literature

"A Ghost at Heart's Edge" is a rich tapestry of truth, beauty and pain, woven with heartfelt honesty. It offers rarely seen glimpses into all facets of adoption, not just the standard "joyous" reunions that are always more complex in real life than in TV drama. It should be required reading for anyone considering adoption. For those already adopted or who have adopted a child, it will ring with boldly familiar truth. I am pleased to be included in this groundbreaking work.

Susan Ito and Tina Cervin have skillfully compiled a beautiful meditation that challenges our most insidious assumptions of what it means to be a True Family. Required reading for anyone with a beating heart.

You don't need to be an adopted child or adoptive parent to love this collection. You need only to have been a child or a parent. This collection is about the strings that link us to the most important people in our lives. From the stories by Chitra Divakurni and Isabel Allende to the poetry by editors Susan Ito and Tina Cervin - what gems! This is a book that -"after the long drought and the barren silence" (from a poem by Edward Hirsch included in the collection) - embraces families of all ethnicities and walks of life to shine a literary light on what it means to be a parent, to be a child. I feel so lucky to have found it. Highly recommended.

. . .A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping- stone to greatness," says Oprah Winfrey. That quote alone has me hooked to this book; and it's only one of the many phenomenal others in this great page turner. Page after page of the book is filled with inspiration and great words to live by and selections from the coolest females around.

I would recommend this book for any age. From the first to the last page, the lessons shared are a great addition to helping girls figure out how to strive for greatness no matter who they are or how they see themselves. If you decide to read this great book, you might want to also try one of the other four in the collection for fun. The other titles are: The Girls' Book of Wisdom, The Girls' Book of Love, The Girls' Book of Friendship, and The Girls' Guide to Life. So get over to your local bookstore, library, or online to get your copy!

I got lost in this book! Very inspiring!

Delicious, delightful, delectable!

This book has on each page a picture of a baby wearing or holding a particular color, as well as 4 objects of that color on the opposite page. My baby loves looking at pictures of other babies (in fact that was her first word) - so she adores this book. Even at 9 months when we really aren't at the point where she'll sit still for a story, she'll flip the pages and say 'baby baby' and then if I try to put this one aside to read another book, she'll seek this one out to read again! A great first book for baby, well before they are able to understand the concepts of different colors it has appeal.

My daughter is 17 months and absolutely loves this book. The edition we have has a cutout in one corner so she can carry it, which she does all over the house! She's currently learning different words and this book is PERFECT for it. She loves for me to point to an item and ask her what it is, or ask her things like "find the banana". Of all the dozens of books she has, this one has to be her favorite and the best suited for teaching her new words. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a child between 1 and 2 years old!!!

This is a wonderful book for any baby! Each page features a different color and photos of items that are that color, as well as a baby wearing clothes of that color. The variety of items is great and the names of the items are printed next to them. The pictures are crisp and the colors are incredibly vibrant.

This book is a great way to introduce the concept of color and a number of words to children. My four month-old son loved the pictures from the first time he saw them and I'm sure this book will be one of our favorites.

I love this book. I often pick up books from the Travelers Tales series and this one delivered even better than most! The articles were varied and delicious - it made me hungry to travel to far off places with these women and share a meal!

I loved the stories in Lisa Bach's book. Evocative passages that will have you reaching for your travel agent's number to experience it yourself...Or be an armchair traveler & chef, while your travel the globe, kitchen by kitchen, food stand to food stand.

Full of exciting tales of the road and the adventures that food can bring to the journey. This book is an absolute must! What is travel without food? Each story in this exceptional selection brings to the reader an intriguing fascination with the world and all it has to offer. Culture after culture you will be astounded by the discoveries each traveler brings to the table. This book is truly a treat for the hungry traveler and by books end, you will be satisfyingly full and content! Buy it and feast your way through the world with each turn of the page.

Winner of a Picture Book Honor at the 1951 Spring Book Festival, I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss is a happy and upbeat easy reader story about a little girl who is simply full of energy and imagination. The impressive full-color illustrations by Mary Blair depict the little girl imitating her animal friends ranging from cats to rabbits. I Can Fly is a simply delightful work that has lasted through the test of time and is now available to a whole new generation of children ages 2-5.

I grew up on this book, and I loved it. It says that everything is possible for a child with imagination. "I can be anything--that's my way." (That's from memory.) Now that I've found it again,I'm getting copies for my niece and nephews--and one for myself!

