Thomas Jane Books

This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever owned. Some real home town favorites, that you don't always find in other cookbooks.

After ordering this Blue Willow Inn Cookbook, Amazon did their usual great job of getting it to me in just a few days. I have read this book from cover to cover - and I LOVE it! The brief stories connect the recipes to The Blue Willow Inn in a charming way. The recipes make my mouth water. I am going to make an opportunity to visit The Blue Willow Inn and visit with the owners and enjoy their buffet! In the meanwhile, I'm going to treat my family with these wonderful recipes. I began yesterday with the Fresh Apple Cake and the Pimento & Cheese. They were both hits with the family! My goal is to use all these recipes over the next year. If you enjoy "reading" cookbooks, DON'T miss this one. It's to die for!

I live approx. 10 miles from The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant and we there very often. I have to say it's one of the best restaurants I have eaten at for southern cooking. Elegant atmosphere to boot and all of the southern trimmings like real homemade lemonade and the best peach cobbler you have put in your mouth. I also have this cookbook and I am very disappointed with a lot of the recipes in it. They are most definately not the same. As a matter of fact they have several cookbooks and if you will notice the mac n' cheese recipe is different in all of them. I have one cookbook (can't remember the name) but it is from an author that toured a lot of southern restaurants and had two or three recipes from each restaurant. That cookbook is the only one that actually has the "restaurant" recipes. So, if you have never been to the Blue Willow Restaurant you will be very happy with the cookbook, but if you have eaten there or plan to you will be very disappointed with the cookbook because you will be expecting those same wonderful dishes as soon as they come out of the oven only to get something not as good.

An old roommate of mine was born in the South and she used this cookbook a lot. She made fried okra, black eyed peas and I thought both items were very successful and tasted yummy. This book was my first impression of Southern Cooking, so therefore I don't know how it compares with other southern cooking. It is all I believed it would be: lots of meat, lots of fat and lots of mayonnaise. Though I think I will avoid most of the mayo salads, I will be attempting to make some of the more traditional southern recipes at some point.

For those of us who have never tasted authentic southern food before, I think this book does a good job of presenting the basics. The other comments that this book has many "recipes every Southerner should know" makes me believe that it is a fantastic book for those of us who have no idea of what that includes.

This book is definately not for the fat concious chef and it doesn't adapt well to "low-fat" substitutions.

This is the best cookbook. My mother does not have recipes written down for potato salad or meatloaf, etc. She just adds a little of this and that. Well I needed a cookbook for these favorite southern dishes. It has become the most used cookbook in my kitchen. I love it!

I am stunned at the great reviews I read for this book. I was expecting so much more. Instead, I found it disjointed as a story and the characters not particularly intriguing at all. I grew very weary of the saturation of alcohol, tobacco and foul language. Jane Austen would never have presented her characters in such a crude fashion. Being blindsided in the middle of the book with the "novel within a novel" twist and I felt like JR just woke up from another dream. Add to all this the obscure literary references sprinkled throughout and you've got, in Ms. Fenton, an author who, not only can't find an original idea, but she appears to have an ego to rival that of the Bingley sisters. The modernization of Pride & Prejudice should have ended with Bridget Jones. Vanity and Vexation is just another cheap attempt to capitalize on Jane Austen's name.

As to the claim that those of us who are giving an opinion on this book are not understanding that "this is not Austen and doesn't claim to be" so, therefore, are unqualified to use this analogy - all I can say is that if an author doesn't want to be compared to Jane Austen then they shouldn't rip off her stories and include the words "Pride & Prejudice" in the title.

Ms. Fenton's modern adaptation of P&P takes more than a few chapters to get into it, but once you do, the fun comes quickly. The lilt of the language took more concentrating than I anticipated for a novel I was reading in bed before retiring. The switch back and forth of the names (Mary Dance vs. Mary Hamilton and Nick Bevan vs. Llewellyn Bevan) threw me off for a couple of chapters. I must learn to read more closely even if it is late at night!!! Yet, the switch of Mary Dance being the tall, dark hero rather than "Mr. Darcy" was ingenuous. The fact that the film crew over which Mary is in charge is filming Pride and Prejudice gives this a nice twist. Having Sarah be equivalent to "Mr. Bennet" was not achieved until the final chapters, but, generally, you will enjoy the book. I could do without the "F" word in the love scenes, but that is a personal preference. I would not turn down reading the book purely on that note.

