Form-4 Books

Used to do sit-ups, but this felines antics have my gut turning to steel with the unlimited laughs he serves!

Here's a comic in the book:Garfield:POISONOUS SPIDER!Get me a chair and a whip!Get me a ten-gallon drum of bug spary!It's a venom-spewing hairy legged killer!Or a piece of lint.That was a comic stript from life in the fat line.

This is a must read for any Garfield fan

Everybody out there keep buying Garfield books! They can be worth a lot of money someday and can become collector's items! I'm always going to keep all of mine so when I have kids they can read them!

This sixteenth installment of the "Garfield" comics features a cow skull from a garage sale, Garfield's ninth birthday, glue and funny glasses, a woman ont he street who loves "puddy tats", The Coleslaw That Time Forgot (!), rolling over with Odie, a full week of going fishing, an awkward group of people on a bus, useless pet doors, jogging shoes, pulling pants down, a vulture of the night, a fight against depression, a carnivorous plant, blowing bubbles, Splut Week, showing a woman named Renee what Jon is REALLY like, Honest Ed's Used Cars, and an eating contest that goes horribly wrong. This is a bit dull compared to "Garfield Worldwide", but the fun never really stops here. These strips are certainly better than the weaker ones in the early 2000's.

Thanks for the great service! The delivery was timely and the merchandise was in mint condition.

Man I love the mid to late 1980's version of Garfield cause the pictures have gotten better and they came up with more funny stuff like Garfield waking Jon up in the middle of the night.
It is also my understanding that Garfield books will someday become collector's items and unfortunately, I lost one of my Garfield books and hopefully I'll be able to find it or replace it.

Everybody out there keep buying Garfield books! They can be worth a lot of money someday and can become collector's items! I'm always going to keep all of mine so when I have kids they can read them!

In my language arts class, we started the folklore unit. My teacher read us this book to give us examples of folklore tales, and we had a lot of fun. We took a 3 page test on this book and we also took notes. This book brought loads of laughter to us, especially when my teacher acted out the stories with an accent and all. Thanks so much for putting the Appalachian hertiage in writing!

Returned memories of my childhood which I can now pass to my grandchildren for some fun reading together.

I have used this book for years in elementary classrooms, and with my own children and grandchildren. A must for any classroom (grades 1-8). Robert B. Cooter, Jr., Asst. Supt., Dallas Reading Plan, Dallas, Texas.

25 oral tradition folktales with their roots in English mummers and mythology. Even the "Lear" story appears under the title 'Like Meat Loves Salt' These are stories written to be read out loud and help to enchant with the wonderful tradition of spoken folktales. There is also a collection of JACK TALES by the same author. This is the same boy of Jack & The Beanstalk fame. He has 17 other tales about him! Fantastic!

At my church we are using this book for a group of 20 year olds. Our generation is provoked by images, and really it is images that we remember.

This book is potent, and not overspiritual. It is raw yet not foul. Bright yet not blinding. Sharp but not deadly. Powerful and peaceful.

Love it.

Dr. Tim Elmore does an amazing job pointing out crucial ideas and topics in a very easy-to-read format. Each lesson focuses on an image that illustrates some point of leadership.

What attracts me most to the Habitudes series is the fact that Elmore focuses mainly on integrity, which is something that the world definitely needs more of.

I recommend this book to anyone and ESPECIALLY if you are leading some sort of group (business group, church group, worship team, college bible study, youth group). It says a lot of things that people need to hear.

This is exactly the way to communicate with students! A memorable visual and a impactful story that illustrates a great principle! I've bought them all and suggest you do to!

This is a great resource for one on one mentoring or group settings. The images and the stories are very worthwhile.

I'm starting to know these books of by heart. They are all brilliant! We started with Slinky Malinki but have happily moved to Hairy Maclary via Scarface Claw! My daughters both love these (3 and 5) books and recommend all of them - especially rumpus at the vet! Superb!

Every kid should have a Hairy Maclary book on their bookshelf. This book makes kids AND parents smile each and every time you read it. If you are looking for a terrific gift for a child age 1-6 this IS it! I love these stories as much as my son!

