literature

This book brought a realization to me. It touched my Heart to see how megan coped with her disability. It teaches a great life's lesson, about accepting who you are. It shows you just how hard a diability is. Unlike movies, where everything is perfect in a disabled person's life. That's just not how it is. Harris shows that it doesn't matter that a person is disabled they're still people. All the people in this heart warming story will teach you things you never thought of before, or have and have forgotten. This book will warm your heart and bring a smile to your face.

Megan was a normal girl. Happy, and carefree. Until the terrible accident that left her in the wheelchair, and shaped the rest of her life with a spinal cord injury. Determined to help her get on with her life. Megans family plans a trip to the lake cottage where they have vacationed every summer. Megan is reluctant to go, believing that nothing will ever be the same again. The trip starts out just as Megan had planned, bringing back painful memories of what had been. That's is until she meets Harris. Him and his Aunt Julia, a bitter actress, and her husband have rented the cottege next door. Megan is determined not to like Harris, but unknowingly, she begins to fall for him. Together they get throughout their problems, and figure out that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. This, by far is the best book I've read as far as tragedy goes. The Book, "Out of the blue." by Sarah Ellis, was similar yet different to this story. In this book, a young girl, also named Megan, finds out that her mother has another daughter. This is also about a life changing experience, and both characters are very stubborn to accept the change. I think that Megan is a powerful character, and strong role model for young girls everywhere. She is lost in deep depression but with the help of Harris, they pull each other out. I think the budding romance going on between the two is adorable. This book is for people who like to sit down by the fire and cozy up to a good book. There isn't much action, and it is definitely a female book. Even so I think that any audience of young readers would appreciate it.

Realistic, it gives you an insight to the thoughts and feelings of a physically handicapped person. It does not glorify paralysis unlike some movies. Brings up the problems that a physically handicapped person faces.

Hesse was an inveterate story writer and this collection is an excellent introduction to his work. Most of these tales are only a few pages long and even the longest can be completed in one sitting. They also span his entire career and give the reader a great overview of the author's style.

I recommend especially the title story, "Pictor's Metamorphoses": here a youth named Pictor wanders into a garden and finds a magic carbuncle which transforms him into a tree. But he realizes that his life his incomplete, and remains unhappy until a girl wanders into the same garden...

this book has followed me throughout my life, and has never been topped by another. He was, and is, the author closest to my heart.

This is a really good book. From the dreams he has as a young boy to the times after the war. A good book to read in between books. Most of the stories are short but there are some long ones too.

This is a superb visual realisation of the story of Anne,and I think that Adler has done it with great dignity and compassion. The drawing of Margot and Anne huddled in the Belsen camp is so real,it almost could count as being totally accurate,and one feels tremendous sadness looking at it. This book is a must,not just for children,but for anyone that has been touched by Anne's message of world peace.

As a sixth grader I really enjoyed the book Anne Frank. The story was about Anne Frank,A brave young Jewish girl about 12 years old and her fourting year old sister. She found out at age 14 years old that she had to put a lot of cloths on. She had to hide in the attic for three years so the Nazis would not find them. It took place in Germany where her family lived. She once lived in a house,If she went to school she would be shot. The Nazis burnt all the Jewish books and pictures. A lot of children hid so they would not be shot because the people that hid them or they would be shot with no questions asked. The only person who survived was her dad, and the reason her mom died first, and Anne and her sister died after. I think the person who reads the book would cry or be really interesting in it. The book is based on her family life as a Jew in Germany.

I'm a 6th grader. This book is about Anne Frank when she was a young girl. Anne was born on June 12,1929. She had an older sister named Margot. Her parents names were Edith and Otto Frank. Her family lived in Frankfurt for hundreds of years. She had a peaceful life until the Nazis came. Anne Frank died when she was fifteen years old. Then someone found Anne's Frank diary, which got published in 1947. This is the best book I ever read because I like how it is written, telling the story clearly. I like how she did not die until she was fifteen years old. If I was Anne I don't think I would I have lasted that long because I don't think I could take care of myself that long.

A recurring theme in "Piecework" is that America has become a place in which people no longer seem to have the basic toughness to accept life's hardships, and must therefore heap the blame upon everyone else.

The situation is made worse, Pete Hamill says, by television, which allows people to have deep emotional experiences without "earning" them. This attitude is summed up most effectively in two essays, "Letter to a Black Friend" and the disturbing "Endgame."

When Hamill isn't shaking his head at our collective mistakes, he is shining the spotlight on individuals -- as he does in solid features on Mike Tyson and Frank Sinatra -- or examining a city gone wrong, the Miami of the 1980s. Here, and throughout you see the keen observation skills, dogged research, and common sense that made Hamill a top-flight reporter first, an insightful columnist second.