What a fun, sweet story with a modern and gender-bending twist. I loved the characters and was sad to see the book end. Very enjoyable-but don't expect P&P!

The writing is very crisp, funny, and often surprisingly romantic, making this a very worthwhile update of P&P. The characters are expertly fleshed out and the book never felt gimmicky to me, either. There's also a great deal of wit and intelligence in the writing, making this a book you'll want to savor rather than devour in one sitting. I loved Nick, warmed to Mary (as I was supposed to) and also enjoyed all the supporting characters. This is a light read, but it also has depth, so I didn't feel dissatisfied at the end.

THE POMPOUS HOLIER THAN THOU DRIBBLE OF SOME "CRITICAL" SUBMISSIONS IS MORE THAN I (I REPEAT, I) CAN BEAR IN SILENCE. THESE REVIEWERS COULD LEARN FROM MY PREVIOUS SENTENCE. IT IS NOT, DUCKY, ALWAYS ABOUT _YOU_. IF YOU DON'T LIKE "LIGHT AND FLUFFY" WHY DID YOU SELECT TO READ LIGHT AND FLUFFY -- JUST SO YOU COULD DUMP ON IT?!

"NONE OF THE NUANCE ONE FINDS IN JANE AUSTIN [SIC] WAS PRESENT IN THIS BOOK." DUH! DID YOU NOTICE IT'S NOT AUSTEN?! AND CERTAINLY DOES NOT PRETENT TO BE AUSTEN.

I BELIEVE A BOOK OR FILM _REVIEW_ SHOULD REPORT WHAT THE THING _IS_ AND NOT WHAT THE "REVIEWER" WANTS IT TO BE. IF THE THING IS NOT WHAT YOU EXPECTED, THEN YOU MISJUDGED YOUR CHOICE. THAT DOES NOT MAKE THE AUTHOR/CREATOR BAD OR WRONG.

I AM TIRED OF WHINEY WANNABE CRITICS-AT-LARGE AND I QUESTION NOT ONLY THEIR JUDGMENT BUT EVEN THEIR ABILITY TO R-E-A-D FORGAWDSAKE.

I PLACE A 5-STAR RATING BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THE BOOK TO SUFFER BECAUSE SOME OF THE "REVIEWERS" DESERVE NOT MORE THAN ONE STAR.

joyesb@pacbell.net

Disgusting hit job on one of America's most reasoned and intelligent justice's. Sen. Harry Reid, said he wasn't as literate as Scalia but gave no examples. Gee Harry, its not because Justice Thomas is black?

Before you read this book, I would reccomend you read David Brock's "Blinded by the Right". Brock wrote "The Real Anita Hill" which was a right wing smear account of Anita Hill when he was in the throes of right wing idealogy and also per his account in "Blinded by the Right", his mouth was firmly attached to the Right Wing teat, "American Spectator" which was funded by right wing fanatic Richard Mellon Scaife. The funny thing about this book is, when you finish reading this book you will probably feel more anger towards the democrats who controlled the reins of power in the legislative branch at that time in the Senate. Senate Majority leader was George Mitchell and the Judiciary Committe Chairman was Joseph Biden. These two lily livered poltroons ably assisted and co-managed the lynching of Anita Hill in many ways. Biden was so much in love with himself at that time (I think he still is) that he did not want to get involved in any controversy by taking a lead role in giving Hill's testimony a fair shake. He sat on her signed and faxed statement to him for many a day, serially informing other Senators one at a time about the allegations, he agreed to let Hill testify first and then reneged, giving the first turn to Thomas and then brought on Thomas again for a second time after Hill's testimony giving Thomas the last word on the issue. George Mitchell's role is also documented as giving aid and comfort to Biden, speechifying on the Senate floor in support of Biden's modus operandi in the hearings, stone walling women's groups who wanted to delay the floor vote on the nomination by claiming disingenously that he had no power in the matter. The capitulation of the democrats is an amazing read especially at this time when polarization has seeped into every pore of the American body politic. Its amazing how craven the democrats were explaining away their lily livered behaviour as "lending a balanced approach" during the hearings. Some day we will see the denoument to this piece of history. Its not over yet. We will see what becomes of Clarence up high on that bench someday.

