literature

I have read Michelle Kwan's 'The Winning Attitude'T'wice!
While I no longer belong to the age group that the writing's are aimed at, not for a long........time.I nevertheless was
impressed by the writings. I fail to understand why anyone who has read this book would consider it suitable only for children.One only has to keep up with the News to know of the problems that prevail in communities among all age groups to see how the principals laid out in this book,which I found to be both educational and inspirational,could prove valuable to anyone who takes the time study and follow the guidelines therein.I would suggest this book could be used in schools if not as part of the text certainly in civic classes!
With the author as an ''outstanding role model'' who lives by the
very same rules I could only imagine this book which is full of
''commonsense'' as having a positive influence on schoolgoers,
teachers and parents alike.

Michelle Kwan is an amazing skater who has broken ground in her sport, but she is also a success story as a person who set goals for herself and acomplished them with determination and dedication. While the advice in her book may seem like common knowledge to some, it is worthwhile advice for anybody out there, especially young ones, who has dreams and wants to make them realistically come true. As a college student, my professors still stress some of the same things that Michelle tries to put in perspective time and time again with her down-to-earth, non-technical style of writing. I think people of all ages can appreciate her message.

Michelle Kwan has always been one of my idols through out my skating career. This book really made me see that I can accomplish my dreams as long as I work hard. Anything can happen if you just believe in yourself. The best parts of this book were the quizzes at the end of each chapter. They really teach you something about who you are. This book is a must read! I haven't met one person who has said the loved it!

Even in a world as worshipful of the body such as ours, the ancient split between matter and spirit, between body and soul is still so pervasive that it is an anomaly to think that the body is our way -- indeed the only way -- of existing in the world. Humans are not spirits condemned to the prison of the flesh, waiting for their liberation from matter and escape into the spiritual paradise. Rather they are incarnated spirits and ensouled bodies. They can achieve their wholeness only though their bodies -- and more precisely, their wounded bodies -- since the world in which they live is marked by diseases, pains, psychic sufferings and ultimately death. Through a series of insightful and profound analysis of literary, psychological, artistic and religious masterpieces -- from the ancient Greek tragedies to contemporary American novels -- Slattery offers us a way of imagining our wounded bodies, and through this imagination, reconnect them with the spirits. We owe Slattery an enormous debt for his powerful imagination. No one who reads this book will remain unchallenged and unchanged by his way of seeing the human body as an icon of the divine. I most strongly recommend his book to those seeking wholeness and spiritual transformation.

In his book, The Wounded Body, Dennis Patrick Slattery weaves together wounds and meanings, intertwines psyche and soma, and plaits mimesis and memory into life stories. If, as he believes, our origins and our destinies are within the poetics of our bodies, then who would turn away from tracing origins through memory and destiny through desire? Who would not unravel some of the knots of their body's images? Dennis Slattery heeds Shakespeare's teaching that our wounds are mouths and teaches the reader to listen, as he does, with rapt devotion to their stories. His imaginative discussion recalls works by Homer, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Rousseau, Dostoevsky, Melville, Tolstoy, Flannery O'Connor and Toni Morrison. Slattery reminds the reader that wounds and fissures mark the places vulnerable to penetration by unknown deities. Our wounds are "where the hinge is located that marks the pivot of our history and destiny" (15). He poses the archetypal question: What is the wound asking of us? What story does it want to tell? The wound's meaning cannot be teased out logically. Only imagination will lead us to the story. Our wounds want to be recognized and dialogue with us. They want to matter, want to be incarnated. And as Hamlet teaches us, "perhaps the fullest form of embodiment is to be remembered in a story, for it is as close to immortality to which a mortal can aspire" (73). Read this book slowly, savouring its poetics, its reveries, its meanderings, and its gaps. The gaps invite the reader's memories to intertwine past with present and mingle with Slattery's reflections in a confluence of healing spider's webs for our wounds. Pay particular attention to the stories that resonate, for "the essence of mimesis is somatic, visceral, a shared physic element wherein we feel the action, the wounding, the marking of a body, in our own being" (13). Dennis Slattery, whose namesake is Dionysos -- the god of tragedy, reminds us that we must delve "deeply into the wound, the infection, the pollution that tragedy forces us to face; to escape from it is to invite its doubling intensity" (72). Then Dionysos leads us to Hermes, whose value "lies in being a mediator, an in-between figure who gives imagination depth and allows the ordinary things of the world to be remembered fully and experienced deeply" (143). By bowing deeply to both these gods, Slattery writes a vibrant and meaningful book about the wounded body. The most important part of writing a book is asking worthy questions. This author draws upon the most profound literature of twenty-five hundred years to refine his questions. If our wounds have stories to tell about our origins and destinies, who would dare to ignore their every imaginative appearance? Dennis Slattery never suggests that the wound's story will be redemptive. He cautions the reader that "the theory used to guide the study was itself wounded" (237). For in listening to our wound's stories, we hear about fragmentation, not integration. And I wonder, is fragmentation indeed redemptive?

