MR

Bonjour, Mr. Satie is a wonderful book for children. As readers wait to hear the outcome of the story, they will find de Paola's book anything but dull. The book combines de Paola's usual talent for telling stories and illustrating them with flair with a glimpse into realistic events at Gertrude's salon. Children don't need to know Gertrude to enjoy the story, but when reading this story to them, you may want to tell them that Satie, Pablo (Picasso), Alice (Toklas), and Henri (Matisse) are real people who painted, composed, and wrote. Tell children that Alice made a cookbook, that Pablo painted a famous portrait of Gertrude, and that Gertrude wrote a poem about Pablo. Use this opportunity to expose children to paintings by Picasso and Matisse. Bonjour, Mr. Satie should be read because of its valuable lesson for children to appreciate difference and diversity in their lives and to encourage others to look at things (art and people) as different instead of good and bad.

I first read this book as a child, but picked it up again recently. My English class was researching Paris in the 1920s so I brought in the book. Not only is it an interesting story by the excellent tomie dePaola, but it is also educational. For a special kick, read the index in the back and you'll see that Ernest Hemingway, Isadora Duncan, James Joyce and other famous people are represented in the illustrations.

Lord Berners' Collected Tales and Fantasies are six rather bizarre tales or short novellas, filled with dark and mysterious happenings. The characters who inhabit these stories are equally as bizarre and eccentric as the tales themselves, and, although they contain some hilarious satire in the style of Evelyn Waugh or "Saki," the narratives are laced with violence and tragedy. Lord Berners' characters include an assortment of eccentric artistocratic types that he knew between the years dividing the two World Wars. His characters include a mixture of neurotics, paranoids, megalomaniacs, pederasts, parasites, and what Monty Python would call "upper-class twits," all of whom partake in the most amazing adventures. In one of the best stories, "Far from the Madding War," the author himself makes a brief appearance as Lord FritzCricket. Berners admits that his own outlandish personality is that of "the Unstable Peer," an eccentric born into the aristocracy who can act in any way he pleases. Let us look briefly at a few of the stories. "Percy Wallingford," (written in 1914) tells the adventures of a self-assured and talented man who, on the eve of World War I, has his confidence destroyed by his wife, a fantastic woman who can see in the dark and who strips him of his self-assurance. "The Camel," (written in 1936) relates the mysterious appearance of a camel at a vicarage in the quiet British town of Slumbermere, which violently disrupts the easy life there and forces people to confront their own fears, anxieties, and jealousies. It is a deceptively dark and disturbing tale, perhaps influenced by the novels of Thomas Hardy and Anthony Trollope which also dealt with small-town British rustic life. "Mr. Pidger," (1939) takes place on the eve of World War II and is, in reality, a British country-house farce in the best tradition. Lord Berens takes the models of the genre - a dog-hating misanthrope, a missing will, an ill-tempered dog, an over bearing wife, and a reticent husband - and molds them into a bizarre burlesque with tragic overtones. "Count Omega" (1941) is a satire on reincarnation, Freudian sexual psychoanalysis, modern music, and practical jokes, which involves the ego-centered musician Emanuel Smith, maliciously modeled on the British composer Sir William Walton. "The Romance of a Nose" (1941) may be the weakest tale of the collection, a rather plodding story about a Queen with an enormous nose and the chicanery that takes place in international politics. Berners' final story in the collection, "Far From the Madding War" (1941) is in itself worth the price of the book. It is an outrageous reaction to World War II, peopled with whimsical neurotics and eccentrics in the university town of "All Saints." It is Lord Berners' satirical attack on Oxford and Cambridge Universities' reaction to the war, and an intimation of his own nervous breakdown during and after the war years when his private world was shattered. It is a hilarious yet disturbing story. I highly recommend these six stories to those Anglophile readers like myself who enjoy the works of such writers as Evelyn Waugh, "Saki," J.P. Donlevy, George MacDonald Fraser, or John Mortimer. Lord Berners is indeed a talented author who writes stylishly and with a sharp satiric thrust. I have enjoyed his music (now recorded on several CD's) and his excellent memoir, "The Château de Résenlieu," which was recently published. I hope that more of his fine literary work will be published.

I've loved Lord Berners' music for years. And I knew he was an eccentric. But these pieces knocked me out. Wry, ironic, hilarious, skewed, but also humane. He's someone I wish I'd had dinner with; I suspect it would have been a memorable encounter.

Actually, I have to admit, that I didn't read this book. In fact, I don't really like reading. But still, it's worth 4 stars. Email me and tell me what you think.