When re-reading this marvelously researched, reported, and written account of Clarence Thomas's life and his controversial battle for confirmation as an associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, it was breathtaking to revisit a time and place in the nation's capital not so long ago in which George W. Bush appears NOWHERE in the text or in its index.

As we enter election season, this book is well worth reading (or re-reading) as a cautionary tale about what kind of Supreme Court justices are likely to be added to the nation's highest court as the current justices retire if George W. Bush is elected.

Clarence Thomas comes off vividly as a sullen benefactor of affirmative action at school after school, who turned on that very institution after he had benefited handsomely from an education capped by graduation from Yale Law School. David Brock has since recanted his writing of "The Real [sic] Anita Hill." Witnesses to Thomas's his office behavior whose testimony might have been exceedingly damaging were never allowed to speak publicly until interviewed for "Strange Justice."

And relatively early in Thomas's career, while serving in the Missouri state attorney general's office under John C. Danforth, "Thomas liked to taunt another member of the office, who was prim and painfully shy, by making outrageous, gross, and at times off-color remarks. '...He couldn't help but to needle the guy--he just liked to get under his skin,'" said a co-worker.

"The target of Thomas's taunting was John C. Ashcroft," who, of course, currently serves as our nation's Attorney General. Another co-worker interviewed by the authors of "Strange Justice" who also remembered such episodes described Ashcroft as "a tightly wound, straitlaced teetotaler... [he] was easily flustered by Thomas." Ashcroft's discomfort "apparently encouraged Thomas to goad him further," the co-worker noted.

Since his narrow margin of confirmation, Thomas has been one of the quietest members of the bench. Except for a somewhat controversial "at home" piece in PEOPLE magazine about Clarence and Virginia Thomas (his second wife has worked for the Heritage Foundation), he rarely speaks publicly. Recent news reports quote Thomas as saying that he does not read the newspapers. His vote contributed to the 5-4 margin that put George W. Bush in the White House.

Even if you're currently weary of the floodtide of books detailing up-to-the-minute political events, this chronicle from the recent past remains a disturbing, worthwhile sideline into a historical event that may foreshadow similarly controversial Court nominations in the future. Remember, George H.W. Bush was considered by many Republicans to be "too moderate." Caveat!

Don't waste your money! This book is beneath the prestige of two Wall Street Journal reporters.
For example, the authors wrote "Hill was Professor of Law at Oklahoma State University in Norman."
Hill was Professor of Law at The University of Oklahoma in Norman.
Oklahoma State University is in Stillwater.
The Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt disparaged David Brock but his book got it right. Not surprisingly, Hunt praised this book to high heaven.
I predict history will vindicate Hill and better books will follow.

with bill keller's elevation of jill abramson to new york times managing editor for newsgathering last week, this early-90's recounting of the fateful thomas nomination should move up a notch with all who wish to acquaint themselves more closely with abramson's journalism.

the book has its supporters and detractors. if you believed hill and thought the democrats didn't "get it," then you will most likely think this book tells the needed story. if you believed thomas and thought president bush was making a bold statement through his nomination, then you will probably find this book to be item "a" evidence of a vast left wing conspiracy.

all of that is water now well under the bridge. what matters is abramson's top day-to-day position at the paper that sets much of the journalistic agenda for the nation and the world. in this book, which i think everyone, regardless of their political orientation, agrees is well written, you will find the storytelling one may reasonably expect abramson to advocate in her new job.

and, unlike other contemporary history authors, mayer and abramson included considerable notes on sources, etc.

