Television Books

I just read Vickie Rubinson's book "Sorry...Your Name's not on the List," and I got a really good laugh. Ms. Rubinson displays a keen wit and eagle eye when it comes to reporting on her many humerous encounters with everyone from former Nazis in Vienna Austria, to the rich and famous in Beverly Hills California. I finished the book in two days. What's interesting is her interview with former Austrian President Kurt Waldheim on her last trip to Vienna. It's a fascinating story and ends with the disgraced President of the country, giving her a bunch of autographed books. This book is a must read.

I loved this book. It's well written, faced paced and humorous. The author talks about her experiences in a comical Catholic school in the San Fernando Valley, (where priests dance the can-can and nuns wax poetic about the mysteries of life), to the strange world of tabloid reporting.
There are numerous encounters with Hollywood celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Arnold, Anna Nicole Smith and Harvey Keitel to name a few, plus some run ins with famous and infamous politicians and lecherous diplomats.
If you ever wondered what it's like working the tabloid world, this book is for you.

I loved this memoir! It was well-written, insightful and touching. The author takes us on a wild tour from her early childhood days as the only Jewish girl in a Catholic school, to her 20's as a Hollywood reporter.
St. Christopher's prep school is the setting to this book. The teachers are whacky and the priests and nuns all seem like they came right out of central casting. This is a must read!!!!

This book has it all...encounters with aging ex-Nazis in Vienna Austria, to minor run-ins with mysterious Saudi princes. I couldn't put the book down. It's the story of Hollywood reporter Vickie Rubinson's comical life, from her upbringing at a strict Catholic School in Los Angeles, (where she was thrown in the trash can by her beloved English teacher), to the crazy world of Hollywood reporting...where she was chased down the tree lined streets of Bel Air by Priscilla Presley's Doberman's. It's a real page turner!

Sorry Your Name's not on the List is a past paced breezy memoir that takes readers on a wild and crazy ride through the halls of a Valley prep school where stern priests suddenly break into musical numbers in the middle of class, and smoking nuns wax poetic about the mysteries of life-to the offices of Private Eye Magazine in Hollywood, where the main character is sent on some pretty harrowing tabloid assignments.
The stories are short and comical and yet very believable. It was a real page turner and gave me a few good chuckles.

Sun Ra has remained one of the most misunderstood musicians of our time. And in the case of many music geniuses, Sun Ra would keep the critics and fans at arm's length, but welcome musicians into his world of philosophy and art.

Author John F. Szwed does an almost impossible task of peeling of the layers of myth and disinformation to present the real life, struggles and triumphs of Sun Ra. Szwed brilliantly weaves through the situations which shaped his life while growing up in Birmingham, Ala., the highs and exteme lows in the jazz world of Chicago and New York City & how persistence finally yielded an understanding - on various levels - from fans who also wanted to challenge the barriers erected in the music industry.

The philosophy of Sun Ra is explained and Szwed shows how it influenced every facet of his life on and off stage. I strongly believe Szwed ends any debate on how Sun Ra lived his life and what he demanded from those around him.

This must have been a very difficult undertaking for Szwed, but his outstanding research and balanced reporting yields a fantastic biography on a person we can continue to learn from.

Great book.
If you have an interest in who Sun Ra was you ought to read this. Not a lot of musical analysis, but an extrordinary explanation of the ideas and philosophies behind it. Good job on the life as well.
I wish the highly-praised Lewis Porter Coltrane biography was a quarter as good as this.

The book is well-written and does what it sets out to do - explain who Sun Ra was and what he was doing. This is no mean feat. Sun Ra was a man of many interests and beliefs, of whom many misconceptions exist. Even most of his fans (I've been listening to Ra's music for about 10 years now) will probably learn much and gain tremendous perspective on him from this book (I certainly did).

The book's story is one of a man with artistic genius within him, who probably could have been a millionaire and musical "star" - who chose to do other things instead. Here is the unusual story of what he did and why he did it.

There is room for another book in the world on Ra's discography, that traces the patterns, forms, and themes of his vast catalogue of recorded music. There is room in the world for a book that tells the stories of the members of Ra's Arkestra. But this is not those books, this is the first logical step in studies : an explanation of Sun Ra himself. It's a difficult job very well done.

