Woody Allen Books

OK, full disclosure right off the bat: I work in sales for the company that distributes this book in the U.S. (The publisher, Allen & Unwin, is Australian.) And it might help me out a little bit (maybe a few pennies) if you would buy this book... but not here, on Amazon (though that helps out a co-worker of mine, whom I love, who sells to Amazon, so buying it here is OK, too), but rather through your local independent bookseller. That being said, just buy the book from wherever you want to buy it - you won't regret it.

Because it is wonderful. Maybe one of my favorite kids' books of all time. And I read a lot of kids' books.

First, the art: it is utterly gorgeous... painted in acrylic on matboard in all these wonderfully evocative hues of yellow, and blue, and green, and brown. (Some of the pictures are drawn on paper, with ink.) Painted and drawn in a style that looks as though five-year-old (? - six-year-old?) Brian Banana Duck Sunshine (as he points out, he has three first names - four, if you count "Sunshine") might have done them himself (only way better, of course, because they're by Chris McKimmie) - that is, NOT realistically, kid-style. (Don't know who came up with the idea up there in the Book Description that there are "realistic" scenarios in this book... uh-uh, not here.) Kind of a cross between Maira Kalman and Lane Smith, if that's your sort of thing.

By the way, Brian's last name is "Yellow," and this book is about him and what happens to him when he gets lost at the supermarket while visiting his Na-na and Grumpy Yellow one Saturday.

Now, the book and font design and lettering, also by Chris McKimmie: these also contributed enormously to my enjoyment of the book, most of the time again evoking the primitive hand-printing (only way better, of course: no little kid could print so sloppily so precisely) that little Brian himself might have done. Now, I love type, and fonts, and printing, and lettering of any kind, I admit it. All of that in this book was fantastic. I even read every last word of the copyright info, on the last page - also hand-lettered. Beautiful.

And finally, the story. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, or dissuade any potential readers, but I didn't really read this as a "warm-hearted picture book about identity and belonging." I think "identity and belonging" nails it, but man - I was all choked up - and not the happy kind of choked up... SAD! - all the way through this book... maybe because I totally got off on the wrong track with the copy on the back cover of the book (which you can read if you pick it up in a store, without reading the whole story, so I don't think I'm giving anything away here.) Here it is: "On Friday nights, all day Saturday and most of Sunday I stay with Na-na and Grumpy Yellow. One Saturday, I got lost. Twice. The first time, a big prawn found me. The second time, I found my own way home."

Does that sound "warm-hearted" to you? It sure as heck didn't to me! (Maybe that's because I got lost once, when I was four, riding my bicycle in my neighborhood, in Peoria - where my family lived. I'm pretty sure I was probably terrified without my mother. And a "pleecy-man" found me and brought me home.)

Anyway, I digress. I guess I started reading this book with the idea that it was gonna be sad. He spends Friday nights, all day Saturday and most of Sunday with his grandparents? Every week? Where is his mother, where are his parents on weekends? Does he even have parents? Maybe he doesn't - what happened to them? - and his grandparents take care of him on weekends, but they can't do it full-time, so the rest of the week he lives... where? (I shudder to think... an orphanage? a foster home?) And what about siblings? None of those? It's never really explained in the story - except that Brian has a "room" (and there are pictures of his stuff) at Na-na and Grumpy Yellow's place, and that he "likes" it there.

But that wasn't enough to make me feel better.

So you can see how I had worked myself up into such a state when I started reading this book, that the only way I could read it was with my heart half-breaking from the get-go.

And if you read it this way, and go with it, and feel what Brian Banana Duck Sunshine Yellow is feeling every step of the way... his fascination with the other "ducks" at the lake, his visit to the "big cow," and how it must feel when a strong wind lifts him up - so far up that he can see forever... it will knock you on your butt when you get to the last page.

Or - you could read it like it's heart-warming, and funny, and "cheerful" (as the description above also says), and I guess it might work that way, too.

All I know is that Brian Banana Duck Sunshine Yellow - and Chris McKimmie - made my day. And they ruined my day. I get all choked up over it (still) reading through it again now...

"She made me carry a yellow balloon so I would never get lost again."

God! This is a GREAT book! [...]

If you have an interest in toy trains, in particular European `O' gauge trains, you will enjoy this book. If you are a collector or operator of Hornby, Basset-Lowke, or Marklin `O' gauge trains you will want this book. If you own or are interested in the new ACE three-rail, "ready to run" `O' gauge trains you will love this book. `Brilliantly Old Fashioned - The Story of ACE `O' Gauge Trains" is all at the same time:
- a history of recent 3-rail European trains
- a catalog of the ACE production over the past ten years
- a view into how model trains are produced in today's global economy
- a scrapebook of pictures from train shows and events both in England and on the Continent

ACE Trains has rejuvenated the European 3-rail market with their new line of tinplate coaches, tank wagons, and locomotives and beautiful diecast locomotives. This book, chuck full of pictures and engineering drawings, provides a full review of the ACE products as well as a highly readable narrative about how the products are made and the personalities involved in the business. I highly recommend the book.