(it is interesting that the book started in mid-1994 what appeared to become an effort to call thomas' qualifications for the high court so much into question that whispers of impeachment were heard. alas for the anti-thomas lobby, the fall 1994 elections -- putting the senate and the house under republican control -- intervened. despite jim jeffords' switch that, for the last nine years at least, has been that.)

regardless, i am re-reading it. perhaps you should, too.

Cute relaxing read. Vacation fare definately. Will pass it on to friends.

I was very disappointed in this, the fourth book in the Heaven Lee Series.

I disliked the first book, "Death By Rhubarb" and hated the second book, "Revenge Of The Barbeque Queens". But the third book, "A Stiff Risotto" was good and I had hoped that it was a turning point and the series and would improve even more.

I was wrong again. Although better than the first two books, it was no where near as good as A Stiff Risotto.

4 Times Divorced, Once widowed, disbarred lawyer, former stripper and current resturant owner Heaven Lee is excited when the Artos (Greek for Bread) convention is in town. All she wants is to get some helpful hints on how to make great bread, but as ususal, death seems to follow her around.

I had disliked Heaven in the first two books, but enjoy her a little more. I really like her supporting cast, when they're in the story. And that's what's wrong with this one. Only Murrey, the former New York Times Crime Reporter is in this story.

Unfortunately, the character I haven't liked from the previous books, Heaven's 20 year younger boyfriend, Hank has a large part in this book. These two people have absolutely no chemistry between them.

To make things worse, Heaven's daughter, by her rock star second husband, Iris is added to the cast. I find Iris unlikeable. Once again, I think the author is going for excentric instead of a real life person. Why would a girl, who is supposed to be so intelligent pick for her boyfriend, a former drug addict, old enough to be her father, member of her father's band. Didn't she learn anything growing up with Heaven as a mother?

As with her relationship with Hank, I don't get the feel of any real closeness between Heaven and her daughter. She says she's upset with her daughter's choice of boyfriend. She says she's upset that her daughter is going to live in England instead of coming home. She says she's upset that her daughter might be in danger. She says everything, but there are none of those little touches you have in books that show you that there is a real relationship between people. The fact that Heaven has to keep saying that she cares comes across to me as she doesn't really care that much. You get those little sparks of chemistry, the humor between her and the supporting characters who work at her restaurant, but not with the character's that she's supposed to love.

I learned more about sourdough, wheat, rye and every thing you could possible want to know about bread. I didn't want to know it. I felt like I was in high school science class.

One improvement. They have moved the recipes to the front of the chapter instead of just dropping them into the middle of the story.

I don't know why the great characters like Murrey, Chris, Joe, Mona - who runs a store that sells everything for cats, are not used more in the stories. And Bo Morales, her best character isn't even in the book.

Better than the first two but not as good as the third. I'm still hopeful on this series.

Onward to the Cornbread Killer. I love cornbread and am hoping to get some recipe idea's.

I have read several other Heaven books. I wasn't much impressed by the others but I found this one to be better constructed than the others. There were enough red herrings to keep one guessing, interesting bread facts and good recipes besides to make a satisfying whole.

I have found the series to be fun and exciting. I am giving this book a 3 only because there are too many loose ends that were not explained, otherwise, I found it to be well written.

I had one big problem with this book(Bread On Arrival). In the beginning, General Mills, Ernest, Patrick and Dieter(who lives in Germany) all find 3 loaves of bread either at their home or offices. Maybe I missed this, but how did the bread get there(and who put it there...I assume it was the killer, but how did he get it there)? Also, I believe(and the reader should know for sure, not have to guess) it played a roll in the death of two of the above people mentioned(and I felt the deaths came too late in the book...I kept waiting and waiting), but this aspect was never explained(at least not that I saw).

Most everything else was wrapped up in the end, except the 3 bread loaves and how they got to their victims. Considering this bread played a role in the death of two people, I feel it is important to explain how it got there and what role it played in the deaths.

Also in the beginning when introducing Paul, there is a "mystery woman" in his office who is giving Paul and assignment at work that he is not real thrilled about. Who is this woman? I don't think she ever appeared in the book again(and because of all the mystery surrounding her first appearance, I expected her to show up again). Why not say she is Jane Doe, Patrick's nasty supervisor or something if she would only appear this once? Why make her a mystery person?

