MR

My father bought this book for my three-year-old daughter on the recommendation of a bookstore staffer. The illustrations are nice, and I understand the point about not being rude, but, um... everyone is eaten by the wolf in the end. There's no softening of the fact that he ate all the rude people up and still had room for pancakes. And the moral is...? Don't be rude, or the predators among us will have a right to kill you? This is one odd book.

I love this book! For once the Wolf is not shown to be the bad guy! I found this to be a very positive book showing that it is not a good idea to be nasty and greedy, even to towards characters that would normally be thought of as the bad guys. (When the Wolf won in the end my entire family cheered! You go Wolf!)

If you and the kids are tired of sugar-sweet stories in which all the characters live happily ever after, then Jan Fearley's Mr Wolf could be just the anti-hero for you. Most of this delightful book is devoted to describing Mr Wolf's diligent efforts to assemble the ingredients for and then prepare a delicious stack of pancakes. As he is a rather inept chef with poor reading and writing skills, he seeks the advice and assistance of a host of well-known storybook characters (e.g., The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, etc.). Unlike most tales where the large fanged one is portrayed as 'big and bad', however, it is the (apparently) naive and innocent Wolf who encounters rejection, verbal barbs and outright hostility from the nursery world's equivalent of 'the bold and the beautiful'. But after suffering their many slings and arrows, he manages to produce some of the tastiest hotcakes in town. The slightest waft of their aroma is enough to bring all of Mr Wolf's so-called 'friends' knocking on his front door. He rather sheepishly lets them into his kitchen, where they set about devouring his lovingly concocted meal. Only after they have finished off every single pancake does the devilishly clever Mr Wolf turn the tables on this ungrateful and self-serving lot. And in the wink of an eye and flip of a page, he gobbles each and every one of the good-for-nothings down, thus having his cakes and eating them too!

Three cheers for Mr Wolf - and Jan Fearnley!

John, Kate and Elena Thompson

I enjoyed the majority of this book, and Marcella certainly has some personal recollections to relate. It is easy reading and enjoyable.

Marcella Rabwin has appeared in several documentaries on the making of Gone With the Wind and the late Jean Harlow. I was always impressed with her intelligence and honesty. In the two documentaries on Jean Harlow,I could tell she liked the young actress and Marcella had a keen memory of the those things about Jean Harlow that revealed her inner self. "Yes,Mr.Selznick" is a series of vignettes of those great stars whom Marcella knew. These are her keen observances of them.They are, for the most part, short chapters, but what wonderful chapters they are! The author is an honest woman but never vindictive. These are her own recollections and that makes this book a gem of a read! Read her impressions about Harlow and Lombard, Dietrich and Garbo, W.C.Fields, Charles Boyer,Lucille Ball, Irene Mayer Selznick, and others. The great stars are shown as people. Some were vain. Some were eccentric. Some were delightful. Some were complex. So what if there were some factual errors in the chapter on Harlow! What is important is what Miss Rabwin remembers about personalities. This is not a mammoth autobiography by any means. It is a gift from Selznick's Assistant (NOT to be confused with secretary). Marcella was far more important than a secretary. And this book is a wonderful gift. I really felt as if I was having coffee and pastries with the author and she was telling me about her days in Hollywood. She tells it as she saw it and anyone looking for mud slinging, look elsewhere. Marcella Rabwin is above that sort of style. The author has class,brains, integrity,and style. It is not a big work; but that does not lessen its importance. I'd keep this one in mind for anyone who likes sitting outside a cafe sharing the memories with a delightful lady of all the stars she knew in Hollywood. May I emphasize having coffee with a delightful lady? She was and this book is her fine gift. I am so glad to have it. I am certain you will agree. I thank you Miss Rabwin!

The author happens to be my mother and I am incredibly prejudiced. I have to admit that reading it for the first time gave me a wonderful insight as to the truly incredible life of my mother and the people with whom she came in contact. Some of the stories I knew, others were new to me. It is fun, light reading and is 100% the truth from my mothers heart. I, as her son, truly hope that those of you who read it get a sense of my wonderful mother and her very full life. Though she is gone from us, she remains very alive and influential in all the lives that she touched. Trust me, she was one hell of lady ! Sincerely, Mark J Rabwin(mrabwin@hotmail.com)

This is a delightful story but I'm concerned that kids miss the point that an overdose of sugar is the problem. Kids do think in concrete terms. If all sugar is bad, why do my parents let me have any sugar? Do my parents want me to do things that are bad for me? Again, the answer is the balance not that all sugar is bad. Fruits and many other healthy food have natural sugar in them. I am a diabetic and I'm very aware of the problems of too much sugar. If an appropriate discussion follows the book, I think it is a good book and I agree with other reviewers. Using this book is like using sugar: do it carefully.

