Book-value

My two-year old som loves this book, I think because he can really relate to the subject (sharing trucks and other toys). He seems to actually follow the plot!

I have a 9 month old daughter who squeals with delight when we read this. It has lots of sound words (like Whee and Clank) in it. We have checked it out of the library for months straight and now we are buying it.

This is THE book to get if you are just learning about rookwood, but if you are searching for a price guide, That is this books only weak point. I was able to meet Anita J. Ellis in person, and even then, she dosen't like to put a price on it.

This book is a very good reference for Rookwood enthusiasts. I bought one, then bought another to give to a friend. Highly recommended.

This book has been a source of endless delight for our young children.

In the style of the "Where's Waldo" series, Christian illustrator Daniel Hochstatter has pages of brightly coloured and entertaining pictures. Each page features various various characters or items that the children must find on the page. "Sammy the sheep" and his "shepherd" as well as their companions are hidden somewhere on each page.

Two beefs with this edition:

1. This omnibus is a collection of four "Seeking Sammy" titles. The organization is somewhat unfortunate, as pages from each separate have been randomly placed alongside each other. However, it must be conceded that each page is an independent challenge, and each page alone offers hours of amusement.

2. Some of the illustrations picture scenes from Bible narratives, eg Noah's ark, the dividing of the Red Sea. Hochstatter does this rather disrespectfully, confusing the modern with the ancient. See a jet powered boat with a water skier at the Red Sea is in my view a disrespectful anachronism. However, it must be conceded that with young children who don't realize that this is intending to picture a Bible story, this is not an issue.

Nonetheless, the entertainment value of this book makes it most desireable. Very highly recommended!

My 8 year old son has enough trouble sitting still, but this book is enough to keep his attention. And as a parent, I view any time with his nose in a book is good time! Get this book!

This is a very good book on the history of discoveries which changed lives and inspired others. Each discovery includes a bit about the man and a description of his work. Many pictures are included.

This book provides an accessible summary of some of the greatest scientists and mathematicians that ever lived. It contains nice illustrations, too. The book's main strength is its ability to convey the spirit of two and a half millenia of human achievement is a relatively brief and compelling manner. I spend a few nights reading it, going over some sections again and again. This book is interesting and useful.

For good, down-to-earth advice about the practicalities of living a life that honours God, Chuck's writings can't be beaten. He addresses a number of relevant issues, such as finances, sexual purity, and prayer, in a way that reflects on the teaching of the Bible as well as the wisdom gained through his wealth of Christian experience.

This is one of the best books out by Charles Swindoll. This is a great book for anyone struggling with any aspect of the Christian life. Swindoll lets you know that you aren't alone, and offers suggestions from the Bible's perspective. This is an excellent book!

I am not a satanist or a warlock or anything, but I do think this book is really interesting because it has a lot of very weird little-known facts about not just witchcraft but ancient history, literature, fairies, and paranormal experiences. Fun just to browse through. It also has great pictures.