Like I said before, maybe the 3 loaves were explained somewhere in the book(I never saw it), but considering they played a role in the deaths of 2 people I think that information is crucial to the reader. Who put it there and how(especially the loaves in Germany).

I will say, I am glad that Lou Jane Temple has moved her recipes from the middle of a chapter, to a page of their own. I found it distracting to try and find where the recipe left off and the chapter begins(the recipes all look wonderful!).

I found this book to be well written(and I will continue to purchase more in the series). I would just like to see the clues make sense at some point.

Another great example of the writing by Lou Jane Temple. Heaven Lee is cooking again -- this time she is making bread, not bbq. The Kansas City restaurant owner is involved with the ARTOS (bread) convention come to town. Little did she know that death would be served up along with the breadsticks.

Another great Heaven Lee mystery. Wonderful recipies are also included in the book. Temple's previous book introduced you to the main characters contained in this recent release, however, the book is written well enough to stand on its own without reading the previous 4 works from this author.

In the style of Diane Mott Davidson and Tamara Meyers -- a great culinary read.

Mary Ann

This is a simple story as previously stated. Thomas decides to zip through his route one day causing havoc for his passengers. I really don't feel it was "dumbed down" It was created for toddlers. I think perhaps parents often choose books because they like to read them. I choose books that my children enjoy.
I love a book that allows me to bring out my award worthy acting abilities :) I like to sit my boys on my lap & when he zooms by a station...I zoom to the far left with them or right. I also bounce them when the items inside the train are bouncing about. They are ages 4 & 2. This is their favorite book. It makes it into our rotation several times a week & they don't seem to bore with it. It is also a good early reader.

Some people complain about the overly simplistic plot, but it is about the right level of complexity for a young child.

Thomas the Tank Engine has a daily routine that involves passing through towns, seeing the waives from a little boy, and letting the passengers get on and off of the train. One day he decides to go real fast and not stop for the passengers. This results in a bad day. The people are not satisfied, and Thomas doesn't get a chance to see the cows mowing and the little boys waving.

Yeah, its not the most captivating of plots, but it shows a simple form of "cause and effect," which is something that young children must learn in order to understand more complicated concepts. It goes beyong the simple "cause and effect" of pressing a button and seeing a light go on, it shows that more complex actions might have a larger effect as well.

You child will probably love the pictures. Thomas the Tank Engine is a very popular train with a huge smile. Little kids love trains and they'll like the bright and colorful illustrations in this book.

It is a durable book that you can leave on the floor and let your infant or toddler play with; and the cover and pages will remain intact. With young children, durability is important and often overlooked in non-board books for infants and toddlers.

It's a nice book to add to your child's library.

Loved this book. My grandchildren loved and we read it over and over again.

I can't think of anything better for a two year old obsessed with trains! Dr. Seuss meets Thomas is an incredible combination. Both this book and "Go Train Go" have become my son's favorite bedtime books. They finally got him excited to sit down and read/listen to books.

"Stop, Train, Stop" is an odd little book. For one thing, it purports to be a "beginning" reader, and for another thing, Thomas not only has Annie and Clarabelle but dining, sleeping, and luggage cars!

Now as most people know [;-)], Thomas' branch line is not long enough to warrant either a sleeping or dining car. (Sometimes its frightening how much this mom knows about Sodor-but I know I'm not alone.) Still, the plot is interesting enough that most fans won't be too worried about this discrepancy. And Owen Bell does a nice job in illustrating this little story.

The story takes place one day when Thomas decides not to stop at any of his assigned stations. Instead he rushes head-long and willy-nilly to the end of the line, only to find that this rushing about didn't make him as happy as he thought it would. Turns out Thomas missed his friends along the way. He missed seeing the cows that `moo' hello to him, and he missed the children that wave as he goes by.

In it's own way, "Stop, Train, Stop!" is a stop and smell the roses allegory. It explains to children how `bad' things can happen if you rush about your business. [Certainly the cook on the dining car and the passengers weren't happy!]