Karl Zachar
www.karlzachar.com

Lynley Dodd is a New Zealand author and illustrator. Her Hairy Maclary and Slinky Malinki books are favorites of my 8 year-old daughter. This book contains several stories/poems about Hairy Maclary, his friends and their adventures. The poems are wonderfully clean and simple, with amusing alliterations; the illustrations are tremendous and add enormously to the charm of each story. You would be hard pressed to find a child (or adult, for that matter) who is not enchanted by this book or its companions.

Wonderful stories, very short (sometimes disappointingly so!) and delightful reading. Cute artwork, and parents will not tire of the clever rhythm and rhyme, even after MULTIPLE reads - which your kids WILL demand! My kids (3 & 2) LOVE these books, and my 3-year old is starting to memorize them. Even the DVD (only in PAL version as far as I know) is delightful. My daughter's favorite is Hairy Maclary's Bone. Cat lovers will also enjoy Slinky Malinky. Don't miss this!

I couldn't agree more with the earlier reviewer. Mundy is one of my favorite 'adventure' novelists, and this is one of his better works. He's almost forgotten today, but as a pulp writer he kept many on the edge of their seats 60 years ago. If you like E.R. Burroughs, Sax Rohmer or Robert E. Howard, this is one you shouldn't miss (Howard based one of his characters, 'Francis X Gordon on Mundy's King) If you liked R. Kiplings 'Kim'...imagine Kim grown up. Exotic love interest, intrique,a keen eye for native customs of 100 years ago, swords and blazing pistols, charging lancers on a path 6 feet wide, with death inches away over the edge 3000 feet to the canyon below...'King, of the Khyber Rifles' is about a British officer involved in the 'mysticism' of then-forbidden Tibet, includes frequent skirmishes with skulking mountain warriors, the old 'keeping the Khyber pass open' ploy, oh just read it. Mix up a peg of whiskey-soda, and escape the mundane last years of the 20th century. You can't go wrong with Talbot Mundy.

King of the Khyber Rifles (KOTKR) is just one of the great books that Talbot Mundy wrote. It was one of his first books and one of his best. This book and many of his others not only inspired other early writers like Robert E Howard but they also inspired more modern authors. In Robert Heinlein's Glory Road, Heinlein refers to Tros of Samothrace (a Mundy character). S. M. Stirling in Peshawar Lancers is obviously paying tribute to Mundy and other pulp writers of the time. Fritz Leiber (look up author on amazon.com if you are unaware of this science fiction and fantasy author's work. His "Fafhred and the Grey Mouser" series is on a par with Conan.) wrote an entire essay on how the "Tros of Samothrace" was one of his favorite set of books to read. If you haven't read any Mundy books yet, KOTKR and the Tros of Samothrace series are the best ones to start with. My comparision of Mundy and Kipling is that Kipling wrote from the typical British Colonialist's point of view. Mundy not only loved India, he "lived" India and Mundy's books reflect this. (Sidebar note of interest - Mundy hated being compared to Kipling. He preferred that his writing be compared to H. R. Haggard.) And if that wasn't enough, Mundy's chief characters (King, Jimgrim and Tros) all have a depth of intellect not seen in most of today's writing. Also many of Mundy's books have a surprising amount of mysticism and spirituality that adds immensely to the allure and intrigue of the storyline.

King--of the Khyber Rifles, as Mundy's third novel, is the first work to reveal the unique talent and archetypes that would emerge throughout his oeuvre. Mundy imagines a set of incredible places, situations, and characters, using all of the imagination of which he was capable at the time across such topics as the army, the secret service, a powerful woman, hidden caves, secret wisdom, a mad mullah, war, and indigenous peoples. King--of the Khyber Rifles has attained a certain classic status through his arrangement of these plot elements into mythic form. (To read more about Mundy's writing career, see my book, Talbot Mundy: Philosopher of Adventure, by Brian Taves.)