Whether or not you share Pete Hamill's old-fashioned, hard-nosed worldview, you won't be able to deny that he expresses it brilliantly here.

Some beautiful writing--the kind of material you go back to over and over again just to see how he does it. The piece titled "Endgame" is worth the price of the book. It describes the craziness and the downward spiral of this splintered country of ours better than anything I've ever read.

Here it is folks: How To Write 101. All you ever needed to know about writing columns is between these two covers, in my opinion.

Using simple language book covers Renoir's life & painting career with surprising alacrity & detail. Good prints. Shipped as promised & in excellent shape.

Mike Venezia's book about Pierre Auguste Renoir for the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series is as much about the Impressionist movement as it is about Renoir. We see Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Camille Pissarro before we see Renoir's most famous painting, "La Moulin de La Galette." There are also notable paintings from the period by artists other than the Impressionists, which give young readers a better sense of what the Impressionists were rebelling against. This is especially important since Renoir was content to do some paintings in the "old" style, such as "Lise with Sunshade," in order to have works shown at the Salon But the most interesting comparison is between the paintings of the same scene at "La Grenouillere" by Renoir and Monet, which gives you a sense of their distinctive styles as artists, even if you cannot articulate the differences in artistic terms. As always in this series, Venezia tells the story of Renoir's life, using not only the art of the times but his own cartoons to illustrate the important and fun moments. The one portrait of Renoir in the book is done by Frederic Brazille (although I think he did a self-portrait of the back of his head in one of the paintings). What I will remember most is how Renoir abandoned the Impressionist style just as the movement found acceptance and how he told a friend, just before he died, "I think I'm beginning to understand something about painting." Renoir has never been one of my favorite Impressionist artists, but I enjoyed learning about how he spent his entire life experimenting as an artist and trying different things. That lesson is probably the most important one budding young artists can pick up from this entertaining and educating book. Of course, I heartily recommend this entire series of introductions to the world's greatest artists by Venezia.

"Occasionally, Renoir would paint landscapes and still lifes, but his favorite subjects were always people.", p. 29

The young reader will learn about Renoir's birth in Limoges, France; his family's move to Paris when he was young; his early drawings using his tailor father's chalk; his working years in a workshop painting decorations on china; his learning the formal method of painting in the studio of Charles Gleyre; and his participation in the creation of the "Impressionism".

Renoir was a rarity in that he was successful at painting in many styles. He was very versatile. Most painters lock themselves into a painting method and stick with it for awhile. All their paintings during that period of time use the same method. Renoir locked into what he painting and let it determine the method. If he were painting outdoors, he would choose impressionism with an emphasis on people having a good time more so than the outdoor setting. If he were doing a portrait, he would typically choose the older style but with less formality. His chose of method would be similar to a photographer choosing to use black and white film for certain shots and color film for others. Children are very sensitive to their surroundings. Their response can at time be instantaneous. They go with the moment and therefore will appreciate Renoir's similar approach.

My favorite painting in the book is Renoir's "Umbrellas". He let the figures chose the method. He chose impressionism for the more formally attired, and he utilized a more formal method for the less formally dressed woman on errands with her basket.

Venezia's illustrations are humorous. His narrative is delightfully entertaining. His approach brings the artist within reach of the young. His embellishment of the variety of surfaces on which the young Renoir chose to draw with chalk is creatively done.

The size of the book is perfect for smaller hands. It enables the young to have art within their grasp. Venezia gives the locations of the paintings and as result if the child lives near one of the museums or will be near one on vacation, she/he would be able to see the original.

This is the 20th in Venezia's "Getting to know the World's Greatest Artist" series. His series is a wonderful way for the young to be first introduced to the brilliance of artists. He also has a similar series on composers. Venezia's back cover illustration ties back to the subject. "While studying Renoir and the Impressionist movement of the 19th century, Mike was inspired to ...".

The price of the book is well worth paying. Venezia includes pieces by the artist, pieces by the artist's colleagues and art styles referenced. The book contains the following: Renoir's paintings (16); Venezia's illustrations (6); Others' paintings (8) and paintings on a vase (1).

The previous edition of this book, published in 1973, has been a favorite introduction to the Pilgrims for primary students in our school for many years. Written at about a third grade reading level, it works as a readable chapter book, as well as a quick read-aloud. The black, white and turquoise drawings in the older version were adequate, but the text always deserved more detailed and interesting illustrations. While I have not see this new edition, it appears that this situation has now been remedied.

My students have always taken an interest in the kid's perspective of life aboard the Mayflower and during the first year at Plymouth. They love to know that the Pilgrims took two dogs and a cat with them. They wonder about the "same old salted beef and fish" that had to be eaten. They plug their noses when they think about the Pilgrims wearing "the same clothes every day," even sleeping in them.