Which brings us to the other oddity about this book, that Random House considers it to be a "beginning" reader. Now, I'm no expert, but I do have a beginning reader --kindergartener-and she certainly can't even begin to read this as there are frequently 20 or more words per page and a heavy use of past tense.

But judge for yourself from the text below. The first page has more text than most pages.

Every day Thomas the Tank Engine
chugged from the start of his line
to the end of his line
and back again.
"All aboard!"
called the little blue engine's conductor.

Three and a Half Stars. Okay story that young Thomas fans will no doubt like. A sort of stop and smell the roses tale.

Addendum:

Well time has passed and I've discovered all sorts of things like the Accelerated Reading (AR) scale. And I was mostly correct. While "Stop, Train, Stop" is an early reader, it isn't a true beginning primer as it is listed as a 1.5 on the Accelerated Reading scale. To the newly initiated this means that the book is suitable for First Graders in the fifth month of school.

And just so you know, the AR description is a general "guide" that rates books on a relative scale of difficulty. Children can certainly read at levels above or below their group range, so that this number should only be used as a aid to help choose books that are appropriate and not frustrating.

~Pam T 2007

This is a great book about the real santa. I grew up not believing in Santa but my husband did. I did not want my children believing in only santa but Jesus also and this book satisfied me as far as beliving in santa and the true meaning of Christmas.

We bought this book ( Santa ) because we have the Easter Bunny Book (which we love). The Santa book does a great job explaining the story of the real St. Nick. After telling the story and explaining that Christmas is about giving, they show a picture of a Santa Claus winking. I found this to be very confusing The reason I wanted the book was to take the focus away from Santa and on to Jesus. I felt this book really contradicted itself at the end. I will continue to read this book to my children , but will not include the last page and wording.

This is a must-read for Christian children at Christmas. A child hears kids on the street say Santa isn't real, and goes inside to ask his father. The dad tells him that St. Nicholas was a real person who, because he loved Jesus, gave gifts to the poor. The boy is inspired by the story and decides to share with others, like St. Nick did. The book ends with a cheerful picture of Santa: "As the family sat around and talked half the night, Todd thought he saw, in the snow and moonlight...a bright-eyed Saint Nicholas with his sack looking in, and wide across his face, a jolly old grin." Children will know that the real Santa is now in heaven, but people still rememeber him today because of his generous spirit. The book tells the "truth" about Santa, while also allowing for a child's imagination and sense of joy to remain intact over who Santa was.

I really liked this book and how it explained the truth about the real St. Nick, but I still came away feeling like it was a half truth. I guess I wanted more of Jesus in the story. I do still read it to my kids every year, though. The other day in the grocery store my 3 year old was acting up and someone said, "Santa is watching you" to help calm him down. My 5 year old looked at her as if she were crazy and said, "Santa is in heaven with Jesus" - so I think she gets it. I'm pretty sure that is a direct quote from the book. Overall, I would recommend it, although I don't read some of the text and add my own on some pages - like the last page.

Is Santa real? Well, yes and no.

Myra does a really nice job of explaining where the Santa legend came from, and how St. Nicholas loved God and people. Myra's story point kids to St. Nicholas' Lord, and shows them they do not need to sacrifice the magic and imagination in order to worship Him.

Nicely illustrated too.

I buy two or three of these every year for 4-6 year olds.

We received this book for our children for Easter and I was simply HORRIFIED that the first page says that bunnies are "bad". My two year old is now running around, pointing at rabbits and saying bad. I would never read this book again due to this negative language. I grew up understanding the true meaning of Easter without learning that the Easter bunny was bad.

The reader who said she'd never read this book to her child again because it is negative clearly did not read beyond the first two pages. Although a young child does point to the Easter Bunny and say "bad bunny," we quickly learn this is because he's overhead adults saying something to that effect. His parents, however, tell him the Easter Bunny is NOT bad...then go on to explain how secular and Christian traditions evolved and how they can live harmoniously side by side. In other words, this book is about making secular Easter traditions meaningful for Christian families.