Fans of the golden age Disney films and animation in general are very familiar with the brilliant career of color genius Mary Blair, one of the most important graphic and commercial artists of the century, and some of her best work is found right here between these covers. These beautiful illustrations are among the warmest and most engaging she ever did. "I Can Fly" is one of the very earliest (and best) Golden Books, and this miniature edition seems to be complete, unlike the more common modern reprints which are severely truncated. The color reproduction isn't a hundred percent accurate, either, but unless you want to spend considerable time at the swap meets or on eBay, this is your best bet. For more about Mary Blair (as well as Golden Books hall of famer Gustav Tenggren and many others) see John Canemaker's excellent book "Before The Animation Begins". Oh, yeah, and if you're a real little kid you'll find it much easier reading than this slightly pompous review.

I have liked GE 999 ever since I started readng it in Animerica magazine. So, I got this book, but discovered that this is actually the *sequel* to the *first* adventure of Maetel and Tetsuro. I got this information from the biographies of the characters and the clues in the story. As a result of not havign read the first series, I am a tad bit lost. Can someone tell me WHY they chose to publish the sequel in English before they translated the first series? It doesn't make any sense!

Anyway, the characters are fun and I enjoy their adventures. But the blurb at the end of every chapter is too deep and confusing for me to understand.

I like this, and I will look up the first series--right after I find out who started this translating mess in the first place.

I love Matsumoto's work. Maetel is one of my all-time favorite characters, as is her friend (and in the movie "Maetel Legend", her sister) Emeraldas. Harlock is...interesting, but kinda cool. Tetsuro, well...he's okay.

The plots are incredible! They really make you think (and I'm not just talking about the blurbs at the end of each segment!). There are very few manga that can do that.

I reccomend this series to any and every anime/manga fan!

In the distant fututre, ayoung boy named Tetsuro steals a boarding pass to a train called the Three-Nine. After emabarking, he meets a woman named Maetel, who bares a striking resembelance to his deceased mother. A grand journey begins that will take Tetsuro to the edge of the universe and back. He will meet many friends and enemies in his journey of wonder.

I read this book as a child and found it enthralling. I'm now 30 and have just ordered a second hand copy online from a rare bookseller to share with my 12yr old daughter. It comes highly recommended = a very good book and to be honest I can not understand why it is out of print.

I loved this as a child - I used to make a point of reading it every year so that I would finish it on Christmas Eve as I found it so magical. A real treasure in itself

The Giant Under the Snow is, without a doubt, one of the best children's books ever written. Yet despite being the equal of Harry Potter, The Hobbit and The Princess Bride, this dark magical tale is now almost impossible to find. The story concerns three school children (Jonquil, Bill and Arthur) who are drawn into a battle between good and evil for the possession of an ancient artifact. Not exactly an original premise, but John Gordon's execution introduces some new and creative elements such as the terrifying leathermen. The background behind the giant itself is an inspired mix of inventive writing and historical research which makes the story all the more believable. Another print run is long over due!

First things first - _A God Strolling..._ was an engaging read. Previous reviewers have touched on the excellent development of setting and atmosphere, and I agree that de Carvalho pulls the reader into a colorful and complex representation of the Roman Empire at the precise moment it began to wane. The book is certainly worth reading for this reason alone, especially for those interested in historical fiction.

But above all, the book is a character study; the protagonist Quintius is its focus. As a character study, the book left me wanting a bit more - it's not the study of a strong and inspiring character as the other reviews here suggest. The N.Y. Times review above focuses on his "moral code, as well as a provocative meditation on the difficulty of leading a virtuous life in as era of tumultuous change." Quintius is a reluctant magistrate, forced into the seat of power by lazy demagogues who would rather not be burdened with responsibility. And though Quintius holds steadfastly to his perception of duty as a Roman citizen, his perception is out of step with the society around him. Rather than drawing strength from his convictions and being a strong ruler, he seems buffeted by the sea of events around him: political rivals, threats from without, the emerging Christian faith within his city, and a strange obsession with a female, Iunia.

In short this is not an inspiring story of the triumph of a moral soul, but a study of the torture of seeing things differently than the masses. If this was the author's desired effect, then the book is an unqualified success. However, I thought some of the tools used in reaching this end were under-developed. Quintius' obsession with Iunia drives the novel near the end, and I never understood the motivation for this relationship (admittedly, I guess neither did Quintius...). And ultimately, I hoped to see a development or substantial change in the protagonist in the end, and found little.

Readers who enjoy Jose Saramago will likely find de Carvalho interesting. I enjoyed reading the book. I don't know if I _liked_ the book. If you crave historical ambiance, or generating feelings of uneasiness in yourself, you will enjoy reading the book. I'm not sure if you'll _like_ it either, though...

Quite frankly, I was drawn to Carvalho's excellent novel by a combination of three factors: (1) The title was fascinating; (2) I am a sucker for fiction set in Roman times; and (3) the translator was Gregory Rabassa.

Picture to yourself a basically good men who was the magistrate of a small city in Roman Portugal (then called Lusitania) during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Lucius Valerius Quintius is basically a good man who is left to his own devices because his social peers could not care to help shoulder the burden of governing.