What a joy it was to turn away from a discussion with a psychologist who believes in psyche as quantifiable brain extrusion (how come these hermetically sealed folks are always the politically correct ones as well?) and get lost in this wondrous work by a marked man known to frequent the Pacifica Graduate Institute, one of my favorite hangouts and a delphic magnet for depth-oriented subversives.

The author has given us a finely researched prose-poem pulsing with creative insights and daring questions: a psychology of the gut for a malnourished time when so much psychology has become gutless as well as bloodless, dismembered and disembodied. A time that has recorded the inversion of Jung's dictum that the gods have become diseases, for when "the cry for myth" is strangled in the rationalist throat, diseases inevitably become our gods.

A few quotations from the book:

"The wound is a special place, a magical place, even a numinous site, an opening where the self and the world may meet on new terms, perhaps violently, so that we are marked out and off, a territory assigned to us that is new, and which forever shifts our tracing in the world."

"Identity involves suffering, a suffering into the self through soul."

"Where we have been marked is where the soft spot of our being is, where we are most finite; but it is also where the hinge is located that marks the pivot of our history and our destiny."

This book won't catch you if you're into trance-ending your wounds and weaknesses, flying over them into a stratospheric spirituality that gleams with powdered sugar and positive thinking: a Promethean leap that disregards the shadow over which it later stumbles into a deflating, angry bitterness akin to that of Captain Ahab, the idealist-gone wrong who raged, "There can be no hearts above the snowline."

But if you want to listen to the spaces opened up by hurts ("Invulnerable am I only in the heel," wrote Nietzsche), then this enfleshed poetic journey through literature, myth, and psyche itself will stir your blood and get your soul in motion.

I am studying how to better teach writing as part of my Rank 1 program (the highest level teachers in our state can achieve), and this is one of the books I highly recommend to other writing teachers. The best way to use it is to buy a classroom set (if possible), and read 4 chapters a week the first month of school. Each chapter Fletcher has something for the kids to try in their Writers Notebooks, so by all means, have them try whatever it is. Let kids decorate their Writers Notebooks too before you begin, so it's personalized and it feels more important to them. One of the chapter is about making lists...any kind of lists. He gives lots of examples from kids, which is one of the strong points about this book. It is aimed at kids, not adults. Another chapter is about snatches of talk that you overhear in a store or the mall. Write down these snatches and later they might form the basis of a story idea or poem. Again, he gives excellent examples that kids can relate to. After using the ideas in this book, all my kids want to do now is WRITE! What a great thing that is.

While this book is written for a Young Adult audience, I just love reading about writing (of course hoping to jump in someday and do it) and this is a very good book to get you going.

Fletcher takes you step by step into the hows and whys of creating and keeping a Writers Notebook, and discusses the birth of great ideas from little notes on life. He also touches on great tips like writing with honesty, including about things that hurt the most.

While I believe this to be an inspiring book for all (I now have 2 notebooks for my writing observations) I see it as an impressive gift, along with a small nice notebook, of course, for that little someone in your life who may have the gift to see, and write, life as it is to them. If you enjoy the idea of writing your self, this is a great place to start.

I teach second and third grade, and I use this and Ralph Fletcher's other books in this series, regularly in my classroom. I read parts of them out loud to my students, then we discuss how we can use Fletcher's ideas in our own writing. Fletcher writes to his young audience with a great deal of respect. He addresses them as authors in a way that both makes them believe that they really ARE authors, and also gives them the tools to really BE authors.