This book has been around for a while. I grew up with a copy back in the late 70s and I have great memories of it. I grew up in a family that didn't go for the Santa Claus and Easter Bunny myths, and although my parents tried to teach a spirit of kindness and understanding, I had a tendancy to look down my nose at the poor gullible saps who fell for the myths. By providing a historical context for the secular Easter traditioins, this book helped temper my attitude and help me be more respectful of the Bunny Believers around me. It also reinforced my undertanding of the true focus of the holiday and it was nice as a kid to have a pretty picture book that said the same things that my parents did. I highly recommend it and plan on getting a copy of this and the Santa Claus equivalent for my children.

This is a great book to read with your children to help them see beyond (but yet still enjoy) the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs, and understand the true meaning of Easter in the Christian faith.

This book does a great job explaining how "The Easter Bunny has nothing to do with the real Easter." It gives a simple explanation of Jesus death and how he rose from the grave. It also explains how celebrating Spring (New baby animals , flowers and trees blooming)"is God's picture of Jesus rising from the dead as all of Nature comes to life again" It explains how Eggs and Coloring them became part of the easter tradition and says that spring time and the real Easter got mixed up.

In the book a child ask if it is Ok to celebrate Spring by Hiding eggs The answer is Sure , if we also remember that on the real Easter Jesus rose from the dead. It mentions going to Church to celebrate Easter.The book puts the focus back on Jesus where it should be, and not on the Easter Bunny. I love this book!!!

I am a Tucson Native far from home (living in Japan) and although I have not read the book, I can certainly say that El Charro's is great Mexican food! Whenever we go home it's a sure stop. I just finished ordering the book, can't wait til it arrives!

Having been an early fan of Jane and Michael Stern, it is disappointing to see that they've simply "copied" (not quite the right word, but it suffices) another and better book, while leaving out the better parts. Face it, the full title of this book is "The Flores Family's El Charro Cafe Cookbook"..."with recipes by Carlotta Flores", and that book is available here at amazon.com. The Stern derivative simply reorganizes the order of the recipes in Sra. Flores' book and omits most of the "notitas" and cultural material.

Do yourself a favor and buy the original (ISBN: 1555611214), which we use regularly, taking advantage of the helpful "notitas" and learning something more about Tucson and Arizona border culture.

Here's the product description of the original:

El Charro Café is famous throughout the United States and the world for its vibrant, fresh Mexican food and fiesta-like atmosphere. In this beautifully illustrated color hardcover cookbook, owner and chef Carlotta Flores shares her recipes, her family history and her love of this flavorful cuisine.

Carlotta includes prized family recipes as well as those that make El Charro a Tucson delight and tradition. She tells stories of the four generations of her family who have worked at El Charro since its beginnings in 1922, making it the oldest family-run restaurant in the Southwest.

A glossary of Spanish terms and foods helps you learn your way around a Mexican menu. You'll learn the secrets to making authentic, traditional Sonoran Mexican dishes and also ways to make light, healthy and equally delicious newer ones. You'll absorb tortilla etiquette along with the recipes for El Charro's savory sauces and soups.

Photographs of the patio and restaurant are interspersed with "notitas" (little notes and tips) and Carlotta's stories. The heart of the book: Wonderful recipes, including all the classic dishes you expect from a Mexican restaurant as well as ones that may be new to you such as Puerco con Mangos (pork with mango sauce), Tacos de Camaron (shrimp tacos), Almendrado (almond meringue pudding), and Capirotada (Lenten bread pudding).

Vegetable dishes such as Rajitas de Nopalitas y Cebollitas (sautéed prickly pear with onions and green chile), Enchiladas de Hongos (mushroom enchiladas), Papas Molidas de Navidad (mashed potatoes with green chile and salsa) will open your eyes and tastebuds.

A book so representative of Tucson that is was chosen for the City of Tucson's Millennium Time Capsule.