The unusual name of Mundy's hero, Athelstan King, is an inversion of the name and title of the tenth century ruler who became the first Saxon to govern all of England. Creating the English civil service, King Athelstan established legal codes and led a victory over an alliance of Norse, Scots, and Strathclyde Britons invading England. Like his namesake, Mundy's hero saves India from a foreign invasion brewing in the Khinjan Caves beyond the Khyber, which Yasmini hopes to lead.

Mathematics is the key to King's character; he relies on its logic and immutability to both govern his actions and resist Yasmini. He also studies medicine for relaxation, allowing him to adopt the disguise of the Indian physician ("hakim"), Kurram Khan. The country is as much his own as if he belonged to her indigenous races. Like Yasmini, with her background of both Russian and Indian ancestry, but reared in India, King is also a child of the country, despite being of English blood.

King is ready to lay down his life to preserve the peace of India, to prevent India from becoming a new front in World War I. Yet, from the outset of King--of the Khyber Rifles, Mundy demonstrated his increasing habit of reversing the imperialist presuppositions of colonial adventure. Unlike most previous chroniclers of British India, Mundy takes his hero well beyond the territorial and spiritual realms of English control. King provides a surrogate for the white, Western reader into a land far beyond their knowledge or domain, where all characters and power are in the hands of Moslem Indians. King's adventure in the Khyber Pass and Khinjan Caves is at once both a patriotic mission and a journey of metaphysical discovery, an initiation.

Within the Khinjan Caves, Yasmini has discovered the sleepers, a legend known to the hillmen as "the Heart of the Hills," the remarkably well-preserved corpses of a forgotten Roman warrior and the woman who inspired his brief conquest of the East. Their physical resemblance to Yasmini and King is uncanny. Yasmini hopes to use the legend of the "Heart of the Hills" to convince the hillmen that she and King are reincarnations of the dead pair, ready to resume their conquest. In this way Mundy also begins the theme of reincarnation in his writing, while not yet suggesting his actual belief in the phenomenon. Through a magical crystal, King and Yasmini are able to see events in the lives of the "sleepers." Previously, Yasmini has read King's thoughts, yet Mundy handles both these fantastic elements in a restrained, spare, and realistic manner.

In the test of wills between Yasmini and King, he maintains the greater self-mastery. Both are reluctant to admit their increasing love for one another, which would compromise their respective missions. Just as Yasmini has been unable to kill King, despite his interference in her plans, King is barely able to resist her spell. He is unable to harm her and indeed hopes for a conclusion that will allow him to serve her. There can be no surrender into the arms of the other for either King or Yasmini. King cannot be said to have triumphed over her, because to preserve the status quo is a far different task from Yasmini's dream of reviving an empire. Hence, even in defeat Yasmini retains her imperiousness, while in victory King retains his dignity and humility.

Throughout King--of the Khyber Rifles, Mundy turns conventional assumptions and metaphors on their head to reveal new perspectives, spanning the political to the sexual realm. All of the unexpected reversals and multiple roles of the hero and heroine add depth to both the plot and the leads. This reaches its apex with a major character, Rewa Gunga, who early in the novel King had anxiously suspected of being one of Yasmini's past or present lovers. Instead, Rewa Gunga is revealed as Yasmini herself in disguise. Just as Yasmini had been hired by the British to defuse a rebellion she was leading, and King went into Khinjan as an Indian, now Yasmini is disclosed as one of her own supporting characters.

Although some of the experiences of King and Yasmini resemble those of Ayesha, "She-who-must-be-obeyed," in Haggard's She, and its prequel Ayesha, the style and interpretation are different. Both Haggard and Mundy use a white man's journey to a remote area, where both Ayesha and Yasmini reside in underground caves. Unlike Ayesha's other-worldliness, and ties to ancient times, Yasmini is no superwoman who has overcome mortality to live on through the centuries. Instead she is a 20th century woman, whose dreams would only be possible in the present and whose interest in the past is the power it can give her today.

Mundy's style is elliptical and oblique, in a natural rather than affected manner, with numerous arresting juxtapositions, such as his summation of the Khyber as "haunted after dark by the men whose blood-feuds are too reeking raw to let them dare go home and for whom the British hangman very likely waits a mile or two farther south." The book is also full of telling details that add a sense of authenticity, despite the likelihood that they came largely from Mundy's imagination.