I found this book extremely intelligently written. Mr. Marshall delves into the aspects of what truly happened during the "burning times" but is able to remain somewhat detatched. He also brings forth some interesting, less known bits of information. The photographs are excellent. The history well written without making the reader feel as though it is a text book. This is a great book for anyone interested in knowing the TRUTH about witchcraft and it's history.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a very tricky book. It portrays the image of a child's novel, when in fact it is an equally great read for adults. Yes, it is a story of childhood, but it inspires adventure for the young, and revives it for the old. Something that everyone needs to do.
Murder. It's a serious thing no matter what age you are. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn both knew this when they witnessed the homicide of Dr. Robinson while they were attempting to rid themselves of warts at the town graveyard. Injun Joe committed the murder, but he took advantage of Muff Potter's drunkenness and Muff gets blamed for the crime. Tom and Huck decide to swear by an oath of blood that they will never tell a soul, but when it finally comes down to it, Tom breaks the oath in order to testify that Muff is innocent and that Injun Joe was the real culprit.
Unfortunately, Joe escapes from the courthouse in the nick of time and Tom and Huck begin to fear for their lives. In this fright, they run away for quite a long time, and the townsfolk start believing that they're dead. One night, Tom sneaks back to his house. As he's peaking through the window, and finds his Aunt Polly weeping over him with sorrow. He realizes that he should come back home, and he happens to return on the day of his funeral, surprising everyone. Now that he's become the envy of the town, his former love, Becky Thatcher, takes a liking to him again, and they get lost in a cave together. While the two children's families' search for them, Tom and Becky stumble across Injun Joe hiding out in the cave. With a lot of luck, they make it out of the cave as fast as they can, escaping Injun Joe once again. The town closes the cave up when they find out that Joe is stashing himself inside and he dies of starvation.
Mark Twain disguised this book as a simple story, but its crafty slang and emotionally stirring power tells me otherwise. Reading about a serious, horrific event such as murder, through the eyes of a young trouble-making boy, is a perspective that will bring out the child in everyone, no matter what age they are and no matter what they're expecting the book to be like.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a wonderful book. It is an energetic tale of a mischievious boy, based on Twain's own youth, with some fictional items thrown in. The story follows Tom Sawyer as he goes from antagonizing his Aunt Polly, to searching for treasure, from conning his peers, tohanging out with his best friend Huckleberry Finn. His life changes dramaticaly though when he and Huck witness the brutal murder of a man by a notorious lawbreaker. The lawbreaker, an Indian named Joe, blames the murder on the town drunk, Muff Potter. Can Tom go against his oath with Huck to stay quiet, and proves Muff's innocence? Or will he keep quiet and send Muff to his death, just to safe himself from the murderous Injun Joe? You will have to read the book to find out!
In my opinion, this is one of the greatest books ever written. Mark Twain has a way of describing the intricacies of childhood behavior so that kids know what he is saying, and also at the same time, he can describe the same in an adult, refined, manner so that grown ups can fully comprehend what is going on. If you have not read this book yet, you are truly missing out on a well written classic. This novel has been read for over 100 years, and I believe that it shall be read for another 100 years.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of the best books I have ever read. The language,the thinking,the adventures-all of it was just incredible and enjoyable. The only thing this book needs is more pages! Mark Twain's skill in writing has created a book that all ages should read (or have it read to).Mark Twain reactivates the life and actions of a boy in the mid-1800's,and showed me that kids should be who they are- not what they will be. This is a classic for every generation to read and enjoy.

Mark Twain's,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, tells about a boy loving and living his life to the fullest. Tom Sawyer is the kid that the world has seemed to forgotten. He is the kid who always get in trouble but continues to have fun with life. In this book, Tom does everything from being engaged, to watching his own funeral, to witnessing a [death] and finding treasure. Twain's creative character finds fun everywhere in his little town in Missouri, as do his friends. The storyline is basic, but it is a piece of the past that everyone should hold on to.

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I learned mainly two things. The first thing I learned was that you can make life fun with just about anything if you use your imagination. Life is too short and precious to be wasted. I also learned that where you least expect it [help or protection], you might just get it. This book was just amazing-filled with unique characters, exciting events, and how a town can pull together to help those in need.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is an epic story about a mutinous gang of pirates and buried treasure. The classic story starts when a strange man walks in to the Admiral Benbow Inn. He tells a boy named Jim Hawkins a very important warning, to watch out for a seafaring man with one leg. So when Jim found one, he knew not to trust the one-legged man, Long John Silver. Even though I saw all the movies and knew what was going to happen I enjoyed Stevenson's details and the way he turned Jim Hawkins into a spy for his captain.

The story starts slow. Matt Groening had some fun with that in one of the latest Life in Hell issues. But it picks up pace by the time the Hispaniola is going out to sea, and keeps it up pretty much through the rest of the book, an exception being the chapter about Jim floating in Ben Gunn's boat. The language is superb, and the sailers' dialogs are most believable, creating the atmosphere of romantic adventure we used to associate with pirates.

While the numerous interpretations of the story focus on the relationship between Jim and Long John Silver, that's not really the point of the book. It's the action-adventure aspect that's so attractive for young boys, Lloyd Osbourne's game so masterfully narrated by his stepfather.