They marvel at the straw roofs of the new homes being set on fire by sparks that flew up the chimney. They are stunned to learn that good manners meant children had to stand during meals, and that they could only speak when spoken to by an adult. Then my students smack their lips at the many foods that were eaten at the first Thanksgiving: wild turkeys, geese, ducks, deer, lobsters, clams, oysters and fish, not to mention the many vegetables, and of course, popcorn.

I look forward to adding the new edition of this classic to our library collection.

The previous edition of this book, published in 1973, has been a favorite introduction to the Pilgrims for primary students in our school for many years. Written at about a third grade reading level, it works as a readable chapter book, as well as a quick read-aloud. The black, white and turquoise drawings in the older version were adequate, but the text always deserved more detailed and interesting illustrations. While I have not see this new edition, it appears that this situation has now been remedied.

My students have always taken an interest in the kid's perspective of life aboard the Mayflower and during the first year at Plymouth. They love to know that the Pilgrims took two dogs and a cat with them. They wonder about the "same old salted beef and fish" that had to be eaten. They plug their noses when they think about the Pilgrims wearing "the same clothes every day," even sleeping in them.

They marvel at the straw roofs of the new homes being set on fire by sparks that flew up the chimney. They are stunned to learn that good manners meant children had to stand during meals, and that they could only speak when spoken to by an adult. Then my students smack their lips at the many foods that were eaten at the first Thanksgiving: wild turkeys, geese, ducks, deer, lobsters, clams, oysters and fish, not to mention the many vegetables, and of course, popcorn.

I look forward to adding the new edition of this classic to our library collection.

Wonderful full color, life-like illustrations on every page. You won't waste your money on this PILGRIMS ! Very well done prespective of the pilgrim children's lives. How did they spend their time? Good introduction to Squanto. Happy Thanksgiving !

I worked for Bill and Morris on Kodiak around the same time as the author. I went to visit Morris a few years ago and he gave me a copy of this book. He said it was close to the real thing. Since Bill told most of the stories and Bill was a real story teller, some things may have been a little em-BILL-ished so to speak. If you have ever sat in a hunting camp telling stories around a wood stove at night then you know what I mean. The parts of the book that were told to the author by Morris are dead on the mark. Morris didn't talk much and when he did he told it like it was. The book describes pretty well what it was like to hunt with Bill and Morris on Kodiak Island. It was hard, cold, wet, tireing work most of the time. I loved it. I would do it again if I had the chance. I read the book as I know most of the guys that worked for P&T do, just to bring back memories of how it was.

I was so enthralled with this book that I could imagine setting out on a hunt with the brown bear men. I was transported back to a time that can never again be. A time when fair chase and hard work were what a hunt was about. The character of these men is such that today it is hard to imagine finding anyone like that. I only wish I could have experienced the era these men lived in. A GREAT book.

I found this book to be really informative about the ways of the brown bear on Kodiak Island. These two men are truly great men of conservation ecology. The book is easy reading and keeps you interested throughout the book, craving more information about the bears and the lives of these men. I would recomend this book to anyone interested in bears or Kodiak Island.

This picture book is a compacted synopsis of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, from her birth in 1867 to her death in 1957 at age 90. Children who are familiar with some or all of Laura's stories (or the TV show) will delight in hearing of her entire life. I have yet to meet a child who does not delight in Laura's life and stories. Even if a child has read the Little House series of books, there is something new to learn here as her life continued beyond what we know from the Little House series.

If a child has never heard of Laura before, I suspect that they may not be very interested in this book because the challenge of cramming a biography covering 90 years of a person's life within the publishing industry standard of a 32 page picture book, has hindered the author's ability to present many captivating stories and interesting details about her life. They may also not "get" the interest in her life (in particular) and perhaps may view this more as a story of "just" a life of a pioneer girl in more of a historical context of hearing what life was like in America back then. There is much to learn about "just" the Pioneer Days aspect of this book, though. (Although my wish is that all children would read and know the wonderful stories contained in the Little House series.) The book doesn't really capture the unique and endearing qualities of Laura's personality and it is not a funny book. The text sometimes seems to rush through her life seeming to mostly focus on why they decided to move to a new place and what they liked there and then repeating the format through her many moves. (Those of us who already know these basics about her life won't see a problem with this, it will then be seen as more of a nice synopsis and summary of her life.)

