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I cracked up in the first few pages of this book. I love the chilli incident, and when Jack gets drunk and ends up falling face down into Tess's apartment floor while admitting his feelings for her. *dabs eyes with a tissue* Haha, yea, I read this when I was about 11 or 12, which made it my first real romance book that didn't include Mary Kate & Ashley goody goody guys mixed in it. Hehe, I loved it, and I'm sure you will too. =)

ONE FIANCEE TO GO, PLEASE is a deep sigh, stars-in-your-eyes, traditional romance. It has all the qualities I look for in story:humor, excitement, and love with a happy ending. Tess makes me feel like a real person because she has her own flaws and imperfections. She has stress in her life, but a loving family who loves and supports her, and dreams worth reaching for. Jack is every woman's dream come true, and a gentleman to boot. He makes Tess feel like Cinderella at the ball, and doesn't consider himself to be the only prince on earth. Jackie Braun is an extremely talented writer. I hope we can look forward to many more great stories at her hand!

ONE FIANCEE TO GO, PLEASE is one of the best Silhouette Romances I've read this year--brava to Jackie Braun on a stunning debut! The 'pretend to be my fiancee' plot is a romance standard, but Braun makes it both believable and unpredictable through her excellent characterization.

I can't wait to read her next book--please say it'll be out soon!

Everything you need to know about potty training (oops! I mean potty LEARNING as per Dr. Sears) is contained in this 32-page picture book. The first three pages have helpful notes to parents and caregivers. The story itself includes sidebars, or blocks of supplemental material, designed to answer the persistent questions (Why? Why? Why?) of curious children. The last page provides details about attachment parenting, a responsive style of raising children, and a list of various Internet, textbook, and organizational resources. The special bonus? A pull-out poster with seven simple steps to hang in the bathroom.

Renowned pediatrician Dr. William Sears and his R.N. wife Martha team up with writer Christie Watts Kelly to produce a book that stands heads above the rest. Impressive credentials, comprehensive content...but does it pass the read-aloud test?

I didn't discover this book until late in the game. My girls had already graduated to big-girl underwear and pull-ups. But I read it to them anyway. The cartoon illustrations rendered by Renee Andriani captured their attention - for awhile. Then they lost interest. Too wordy? Or just too late? My third child is due next year. When the time comes, I'll try this book again to teach the fundamentals. When s/he understands what to do, but needs extra time to do it, we'll read potty books I find more entertaining.

My son (2 1/2) loves this book. I found that it really helps with explaining the process and motivating him to use the potty. The poster is nice too.

This book is excellent for parents who practice Attachment Parenting. It starts by explaining that when the child was a baby, their parents did everything for them. This shows a mother breastfeeding, parents and baby co-sleeping, and a father "wearing" the baby in a sling. It then talks about diapers and how as children get older, they use the potty like their parents. There are lots of parent tips that appear in the margins, encouraging further discussion and customizing things to suit your family's needs and preferences. As always, Dr. Sears encourages you to follow your instincts.

The story itself isn't much different from the one you'd find in The Potty Book or other training books. It follows a child through potty training, buying underwear, etc. The narrative uses language a child can understand, but sometimes it seemed a bit too babyish for me. ("poo-poo goes bye-bye"). I don't think you have to talk down to kids to get them to understand. But, that small complaint aside, the book is informative and positive. It's a wonderful teaching tool, and perfectly suited for Attachment families.

The aging process takes us through countless milestones--not all of which are pleasant. Many of us have to think back 20, 30, 40, or more years to recall one of our most disturbing ones. At this stage a number of us felt trapped and helpless. Some became victims of insomnia or stomach disorders, and probably far more than are willing to admit it now considered packing our bags and making a late night get-away. Yet, somehow, we all survived our first day of school. For many little children, going to school is the first major trauma life offers. Seeing how enjoyable this seemingly terrifying ordeal is for Baby Bop should alleviate their unhappy confusion. This book describes the juvenile dinosaur's visit to a preschool where she partkes in one fun activity after another. Whether finger-painting, building a sandcastle, playing with blocks, or feeding the guinea pig, the story shows school as a non-threatening place to be. Through a series of bright color photographs, not illustrations, the tale presents schoolmates as friendly and the teacher as kind and supportive. As further reinforcement, Barney is shown bringing Baby-Bop in the morning and picking her up in the afternoon. This cute narrative will make children feel secure at a very unnerving time in their young lives. Unfortunately, it came along three decades too late for me.

I do believe I have read this book at least a million times. I have two children, ages 5 and 3, and they love the story. The pictures are beautiful and the content is relevant to this scary time in a child's life....school!

My son loves this book. It helped him learn about starting school and things that can occur during the school day. It also helped him getting over the fear of starting a school that he was unsure of. This is reading book that kids and parents can enjoy together.