One often overlooked part of the story is the subplot of Ben Gunn, the true hero of Treasure Island. "Nobody minds Ben Gunn," yet he'd done them all, including the fearsome Long John Silver. Perhaps even the author, Robert Louis Stevenson himself. Ben Gunn's character comes alive despite all of the Jim's dismissive remarks about him. He is the most human of the lot, the one we can relate to when Jim's game becomes too simple (just how many times can you get saved by pure luck?). The hapless cheese-loving pirate is a true romantic without knowing himself to be one. [...] While approriate for kids, it's enjoyable for everybody!

Giving Treasure Island five stars is like declaring Helen of Troy homecoming queen. It's too little,too late. This is the classic tale of pirates. Its' themes have been worked and worked again,but it remains untouched. Stevenson is a master storyteller at the top of his form. From beginning to end the plot never lags,and the characters possess a richness and depth rare in an adventure story. Every reader of English ought to make their acquaintance--Jim Hawkins,Billy Bones,Old Pew,Silver,and the rest--at some time in his life,preferably when he is young,and his heart still believes it can find that treasure. Treasure Island has been francised,moppetized,filmed,and abridged,but never bettered. Accept no substitues! Read the entire book. There is plenty here for children and adults. Like all great literature,it works on more than one level. Dominating the whole Story is the figure of Long John Silver. As his name implies he has a lunar quality. He is attractive,facinating,powerful,but with a dark side. Again,he is murdering,lying,and infinitly self-seeking,yet like Jim we cannot help liking him and wanting him to like us. At this level Treasure Island is a study in criminality that asks: Why is it that the best,the most full of natural power, often turn their gifts to evil? And why do we find evil so attractive? A word about editions. There are many,but by far the best is the hardcover featuring the illustrations of N.C. Wyeth. No one has succeeded as he has in capturing the spirit of the tale. If you are looking for a cheaper paperback edition that won't blind you with cramped layout, or ruin the whole experience with goofy illustratons,choose the Puffin Classic. It's unabridged,sturdy,and features a beautiful cover illustration.

This is an account of one man's slow and painful descent into madness. The descent is caused by compulsive thinking, with an obsessive need to find "The Answer" and to take on the established order. The object of the obsession is hardly relevant. The greatest value of this book is as a cautionary tale against over-thinking.

The word "Zen" does not belong in the title of this book. Zen is something to be practiced and lived, and there isn't the slightest hint that Pirsig is in tune with this concept.

This is the kind of book that a person who is intelligent but uneducated in philosophy would pick up, read, and be excited and terribly enlightened by. This apparently was the state of many of the "hippies" who read this book when it came out. But for someone who has read Aristotle and Plato and the myriad of others, especially the Greeks, this book can seem almost ridiculously off-center in its generalizations. Whether it is or not, that is for the reader to decide, I suppose.

The narrator is at first likeable, but as the book moves on and his madness becomes evident, you see his character become despicable, self-absorbed, mean, closed-minded, and, well, a hypocrite in a number of ways. This change may be a large part of the appeal of this book as a sort of psychological novel, though I am still not sure whether that is what Pirsig intended it to be.

Despite the disgust and boredom I sometimes felt while reading, the book has a lot of good things to say about living and the self. Most importantly, if you pay enough attention it will definitely get you thinking. Overall, a controversial book, but worth reading if only for the thought and controversy it will provoke within your own mind.

Read this book. Talk about it. Share it with your friends. This book is more important than one thinks at first glance. I have read it 5 times over the past 25 years, first as a teenager thinking it was about motorcycles, next as a Philosophy major at Harvard, and each time I have gotten something new out of it. It is more than a travel adventure. It is more than a father/son reconciliation story. It is more than an autobiographical odyssey of psychological redemption. It is even more than an "inquiry into values." This book reveals the greatest crime perpetrated against intellectual history. While Pirsig is concerned with a synthesis of Eastern and Western philosophical traditions, he points us to the violence done by Plato in his attack on the Sophists. Until Plato, Philosophy was a part of the common life. Sophists wandered the Greek world offering instruction (for pay) in rhetoric and Philosophy, and this was deemed the normal course of life. Even Plato's revered Socrates conducted his discourses in the marketplace, the agora. The aristocratic and elitist Plato's crime (in my view) was to whisk philosophical discussion away from the agora and put it in the acadamy, where it has remained gathering dust for 25 centuries. His Theory of Forms tells us that few, if any other than himself, can see things as they "really are." The Republic tells us that only the philosopher-king (Plato himself being the leading candidate) is fit to rule. If all of Philosophy is a "response to Plato" as A.N. Whitehead put it, then we are debating with a traitor to humanity. Nothing is more relevant than a synthesis of the Philosophical and the Practical ways of being, as well as Eastern and Western ways of thinking. I have devoted my life to dragging the philosophical debate back from the academy into the agora where it belongs and where it can be of the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Reading and sharing this book with friends is a wonderful way to begin that pilgrimage yourself. I just wish someone would make a film of it. Can't you just see William Hurt in the lead?