This book influenced how I helped my students set up their writing notebooks, and has also influenced how I have set up my own.

While these books are written for upper elementary-middle school students, I find that as read alouds they are accessible to younger kids; they are also helpful to anyone beyond middle school age who wants writing to become more a part of their own life.

Back in the 19th century, "proper ladies" were not allowed to vote, were not supposed to work and worst of all dressed in enormous hooped dresses that were hot, heavy (20 to 40 pounds) and very impractical. They wore corsets that were so tight it was hard to breathe or even digest and their skirts were so wide they were always getting stuck in doorways and chairs. "What in the world was proper about that?" Amelia Bloomer was definitely not a proper lady. She tried to change the law so that women could vote. She started her own women's newspaper named, The Lily, and hired other women to work with her. But best of all, she started a fashion craze that changed women's clothing forever..... Shana Corey and illustrator, Chesley McLaren have authored an amusing and delightful story, based on historical fact, that traces the beginnings of practical, comfortable and easy to wear clothing for women. Ms Corey's easy to read text is humorous and chock full of fun facts and complemented by Ms McLaren's charming, colorful fashion artwork. An author's note at the end fleshes out the story even more with additional fascinating information about the beginnings of the women's rights movement and fashion reform. Perfect for youngsters 5-9, You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! is a treasure and a little piece of history that shouldn't be missed.

Do you know what bloomers are? Well, if you don't, read the book YOU FORGOT YOUR SKIRT, AMELIA BLOOMER! Amelia is a girl who hates dresses! Amelia was not a proper lady! Amelia thought proper ladies were silly. She thought it was silly that ladies could not work! So she started her own newspaper. She thought it was even sillier that ladies had to wear big, heavy dresses. So she did something about it! My favorite part is when she made the bloomers and wore them. She sort of looked silly and sort of looked cool. I really liked this book because I learned a lot about Women's History. I learned what bloomers are too! And if you want to know what bloomers are...then read this book! - By Danielle S. Age 7

Amelia Bloomer was not a proper lady. All the other ladies thought she was ridiculous. she would protest, start her own buisnesses with other women. Amelia Bloomer was always looking for a way to fight for womens rights, and to change the way women had to dress. But the world just wan't ready for Amelia Bloomer yet. Until one day when her friends cousin brought somthing amazing into Amelias life. It was a different type of dress . It had pants. Amelia was amazed by this outfit. right away she made her own. Pretty soon women all over the world wanted to wear (what Amelia called) Bloomers. They made then in plaid, blue, pink, and many other designs and colors. Amelia Bloomer made a big differenc for women. to find out what else dhe did for women read this book. i think you'll love it

Eve Bunting has done an outstanding job of capturing the readers emotions regarding the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I could feel for the father and the others that toured the exhibit and found myself crying as I read it to a faculty. A teacher who was a former vet, was so touched, he read it and found himself reliving experiences. Beautiful - brings out the sorrows of war, which we haven't experienced as much of since that time. I recommend this book for anyone - vet or not. Eve Bunting has done an excellent job bringing reality and hearbreak to the book as well as a sense of respect for those who fought there.

For over a quarter of a century the key imperative in American Foreign Policy has been to avoid another Vietnam. Now we have a new generation of children, born to the sons and daughters of those who fought in Vietnam but never came home. How do we tell them the story of Vietnam so they understand how much it scarred the national psyche and how their is such a national resolve never to let it happen again in some way more substantial than showing them "Forrest Gump?" Eve Bunting comes up with one way in "The Wall," ably assisted by the watercolor illustrations of Ronald Himler. "The Wall" is the simply story of a little boy and his father who have come from far away to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. to find the name of the boy's grandfather.

What makes "The Wall" so moving is that instead of answering questions it will get children to ask them. Like the little boy in the story, children reading this book will see man in combat fatigue in a wheelchair because he does not have any legs; an older couple hugging and crying; flags, teddy bears and letters laid against the wall. The little boy does not ask any questions about what he sees, but I have to believe that students reading this book certainly have questions that they want answered. Whether it is used for Memorial Day or Veterans Day, or any discussion in which children are thinking about war and its consequences, "The Wall" is a very thoughtful book that should be very helpful to teachers and students alike.