Jeff Wilson, a Buddhist who practices in the Pure Land tradition, has written an indispensable guide to Buddhist practice in New York City...

His book is very reader friendly and gives a tremendous feel for all the various places to practice which are available in the tri-state area...the book is a must have for both the experienced practitioner who wants to have a guide and the new practitioner who is looking for a sangha...

I bought this book mainly to get a better feel for the various Buddhist sects proliferating today, as the book has a great capsule overview of what the focus of each main group is. However, the book is book insightful and amusing, and will save the novice Buddhist visitor or tourist many a misstep or faus pas, not to mention wasted time. Wilson gives great, easy to follow information and covers not only NYC but I think the whole state. Definitely goes in my bag the next time I take a trip north!

A Bread-and-Buddha book, a MUST, for any visitor to New York City or State.

David Viscott was one of the most insightful practitioners and writers in this arena. I used to listen to him on the radio, and was always impressed by his ability to pinpoint issues. He understood emotions and how to resolve them.

of a book by viscott (or any author) that elaborates on viscott's chapter "the skills for working through hurt"? I thought viscott's book was entirely worth while if only for that chapter and his 11 phrases that can be spoken to someone who has just said something hurtful in order to help diffuse the situation before it festers and turns into resentment and anger. These simple expressions have had a significant effect in my work life.

As a dedicated reader of self help books, Emotionally Free letting go of the past to live in the moment has been the best I have ever read on the subject. Discover your weaknesses and how to cure them, remove obstacles that are in your way for happiness, feel more vital, open and loving, confident. Shape the life you want to live. Identify yourself as one of three types, dependent, controllor, competitive. After being beaten down from family deaths and a break up of a long relationship, I found this book extremely helpful, and wish I could thank Dr. Viscott in person. Well worth the price

I am currently a teenager in Los Angeles. My parents bought this book when it first came out (when i was nine), and i must say that we spent a lot of family time together touring the places in Southern CA. There is a place in SoCal that every kid will like, and this book just helps parents find where that magical place is. I absolutely love the tour of the LA Times, which my family did not know was offered before we purchased this book.
Now that i am older, i still visit some of the places in the book with my family. The book is a helpful way to plan family time.
For teachers: this is a helpful book for field trip ideas!

I've found the only and best way to travel ever!! I wanted a book that I could use easy fast and dependable, I found it at last! This book has a number of different ways to make travel easy. Everything is organized by category starting with Amusement Parks, Arts and Crafts, Beaches etc. After you find your category look for the city your in then just find the places and read the review. I've talked with the author and she said that her and her three boys and they've been to every place so they could write from personal perspective. In the back four more way to find an awesome place. Every review has hours admission and directions and much more. It's a travel Bible for so. CA. a must have for travelers!!

I have a 10 month old and an 8 year old stepdaughter who visits a few times a year. With this book, I can easily find places they'll both enjoy. The indexes are fantastic too; there's one alphabetical and one by cost and location.

I thought overall that the book was very good at helping me recognize the roots to the problems in my adult life. As a sexual abuse survivor, it has opened the doors to the little child inside of me that needs to feel safe and loved. It was very easy to read and easy to understand. The only negative thing I would have to say about the book is that it was very thorough on addressing the roots of problems, but not necessarily on what you can do now to overcome them. (But I suppose that's another story......)

There's a difference of talking of what your traumas (no matter how significant)are, and actually releasing the feelings and energies that accompany them. If you're really ready to get your life going and become a whole person, this book will do it. Once you've looked at the inner feelings and dealt with them, you're on your way to whatever you want of yourself. Talk about opening doors. You're worth it.

After many other books on inner child work have come and gone, I keep coming back to this one. The author has given what is arguably the most complete map of the inner child work that has ever been written. To have instructions like this, that take us gently into our own inner mythology is a rare gift. If God/Goddess had commissioned an instruction manual for how to navigate these inner territories, it would have been this one. Come to think of it, maybe that's what happened! For anyone interested in doing really solid inner child work, this book is one they must read and DO! There's the potential for so much healing, and ultimately inner peace in this book!

At age 62, Sam Keen learned to fly. In 1993, he started his training
on the flying trapeze at the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. The
fact that he was the oldest student at the school did not deter Keen
from pursuing his "strange passion" (p. 15). "Over the
years," he observes," I have discovered that it is hazardous
to ignore passing fantasies and emerging passions. To begin with, in
the degree that I cease to pursue my deepest passions, I will
gradually be controlled by my deepest fears. When passion no longer
waters and nurtures the psyche, fears spring up like weeds on the
depleted soil of abandoned fields. I suspect the major cause of
depression and despair and the appetite for violence in modern life is
the result of the masses of people who are enslaved by an economic
order that rewards them for laboring at jobs that do not engage their
passion for creativity and meaning" (pp. 16-17).