I really enjoyed this book, rapidly consuming every word and phrase. It's an old yet interesting and very relevant novel. The plot is shaped like a clever allegory describing mans most vicious and precious moments. Mr. Stevenson tells the tale with an appealing and fast phased language, in spite of its old origin. I could really feel the wrath of Hyde, as the story line was unfolded in front of my eyes. It's a classic in every sense and should be a must read for everyone. What singles out this copy of horror from the shelf is the fact that it takes you further, offering more than a just a good chill and some thrilling suspense.

What you are offered is a trip inside the very essence of man. Our split self: Good and bad locked in a bound of exiting co-existence. The setting is mystical yet cleverly portrayed trough the 1800's London, told and witnessed with the views of a bachelor. A Scientific project that went terrible wrong, along with mans most intimate thoughts is beautifully exposed in this epic novel. If you look just a little deeper in the ever-present allegory you could truly gain some interesting visions.

To understand the complexity of the allegory Harry M. Geduld did a solid job, providing even more interpretations and background information than you would ever look for. This if anything might put some readers off a bit. I found it a little comprehensive at first, since the descriptions and comparisons relies on some previous knowledge on the subject. It should be noted that this was the first time I read the story and this book as a whole is more of a study in the general field of split personality, or the double (the term widely used throughout the book) and its usage in past and present literature. This should not be an obstacle for anyone, just skip right too the original novel and go from there. If you like me find the allegory interesting there is heaps of information to dig in on. After deciding to do so you get an in depth analysis on every aspect of the novel, along with various related information. It covers: how it came to life, the author, comments, critics, comparisons and parallels to other works of literature, and last but not least the role of Jekyll and Hyde in theatre and movie productions. Several short novels based on the same subject or indeed even the story itself makes for a relaxing in between reading.

While this is not the easiest of reads you could really gain some self-insight and general understanding of the human mind, and its mysterious ways. I know I did.

This is a book I would recommend without hesitation! But if your not ready to "dig in", the stand alone novel could be a better choice.

Dr. Joe Palmer was one of my English professors at Purdue University. This novel (and the two "sequels") display the same enthusiasm and love of the Victorian era he brought to the classroom. These books provide interesting historical and biographical details, but are by no means too high-brow or scholarly for mystery fans. If you like Anne Perry, you must read Joe Palmer.

William J. Palmer's literary mystery stretches the form without crossing the line. Charles Dickens tackles impressively (readers with ancient leg injuries which occasionally act up may wish to avert their eyes) & swims fairly well under pressure. Wilkie Collins conquers a potentially disastrous case of priggishness & may be making serious advances against chronic foppery. Inspector William Field, Irish Meg Sheehey, & the extravagantly gifted Talley Ho Thompson, some sort of grinning dervish genius pickpocket Robin Hood, but watch your watch, all come to life easily & naturally, unburdened by heavy novelistic responsibilities. Ellen Ternan is only awfully pretty so far, but may turn interesting as she ages up nearer to legal. Read the next one, if you can procure a copy anywhere (Amazon seems out), & there may be a third. Palmer can write, & knows how to drop an occasional pearl of wisdom lightly, without needlessly infuriating his patrons. There is a single profoundly unfortunate multi-layer allusion & one short example of illicit typography, but these petty faults are easily overbalanced by genuinely sane handling of the early death of Dickens' daughter Dora plus the best Victorian wenchfight I have ever read. A bonafide romp. This fun is serious. Buy it.

This book is essentially the story of the fight between good and evil that rages in a man's soul. Jekyl is too weak to keep his evil side under control and tries to destroy it. The results are horrible. I enjoyed reading this book, but I find it fascinating that you rate this as a children's book. The overall content of the book is certainlly acceptible for a child to read, but to suggest that a child would understand the deep moral undertones of this book is ludicrous.

The Dr. ,on a quest for enlightenment, has separated his pure and good self from his evil. This is a story of addiction. The Dr., by accident, creates a drug more dangerous and powerful than any recreational drug from the 20th century. Problems? It can't be duplicated, not even by the Dr., and there is no antidote. Hyde is dying and he's taking the Dr. and the Dr.'s closest friend with him. Stevenson has captured the skin crawling, ugly, sloppy, locked jaw feelings associated with the addiction to drugs/alcohol, addiction to power, addiction to money, addiction to class, and addiction to cruelty throughout the book. This book is as real today as when it was written. You might know, or be, the Dr.

Forget Lana Turner and Ingred Bergman, there are no women in this book. Hydes' housekeeper makes brief appearance but is of no importance to the plot. This is not a childrens book.