I read this story to a second grade bilingual class who just loved the story and were able to understand the message of the story. When I read it to a sixth grade bilingual class using puppets, It was just as enjoyable to the older children. Since it is in Spanish and English, the whole class was able to enjoy the story and learn what temptation can do to them. I recommend this book to anyone teaching a bilingual class or learning either language.

I first read this book years back at the library with two children I was babysitting for the summer. We read it and laughed in bemused horror.

The book chronicles the tale of two children lured to a magical wagon owned by a Mr. Sugar. His friendly countenance and gentle words urge them to try one of his confections, and thus begins the downward spiral into serious sugar addiction.

They become severely obese, jump up on the school roof, run backwards, and fall asleep in class. What have we to blame? That cursed sugar.

A surprise twist in the end pulls no punches, and teaches children with heavy-handed propaganda that sugar is bad. Very bad.

At once amusing and freaky-deaky, I've recommended this to people learning Spanish (for its bilingual aspect) and people interested in the weird and unusual.

I recently had a chance to peruse a copy of the "Woman's book on revenge", and just had to mouth off. Maybe it's because I'm a guy, but I think 99% of the suggested revenge tips were just plain stupid. If the book was meant as humor, that angle could have been emphasized, and much more fun could have been had with the subject matter. Hell, I love funny revenge stories as much as the next guy - or gal. However, the book was presented with a straight face, disclaimer notwithstanding, and as a result it just made me groan.

Come on, all that cheap & petty stuff like hiding rotten fish and scratching CD's is pretty damned childish and more suitable for ten-year-olds than adult women. The book probably set back the women's movement by 20 years, because anyone who would actually carry out any of these revenge ideas would have to be a silly, irresponsible child. I seriously hope that any woman I date would have a little more sense and self-respect. Or at least, a little more creativity.

Aside from stink bombs and property damage, all that's left is tired old urban legends ($50 Ferrari sold at garage sale, wedding guests presented with photo of unfaithful groom, off-the-hook phone bills from Australia, etc.) They had more original ideas in ancient Greece, for Pete's sake. Just think of how Medea got even with her unfaithful husband, now there's some REAL revenge for you.

In other words, the idea for this book was great. But anyone who bought it hoping to find some advice they could actually use, will be seriously disappointed.

This book is a hoot - like the old saying goes, hell hath
no fury like a woman scorned. I've become addicted to
the site that is an offshoot of this book, RevengeLady.com which gives avengers free advice and posts stories of revenge in all walks of life - landlords, bosses, family members, as well as lovers, spouses and ex's..

You might not think that a man would recommend this book, but think again! As a man feed up with whining women who want their proverbial cake that they can eat too, I find it a most delicious irony that a man can take his revenge cues, originally meant to be aimed against men, from women! Why not? It is only fair. After all, men have heard women, using the worst examples of men for their rational, say: "Use their own poison against them!" And when the generalizing sexist underpinnings of women's thinking is mentioned, women retort: "Oh, toughen up; it's just therapeutic irony!" Indeed. That is just what this is: irony. So if you are a guy with an ax to grind against a woman, buy yourself a copy of this book, get inspired by the vicious ideas women have concocted, implement them, and then take quiet satisfaction in knowing there are women reading this that will think: "Oh, he can't think of anything up himself--that is why he has to read this!" So true, I guess: we men are just backward thinking clods. But lets all get a good laugh out of this one, for at the end it's just "irony." And surely, this will broaden the consumer base for this kind of women's revenge series, no? Ain't capitalism great! "Revenge is a dish best served hot," we have all heard. Consider the "irony" in this just an added seasoning then. Bon appetite! (Aw, come on gals. Toughen on up! Remember: its just "therapeutic irony" by golly.)

biting and searing
written in 1964
if you're white--its an angry eye opener

this play is wonderful. not only does the reader come away with a deeper insight into the racist psyche that plagues our country, but also a clearer view of how racism is perpetuated systematicly in a subsconscience manner. it becomes very appearant that many of the racist characters in the play are truly unaware of the devestating effects their racist attitude is having on their growth as individuals. in fact, we find that we find that such characters are so misguided in their views, they often mistake them as being wholesome,that is, for the betterment of all people, and scripturally based. baldwin's depiction of this cancerous mentality is brilliant. the reader sees clearly how misguided premises can corrupt one's entire mentality.