There is a greater amount of text per page than in most picture books; perhaps explaining why the publisher has determined this is for a 9-12 age range. However, the font size is quite large and the language and information is so watered down that a 3 or 4 year old could understand it. What suffers here is the illustrations. The illustrations sometimes are of a more boring scene in the opposing page than could have been chosen. For example one page shows Laura and Mary doing homework at the kitchen table and while that is a part of the opposing pages' text, so is the more dramatic story of a terrible blizzard, which forced the family and other families to live together in the town building. While the people were starving, two boys (one being Almonzo Wilder) risked their lives by braving the storm to get food for everyone, not only surviving themselves but saving the lives of the townspeople. It seems to me that this exciting story would have made a better illustration.

As a read aloud, my two boys aged three and five sat quietly to listen to this story, they are familiar with the Little House chapter books and with the reruns of the TV show from the 1970s. They both enjoyed this story, as did I. If you want more details of Laura's life I advise you to read the entire Little House series of chapter books. I feel that children as young as 2.5 or 3 enjoy that series of books as a read-aloud. There are also books on the market that discuss Laura and her daughter Rose's life in much more detail if you are interested. There are also craft books and cookbooks as a companion to the Little House series.

I appreciated the author's focus on trying to capture what life was like in Pioneer days. The author did a great job at expressing the hardships of life and really appreciating how much physical hard work must be done to survive. He portrayed the hopes and dreams of Laura's father, why they wanted to move to a certain place, why they had to move on, etc. There were always good reasons for doing a certain thing. The strong family bond is very apparent and their love for each other is very clear, for example, when Laura was 15 and working as a teacher and lived away from her family she missed them and was happy to come home on weekends to be with them. Laura's adult life was full of change and adapting, and both she and Almonzo's commitment to do hard work in order to survive is expressed. ...

This book summarizes Laura's life, explains the values and commitment they all shared, and expresses the difficulty of life in Pioneer Days. It is interesting for both Laura-fans and for anyone interested in learning about life in the American Pioneer Days.

This really is an outstanding and quite beautiful picture book! I never really read the Little House books as a kid. But I'm inclined to now. This IS a great prelude to those books. Incredible illustrations!

Bill Anderson has done a wonderful job of telling the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder that can be read and enjoyed by both children and adults. Dan Andreason's illustrations are absolutely beautiful and complement Anderson's story very well.

I read this book on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is first-rate, and the story of this amazing woman is inspirational. The book does an excellent job of describing what pioneer life was like. Great book for kids, but I enjoyed it, too.

According to my 11-year-old daughter, this is a classic case of "Don't judge a book by its cover." "I thought it would be boring, since there is only grass on the cover, but it was the best book I ever read," she said. She was fascinated by the details about the nitty-gritty of prairie life, by the size of the families and the constancy of the chores. She's looking forward to reading Warren's book, "Orphan Train Rider," and wants the author to hurry up and write more.

This is the story of a real pioneer girl, Grace McCane. When Grace was just three years old, she moved with her parents and two sisters to Nebraska to homestead a claim on the lonely prairie. Grace grew up on the prairie, and she loved her life, although it was hard. If you liked the Little House on the Prairie Books, you will love Grace's story - the story of a girl and her family striving to make their dream come true despite innumerable hardships.

Tio Rico lives in a village in Oaxaca (wah-ha-kah), Mexico. He is a 77 year-old who became a pinata maker when rheumatism made it too difficult to continue his business of making sombreros.

A village boy collects newspapers and concrete sacks for Tio Rico. These he uses to fashion unusual and decorative pinatas. The process is explained by a delightful profusion of photographs which accompany the story. The author, George Ancona, also shows "puppets" which are child-size papier-mache forms worn by young folk dancers. He shows his own version of pinata formed over cardboard or balloons for those of us who cannot buy clay pots at a local market.

Children everywhere will enjoy this colorful book and be eager to try the craft. With luck, they will have patient teachers and learn some Spanish and/or English words, too! My favorite companion book is "Colors of Mexico" (isbn: #1575052164), illustrated by Janice Porter.

"THE PINATA MAKER" is a 5-star book for adults as well as children, and most appropriate for the 2003 church women's study of Mexico. Find a group of children to share this book with, and increase your enjoyment three-fold.

The Piñata Maker describes how a Mexican gentleman, Don Ricardo, became a piñata maker. It elaborates on how he makes his beautiful piñatas, while including a description of his way of life. The book is fantastic for individuals who are studying either English or Spanish. I'm using it both to become more familiar with Spanish and to teach English to a Spanish speaking person. It is written on an appropriate level for adults to use in this manner, but it is also an excellent book for children.

Both my 5 & 3 year-old children LOVE this book. It is a nice combo of something fun (the pinatas, the design, & just the thought of candy...) and reality (photos of Don making pinatas). It is simple enough for them to understand, and captivating enough for even my younger child. We haven't delved much into the spanish text, but will eventually. For now, we're working on making the star for my daughter's sixth birthday party!