Frankly, Sun Ra seemed to go out of his way to make a biography pretty much impossible. Professor Szwed is to be commended for his effort, though I think at times the professor takes Ra and himself too seriously. It is a hip jazz disease that Ra played off of brilliantly and would have been amused by.

What is of value is you get some idea of the depth of this fellow, the complexity, the seriousness and simultaneous playfull nature. In being too deep or altogether dismissive of him, we missed the amazing creations.

The book confirmed my evaluation of Ra's heart and motivation. A few years prior to reading this book, I went with my family to an assembly of jazz musicians who processed, played outrageous free jazz, and did this while listening to an old woman recite Sun Ra's poetry while "dancing" and "singing" in Wichita. My young daughter was squealing with delight and loving the wild affair. The adults were being so "into it", solemn, and so serious. This book confirmed to me she was likely the only one Sun Ra would have concluded got it. He probably would have commenced to direct the band to improvise off of her squeals.

He from above probably was smiling and particularly happy that a little white girl "understood the vibrations" and would have been encouraged for the future of the earth which he was convinced would take all the races working in harmony to rescue.

This is, simply put, the greatest jazz biography I have ever read. Sun Ra is a complex and fascinating character, and Szwed's narrative more than lives up to the challenge. The most impressive thing about this book is that Szwed places Ra's, shall we say, bizarre beliefs in a context that makes him seem brilliant, lonely, compassionate, and vulnerable--in a word, human. Interwoven with the facts of Ra's life, his childhood, his musical development, his status as 60s cult icon, Szwed goes into long, fascinating digressions on the roots of Ra's beliefs--from ancient Egyptian mythology to the Bible. After reading this book, it was as if a whole world had been opened to me, and I now enjoy and appreciate Ra's art so much more. I wish I could convey how much this book moved me...it is more than the best jazz biography I have ever read, it is one of the best biographies I have ever read, period. If you are at all interested in Sun Ra, experimental jazz, or modern mythmaking, then DO NOT hesitate to pick this book up.

The shipping was slow but well worth it once I received the book, a very thorough and professionally prepared work!

Mr. Britton writes a scholarly and fairly much complete analysis and history of the secret agent/spy genre on television. Not even that, but the review is fun and enjoyable to read and not burdened down with academic jargon (a definite plus). In the opening chapters, there is a readable history on how this type of adventure series evolved from the earlier pulp literature of the twenties and thirties, and in the conclusion an examination of the "why" are the spy series so popular?

The author even mentions some of my favorite but short lived favorites such as "Spy Games" and the seventies "Hunter" series (wish they would come out on DVD).

However, favorites such as "I Spy," "Mission Impossible," "Get Smart," The Avengers," and even "The X-Files" are given a chapter each to discuss each of what the series brought to popular culture. Again, highly readable.

I encourage all (serious) TV fans and secret agent afficiandos this text a try.

Now, if someone can just help me find the exact titles and authors of the rest of the Praeger Collection on Television?, it would be appreciated.

Sincerely,
JThree
[...]

Dr. Britton's Spy Television is must reading for any nostalgia buff. If a person thinks that all TV is garbage, he or she should read this book and find out otherwise. In a smorgasbord of informatively well-written chapters, Dr. Britton has reminded those of us who remember many of the shows featured here that once upon a time, TV spy shows were better than rock concerts and modern sitcoms and soap operas. Finally, one can read in one volume: what The Prisoner was really all about; how The Man from U.N.C.L.E. paved the way for this genre and its influence lives on. Even The Bionic Woman gets encyclopedic coverage. The Avengers is given a delightful treatment and one will never view the series in the same light again after reading this book. Dr. Britton has conducted personal interviews with Robert Vaughn (U.N.C.L.E.) and Robert Conrad (The Wild Wild West) to relate their intriguing retrospectives upon their own fame and series. One will want to purchase DVDs or blow dust off VHS boxes and go down memory's mansion of wonderful spy TV.

