Book-value

This is a beautifully illustrated survey of the Norman and Plantagenet Kings of England. A brief biography of each king is accompanied by short essays on the dramatic events of their reigns. The book also includes short essays on many of the Plantagenet queen consorts.

Although this is a beautifully written and illustrated book, I prefer Hallam's Chronicles' series which profile the Plantagenet and Tudor kings and their reigns in much more depth.

My Little Wagon features a cute bear using a wagon in various ways. He uses it for pushing and pulling. He also uses it for cleaning and exploring. His dad also getin the act by loading trash in the wagon for the neighborhood clean up.

The book is made of study board pages. This makes it a great preschool storybook. Little hands can turn the pages easily. There are few words per page, which is great for young kids with short attention spans.

We would recommed this book to families with small children. The story is easy to read and short making it a great bedtime story.

cute but not a good children's book.It's not going to keep his/her attention for long.Pictures are imaginitive but sort of odd.

BOTTOM LINE: Get it if you want to, I'm not going to reccomend it.

Ohhhhh.... I want to see those baby killdeers. That's impossible....or is it ? Old Ruff and Janie have to find that mother bird's nest. This is a really good grade 1 level reader.Reminds me of LITTLE HOUSE. Very good illustrations by Vesta J. Seek.This book is about PATIENCE.

I thought this was a really great book. It's easy enough to fill out that anyone can do it. But if you have a little more excperience with this genealogy stuff, there are a lot of sections where you can get specific about your family history such as lists of military records, oral history, family hobbies and vacations, previous addresses, pets, automobiles owned, emmigration records, burial records, heirlooms, etc. However, if you can trace you family line back more than 6 (give or take) generations, you will not be able to include all of your ancestors. Also, there is no where to put pictures unless you use up some of the "oral history" space. Still, I think it is worth it's price and would make a great gift for any of your family members.

The children's novel Shiloh is about a young boy, Marty Preston, who encounters a stray dog on one of his summer adventures through the West Virginia countryside. Marty befriends the dog only to find out that he belongs to Judd Travers, a hunter who abuses his dogs. Knowing in his heart that he cannot return the dog he has named Shiloh, Marty cares for the dog himself and eventually ends up working to buy Shiloh from Judd. Throughout this story, the character of eleven-year-old Marty goes through a metamorphosis as he develops from innocence to maturity with an understanding that life is not always just, and adult responsibility is complicated. At the beginning of the story, Marty is just an ordinary child enjoying a summer of frolicking in the hills of West Virginia with his .22 rifle. His moral development begins when he sees Shiloh for the first time and realizes he has been abused because of the dog's reluctant and almost fearful nature. After Marty decides to keep Shiloh, his internal conflicts begin when first he is forced to deal with the issue of legality versus morality. He knows that Shiloh legally belongs to Judd; however, Marty knows that the dog will end up being starved or even killed if he returns to his owner. Secondly, Marty feels anxious for deceiving his family. He has kept Shiloh a secret, and he has used food to feed Shiloh that the family needs. Marty feels great remorse for the pitiful impression he gives others of his family as he asks Mrs. Howard for extra cookies and Mr. Howard for scraps of cheese; however, he feels Shiloh's well-being is worth his family's reputation for being poor. The last "internal conflict" that Marty wrestles with is the issue of whether the dog is worth the hard labor Marty has to give to Judd in order to keep Shiloh. Judd Travers makes him slave away, almost unfairly, to win the legal rights of the dog. Throughout this novel, Marty learns the value of responsibility and all that it entails along with the costs of doing what is morally right. Jeanne Harms and Lucille Lettow propose that, "By dialoguing with oneself the reader brings different inner audiences into the reading experience, thus expanding the possibilities for creating meaning" (Harms 210). By analyzing Marty's character development, it is evident to the reader that these "internal voices" cause the protagonist to become a strong and successful character, and therefore by reading this book, the reader deals with the "inner voices" along with Marty. This novel forces the reader, child or adult, to battle out similar situations and, in effect, gain far more from the book than just a simple moral. This in turn, causes readers to grow personally by relating to the situations of conflict such as lying to family or doing what is right versus what is legal. By dialoguing with oneself the reader brings different inner audiences into the reading experience (Harms 210). Marty's "internal conflict" is the driving force behind his character development

I've had one of these little books for several months - enjoyed reading the everyday and Biblical heroes' and heroines' stories, which are alphabetically listed by character attribute. You'll find examples for "boldness," "caring for others,"commitment," et cetera. For the money (.99), a great deal! I work in a church and we are using these as a gift items for our incoming officers, but you could use it for devotionals, Bible study enhancement, you name it. If it wasn't such a great price, I'd probably buy the more expensive, unabridged version.

