...]it could be anything. At that pace, it took us a few months to get through it, but we were never disappointed in the book. It's written from the perspective of a child my son's age & the words were not too difficult for a young reader. Some of the parts dealing with loss are maybe too disturbing for some very young readers. The mystery & the discovery throughout the book kept our interest. We have now purchased & started the 2nd book in the series & will begin the 3rd book as soon as we are finished with it. Well worth the money of a hardcover edition, as it's a keeper.

Book Review for Snow Spider.......2007-04-17

Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo is an exciting and courageous book I would recommend this to our age or an older age group because of the variety of words and sentances. In the beginning of this book you would find out that Gwyn's grandmother (called Nain) tells Gwyn about his ancestors who where magicians.
Then for his 9th birthday she gives him 5 gifts and tells him that if he gives them to the wind and gets something in return then he is a magician. Well it turns out that he is a magician. He gets a couple of cool things back like a snow spider who can spin silver picture webs. And a pipe so he can hear the the the sounds to the picture. He uses his power to do some really cool things! However you cant have a book without running into some problems right? Well in this book a couple of things happen like for example his spider Arianwen gets thrown into the sink because his mom doesn't like spiders so he has to use his powers to get her back.
One of the gifts is a broken horse, Nain tells Gwyn that he shouldn't give the horse to the wind but when he went to the mountain the wind took it from his hands and it released it to be a demand horse. Read the book to see if his powers can overcome the demand or if Gwyn will let his ancestors down!
The book takes place mostly near Gwyn's house. He goes up to the mountains a couple of times to let things go to the wind. He also goes to school, he goes to the Lloyds house, and he goes to his nains house. He says that nains house is like a library it is full of so many books. Gwyn however lives on a farm with cows and sheep. There aren't a lot of characters in this book but the main character would have to be Gwyn he is a 9 year old who is looking for adventure. Nain comes back and forth in the book but is his grandmother who gets attacked by the demand horse. She knows a lot about Gwyns ancestors so that's how Gwyn knows about every thing his ancestors did. I would also say that Bethan (his sister) plays a big part because the people in the web kidnapped her on his birthday a few years back and now that he is a magician he needs her so she comes back as Eirlys.
So read the book to find out if Gwyn defeats the demand horse of if the horse can out smart him and keep destroying the town!

book review for snow spider.......2007-04-13

Snow Spider by jenny nimmo is an fantasy book that I would recommend to any ages. The first thing that happens in the story is that Gwins sister gets lost in a storm,up in the mountain and she never returns.
One year later, Gwin had his birthday on the same day his sister dissapeared.Gwins grandmother gave Gwin some weird stuff like:a horse with a broken ear,a piece of seaweed and his sister's scarf that was found up on the mountain a couple of weeks after she was lost and much more.
At the weirdest time, he was told to throw them into the wind,and he would find something weird,so he did. that night Gwin found something so cool,but out of the ordinary. It was a spider. No original spider no,it was a snow spider. I wont tell you much more than that but i will tell you that,later in the story he gets a flute. When he starts to play it he hears something you might hear every day. But the things he hears is something from a different planet. It was little children voices screaming,playing,laughing and much more. Soon he sees his spider spinning a web all over his room,he then started to see a mysterious city with the little children in it.
When his grandmother finds out Gwin gave the stuff to the wind. She was so proud. The reason why she was so proud was that,she said that Gwin was a magician. Here are the clues that he would be a magician was: the birthday gifts,not something you would get for your birthday from grandma,the flute that flies into your open window and lands in your lap,and last,a spider shaped as a snow flake,white as snow and silky webs so silky and silver and sparkly.
Gwin is the type of boy you would call different to other people. He is very imaginative and different. His friends think of him as being weird and crazy. At first Gwin doesn't believe in the hole magician thing. His sister did but she didn't talk to him about it at all. Until Gwins grandma was telling stories to Gwin and made him wonder about things like that. When he got alittle bit older he would go to school and get books about it. thats my description about him. About Gwin.That was my description of the Snow Spider.

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Grumpy Old Stoners
So Much For the Golden Years
Crunchy on the outside, soft at the core
Taking a walk on the "wild"& unique side...
Comic romp and frightening parable wrapped into one

Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty
Tim Sandlin
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594489335

Book Description

It's 2023, and Guy Fontaine is an unwilling new resident at Mission Pescadero, an assisted-living facility outside San Francisco. It doesn't take him long to realize that his fellow residents have reverted to the lifestyles they embraced in the sixties, complete with sex, drugs, and rock and roll (with a little Viagra thrown in for good measure). The Mission Pescadero staff, and the world outside, would like nothing more than to forget these aging hippies, but the residents want-no, demand-to be treated with respect and dignity. And they'll fight for it. When one resident's prohibited cat is discovered by Mission Pescadero's domineering administrator, the resulting confrontation mushrooms into an epic battle between authority and anarchy, complete with twenty-four-hour media coverage and the involvement of California's governor, Drew Barrymore. As tensions escalate, Guy finds himself cast as an unlikely radical in a drama he doesn't understand.

