Form-4 Books

Rip Van Winkle is a story of an regular man that came in contact with some irregular people that would change his life forever. It all started out one day when Rip decided to go hunting with his dog. Up to this point in his search for freedom, he had lived a sleepy and uneventfull life with two kids and a wife. He was always trying to get out of work and find a way out of doing everything. One day he gets fed up with his life and finds himself out in the woods hunting;There he gets asked by a strange man to carry a keg to a nine pin party. Also during this party he ends up getting drunk and finds himself dosing off to sleep. When he finally wakes up he has a long white beard and twenty years older! He had fallen asleep for twenty years and found that he was now old, grey and still alive. At this point in the story he goes back to the village where he had lived for so long and finds that his wife and friends had all passed away and had left him. He also finds that his daughter got married and was raising a family. She sees him one day and recognizes him to be the man that was once her father. At this point in Rip's life, all he wants to do is settle down and he is satisified to become the village story teller to all who would hear his tales. This is a tale of suspense and just plain old good reading for all ages. It was written many years ago and could speak to all people of all ages and races. I would recomend this book to anyone from my Grandfather to the Queen of England.

Washington Irving's (1783-1859) claim to fame is as a pioneer of American fiction, and he is widely recognized as the "father of American literature." The book that especially propelled him to fame was "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." which contained his two most famous fantasy stories - "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - both of which are contained in this collection.

But it is not merely his ground-breaking efforts that garnered him literary recognition, because Irving's stories are at the same time characterized by charming and colourful prose befitting a skilled writer. The stories in this collection (the "Puffin Classics" series) are an excellent sampling of his craft. It's not always easy reading - in fact many of these stories would be too dense even for older children. His vocabulary is extensive, and sentences structure verbose and lengthy - a style rather unlike that employed by contemporary writers. But despite this, Irving demonstrates a wonderful command of the English language, and has the ability to create a vivid picture of his setting, characters and events. Particularly delightful is the attention he devotes to describing his characters. And yet his stories are far from mere character portraits - they are exciting and enchanting tales that make the reader eager to find out the outcome.

"Rip Van Winkle" has gained the status of a classic, and is familiar to most children, but likely few have read Irving's original. It breathes an authenticity and air not found in the contemporary abridged versions of the story. Irving presents his tale as the alleged discovered manuscript (complete with postscript) of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker. The delightful story of Rip Van Winkle - who fell asleep in the Catskill mountains after drinking a mysterious brew acquired from some strange little men, and then awoke 20 years later - will continue to please readers old and new. In the course of the story, Irving makes a profound social comment about the changes happening in his America. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is renowned for its chilling tale of the Headless Horseman, and is a Halloween favorite. Actually, however, it is much more than that. It is not so much a spooky tale of a legendary village ghost as it is a colourful tale about two rival suitors. Ichabod Crane is a simple school teacher who is in love with Katrina Van Tassel, and equally in love with the estates of her father, a wealthy Dutch farmer. His counter-part is the powerful local hero Bram Bones, whose affections for Katrina mirror those of Ichabod Crane, and who is determined to put an end to the affections of underdog Crane by a mysterious and elaborate trickery. As is evident also in his other stories, it is particularly fascinating how Irving exploits the supernatural superstitions of the popular mind to create a sense of mystery and fear, but himself gives a naturalist explanation that rises above such popular notions by explaining the supernatural with natural events.