Over a quarter of a century has passed since the U.S. involvement in Vietnam came to an end, yet the effects of that conflict are still etched throughout the fabric of our modern day society. But another generation has been born in the time since the fighting ended. Many have never heard of Vietnam let alone the fighting that went on there. How does one introduce a child to a subject that is still as electrified as the Vietnam War? Perhaps by reading THE WALL with them.

THE WALL is simply a story about a young man who takes his son to the Vietnam War Memorial to find the name of his dad. The young boy's grandfather died in the conflict and at the end of the book the reader knows the boy's head is full of questions. The story doesn't answer these questions, but allows children to verbalize these questions themselves: Why are there flags all around here? Why did that teacher say the Wall belongs to all of us? Why does that soldier not have any legs? The story can also be used as in introduction for not only the Vietnam War, but to also talking about war in general. The illustrations and the story are molded together perfectly into one beautiful harmony. Sometimes kids will be anxious during a story, but when reading this story most kids will remain completely still, taking in the simple, yet profound story. This is a great book to read to children not just during Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, or Independence Day, but at any time during the year.

It is outrageous that they would make a book about poop for little buggers to read. It is disgraceful to our society. I, myself, try not to poop at all EVER. But everybody has got to go. In reality, i go twice a day and it is squishy every time. But enough about me. Here are the cons:

1) It is about poop
2) I don't like to poop

pros:

1) It is educational
2) I like to change poopy diapers

I hope you found this review helpful TATA

I was initially drawn to this book (like flies to you know what) by the edgy title and the whimsically compelling black and white illustration on the cover. Once opened, the book doesn't disappoint, it delights. L.W. Lewis does not condescend to children in his writing, he winks at them and gives them credit for having well developed, if slightly askew, senses of humor. I gave my copy as a gift to a child who carries it with her and reads it to her mother in the car -- and they both laugh out loud at poems about agitated kitties, noodles-up-your-nose etiquette, and many other little childhood dramas involving guppies, boogers and puppy dog tails. I'm getting another copy for myself and looking forward to more good work from L.W. Lewis.

I recently recieved this charming book as a gift from a special friend for my children. Our usual evening ritual is for my husband to (very begrudgingly) read to our children before bed. My son wanted to here some of the poems in this book. After the first one, through snickers and belly laughs, they read together for almost an entire hour. At my promting is was time for bed with the promise to read the rest tomorrow. I whole- heartedly enjoyed watching and listening to a very well put together assortment of childrens poems. My son (almost 6)thought they were hilarious. My husband thought they were hysterical and my two year old just laughed because everyone else was. Overall I really enjoyed that first night with our new favorite book and have since recommended it to all of my friends with chidren. THANK YOU- AGAIN!!! Mr. Lewis @214

This is a demanding work of seven multilayered and esoteric stories in this, Dinesen's first book.

We know of Dinesen more commonly by way of Meryl Streep, who played Dinesen, or the Baroness Karen Blixen, in "Out of Africa." But the woman we find here as the author of these stories is no easily-understood, Hollywood character. Her stories within stories are rich in symbolism, imagination, and a "long ago and far away" feeling that is carefully, carefully, controlled by the author. Dinesen wrote some of these tales in Africa, and finished others along with ordering the book back home in Denmark, after her farm had failed. She wrote, interestingly, in English (and did her own translations back into Danish later on). Many books follow this one, including LAST TALES and, of course, OUT OF AFRICA. Dinesen, while the heroic, strong, individualist of Streep's portrayal, is also kind of strange, introspective, and fabulously bizarre. She uses her stories' plot lines as a means, one feels, to work out her life philosophies, reshape and recast ideas and symbolic imagery, and impart creative insights. After getting to about the fourth or fifth story, one can see that she uses the same imagery repeatedly and even the same turns of phrase.