I have just finished this book, and I am sorry it has taken me so long to pick it up. You start reading and you almost forget it is a play! There is a lesson to be taught in this book, and one to be learned when finished. It shows more than one reality of living in the south back in this time. There was racism, there was tolerance,there was love and there was always turmoil! A battle to do the right thing and even the wrong!. We are all a product of our surroundings but we can also try to change that, and sometimes the cost of not "wanting things to be the way they have always been" is too much for any one person. It made me sad, (hence my blues!) but I came away with a little extra something. Please read this book!

I was excited to read this book for soley one purpose... to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Once I was done that, I moved on to good and bad stories.

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE:

This story was actually very good and was the reason I read it. I was satisfied with this story, though the person who needs constant action to keep their attention shouldn't read this as much of it is Utterson investigating.

THE BODY SNATCHER:

This book started out shaky and was at first hard to follow, but once you get some pages behind you, you'll understand it well enough. The ending (I won't give it away) is also VERY strange and it is hard to understand.

MARKHEIM:

Ah! Markheim! One of the better written of these tales. It is easy to understand and is cleverly written, and does not drag on and on like some other tales in this book. It is a VERY GOOD story.

OLALLA:

This was one of those books that you couldn't wait to find out what happens and then it suddenly just lets you down. It leads up to so much and then doesn't deliver!

THE EBB TIDE:

The longest of the tales in this book...which makes you wonder...why wasn't the book named: The Ebb Tide and Other Stories? (Because Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde was best known of course!) The first few chapters in this tale make you wonder whether this story will turn out to be good, but then as the story progresses you realise that the tale is getting better and better (this is probably due to fact that Stevenson worked on this with another author and the more chapters written became more and more Stevenson, the first few chapters being the other author, and the end being all Stevenson.)

So your question now is: Do I buy? Don't get me wrong, some stories in this book are good, but others dragged on. If you are interested in the following:

-Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
-Markheim
-Ebb Tide (Last few chapters are best)

...then by all means get this book! If you are just getting it because you need something to read, sleep on it, then make your desicion! Hope I helped!

Excellent book! Easy to read and index of terms in the back make for easy reference for Old English terms. Other stories are worth a look as well. I never realized the author had written so many macabre stories. It was fun and interesting.

This book was well written and it was realistic. In the sense that this fiction book with it several stories could have happened in real life. I expecially liked the story of 'Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. It showed that everyone could have a dark side waiting to come out if given the chance. I give it 5 stars out of 5 for originality and for the joy of having read it.

While I found this book to be a good tool to discuss the loss of a pet with my 7 year old. I was a bit shocked at the directness of the issue at hand. It did bring forward the emotions that we were all feeling with the loss. This book however, does allow the child to greive and know that what they are feeling is "normal" and crying is okay. This was well done in the typical manner of "Mr. Rogers" he got me through alot as a child and now is helping me with my children.

Many children have experienced the death of a pet. This can be their first experience with grief and can help shape how they deal with later experiences with loss. This illustrated book deals with a child's feelings about the loss of a beloved pet. Mr. Rogers is sensitive but clear and direct when he explains the finality of death. This book can also be used to initiate a conversation about the death of a relative in a less threatening way. The parent may want to read the book as well to help explain it to the child.

Carol E. Watkins, M.D.

I'm 22 and I still find comfort in reading this book when I think of lost ones. This book is not just for kids!

Hakman represents that great human irony where an extremely talented individual trashes everything in his life and yet, still becomes a multi-millionaire. This is about a man whose sole mantra for life is ME, ME, ME. Even this book represents that unextinguishable need to gratify himself. Except for his lame one-line apology in the very beginning, there is no apparent remorse for all the damage he did to his friends, lovers, family and all those who looked upon him as a role-model. When he was doing his speedballs, he had no thoughts whatsoever for the younger surfing crowd, people like Mark MacMillan who OD'd and died on the Big Island, that revered "Mr. Sunset" and emulated him to the the point of self-destruction. Don't read this book as a "surfing book" but as an edification to a junkie.