By turns outrageous, hilarious, and, ultimately, touching, Tim Sandlin's new novel is a fascinating exploration of how the baby boomers are facing their own mortality. Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty is Sandlin at his iconoclastic best.

Customer Reviews:

Grumpy Old Stoners.......2007-08-14

As much as I would love to take credit for that descriptive title, I cannot. That is merely another gem from Tim Sandlin.

If you enjoy reading a well written, entertaining, laugh out loud funny book with a whole lot of heart then you are in luck because "Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty" will deliver on all counts.

So Much For the Golden Years.......2007-08-03

I must admit to being a big fan of Tim Sandlin, ever since "Sex and Sunsets" he has had my attention. This book is way to close to my age group and Tim is too young to know all the 60's music references. Scary as the prospect of my future in an "assisted living" facility may be, send me to this spot, I want to sit between the two Sunshines, I think I met one of them at the Fillmore at a Paul Butterfield Concert many years ago. Congrats to Tim, this hilarious book has a brutal honest side that is longer than Jerry Garcia's beard.

Crunchy on the outside, soft at the core.......2007-05-19

In this old-age romp, Sandlin turns his sharp satirical talents loose while doing that other thing that hilarious satirists can't always do -- empathy. Sandlin is able to both poke fun at sentimentality and yet he has a soft touch too; when these old peeps aren't expsoing their rear ends in mass-moonings, they expose their sadnesses, bewilderments, regrets, and disappointments at the lives behind and in front of them. The best part of JHT80 is the highly refreshing take on stereotypes of old age: the wisdom, feeblemindedness and bloody boringness with which old people are often relegated don't feature here. These old folks stick it to that portrayal and fling an adult diaper at anyone who ever says growing old means acting like it.

Taking a walk on the "wild"& unique side..........2007-04-02

All "baby boomers" should read this book. The references to the sixties and people and places of the time are nostalgic. The honesty about situations that the elderly of our generation are realistically written about. Alot of food for thought, I enjoy the authors writing style.

Comic romp and frightening parable wrapped into one.......2007-03-08

It's 2022, Jenna Bush is President, Gulf War VI is going on, and Gen Xers are warehousing their aging boomer parents in "assisted living" communities and taking control of their money under false pretenses.

Guy Fontaine, a retired sportswriter from Oklahoma, has moved in with his daughter, Claudia, in California after the death of beloved wife Lily. But when he has a senior moment--he hallucinates and drives a golf cart onto the freeway--he is locked up in Mission Pescadero, an assisted living community that encapsulates the frightening world Sandlin posits for our future. An evil administrator runs the place with all the humanity of the worst lunch lady in the boomers' past, peopling it with patients brought in on the flimsiest diagnoses of dementia, with residents going "through the tunnel" to the nursing wing on even flimsier diagnoses by her corrupt doctor/near lover, where they are drugged comatose and quiet.

The Mission's population is mainly leaders of the leftist movements of the Sixties, who have created a hierarchy based on when and what they did in the decade that you're only supposed to have been there if you've forgotten it. Guy, straight, drug-free and monogamous all his life, finds himself struggling to adjust with the proponents of free love and drug use in the golden years. But when the administrator discovers one patient has--shudder--a cat in his room, Guy is driven to violence to defend someone who had befriended him, setting off a revolt to liberate the Mission.

Sandlin carries this absurd yet realistic situation with aplomb, showing real understanding of the concerns and difficulties faced by old people, as well as the trends of society that, if left unchecked, could lead to a world like the one he imagines here. Even minor characters are given some depth and the good lines are dispersed amongst them. Guy's unconventional romance with Rocky is counterpointed by other love stories, from a lesbian encounter between one of the youngest residents and a yoga instructor to an alley cat of a man who doesn't realize he has terrible breath. Even the villains are given some back story and some sympathy. And all to the tunes of Jefferson Airplane and The Who.

My favorite character is a woman who comes out of a drug-induced coma to lead the revolution, barking orders in a remarkably cogent and prepared manner, which foreshadows revelations about her character that end up shocking the residents and prolonging their isolation. Full confession: I once met a woman who might have been a model for this character while doing work in a prison. Sandlin has the type down perfectly.

He also has the good sense to provide a bittersweet ending, reminding us that mortality and fragility occur even among the worthy.

Whether the book will become non-fiction, as Sandlin predicts, is really up to all of us.

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