I have eaten at El Charro in Tucson, and the food is fantastic. I spent some time looking at this book and plan to buy it. I was concerned that the book wouldn't clearly indicate how the food got to be some darn good. In other words, the recipes wouldn't have anything out of the ordinary--the secret was in the kitchen staff's know-how. Thankfully, these recipes have some obvious differences from typical Mexican cookbook recipes. For example, El Charro uses tons of garlic--they blend it with water to make a puree that finds its way into most of their recipes. I'm certain this "garlic dosing" contributes to their greatness. Another item that caught my eye is the use of condensed milk in their refried beans--I've never seen that before. Having eaten them I can say it works! Last point: make sure you try the barbacoa recipe. El Charro's barbacoa enchiladas were so delicious I nearly fell off my chair in the dining room. They use pickling spice in the recipe--another gem. The food is great....and the book is different enough to warrant adding this to the shelf next to Rick Bayless and Diana Kennedy.

As American regional cuisines go, Southern and "Mexican" are my two favorites. And while I found the Sterns' "Blue Willow Inn Cookbook" somewhat disappointing (not their fault, I think), this trip to Tucson was much more satisfying. Not Tex-Mex or New Mexico-Mexican, the Sterns classify El Charro Café as "Tucson-Mexican," a fascinating and unique blend that makes this "Roadfood Cookbook" well worth the vicarious trip.

Part of the advantage here is that the charro culture celebrated at El Charro Café is much more foreign to most Americans than is the Southern comfort food of the Blue Willow Inn. A good percentage of the value of this book is in introducing that culture to the wider reading public (who knew there was so much history and significance behind the stereotypical black outfits generally associated with mariachi bands?). But there's a lot of value in the delicious-sounding recipes too. Far from the "fried and covered in cheese" nature of "Mexican food" as it's often presented to us, these menu items are varied, colorful, and generally pretty healthy.

So hit the road again, Stern fans. Grab a tostada grande and a glass of sangria, and let our favorite foodie writers take us on another culinary adventure.

My five year old checked this book out of the school library. Way too much for a five year old. Discusses listening to grandpa cry, touching grandma's hand - and it was COLD! Children playing capture the flag in a room full of empty caskets??? I thought this book was terrible and am fighting to have it removed from the school library.

Probobly OK in the right situation...not just a leisurely book to check out from the library for the heck of it...

The day that grandma died we drove all night and all afternoon. On the way mom told stories about how grandma traped a ratcoon in the garbage can. She bought a new garbage can with a lid and fead that rascull scraps of food every day after supper.

This book is a valuable reference for adults trying to explain to a child, what happens during the calling hours and funeral ritual. It also is a good book for a child who has lost a grandparent to read as well. It hits many aspects of loss, to include the phases of grief as well as the some common funeral rituals. The trip to and from grandpa's home allowed reflection and reminiscing by the family. In doing that the child was able to learn more about grandma and to share her own times with her grandmother. . The story also shows, well , the different phases of grief among family members, ie the tears of the grandfather and the mother. There were tender moments. One such moment took place with the child and her grandfather when he spoke of his wife's love of fishing. The child was a comfort to her grandfather. The child at one point was given the choice to attend the funeral and her decision to attend was honored. This inclusion in the decision makes the funeral less scary for a child. The child was a part of the process and was able to experience the feelings of loss, as well as the ritual, the ability to reminisce and to celebrate the life of the person who passed. This book was written very simply and in a matter of fact manner. The illustrations were soft and non threatening. I have added this book to our Hospice library and feel that it will be a good resource for our community.

This is a story of a little girl whose grandmother has died and she has to travel with her family for the funeral. It takes her through the stages of wondering what it is like to go to the funeral home and to see her parents and grandfather going through some of the grief. It is a very realistic approach to way Americans approach the process of grief. This includes the funeral home, the cemetery, and even a consolation breakfast.

This book allows the child to see death as a real part of life and allows for the discussion of death with children. They will see how even when people are sad they can still laugh, remember, and talk about the person who died. It helps the healing process.

Excellent book for young children.

IT's a prettie good book....romantic and it had a good plot to it. Although it contains some less interesting parts to it...but it can reallie capture your attention if you're the type to read romantic and melo books...less adventerous..but more of a female romance book. It's a good book..but not the best.