Imagine Kipling writing about India... now imagine the same stories as rewrittten by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but an ERB that actually sounds as if he's been in the places he's writing about. And all the detail of a George Macdonald Fraser novel... Then you throw in some mystic stuff that makes William S. Burroughs sound illiterate, add a pinch of "Boys Own Stories" or "Biggles" or whatever then light a match... this is one amazing novel, it really is.

I have 2 sons, ages 9 and 11, and they both love Lois Burdett's Shakespeare books! These books make the story lines accessible while providing the flavor of Shakespeare through the wonderful rhyming couplets. I first used one of these books to "preview" the story of MacBeth to my younger son, who was going to be in a children's musical production of the story. He loved the book and often asks me to reread it to him, and we have since acquired several other of the Burdett titles. My sons also enjoy the whimsical illustrations and sidebars done by the children.

Hello, my name is Shannon, and I have a Shakespeare comprehension problem. I cannot elicit any meaning out of "thither he in and me within," or "wherefore art thou," so when my AP lit class delved into MacBeth, I was already waving the white flag.
Then my mom pulls out this book we picked up at Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. She tells me a teacher wrote a poem about MacBeth for 2nd graders to understand--she had her 2nd grade class draw the pictures in them. Okay, I need all the help I can get, so I acquiesce.
And this book is incredible. The poem is fiercely creative and original, the drawings are such a hoot, and I am understanding the entire play to the point that I am acing quizzes and writing high reviews on Amazon for MacBeth (as I'm doing now). Some people may be recommending this for tiny tots getting into Big Will. I'm calling out to all HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WHO WANT A LITTLE HELP!!! Get this book. Trust me.

I am a third grade teacher on Long Island. Last year I introduced three of Willaim Shakespeare's plays into our classroom. My children loved Macbeth. We studied Macbeth, The Tempest and Hamlet. The way Mrs. Burdett wrote in rhyming couplets really made the reading enjoyable! I plan on using her books throughout my teaching career. Thank you Lois Burdett! Shakespeare can be fun thanks to you.

-Michael Hynes

What a wonderful way to introduce Shakespeare to children! I used this book as a third grade teacher to teach inner city kids about Macbeth. It was amazing to hear the students discussing all of the characters and their actions. They were proud of themselves for learning about Shakespeare "like high school kids." If you make it fun, they will have fun!

Lynsay Sands: The Fairy Godmother (3 stars)

1324: Odel meets her godmother the first time on her father's funeral. Odel thinks that this woman is a little nut case since she claims that she is a fairy and it's her job to have Odel married and in love by Christmas. Odel doesn't want to be under a mans control ever again and doesn't want to fall in love either and she is close to loosing it when her godmother aunt drags a whole bunch of useless lords to her keep to woo her. As if that wouldn't be enough Odels neighbor, Lord Michelle Suthtun stops by as well. But unlike the other lords he doesn't seem to be useless and full of himself.
Ok, the godmother was partly annoying but the story was written with a lot of humor and I would have given it five stars. There was only one major problem: The story was set in medieval times but the characters acted more like regency people. A big no-no in my book and I hate if writers can't get the facts right and have huge discrepancies like that in their stories.


Lisa Cach: A midnight clear (5 stars)

1878: Catherine finally comes home for Christmas after she spent the last two years traveling Europe with her aunt. She is excited to be back home but she also misses a guy she met right before she went home and who seemed to like her as well. As soon as she's home she meets a local guy as well but isn't that interested at first. And when the other guy follows her home she is excited first but the local guy gets more and more interesting. I'm usually not a huge fan of heroines who can't make up their mind but this story was very, very, very cute.