This book seems to be one of the most in-depth books of Hughes's life and business dealings. Noah Dietrich, Hughes's right hand man and effectively CEO of most of his companies, wrote it. Mr. Dietrich presents excellent stories about Howard which both make you laugh and make you wonder.

Out of all the books I have read about HH, this one is the best. The one negative point about the book is that Noah Dietrich uses it more as a platform for his successes while working for HH rather than crediting them to Howard.

Whether they are true or not, I have no idea. But if you are a Hughes Fan, you should love this book.

Noah Dietrich is witty and informative. He gives incredible personal insight into Howard Hughes, and he does it in a way that makes one laugh or gasp on occasion.

Lieut. Ringle is among the first to examine the many aspects of sailors' lives during the American Civil War. He examines topics such as the recruiting efforts of the U.S. Navy, compensation and promotion, training, entertainment, and disease to name but a few. This book is not the most eloquently written piece, but the extensive research and sheer fact that this is one of the first books to examine this aspect of CW naval history makes it a must for any American naval library. I find it valuable as a reference for topics that are difficult to find sources on (recruitment, etc.).

Commander Ringle has written a great book for all Civil War buffs that contains a vast amount of facts that concern the operation of the Union Navy during the Civil War.

All the Little Miss and Mr Men titles are great books and are sized just right for small hands. Little Miss Bossy is my 3 year old daughter's current favorite. The series have been classics in the UK for what must be more than 20 years. I am very glad to see them being published in the USA after all these years.

Davina Morgan-Witts

BookBrowse.com

Excerpts of Bestsellers and Much More

I read a lot of the Mr. Mand and Little Miss books when I was a kid. I am now a new teacher in a multiage 1st and 2nd grade. I bought some of these books because I love them, but also to teach my class about why they need to be nice to others and other lessons. When I bought Little Miss Bossy I was thinking about one studnet in my class. I had read a few others to the class before I read Little Miss BOssy, and the class loved the stories and could not wait to hear more. I read Little Miss Bossy, and they loved it. I talked with one of my students after about beiong nice to other people(I have done this every day all school year). I think this book helped her see what she was doing to the other kids and another reason why she needs to be kinder to others. I didn't have to talk to her about being nice to the other students for three days after I read it!

I loved the Mr. Men and Little Miss books when I was younger, and I truly enjoyed this book when I read it a few days ago! It's great for children, as it teaches them the meaning of the word curious as well as how someone's curiosity can affect others. Being older, I enjoyed the artwork and the ability to reflect on the fact that I too was Little Miss Curious when I was a child and probably drove my mother crazy! Definitely buy this!

I'm 22 years old now, but I definitely remember reading these little books in preschool. I remember wishing I could climb into the book and interact with all the cool characters in person. They're all really cool--Mr. Tickle was my favorite because he had the long wiggly arms. I'm gonna start collecting these books as a retro thing for my niece and nephew and my own future kids. Great books, all of them, buy em.

The funny thing about all of Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Men and Little Miss storybooks is that in some way or another they remind us of someone we know. We all know a Little Miss Neat--her neurotic pursuit of cleanliness and obsessiveness with order is quite humourous.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Little Miss Neat was one of her picks.

I was surprised that my daughter picked this book because it has some aspets that could concern a sensitive child. Let me explain. Little Miss Neat was a very tidy person. She was really good at cleaning up her home. Even when she cleaned up a mess, she picked up after herself. One day, she went away on vacation. Mr. Muddle came to visit while she was away, and somehow got into the house. He made himself some tea, and left everything in the wrong place. When Little Miss Neat returned, she could tell from the misplaced items that Mr. Muddle must have visited. A telephone call confirms that.

Would your child like the idea of having someone be able to get into your house? I guess Mr. Muddle isn't too threatening. In fact, this book may subtly reduce your child's fear of unexpected events.

On the other hand, the book is hilarious! Little Miss Neat has a real problem with compulsiveness. My daughter used to find her very funny. Her favorite gag was Little Miss Neat spending a whole day polishing her suitcase.

Mr. Muddle is sort of a backwards fellow. He says Good-bye when he reaches someone on the phone, and says Hello at the end of the conversation. He left the teapot in the refrigerator, the milk in the teapot, the tea in the sugar bowl, the sugar in the milk bottle, the cup in the oven, the saucer in the breadbox, and the utensils under her cushion. My daughter couldn't stop laughing during that sequence.

Overcome your misconception that children cannot learn through humor how to overcome their sense that all people need to be just like them.

Enjoy!

Don Mitchell