Festivals Books

The collaborative work of author Geraldine Elschner and artist Alexandra Junge, The Easter Chick is a cheerful and enthusiastically recommended holiday picture book for young readers, about a chick that wants to hatch out of its egg on Easter Sunday. But when does Easter come? Sometimes it is March, sometimes April - it always seems to change every year. The chick's mother learns more about the moon and teaches the chick about Easter, so that the chick can have a special birthday in this sweepingly illustrated parable.

A wonderful tale. Should be read to every child before Easter Day (and by every inquisitive adult who just doesn't get the description of the dating process of Easter listed on page 880 in the (American) Book of Common Prayer).

This book teaches, through a fictional story, the very elaborate and often confusing system used to establish the date of Easter. This story is told using a traditional Easter symbol, chick. The story uses the established animal for wisdom, the owl, to teach the mother chick how to know when it is Easter Sunday. There is a utilization of the number 3 several times. In the background of one page is the three cross scene of the curcifixation, as well. There are other usage of Easter symbols such as church bells, bunnies, and eggs (other than the chick).

The mother chick, Hilda laid, "the most beautiful egg". Hilda learned in three steps from the owl how she would know when it is Easter. Hilda taught her chick using those three steps so that her chick could hatch on Easter Sunday. "The farmers' children, who were looking for Easter eggs in the barn. A little chick just hatched! On Easter Sunday! Isn't that amazing?"

The Easter Chick is highly recommended.

My six-month old loves this book. We have several of Chuck Murphy's Razzle Dazzle books, and so far this one seems to be her favorite. The book features children searching for Easter eggs in various locations. Each page has a simple phrase that describes the picture, such as "UNDER the flowerpot" or "IN the grass", and each Easter egg is a colorful, foil-like insert on the page. It's a great book for introducing reading to a child... Colorful, lots to talk about with the child, and just the right number of pages to maintain attention. And it's a nice, chunky board book too, so I can give it to my daughter to play with independently without having her tear it.

My six-month old loves this book. We have several of Chuck Murphy's Razzle Dazzle books, and so far this one seems to be her favorite. The book features children searching for Easter eggs in various locations. Each page has a simple phrase that describes the picture, such as "UNDER the flowerpot" or "IN the grass", and each Easter egg is a colorful, foil-like insert on the page. It's a great book for introducing reading to a child... Colorful, lots to talk about with the child, and just the right number of pages to maintain attention. And it's a nice, chunky board book too, so I can give it to my daughter to play with independently without having her tear it.

If you've ever wondered what a women's music festival is all about, who goes and what really happens there, then this book is a must. With wonderfully visual anecdotes, quotes and stories from performers, festi-goers, producers and techies, as well as the histories of festivals themselves, "Eden Built By Eves" will take you on the journey without having to pack up the car! Whether you're a "festie-virgin" and have never been, or a seasoned veteran of the phenomena that is this culture, this book will make you wish you had planned to take the Summer off just so that you could attend each festival described. Amid the history and politics, controversies and laughter, sometimes painful truths and hilarious stories, you'll meet the women of the festival world who have helped to create this amazing culture. Buy this book and be prepared to stay up late reading it. You'll be very glad you did!

As a prolific journal-writer and a "festiegoer" for eleven years, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. It more than lived up to my expectations. Page by page, the experiences came back--I reminisced with hilarity and with tears as memories of experiences at Michigan and Bloomington came flowing back. The names are all here--the humor, the in-jokes, the photographs, the cartoons, the controversies...and most of all, a strong sense of one's tribe finally being acknowledged and honored. I related to the author when she described her many hours of sitting unobtrusively through concerts, chronicling her impressions in her journal - insights and observations that would later make up this treasure of a book. It brought back fond memories of sitting on my tarp during Acoustic Stage at Michigan, blank book on my lap. What an affirmation! What a treasure! Four stars for Bonnie Morris. I not only ordered this book for myself, but for the public library where I work, and I hope it will be widely read.

This is a wonderful book with stickers. What kid doesn't love stickers? Both boys and girls love the Miss Spider characters. A great buy.

The time has come for the Lily Fair in Sunny Patch, the community's own little version of Easter. Everybuggy is headed to Primrose Park for a special celebration. The kids are especially excited that the prospect of finding candy eggs, left by the Lily Fairy. These eggs are made with a special ingredient, love.

This is a "Miss Spider" Sticker Story, allowing the reader to decorate the story. There are sets of stickers for each page. The reader can create the scene as desired, or else use the stickers as they like. Many of the stickers include glitter.

Eight Tiny Reindeer is a magical book to be shared with the beautiful children in your life.

I was simply captivated by this gentle, non-commercial story-a truly original narrative that took me to that peaceful,northern forest. The unique illustrations capture the quiet beauty of nature, and the wonder of precious new life. It seemed to answer a question that I hadn't realized I wanted to know! This book will be a traditional read for our family from now on.

What a great book to explain the Easter story to your kids. Simple, easy to read and sweet. Your kids will fall in love with Nathanael.

Parents of Christian families don't often know how to let their children enjoy holidays like Christmas and Easter without perpetuating the myths of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. With The Resurrection Rabbit, the author uses the adorable bunny, Nathanael, to show what really happened on "resurrection" Sunday, Easter.

The book features colorful and thoughtful illustrations and the story is told in a fashion that allows for families to read it together. In addition, it is notable that the illustrations of people were multi-ethnic; making any child feel at home. All too often, the Christ-child and the man, Jesus, are portrayed as lilly white Swedes. I appreciated the author and illustrator's sensitivity to this as many minority families cannot find books that their kids can relate to.