I loved the chapter on I Spy and Sheldon Leonard. I Spy was my dad's favorite show when I was a kid. He enjoyed the on-location sets in Hong Kong, Japan, Europe and Latin America. We got to see contemporary life in those countries, not the stereotypes (Chinese can't speak proper English; they're subservients or gangsters; women were either prostitutes ("World of Suzie Wong") or cunning Dragon Ladies. (Remember, the only Chinese then on TV were "Hop Sing," the manservant in Bonanza and the housekeeper in The Courtship of Eddie's Father.) I Spy dealt with stereotypes by ignoring them. It had the nerve to show Culp and Cosby with regular business people, competent police officers, family folk, etc. who just happened to live in Hong Kong or Japan or Mexico. In one show, gangster Martin Landau tried to buy the services of a Chinese waitress. She rejected the money and his "offer," and I expected him to explode. Instead, to my surprise, Landau looked at the waitress with respect and said something along the line of "you can't be bought. I like that in a woman," and he backed off. Wow! Very heady stuff in the 1960s! I now watch the DVDs with my kids. It was interesting that I had to explain some of the racial stuff because it's not so obvious nowadays and/or we've made advances along the way. Thank you, I Spy, SL, Bob Culp and Bill Cosby.

This book also covered more obscure and hard-to-find shows such as Bergerac, the Sandbaggers, and Return of the Saint. And, of course, there were lots of silly or just plain awful programs as well. Fans of the Man from Uncle, Secret Agent, etc. will find much to enjoy, though. Great read, especially when you want an escape from watching TV.

From the early 1960s, TV spies were presented in light of anti-Communist propaganda, and through the years this model has developed to cover murky motives and adventures fraught with international intrigue. Spy Television considers how both popular and obscure spy shows came to TV, analyzes how and why the shows either succeeded or failed, and examines how fact and fiction have been incorporated into the genre. Britton earned his Ph.D. in American Literature and his penchant for uncovering sources and roots readily shines.

This is good book that briefly describes the events of Episode I in a picture format perfect for young and non-readers

this is the best book you can look at to see all the details put into episode 1! there are pictures, quotes, and much info about each character! it truly is a good buy!

I just bought this book and I just can't get over how amazing it is. I learned who played Darth Maul finally and I found out a lot of things about the movie I really didn't noticed when I watched it.

When I got this book, It was totally AWESOME! there are a lot of pics and COOL stuff that you couldn't of had guessed...I mean is was "THE BEST" I couldn't stop reading it...it's REALLy good...trust me!

This book is really great. I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know before! For example, it explained more about the Jedi council and other characters.

My children have enjoyed reading this series several times.

Imagine traveling at light speed and traveling to any planet you want. Or having a beam sword/light saber that's indestructible, not even the best of the best could beat it. In "Star Wars Episode 2 Attack Of The Clones" by Patricia C. Wrede all of this is reality but in your mind of course. It's a book of action, adventure, excitement, and fun. Imagine you had the power of the whole galaxy.

On a planet called Naboo there was a young kid called Anakin Skywalker, chosen by a Jedi knight obi wan from the republic academy. Anakin was born to be a Jedi. He was the chosen one. So Obi Wan trained him for years. Soon he was set on a mission to protect the queen Padme. But really he was on a different mission to find his lost mother. Also to become a Jedi knight. But if he failed his quest to protect Padme he would never become a Jedi knight. He felt miserable because Obi Wan would not let him pass and also fight a real battle as a real Jedi. But he was just as miserable because he thought his mother was died. So he traveled to Naboo to hunt down the kidnapers of his mother. Accomplishing his goal he did. He destroyed all men and women of their kind. But to late he was, his mother was dead, hanging from a rope in one of their huts. After returning to his mission he felt that he failed his mother. But Padme was happy for him because he found his mother died or alive, as long as he finished his quest. Just then Padme reached to kiss him and that ended in an affair. When he returned to the republic and heard that he accomplished his mission they decided to night Anakin a full Jedi knight. His life was complete. Besides for his mother but when he married Padme his life was like he had a whole new family.

In this book there's a lot cool action. One of my favorites are when Obi Wan went to find the mastermind killer, the bounty hunter. When the bounty hunter tried to run from Obi Wan, but Obi Wan took this little tracker that Obi Wan put on his ship. So then obi wan took his ship and they started a high-speed plane chase. Back and forth through asteroids and shooting missiles at each other. Obi Wan knew he had to fire back but his real mission was to find out where he was going. So he did dodging missiles and asteroids but he made it. The bounty hunter was going to count Dooku the evil mastermind.
The theme of this book is that a young child that was chosen to be a Jedi knight. Trained by Obi Wan he was told to be the best of the best. But Anakin knew there was more in life then being a Jedi. He had to find his real family. So this book is really about a kid going to for fill his destiny.