Amy Elizabeth Saunders: Angels we have heard (4 stars)

1889: Rose Shanahan is really screwed. Her husband died a couple months ago and left her broke, with two kids and eight months pregnant. And now she also has to leave her house at the coal mine her husband was working at. She doesn't know where to go or how to survive with no money. I really thought this story would turn into one huge pity party of the "Buhu have compassion with poor little me" sort. That is until one `incident' happens and Rose pretty much bullies the owner of the coal mine, Joshua Asher, into taking her in as a housekeeper. Rose really shows what she's about and you can't help but like her because she's strong and funny. So the story was really cute and was going along nicely and I waited for the big love scene to come. Than - bang - they said their `I love yous', the story was over and it was a little like `Were the heck did that come from?'. I mean, they haven't even kissed and I could have seen them forming a crush on each other but love? Uh, I defiantly missed the part of the story were that happened.


Stobie Piel: Here comes Santa Claus (5 stars)
1890: Santa Claus, or in this case Saint Nicholas, selects brave humans to help him build toys in the Vale of Snow. Among them are Taran and Ariana who are drawn to each other and even shared a wild night a couple years ago. But instead of declaring their everlasting love to each other right then and there they turn into some sorts of enemies, always fighting with each other. Saint Nicholas finally has enough and gives them an ultimatum: They have to return back to earth and find one person who is suffering and they have to help this person heal. They have two days to do so - until Christmas Day - and if they don't succeed they are gonna be send back to their times. This was my favorite story of the four. I loved the back flashes to the times before Taran and Ariana got selected and what they did to earn their place in the Vale of Snow. Their constant fighting was sometimes a little annoying but since it's only a Novella it didn't turn into a huge turn off. If I would have read an entire book with their bitching I would have thrown it into a corner though.

The Fairy Godmother - Lynsay Sands (10*) - Roswald Keep, England, 1324 --- Lady Odel Roswald watched the sarchophagus settle over her fathers burial vault and just stood there, feeling nothing and wondering what she should be doing next. That her father had never shown her any feelings of affection, her grief was non-existent. Fortunately, she hadn't been alone very long when a round, little gray haired lady came rolling bursting upon her - a woman Odel would later discover was her fairy godmother whose sole purpose was to find Odel a husband. The problem was, in Odel's experience in dealing with a man, particularly the miserly and totally miserable one that was her father, she finally felt free and wanted no part of men - ever!
*** Typical Lynsay Sands brilliance in creating unique characters with humor and passion - total fun read!

A Midnight Clear - Lisa Cach (10*) -- Ooooh, this was so sweet, I'm still wiping the tears from my eyes! When Catherine Linwood had come home for the holidays to her hometown of Woodbridge, Vermont she wasn't sure what she would find that would still be familiar. She had gone off some years ago to Mt. Holyoke College, then spent time with her very wealthy Aunt who showed her a different type of society in New York and the capitals of Europe. She didn't think she'd changed, but home was familiar and when her very wealthy and very handsome suitor, Mr. Rose followed her home she was confidant that he would be the one yet questioned how she would know if it was love. But a wish upon the first snow, from her sister Amy, brought her the things she most needed that Christmas. A pair of spectacles with a cryptic message
See far,
And see near,
But let your heart's
Sight be clear
With a little bit of help, Catherine just might see what was beneath her nose in the quiet unassuming, and very kind Will Goodman, owner of the general store had to offer her.
*** Just loved every sweet morsel of this sweetly romantic homecoming love story!

Angels We Have Heard on High - Amy Elizabeth Saunders (9*) -- This again was a delightful story just made for the holiday season of the magic that seems to settle in around the holiday season. Set in Black Diamond, Washington, 1889 - Rose Shanahan, widowed, eight months pregnant and with two other small children had been asked to vacate her shanty coal miners cabin now that her husband was no longer alive and working the mines. Things couldn't have been worse with little food, little coal to burn and threadbare clothing barely keeping them warm. When young Daniel, decided that their last night would be a warm, he snuck off to steal some extra coal from the mine causing a series of events that brought the mine owner, Joshua Asher, into their lives and proved once again that God works in mysterious ways.... *** Heartwarming and should bring tears to even the eyes of the most skeptical who don't believe in miracles.