You're 18 and bullet-proof. That's how life seems. This was a great example of how fame can destroy the "indestructable". It is also a great example of how love and a person's willingness to look past another's faults can turn a person's life around. The other aspects of the book, that is the surfing, was great as well. His natural ability in the surf is legendary amongst the 60's baby boom surf-set. How it all could have been wasted had he not had the support of those around him. Just like the waves he rode at Sunset, Jeff Hakman had high peaks and huge troughs. An excellent all-round book.

this book is beyond good. anyone who surfs or has been into surfing must read this. the story of hakman is not only strikingly touching but it also examines the surf culture maturity throughout the 60's-80's. it also gives an amazing prespective on drug use in the same time and hakman's amazing bout to overcome heroin addiction. this is a definite must for any soul surfer!

Coming the book from a couple of members of the Gurdjieff's group,and covering a 20 years period it has a lot of information.Being also incomplete and subjective it is of interest as a history of the good and bads moments spent with Gurdjieff.

It's a pity this is out-of-print; it's a gem if you can find it. The De Hartmann's became acolytes of the later-to-be-world-famous guru Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff just prior to the First World War. Thomas De Hartmann was an officer in the Imperial Guards, a position of some wealth and position in Imperial Russia. As world war gave way to revolution the De Hartmann's, together with Gurdjieff's other followers, including the famous P.D. Ouspensky, fled from St. Petersburg to Turkey as civil war ebbed and flowed around them.

This is an off-hand adventure story told as part of spiritual quest. The matter-of-fact tone belies the wild subject matter. The narrative is chiefly concerned with the mysterious Mr. Gurdjieff, author of such spiritual classics as 'All and Everything', 'Meetings with Remarkable Men', and 'Beelzebub's Tales To His Grandson'. Though Gurdjieff never quite emerges fully this is part of the fascination of the story, which ends with his death at the Priory outside Paris after the Second World War.

The books starts from when Thomas de Hartmann met Gurdjieff in 1916 in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and ends in 1924 in France at du Prieure soon after the first voyage to America and Gurdjieff's near death accident. Thomas De Hartmann was an officer in the Imperial Guards and when he met Gurdjieff he was already a known composer. As the Second World War paved way to the October revolution the de Hartmann's, together with some of Gurdjieff's other followers travelled from Petrograd through Caucasus eventually to arrive in Constantinople in 1920.

Part of the contents are written by Olga de Hartmann, who later became Gurdjieff's long time secretary and took down notes of his books. She describes some of the 'special assignments' from her teacher.

'Our Life' appeals to the emotions rather than the intellect. If you are looking for ideas you may be disappointed. But there are many examples of Work in the book. Unlike Ouspensky who wrote about ideas from the same time in 'In Search of the Miraculous', Thomas de Hartmann describes many of the emotions he and his wife experienced in their 'escape to the West'.

Thomas de Hartmann's great achievement was to compose with Gurdjieff appr. 300 pieces of music - almost all of them for the Movements and Sacred Dances. Some of the late music he wrote down after Gurdjieff's death.

I loved the Mushroom Planet books but my memories of this one are entirely different. I haven't read it since I was a kid but it has probably shaped my fascination for weird fiction, of stories about what might happen in parallel to the familiar world we know about. I remember being very frightened and horrified even -- I was a timid child! -- but there was also an undeniable attraction to the "dark side," which I found unexpectedly in the familiar characters.

This book was definitely different in tone from the rest of the series. The premise is that the inhabitants of the Mushroom Planet are related to today's Welsh, and the boys and Mr. Bass are caught up in a mystery involving the hidden grave of Arthur and Guinevere and the evil forces which caused his overthrow. The final scene in Wales is utterly chilling and still sends shivers down my spine. If you can accept the rather silly premise at face value, you have a dark and thrilling read ahead of you. Very enjoyable for those who like a little mystery to deepen their light fantasy reading.

I used to hate reading and would not ever in my wildest dreams ever read a book untill i went to the library. My dad and I were looking at book titles when he came across a funny picture. He showed it to me and I to his suprise and my own asked if i could get it out. He was thrilled that i would want to read the book. after I read the first book I wanted to read more. and when I ran out of books and the sequence was over and there were no more books I became enraged and wanted more and now for two years I have waited to buy the series the whole time my parents doubting that I would ever find it but here it is at Amazon. com right in front of my eyes. you should read it as well and you will be surpised at how interesting it is!