There are not many books that discuss the teenage mind -- and take teenagers seriously. This book responds to the tough questions posed by teens on such topics as homosexuality, drinking, and the fear of nuclear or ecological disaster. The author refers often and in detail to his own religious perspective and outlook on world history as he discusses teenagers, but his love and respect for teenagers is universal.

Few today would question the idea that American culture is complex and affected by many different ideological forces. Politics, education, business, religion, race and personal lifestyle are just a few prominent categories that seem to be in endless debate from various perspectives. Don Eberly's Restoring the Good Society addresses the complex debate in American life by providing sober analysis of the forces behind the current situation and outlining a solution that insists upon intelligent, compassionate and conservative leadership at every station in our society.

Eberly begins his treatise by carefully observing the decline into ideological despair that tugs at many Americans in everyday life. Liberalism, capitalism, modernism, consumerism and many other "silver bullets" have missed the target of providing lives filled with meaning and purpose. We are left with an aching question: "How can a society that has produced more freedom and prosperity than any other in history, lead the world in many categories of social pathology" (p. 15)?

The author paints the solution with five broad strokes that need to be carried out in every sector of our society. First, American life needs to be less politicized. Preoccupation with power and rights has reduced America to a collection of warring mobs with little hope of reconciliation. Second, we must learn to value values. Articulate leaders are needed to explain how declining moral values are destroying the inner fabric of America. Third, discussions about ethics and values must be broader than the context given in political or religious debate. Fourth, "realize that social and cultural renewal is about changing people, not just government" (p. 24). Fifth, we need to understand that the debate about values is not just about isolated ethical situations, but, rather, about broader and deeper issues such as rights versus responsibilities. In essence, America must be restored from the bottom up, not the top down.

The dissolution of basic institutions is shown to be the root cause of many current problems. Detailed statistics and studies are used to demonstrate that broken families, inconsistent educational standards, crime, teenage parents and the abandonment of the poor by the middle class have all contributed to a social disorder that affects every American in some way. Since individual spiritual restoration is the heart of social transformation, the Christian church is called upon to abandon current practices that are overtly political. "A church known primarily for its political militance is a church that is losing its real power and integrity; this church helps to create - not heal - the wounds of a divided nation" (p. 40). Many of today's religious conservatives have isolated themselves from "culture shaping institutions" (p. 46), because they tend to present every decision in poorly conceived absolutist terms. This approach tends to create just one more power hungry special interest group groping for governmental solutions to deeper problems.

After decades of experiments with secular ideas that cannot seem to make a difference, there will be two that tend to gain strength: nihilism and relativism. Societal nihilism "is opposed to all forms of order based on traditional beliefs and values" (p. 51). Relativism denies the existence of any spiritual truth and, therefore, seeks purely pragmatic ends that can justify any means. These two forces undermine all moral authority and thereby excuse individuals from most responsibilities. Public institutions are seen as the last hope, so they must try to manage society and people as a large set of statistical data.

In his final chapters, Eberly unfolds a well-informed and optimistic plan for how we can realize a great new vision for America. This call to action helps temper what would otherwise be an accurate yet depressing look at our current culture. His recommendations for individuals and public life flow naturally from his insightful analysis of the current problems. Individuals will only be transformed by traditional faith acting as a positive influence on how they view others, gauge and correct their personal behavior (through repentance and forgiveness) and look toward a blessed hope in God's eternal kingdom. Similarly, public life must be driven by the ideals of the Christian faith, not merely a Christian ideology. Impartial justice, compassion and local institutions, such as the church, must all be employed to heal communities one by one with an emphasis on individual responsibility.

Restoring the Good Society is concise and well written but tends to romanticize America's moral past. Dean Merrill's Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church makes a good complement, given from a different perspective on American history. Eberly's Restoring the Good Society is a Christian manifesto for a new era of compassionate and conservative leadership among both individuals and public leaders.

I though this book did a good job showing the consequences of sex for teens.It included some real storys of teens who got stds, got pregnant, have children, ect.I think those are things teens need to hear even though they don't listen much.The only thing I didn't like is towards the end ,they had messages from a few teens who thought sex was no big deal and that they had no problems ever, ect. I don't think that belongs in a teen sex book, period. But overall, its a good book to read yourself or give to a teen you know.