Here Comes Santa Claus - Stobie Piel (9*) - Ariana and Taran, two of St. Nicholas' most imaginative elves, were both trying to convince St. Nicholas that one or the other had to be let go. Both were immensely attracted to one another, yet for one reason or another their attraction ended up as a fierce competition between their toymaking abilities. More importantly, their rivalry was causing disruptions in the production of toys for Christmas and St. Nicholas decided they would both be sent back to the place of their birth to redeem themselves by doing a good deed and solving a problem which they would have to discover existed. The biggest problem of all would be for the both of them to work together without killing one another first! --- *** Sweetly sensual tale of elfin matchmaking.

*** Published in 2000 this is one of those really great feel good anthologies that is heartwarming, sweet, and just a superb read for sitting cozily by the fire!! --- Marilyn, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---

OK, I don't see the spot where authors can comment on their books anymore - or maybe I missed it, so I shall review us instead! First of all, the stories are all different, all fun, some touching, & mine (Here Comes Santa Claus) inspired because I was in a grumpy holiday mood. Not everyone is perky at Christmas - I'd been shopping & fighting in line for Pokemon Yellow. So my story tells the tale of two rebel elves who get booted from the North Pole for annoying Santa, and who when pitched together must at last face their feelings for each other. Unfortunately, this results in a planned ambush of the Father of Christmas. (which is pretty much what I planned to do to the Mall Santa myself)

I loved this book. I am always eager for the new holiday books to come out. I really couldn't wait for this one. It was a really great read.My favorite was here comes Santa Claus by Stobie Piel.

This is a large book with excellent artwork, diagrams, cross sections and photographs. The text is well written, instructive and, best of all, easy to follow. I have several books about Whales and Dolphins which were designed purely as reference material. This, however, is a book you can sit down, read and enjoy.

The list of 11 contributors and their individual qualifications is very impressive. Each of these brings their individual knowledge and experiences of zoology, biology and research etc to this book and, in so doing, combine to make it a most authoritative work. Even the book's two artists have a great experience and knowledge of the creatures they paint - one of whom is also a biologist. That artwork, incidentally, is quite outstanding and shows aspects of certain whales' behaviour that could never be caught on camera.

The book is laid out in an easy-to-follow format. Part of the wide-ranging Introduction includes that all important topic "What are Whales" - which, after all, some people still think are nothing more than very big fish! Having set the scene quite expertly, we then move on to the different categories of Whales and Dolphins and are treated to excellent descriptions of; Baleen, Right, Gray, Rorqual, Toothed and Sperm Whales before coming on to those smaller species. Here we have; Narwhal, Beluga, Irrawaddy, Beaked & Bottlenose Whales, Pilot & Killer Whales, Oceanic Dolphins, Porpoises and finally River Dolphins.

In summary, I couldn't think of any aspect of the subject of this book's title which was not adequately covered in the content. An excellent book for both the professional and amateur with an interest in these incredible creatures.

NM

I have a degree in art and education and am a home-school mom. I have used many arts and crafts books but can usually only find one or two projects in each book that is actually worth doing. This book however, is the exception. My children and I have done many of these projects and fully intend to complete the rest.

I checked this book out from the library amongst many other craft books because I needed ideas to teach a class. This book was full of ideas that were easy and nice enough to be given as gifts to friends or parents. The pressed flower projects are beautiful. I've added this book to my wish list.

My 8 year old daughter brought this book home from her school library and was excited by many of the projects. From a parent's point of view it was great to have a book with achievable craft projects which yield items the child can be proud of and parents will happily display. I'm ordering it now!

There are some real gems in this little book that can be read on several levels. I've known a few managers that never learned that you "don't need to wear your chaps and spurs just to bring the milk cows in".

A good crop of one-liners.At the price of Greeting cards these days;why not give him/her a copy of this little gem.It'll produce a lot of laughs.Personally,I'm dying to pass my copy along.

From love to bring'in the cows in this book covers it. Full of the sassiest sayings and the best rules to live by, it will never let a gal down. "Don't try and drown your sorrows- they know how to swim!"

Although short, this hilarious book of quotes will make any country girl laugh until she has tears in her eyes. Highly recommend for anyone who wants a good giggle!