I look forward to future titles from the author. The rear cover indicates that future books, describing topics that face todays families, will be available in a "Life Lessons" series.

The Resurrection Rabbit would not only be great for your family, but also a great basket stuffer for grandparents, aunts, uncles and others to give at Easter time.

The pictures in the book are amazing and the story is very cute. My 5 1/2 year old son loves it!

I initially puchased this book for its wonderful illustrations, but when I got home and read it, the story is quite entertaining. Tingle the elf gets into some trouble while perfecting an airplane for Santa to give to the children on Christmas Eve.... he falls asleep inside the airplane and ends up in the hands of a child! The adventures continue as he tries to make his way back to the North Pole. The pictures are bold, bright, and vivid... they actually held my son's attention! I highly recommend this colorful Chirstmas tale.

Writing a "book" review on a play that one has not read may seem a bit presumptuous. However, my wife and I saw the US premier of this play at Houston's Stages Theater a few weeks ago and can attest that it is some of the finest entertainment we have seen in many a day. I hope that many people will read it, that college English classes will study it, and, most importantly, that numerous theater groups will stage it.

Historical. Hilarious. Poignant. An exhaustive list of appropriate adjectives would exceed Amazon's page limitations.

The play has a large cast of memorable characters including a semi-blind theater seamstress and a bear. The scene is a barn in England in 1601, and Queen Elizabeth seeks diversion from the impending beheading of her lover in the company of William Shakespeare and his band of actors. The dialogue is both scholarly and witty, with many echoes from Shakespeare's plays.

But the driving force for the drama is the point/counterpoint exchanges between "King" Elizabeth, who feels compelled to shirk her womanly feelings for the good of her country and the actor Ned, a 17th century drag-Queen. More than that I will not tell.

See it if you can, but, until it plays in your area, read the book.

In 1601, Queen Elizabeth I was forced by duty to condemn to death a man widely believed to be her former lover. On the night before the execution, she demanded that William Shakespeare's acting troup, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, perform a play to distract her from the heartbreak that would occur in the morning. This much is truth. Timothy Findley takes these historical facts, blends in a few "what if's?" and creates a powerhouse play about men, women, fantasy, death, and ultimately, love.

After a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, Queen Elizabeth goes backstage to talk with the actors, and finds them all mourning the iminent death of the Beatrice of the evening, their terminally ill leading "lady," Ned. Ned has lived all his life as a woman, and does not know how to face his upcoming death with the courage of a man. Elizabeth, by contrast, has had to destroy her feminine side in order to rule England successfully. Realising this, the two strike a bargain: Ned will teach Elizabeth how to be a woman, if she can teach him how to be a man. What follows is a heartbreaking journey of self-discovery in which Elizabeth learns how to mourn, Ned learns how to die with grace and how to live with love, and William Shakespeare finds the greatest play never written.

This is an excellent choice for any Shakespeare fan, and for any lover of theatre. Powerful, enlightening, heartbreaking and uplifting, Elizabeth Rex is an exquisite journey for the heart, with beautiful dialogue, strong characters, and fascinating arguments. A must-read.

There is something about this book that will touch you. It will enlightened you with the Christmas spirit as you read the wonderful tale of one a Santa's elves and his love for the game of basket ball. This little novel will make you laugh and smile with Christmas joy. Written with such Character that made you love everyone in the book. An enjoyable read. This book is just like the classic specials, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Rain Dear" or "Frosty the Snowman!". It won't seem like Christmas until you have read Elves Can't Dunk. Written for 6 and up, but all ages will enjoy this Christmas tale!

"Elves Can't Dunk" is a delightful story appropriate for kids ages 6-10 who are comfortable with chapter books. The colorful cover is eye-catching, and Robert Skead proves to be a first rate children's writer with his witty interaction between the good guys and the bad. This story is a lot of fun, plus there is a good moral in the end. For kids who love basketball, this holiday story will certainly be right up their alley.

I grew up in Clearfield, the setting for the fair in this book, so I'll admit my bias. However, to cite another source: I bought this book for my nephew, who is 19 months, and this is currently his favorite book to select from the shelf before being read to. The pictures and storyline (sometimes paraphrased) are compelling even to a little boy under the age of 2.

It's criminal that Ted Lewin's "Fair!" has only "limited availability." This book perfectly captures the sights, smells, and sounds of a fair. The NEW YORK TIMES named "Fair!" one of the best illustrated books of 1997, and that's right on the money.

Lewin apparently used a fair in Clearfield, Pennsylvania to do his paintings, but truly, this could be a fair anywhere in the United States. We see the roustabouts setting up rides, checking electrical connections, and hoisting enormous, lightbulb-laden ride signs high into the air. Sweat glistens, the sun beats down mercilessly, muscles strain--Lewin captures the physicality of the scene as though he were merely snapping a photograph. We then move on to the 4-H sheds, where youngsters prepare their sheep, cows, pigs, and goats for inspection. The sunlight streams in from outside, lighting the leaves on the trees to a glowing citrus green, and picking up the gleam on the cows' coats. Day moves inexorably into afternoon and then into night, complete with a luminous fireworks display and a walk along the midway.

Lewin's painting skill is nothing short of astonishing. These watercolors have all the richness and mood of the fair itself. We are fortunate that he has chosen such a multi-faceted subject with which to bedazzle his readers.