Though lesser known, the other three stories in the "Puffin Classics" collection are equally enjoyable. "The Spectre Bridegroom" is one of the most fascinating tales in the collection. A young man is mistaken for a bridegroom and received into the castle of a wealthy baron as the husband of the baron's daughter. But before the marriage can be consummated, the bridegroom dashes off, and the baron's family hears shortly afterwards that he's been killed. But then who appears again except the bridegroom - or is it his ghost? - to steal his bride and vanish once more! In the end, it is a satisfying tale more of brilliant scheming than of ghosts - although the fearful superstitions of the general public about the supernatural play an important role in the effective execution of these schemes. "The Pride of the Village" is the tragic tale of a young lady whose heart pines in love for an army officer who has deserted her, only to die at his feet when he returns. "Mountjoy" is a wonderful study of an apparently incurable romantic, described by Irving as a "Castle-Builder". When Mr. Mountjoy discovers a delicate footprint on a sandy shore, his passion for metaphysics, creativity and romance leads him to dream up an imaginary beautiful young maiden, and he promptly fall passionately in love with the nymph of his dreams. The air castle he builds and its accompanying romanticism is crushed numerous times, even drowned, but each time is renewed and revived, just when it seems that "the cobweb romance I had been spinning" would be demolished completely. In the end Mr. Mountjoy meets the girl of his dreams, only to discover that his air castles need to be reshaped once more, and in the end, destroyed completely.

Readers used to the easy diet of modern fiction will find the pioneering work of Washington Irving rather tough to chew on. But those who delight in tasting words, biting on imaginative characters and settings, with a few sips of suspense and supernatural in the process, will discover that Washington Irving's stories are just the literary serving they are renowned to be: a classic. Irving won't please all children of the modern era. But children of literature who have acquired a fine literary taste will find that despite the heightened language of his time, Irving is still digestible and enjoyable.

This is one of my fav Rurouni Kenshins It picks right up where volume 3 left off with hanya. I loved the fight between Hanya and Kenshin. The background for hanya was great. Then the battle with Aoshi was amazing. The only problem is u would need to buy volume 3 to understand it. Better than the show of these episodes

I just started reading Rurouni Kenshin. A friend intrested me in it and I got hooked. This volume is my favorite. The action in it is great! Kenshin really kicked butt. I love you Kenshin!

Indepth studies of the art as well as breath-taking color photographes. An unbelievable collection that is a must have for any sculpture enthusiast. A bargain among art books and art history books alike.

I first saw this set after returning from Florence and was delighted to find the highest quality reproductions of Donatello's work that I had seen. Further examination showed that that this four volume set reviewed sculpture in both breadth and depth, an astonishing success far beyond coffee-table status. In addition, the set has turned out to be a special gift greatly appreciated by all who love art, whether or not sculpture is a special interest to them.

I love the Luann books and I am glad they are now in print to buy

Luann reminds me of my teen years with all the accompanying angst. I have every one of them and intend to continue collecting them (I am almost 60!). I smile, laugh and sometimes weep for her. If you want a relaxing time in quiet moments, take on Luann. My children have asked me to leave these books to them in my will.

Peter Bailey provides the old-fashioned black and white illustrations to accompany this story of Monkey and friend Elephant who set out in the jungle to hear the Tale of Tales. The Tale of Tales is a 100+ page title which will prove an excellent folk story for read-aloud interest: some stories within are told in poetic couplets, others in Aesop-tyle prose: a fine variety which defies dullness.

This is the first time I have ever reviewed a book here, certainly not the first I have purchased, especially not in childrens books. I have three kids all under 6years and we LOVE to read. When I saw there were no other reviews I had to write. We just finished this book tonight. We read each 'tale' periodically since we bought it. It was so much fun to read to my 3 and 6 year old girls. And the ending left us hanging but ready to use our imaginations!! I couldn't recommend it more. I am going to purchase some for every one I know with avid readers/storytellers.

This is the perfect addition to the table in my office. When I am waiting to meet with parents or teachers it makes wonderful reading for them!

Great day reference calendar with wisdom and sayings from many prominent world leaders (Einstein, Mark Twain etc.) - I especially liked the one for September 25 from Dr.Joan Kowal that says -- "We need to make education a community obsession"
Andrews McMeel Publishing has another winner just as all their products - Farside/etc.