I have read this volume at least once before, and wanted to go through it again knowing just that much more literature and biblical references. (It helps to be well read in the classics when reading Dinesen.) Anything is up for her use, and if you don't see it, something will be lost to you as you interpret the stories and what they meant, or even, what happened. She loves Shakespeare (OUT OF AFRICA was written in five sections, after the five-act structure of Shakespearian drama), and Don Giovanni, she has interesting ideas about femininity and independent women, and symbolizes these issues with women who are doll-like, women who seem as if they can fly, women who are witches in some way or another, etc. She likes to toy with the mind of God, as well, having characters pronounce his proclivities, likes and dislikes, etc., quite often. I found these to be some of the most interesting passages, after some of the gender-defining ones, that is. (She chose her pseudonym, "Isak," as it is Hebrew for "He who laughs" and she definitely plays with many ideas here, many humorously.)

Of the seven tales (The Old Chevalier, The Roads Round Pisa, The Monkey, The Supper at Elsinore, The Dreamers, The Poet, and The Deluge at Norderney), The Roads Round Pisa is my favorite, and I have studied it for a graduate class. In the book, a mistake is the central event, and we learn of it only at the end. Our main character, Count Augustus Von Schimmelmann, is writing a letter to a friend, when a carriage accident occurs in front of him. An old woman, who seemed at first to him to be a man, is injured and asks that he go and seek out her granddaughter so that she may forgive her for an estrangement before she dies, as she believes she will do shortly. Augustus sets out for Pisa and in an inn meets a young man, with whom he engages in an interesting conversation. Soon, however, he finds out that this man is a woman, and whereas before he had been asking "him" for help in finding his way into the city, now he offers her his assistance as a gentleman. Their subsequent conversation holds a particularly compelling passage I have never forgotten. In it, Dinesen explicates a concept of women's differences, physically, psychologically and societally, from men through the artful use of the host and guest metaphor.

This passage is a key to the story's mood when toward the end the mistake around which the characters swirl is revealed. But the passage is also an interesting philosophical and societal analogy that provokes thought and discussion. This is, then, quintessential Dinesen.

The other stories deal with identity and loss (The Dreamers), a ghost who is allowed to rise up from hell whenever the sound between Denmark and Sweden freezes over (Supper at Elsinore), the mirage of lost love (The Old Chevalier), poetry and power (The Poet), the societal roles of women (The Monkey), and identity (The Deluge at Norderney), but these are very brief and basic categorizations. One could safely say that all the stories deal with many of the others' main themes. The book as a whole is an excellent study of the power of fiction to suggest and manipulate, with beautiful, evocative writing and deep and stirring underlying meanings. I recommend it.

Years ago, I wrote a review on Amazon for Karen Blixen's
_Winter's Tales_, where I observed that it was the equal
of this book. I have no reason to revise that estimate, but
feel I should point out that this book is extremely fine,
and should not be ignored by people who like good writing
and aren't scared off by a bit of melodrama.

The title of this review tries to make a small point: Blixen
didn't write her stories with notions of the prevailing literary
fashions in mind. She wrote them as she felt them, and she used
a style and technique that harken back to earlier writers. In
her introduction to the book, Dorothy Canfield, attempting to
characterise this style, made reference to an array of writers
from E.T.A. Hoffmann to Robert Louis Stevenson and Thomas Mann.
Although I think the reference to Mann has merit, the truth is
Blixen was genuinely unique. She doesn't really have any real
imitators, either, although I've seen a number of writers allude
to being influenced by her.

Back to this book: it was her first volume of short stories. Not
many writers hit gold on their first book, but Blixen was
already in full stride as a writer. And, goodness, she could
*write*.

The stories in the volume I'd single out for special praise are
"The Deluge at Nordenrey," "The Monkey," "The Poet," "The Supper
at Elsinore," and "The Roads Round Pisa." The other stories are
all a pleasure to read, although I don't feel that the story

"The Dreamers" comes off; Blixen reused the heroine of this
story in ways that lead me to think she was invested with some
sort of personal significance for the author. Perhaps that's why
the story seems less well controlled.

Blixen's other books of stories are interesting-to-fascinating.
Each book has its attractions. Admirers of this book might find
_Winter's Tales_ worth their time. _Anecdotes of Destiny_,
which contains "Babette's Feast," is fine collection, too,
just not quite up to this one.

Such melancholy has been portrayed in these stories, so dark, yet exquisitely sweet. The characterisation is incredible, I could feel the emotions of the characters - loss, frustration, hope and fear as I read, the mood of the book enveloped me. The tales are almost timeless, set in a dark and dreary Europe, moving slowly yet they were not laborious, rather they were sensual. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to curl up by a fire, in the middle of winter, and wants to be alternately delighted and dismayed.