But suddenly, news is heard of a large group of Moors that have crossed the Mediterranean and are pillaging Lusitanian towns. In addition, a small group of Christians is playing havoc with the local citizenry, who suspect them of cannibalism or worse. Quintius fortifies the town and helps to foil a Moorish attack, but he finds the Christians to be a stickier problem.

To begin with, he is fascinated by Iunia Cantaber, a well-born widow who, as leader of the Christian community, has a lemming drive toward martyrdom. The crises lead to an energizing of the citizenry, who begin to push Quintius farther than he wants and leads to a trial, which has a surprising outcome -- that I will not divulge -- and the outcome is that Quintius is forced to take on the Christians. After the trial, he takes the hint and surrenders his office to retire to his villa.

Christianity has suffered a setback in Tarcisis, but the God who strolls in the cool of an evening bides His time. A good men has been befuddled -- but isn't that always what happens in the political arena?

Carvalho's novel falls under the heading of light fiction. It partakes of a gentle irony that wears well through its length. The translation is by the great Gregory Rabassa, whose renderings of Latin-American fiction by Jorge Amado and Gabriel Garcia Marquez have made his name a standard of quality.

For a long time I have searched for historical fiction in an antique setting that is of the caliber of Bryher, Yourcenar, Graves, Duggan. So many current examples are modern projections, anachronistic, unlettered, or just the wrong voice. In this novel, I can happily say I have found a great work to accompany my favorites. Carvalho's narrator speaks authentically with that unique voice of his era, at once worldly-wise, oppressed by fate, caught in the inevitability of not being able to reconcile his world with his convictions.

I thought that this book was good but i liked her 2nd one better. her superstions in this book were scary and wierd at the same time.this book was pretty good.

Grandpa's Tales is a wonderful book. I could not stop reading it when I started. Grandpa's Tales tells alot about hags, superstitions, and has many good stories. I rated this book 5 because it is an awesome book. Mrs. Greene is a very nice person, knowing her for a year as her student.

I think Grandpa's Tales was a really good book. It explained everything clear to me and it was really cool. All of the chapters were really good.my favriote one was when the girl climbed the tree and her grandma had told her before if she climbed up the tree it will die and she did anyway and later on the tree stared to die.I can't wait till Mrs. Greene come out with some more books because the ones that are already out are really cool and i like them alot. The superstions are really cool in the book to. I think that most of the are true. Hope you Enjoy.

On the night of October 8, 1871, a fire broke out in a barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O'Leary. Before the fire was finally quenched, an area roughly four miles by one mile, comprising the very center of Chicago, was burned out, and some 100,000 people were left homeless. In this fascinating book, award-winning author Jim Murphy traces the events of that fateful night, lavishly using the words of actual eyewitnesses.

This is a great book, and an excellent resource on the Great Chicago Fire! The author spins his account out, giving it the feeling of a story, one that sucks you in, and transports you right into the fire. Containing stories that are both heartwarming and terribly distressing, I loved every minute of this read. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Great Chicago Fire, or in anyone who just likes a great read.

An in depth and fascinating look at the series of events that caused a tiny barn fire to be the root source of an enormous conflagration. Murphy is meticulous with his sources, and he sets up the action of the fire perfectly. Starting small, Murphy details the problems that occurred as the fire grew. The alarms weren't called in time. Firemen were repeatedly sent to the wrong areas to put out the fire. The firemen were exhausted from a different fire they'd put out the night before. The entire city of Chicago was made of wood. People, this is an amazing book. The personal accounts Murphy weaves in and out of the tale are harrowing and wonderfully done. Rather than a painful history lesson, this book makes the story personal and human. Most impressive, to my mind, is the series of chapters Murphy dedicates to the post-fire Chicago rebuilding effort. The author wins my "responsible historian" vote by repeatedly pointing out that the rich were quick to assign blame for this fire on the poor immigrant working class. The O'Learys (who owned the barn where it began) were eventually driven out of their own town by the nasty lies of the press. Chicago comes off looking wonderful after the fire (the spirit of the people was so invigorating!) and the worse for wear (the classism was absolutely ridiculous). My sole objection to this book was that we never heard a peep about the many African Americans who lived in Chicago at this time. Surely they were just as affected by the massive fire as anyone. Yet not a single mention is made of them. Beautiful endnotes follow this account. This book would be excellent read aloud to students. It builds like a novel and draws the reader in. Would pair well with other stories of American disaster (the Titanic for example).

Jim Murphy's books are always a favorite with my 11-year-old son, but this was one of our favorites. My husband and I read it via audio book, and it was so vivid and so interesting we stayed up until we had read (listened) to the whole thing. Next we're reading his Civil War book. Thank you, Mr. Murphy!!!