Remy was so excited to be in high-school and soon she will be able to drive. She has just but the slightest crush on a boy named Morgan who has dreamed about getting his license ever since he can remember. All of the students just think that driver's ed will be a bird course that they can just fly through, but it is not. Driver's ed is the only life or death class in school. You never know, but something could go wrong, and it did for Remy and her friends while just learning how to drive. Remy doesn't know how to deal with the accident and isn't quite sure how to tell her parents. I liked this book because actually, it is similar to my life, such as what it's like in the eyes of a teenager. This book also kept me filled with suspense especially when...well you'll have to read the book to find that out!

As a university student, I chose to read this book as part of a Young Adult Literature class. I enjoyed it for several reasons. First, the characters in the book are realistic and ones that readers can easily relate to. The book took me back to my teenage years when driving and dating seemed to be the most crucial aspects of life. The characters are not fluffed up to become some heroes they aren't. For example, even when Remy and Morgan, the protagonists, get into trouble beyond anything they could expect they still worry about their newfound relationship. These are real kids trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the way Caroline Cooney built up the suspense throughout the book. I experienced the same anticipation as the main characters and was never quite sure what they would ultimately decide to do. The ending is such that it leaves you meditating because the story does not feel quite finished. While some may view an unfinished story as irritating, I see it as an opportunity for the reader to make the story his or her own by personalizing it with his or her opinion of how the characters' lives will play out.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has experienced the torture of keeping a secret or has done something wishing no harm but later regretted the action. If you like this book, I would also recommend The Face on the Milk Carton by the same author.

The book that I read was called Drivers Ed. This book was about a girl named Remy and boy named Morgan. It takes place in an ordinary town with a high school full of kids taking Drivers Ed. The entire class began to talk about stealing signs and how much fun it would be. The next thing you know, Remy and Morgan find themselves out late one night, lying to their parents, being driven by the school delinquent, stealing signs, and falling in love. They had stolen a "THICKLY SETTLED" sign, a "MORGAN RD", and their next stop was a "STOP" sign, on one of the busier roads. They thought nothing of it. It was the last thing they thought would happen. None of them even thought of the possibility of a woman smashing into a truck and dying with the cause being a missing stop sign.

Guilt takes control of them. They can't even sleep properly. They couldn't handle all of this at once. Remy had no choice, her Drivers Ed teacher was accusing others of the crime, so she had to tell him. Then, they told their parents. Their parents were very hard on them. They acted like they didn't even love their own children anymore. The disappointment and anger from their parents wasn't anything compared to the woman's husband she left behind though. He put commercials up, he put ads in the newspaper, offered rewards for whom did the crime, and he was destroying their souls by using words like "tell me who murdered my wife". After they told their parents the truth, Morgan's father, whom was running for office, went to the husband's house and told him. The only thing he wanted from them was to leave, this was because nothing would happen to them, all they would get was a fine and community service tops. All he wishes is that all of their Christmas' and thanksgivings would be miserable, and they are. Throughout the story, Remy and Morgan's relationship grow, but in the end it was all too much and they had to end it. The ending concludes with Morgan's mother finally talking to him, and there is a sense of closure with everything.

My opinion of this book was that it was very descriptive and well written. When reading this book I felt like I knew Remy and Morgan personally. I felt like these things were happening to me, and I could feel what they were feeling. The author, Caroline B. Cooney, is remarkable at describing how guilt feels. She is a wonderful author and she shows her talent in writing novels in this book. She has also written other award-winning books such as the Face On the Milk Carton. I highly recommend this book Drivers Ed, and I would give it a nine out of ten.