I have been teaching at the elementary level for over 10 years. This book deepened my understanding of how to use genre studies to engage students in an inquiry approach that deeply impacts (and improves) their reading and writing even though it was written for use with older students. The opening chapters are easy to read, engaging, and so incredilby informative. The sample lesson plans helped me make concrete connections to how to actually do this approach with kids. It truly deepened how I approach teaching genres to student, and how I am able to make connections for kids between reading and writing in a genre. It's a great and practical resource!!

I use this book whenever I sit down to plan a new unit. The thought process Lattimer and the teachers she works with went through for their own planning always inspires me. The tables of questions to consider with students while studying each genre help a lot.

I love the way the chapters describe the way real teachers use Lattimer's guiding questions. I've replicated many of the sample lessons with great success because she describes them so clearly. I've also loaned it to the new teachers I mentor and they find it helpful as well.

Thinking Through Genre presents such a realistic approach to teaching a reading and writing workshop because the teachers in the book work in mostly urban schools and face the same challenges I do. I show the samples of student writing to my students and then they always want to try to write something even better.

The title really has a double meaning because it's about teachers and students thinking through the features of a genre and it is also about using genre studies to teach critical thinking.

I highly recommend this book to all English and Language Arts teachers.

Three great cartoonists recently offered great endorsements for Jan Eliot and Stone Soup books.

"Reading Stone Soup is like an evening spent sharing stories with good friends until you've laughed yourself back to a reasonable perspective on life." ---Jim Borgman, cocreator of Zits

"Having two daughters, and spending the last twenty years in a house full of girls and women (even our dogs), I have witnessed the truth of Stone Soup firsthand... Jan Eliot is a genius". ---Rick Kirkman, cocreator of Baby Blues

"Jan ELiot has reached a plane of genuinosinormity (my word, dibs) with her characters and stories that's rare and elusive." ---Jerry Scott, cocreator of Zits

I can't remember how I first heard about the Stone Soup comic strip - it wasn't in my local paper. But however it was, I'm glad I heard about it! I bought the first book, and then the next one, and the next...

Some of the things I like about it include the fact that the kids aren't too cutesy or eerily precocious - they generally talk and act their age. The dog is a bit anthropomorphized, but not to the point of talking to humans. And although Val, the widowed mother of two girls, is the main character, all the characters are well thought out and get plenty of space and dialog.

Val's boyfriend the motorcycle cop is a continuing theme. While Val's sister married Wally next door after only a couple of years, Val and her cop aren't rushing into things; in fact, in this volume, Val and Phil don't see each other for a while. The strip ages slower than real time - unlike, say, "For Better or For Worse" where the characters' lives pretty much aged in real time, in Stone Soup, the characters have only aged somewhere between one and two years since the first volume. Some people like one kind of timeframe over the other; I like either, if it's well done, and this is. (I mean, it's certainly not Peanuts, where the kids aged only about 4 years over the whole 50+ years of the strip!)

Some of my favorite bits are the ones that take place at Val's work. Her coworkers are a mixed bunch, and allow Eliot to sneak in some characters that wouldn't otherwise fit directly into the family setting.

This volume includes the annual summer camping trip, something we get in every volume; it also includes Holly and Alix helping build a house for charity, Val buying a new car, and the middle school takeover of the new college football locker room.

It's a great family strip - not too sappy, not too moralistic, just real enough and just crazy enough.

Use this Book for work, day care, School, and more. Show your creativity, impress everyone with your holiday spirit. This book is paired perfectly with Valentine School Parties.

What a book to keep romance in the air for any age and let the young children have fun in sharing valentines! We always want to be creative with what they put their valentines in. This book has so many suggestions for boys and girls. We encorporated these for our valentine parties and for cards in general- such as birthday card holders. Suggestion: Purchase the complete set.

There is no way around the fact that there is no such thing as too much Wallace and Gromit. This wonderful little book should be a film! It has all the Wallace and Gromit modis operandi that we know and love.
As much as the rocket to the moon to have cheeze, this story with the submarine was so enjoyable. More Wallace and Gromit, please.

You'll want this one just for yourself though it makes a great gift too!