Part memoir,
part metaphor, Keen's book is filled with daring leaps, midair turns,
somersaults, and catches. For Keen, the trapeze is a good teacher.
From his six-year love affair with the trapeze, he derives insights
into fear, trust, letting go, and what it means to live life
passionately. If we learn to live life as a "ten-ring
circus," he writes, in "a world ruled by enchantment--where
magic existed before morality, wonder before worship, pleasure before
piety, and amazement before practicality" (p. 24), then we will
be "transformed, changed back into children whose horizons are
open" (p. 25). "The Great Path is a spiral journey,"
Keen notes. "Every day we begin again, knowing that danger and
death may be lurking, that we will be fearful and will need to
cultivate courage. We will need to keep our balance and discern when
it is time to wait and when to act. We will take leaps of faith,
fall, and rise again. If we are diligent in our practice, there will
be unexpected moments of grace and joy and a gradual growth of mastery
in fashioning our lives into something of beauty"
(p. 241).

Keen's LEARNING TO FLY is inspirational and insightful.
Although reading it did not inspire me to attempt a triple somersault,
it did encourage me to find a flying trapeze in my own life, and then
to practice it, knowing that "practice is perfect"
(p. 237).

G. Merritt

Everyone who reads Keen knows he writes very well and from the heart. But in this book his very soul flies through the air with his words. When Sam reviewed my book, PRIMAL AWARENESS, he said it was an adventurous search for the lost ark. LEARNING TO FLY is about finding the lost ark.

I read a passage from the book at my daughter's wedding and then I wished them wings and flight. I found this book to be absolutely fascinating and, at age 57 myself, found inspiration to try new ideas. Learning to Fly is never boring. I found the chapter-beginning drawings helpful as I tried to follow Sam Keen in flight, literally as well as figuratively. A real winner!

If you find that you come home and collapse in front of your televison every night because you're "too tired" to do anything else, you should read this book.

This book should be required reading for every worker, manager and supervisor.

It was not too long ago that a 30 hour work week was predicted to become the norm for most US whitecollar workers. The average workweek today is almost 50 hours long. Layoffs, downsizing and the fears these management strategies instill have caused people to put in more and more time to survive, hoping to stay ahead of the next cutback.

This book explains why that reasoning is not only wrong, but achieves just the opposite result. This book suggests that a worker who goes home on time and has fun both on and off the job is more creative, more productive, and more successful.

A radical concept well worth exploring.

I first came across this book more than 10 years ago, when as a doctor I was asked to give a lecture on stress management. It was life-changing for me, both at work and in my leisure time, as well--because it taught me how to play again, and to allow myself to enjoy sports at the same time I was driven to excell.

I recommend this book all the time to colleagues, patients and students. And I'm now buying a copy for my teenaged daughter, a competitive athlete who is combatting burnout. These skills should be graduation requirements for every high school student.

This book changed my life when it first came out... I brought my toys to the office and started taking regular juggling breaks. Using some of the strategies in the book, I transformed myself and my team. Now, years later, I've found myself rediscovering the book, and sharing it with my new team -- although I'd incorporated many of the strategies into my work and home life, I'm re-applying some of the forgotten messages and strategies. This book is nothing short of life-changing. I also love the illustrations! The ONLY negative I have about the book is that I think the original larger format was a better package -- that edition had a very fun color road map / chapter listing on the inside covers that added a great deal to the look and feel of the book. (I was happy to find that the content had remained the same.) I recommend this book to team leaders as well as team members. DO THE EXERCISES!

I've been using this handy reference book since the first edition in 1995. My kids and I have visited many of the places contained in the book. By and large, I agree with the author's assessment of each place we visited. I found the information provided on hours of operation, special program times and fees to be very accurate. The book really helped me expand my children's horizons as well as my own because we visited some great places we probably would have never known about without it.

Ms. Peterson's book was right on target for our extensive homeschooling needs...I was very pleeased with the easy layout & cross-referencing of the book. Sooooo many things to do and never enough time. We do unit studies and have found this gem of a book to be quite the treasure that we need to guide us on last minute field trip ideas, outtings, and just all-around fun! One thing always relates to another and i usually can include both children (9 & almost 15) in the same activities/events. I truly appreciate the effort Ms. Peterson has put into this book...I got it from my AAA club...and from one resourceful homeschooler to another (Ms. Peterson), I whole-heartedly THANK-YOU!...

Wonderful fieldtrip ideas - - we have gone on at least 50 outings based on this book's suggestions. We use this book at planning meetings to organize our calendar each year. Lots of wonderful activities for school-aged children. Details from the common destinations (zoos, public museums) to less common destinations (ex: lollipop and candy cane factories, Casa de Tortuga) and private museums (ex: the Holyland Exhibition). Our homeschooling experience has been enriched by this guidebook!