The slightest figment of hope, even when totally fabricated, may spell relief in an otherwise hopeless situation. Survivors of shipwrecks and other disasters have often proved the power of hope. Mourning their lost comrades who died in dispair, survivors recount how they continued to support themselves with fantasies of being rescued. Sometimes optimism, even if irrational, has greater value than more realistic approximations to truth.

Recently I was fortunate to read a book which helped me to experience this paradox in a novel way. Weeping Willow (Farrar Stroux) is a book I ordinarily would not have read. Working so much with the printed word, reading fiction is not something I usually choose for my leisure time. Moreover, this particular book was written primarily for teenage girls. It's the sort of book they'd love, detailing a young woman's coming of age within a poor family in the Virginia mountains, struggling to emerge from the last years of high school out into a larger world. I read the book out of respect for the author, Ruth White, who is one of A.R.E.'s librarians. It is her second book. I recall browsing through her first, Sweet Creek Holler, which won an American Library Association award as a Notable Children's Book. I had put it down because of the subject matter and presumed adolescent audience, but was haunted later by its deceptively simple style of writing and the mood the mountain dialect evoked. When Ruth gave me a copy of her new book, I immediately sat down and read it. As I was nearing the end of the story, I began to cry. I didn't know why I was responding this way to a "kids book" and felt somewhat embarrased with myself. By the end of the book, however, there was no holding back my uncontrollable tears and I was heaving sobs of release. Later that day I found myself blurting out to people feelings I would normally keep to myself. I could not deny that the book had exerted a powerful, if mysterious, effect on me. It remained on my mind for over a week as I pondered its meaning.

The tale is about a girl named Tiny whose prospects for the future are grim. Poverty, being needed around the home, and a lack of expectations in the community narrow her chances of stepping out. Her meager pickings are further sullied by the specter of incest by a step-father. The book handles this topic very gracefully but we can feel the depressing, life draining effects it has on Tiny. There is a happy ending, however. What turns things around? The book begins with a vignette showing how an unsympathetic school teacher forces a young Tiny to disavow her imaginary playmate, "Willa." Periodically through the story she tries to call Willa back, but to no avail. Only when she is in deep dispair over her encounters with her stepfather does Willa return to comfort her. Just as in many documented cases of real life victims of childhood abuse who find their companionable imagination and inner voices to have paranormal ablities, so does Tiny find Willa providing some special guidance that saves the day in a critical moment. By responding to her inner guidance, Tiny is able to face an important challenge and graduates from survival into the larger world of success.

I now know why the book affected me so profoundly. Several times in my life I have known hopelessness, whether through addictions, depression, or interpersonal tangles. I was saved from my first encounter with hopelessness almost magically. The second time around, however, I had to participate more actively in my own rescue. Through successive encounters I was learning, as has every wounded healer, Cayce's secret of transforming crisis to creativity. I discovered that I have an imaginary companion who has a special magic. The companion doesn't usually appear as a vision of a superior being, or as a fairy god mother, or even as a fairy. It usually comes first simply as "The One Who Listens." This friendly ear appears as I become willing to listen to myself. If I have to resort to basics, I get my journal and write how I feel and have an imaginary good listener write out, without judgment or interpretation, simply a "receipt" for what I said ("What I hear you saying is..."). The "One Who Listens" becomes the hint of a special companion. Receiving the gift of listening calms me, my feelings begin to unravel, and a natural intelligence appears. What was at first mere listening now becomes a gateway to wisdom, a companion with guidance. The acceptance of my feelings begins a process of recovery of the ability to hope.

Throughout most of the book, Tiny's attitude toward her life has a special quality. Even if only by dint of the author's use of a first person style, Tiny can acknowledge her feelings. Her breakout to success isn't all to Willa's credit. At a critical moment Tiny herself takes action. Hers is an act of listening. She listens to herself and she hears a clue her little sister's been giving her. Then she gets her mother to listen. These little acts of listening bring about significant change.