THIS Susan Johnson, renowned Australian author, is not the same Susan Johnson who is a prolific romance novelist.
When Amazon lists other Susan Johnson titles that you can purchase, make sure you know which Susan Johnson it is... or you might get a surprise!

This book immediately got my creative juices flowing, just browsing through it. It is very well organized which makes it very easy to find the phonetic rhyme you are looking for.

It's fun to use, and even the index is fun. Bronner's Rhyming Phrases Dictionary is different than the standard single word rhyming dictionary that I've had for years; but they compliment each other rather nicely.

Harry S. Truman has been the subject of some superb biographies, but none of them does more than briefly mention his long affiliation with Freemasonry. Roberts's book fills that gap in reports on the life of one of the most fascinating public figures of the twentieth century. Harry Truman, who was a Freemason for over fifty years, founded lodges, worked tirelessly for Masonic charities, and arose to the acme of Missouri Freemasonry as elected Grand Master of Missouri Masons (a nearly full-time job) while a U.S. Senator (that alone highlights his famous and formidable energy). This book goes into exceptional detail about his Masonic life, and rescues what was an important part of his career from the neglect of historians. Allen Roberts is not as elegant a writer as some of Truman's biographers, but he is competent, clear, and thorough. No matter what your opinion of Freemasonry is, if you are interested in Truman this belongs on your shelf. No understanding of this remarkable American is complete without it.

The author of this book was my professor. She is the kindest woman I know. I true Humanitarian! This book shows you that two people from different worlds can actually be very similar. A very enlightening book and heartwarming

I am truly surprised that nobody else has submitted a review of this book! It certainly deserves to be widely read as an original contribution to African-American studies, to food studies in general, to cultural studies, and most importantly, by anyone who wants to understand how sterotyping works as part of the process of oppression. I also learned a great deal about what 'signifying' means, and how it can be used as an analytical tool.

This is not a perfect book. Sometimes I found it moved to quickly from the general to the specific and vice versa. But Williams-Forson has taken a really tough topic - the way Chicken has been attached to African American women, and she treats it with sensitivity, creativity, wit and an eclectic set of tools from literature, social science and history. In the process she gets to the heart of how stereotypes cut in a lot of different directions; they reveal weaknesses and strengths, solidarities and divisions. She is not interested in passive victimology, nor does she ignore the violence and pain of slavery and prejudice.

The result is a book which really does teach you something new about the Black experience. It is the opening, I hope, of a new generation of black history which shakes off some of the old narratives which have served their purposes, and gets into really complex terrain. I look forward to more complex counterpoint with the work being done in the Caribbean and on the Black experience elsewhere in the Americas. I will certainly be using this book in the classroom, and I hope it gets the broader readership it deserves!

This is truly a strange little book. It is the work of 13 different authors and artists and addresses the subject of birth. How did we get here? How were we born? Each story if quite different and each artist is quite unique in their take of the subject. Some of the stories do address the subject of evolution. Some of love. Some of the stories are a bit graphic. Please refer to the review by Publishers Weekly. This is one of the few reviews they ever got correct and nailed it pretty well. I would strongly suggest that a parent read this one first before it is presented to the child. I think that most adults will find the book quite good, but am not at all sure if all children would. Parents know their children best and this is one of those times that the parent needs to do their job and do some decision making. I would have not problem reading this one to one of my children, but would hesitate reading to to someone elses child without parents approval. I do feel, for the most part that the art work was quite well done and it is sure to catch the childs eye. It is a rather fun book and as I said, I enjoyed ever page of it. Well done!

Louis Allen was a Japanese interpreter in the British Army in the Burma campaign. He has written this book with more of an understanding of the Japanese mindset. The description of the bloodletting of the Japanese armies at Imphal and Kohima give an insight into both the tactics and the attitudes of the, hitherto, undefeated Japanese armies in 1944. It is salutory to read the deprivation suffered by the Japanese as they tried break out from the Pegu Yomas to cross the Salween River and escape into Thailand. It is interesting, almost mandatory, to read this book in conjunction with Slim''s "Defeat into Victory".

Burns and Allen Radio Classics Double Value Pak that includes "Gracie Redecorates", "Gracie Throws a Barbecue", "Impressing the Neighbors" and "George, the Doctor". Great collectible! - Two whole hours of cassette entertainment!