Sometimes we can feel too helpless to initiate change and, as Tiny and I both know, self-hatred may seem to be the only thing we can still assert. You may find, however, as we both did by listening even to our self-hate, that there is something good inside, a core untouched by life's wounds, that welcomes us home like the prodigal child returned to awareness. Accompanied by sweet and sour tears, sadness now recognized at a new level of acceptance becomes sadness now open to hope.

A book of fiction for children turns out to be not fiction at all, and not for children only. A simple truth, well told--I wish all my non-fiction reading were as valuable.

To read Henry's essays on other interesting books in the field of consciousness, spirituality, dreams

Too melodramatic, people have said. Yes, and we all know rape is, in real life, just a lovely stroll through the park, right? This is the best book I've ever read, and I'm not just saying that. If you like Weeping Willow, check out "When She Hollers and Kivrin

I remember reading this book in the 6th grade and it has been my all- time favorite book ever since! I love to read it over and over. I highly recogmend this book to anyone. I hope you get as much out of it as I have!

"Wilma Unlimited" is a stunning blend of art and history. Author Kathleen Krull and illustrator David Diaz have done an outstanding job in bringing to life the story of Olympic heroine Wilma Rudolph, the African-American runner who overcame a disabling childhood illness and ultimately triumphed at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Krull tells Wilma's story in a simple, straightforward way that should appeal to young readers. Her prose is accompanied by Diaz's truly memorable artwork. His full-color illustrations, which strike a perfect balance between realism and stylization, really convey the emotion of each stage in Wilma's incredible journey.

"Wilma Unlimited" is a story of working hard and overcoming adversity. Although much of the story is set in the world of sports, the message of this book is universal. If your child is struggling with some problem or setback and needs a book to renew his/her sense of hope, this might be the ideal choice. Krull and Diaz have created a wonderful tribute to a remarkable woman.

This is a wonderful true story of one woman's accomplishments. Wilma Rudolph was a bouncy child who ran everywhere as soon as she could walk. When she contracted polio and scarlet fever at the same time, the doctor said she would never walk again. But Wilma had a mother who rode the bus with her 50 miles each way twice a week, to the nearest hospital that would treat black patients. She had 21 brothers and sisters to help her exercise and practice until she could walk, first with a brace, then (finally) all on her own. Wilma had watched the other children play for years, and she wanted to play basketball as soon as she could. Wilma's long legs, strength, and determination helped her to lead her high school basketball team to the state championships, where she caught the attention of a track and field coach who offered her a college scholarship. In 1960, Wilma made the US Olympic track and field team. She wasn't expected to win any events, but it was an honor for her just to compete. And then Wilma amazed everyone. She won her first gold medal when she flew past everyone in the 100 meter race -- and then won another in the 200 -- and then she won another gold when she anchored the 4 by 100 meter relay. Wilma Rudolph did what no one else had done before, and she earned the richly deserved title of fastest woman in the world. Her story is proof that strength can overcome almost any disadvantages

i am a reading specialist in Washington, DC and chose this book b/c i love David Diaz and because, like wilma, my children have many obstacles in their lives. i simply can not finish this book without nearly crying in front of my class. i've read it so many times, but the suspenseful writing and triumphant ending never get tiring. it is a truly wonderful story and wonderfully told and illustrated by this duo.

I thought that this was a great book. Some stuff was really stuff that you would already probably know if you were serious about acting but I guess it's an ok book for beginners. It did help me a little.

This book is pretty good. Some of the chapters were a little off the subject, but for the most part this is a must-have.

This book takes you step by step, through the whole process. It tells you how to present your resume, what type of photo's you should have made of yourself, and how much it will cost to be a working actor.

The second chapter, "BASIC TOOLS OF THE ACTOR" tells how you can use your body as your tools. The book lists warm up exercises that you can do to prepare yourself for an audition or play. There are vocal exercises and more.

In the tenth chapter it tells how some agents and casting directors like to scam amuater actors. It tells how to avoid them and how to get out of a situation like that. It says to trust your feelings when you feel uncomfortable about something. You should get this book if you want to know how to begin acting.

Helpful but basic

If your looking for a little more humor and an easy to follow proactive guide with sound information try picking up a copy of Twelve Step Plan to Becoming an Actor in LA. It has been the top pick in NY this winter.

Sandy Lopez
NY