If you read this book your imagination will grow farther then the galaxy. That's why you got to read this amazing book; also if you want fun, adventure, and excitement well this book has it all and even more. So in my opinion I rate this book 4/5 stars and I think it would be great for ages 9 to 13.

this book was awsome i rate it a five and above this is a must read book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the book Star Wars Episode 2 Attack of the Clones you will find Jedi fighting the dark side. My favorite parts are when Jango Fett and Obi-Wan fought on Komino. Also, the execution and the war on Genosis. Finally, I like the light saber fight at the end. I recommend this fictional book because this book is adventuresome, unpredictable, and shows exitement through out the novel. If you want to find out more read this book.

Starwars Episode 2 was an action/lovestory. The setting of the story was were the Jedis tried searching for the bad guys all over the galaxy. The main characters in the book were Obi won Kenobi ,the Queen and all the Jedi masters. My favorite character is Yoda because he was a very good Jedi master.My favorite part of the book was when all the Jedis fight against the clones.I would recommend this book to children betwen the ages of 7-13 because it is very cool and action packed.

Jones does a great job of teaching people how to "win" with the media as opposed to "surviving" or "defeating" the media. That mindset change is key for most people. I learned many new tricks of the trade from reading his book.

If I had to pick only one book of the hundreds written on how to deal with the media, this would be the one I'd recommend. In fact, when I reviewed an earlier edition of this book several years ago for my newsletter, The Publicity Hound, I said that this was the book I wish I had written. As a former newspaper editor who worked in the business 22 years, I thought I knew it all, and more. I didn't, particularly when it came to TV. I couldn't put the book down.

Clarence Jones, a former award-winning investigative reporter in both newspapers and TV, knows his stuff, including all the tricks reporters use to loosen your lips. The book is pithy, with easy-to-read chapters broken down into numerous sub-heads--making it easy to find exactly what you're looking for in a hurry.

Jones takes you inside the heads and brains of working journalists. He explains how they think, how they react, and what they have the power to do to you if you don't play by their rules.

I read an earlier edition from cover to cover and referred to it so often in my consulting practice that the book literally fell apart from use. When I scanned this 8th edition, I got lost in it AGAIN, long past my bedtime. Reading it will make you much smarter, much savvier and much better prepared to meet the media when bad news strikes. Even if all the stories about you are good (yeah, right), please don't do another interivew unless you read this book first.

Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
http://www.PublicityHound.com

If you deal with the media then you should have read this book already. I read Michael Levine's Guerrilla PR Wired, a brilliant book on PR, and then read Winning With The News Media. Both were influential in my career.

I work as a Public Infomation Officer and Paramedic for EVAC Ambulance in Volusia County, FL (Daytona Beach / Metro Area). This book is is quite simply the BEST how to guide to any one who works with the media. Clarence Jones continues his tradition of excellence with the new and revised 2001 edition. Don't hesitate just buy it, you'll love it.

I must admit, as a Public Information professional I at first found Jones' writing style and key points for working with the media rather simplistic. But as I continued reading, I found myself marking and underlining passage after passage. As a spokeman and media relations officer within NATO, and having just returned as a spokesman for NATO operations in Macedonia during a major deployment of troops, I wished I had read this book before I went there. I was doing as many as 20 interviews per day ranging from live stand-ups with CNN and BBC, to radio call-ins and newspaper interviews representing media world-wide. This book reinforced everything I learned leading up to and during that experience, stating clearly what's important and why, as well as many tips and techiques that seem rather minor but are really quite important when push comes to shove and you find yourself face-to-face with a reporter. I will use many points from this book to further refine my own training program for senior leaders within NATO and to prepare them for interviews. A great resource that has found a prominent place among my professional books.

If you're a fan of the televsion series Quantum Leap, this original Quantum Leap novel is the best of the bunch.

A sequel of sorts to the episode, "Another Mother," it provides an enjoyable follow-up to the classic episode.

A great book that included some old favorites from the TV series. Storm did an excellent job with all the stories that were going on at once. A Must-Read book for all QL fans.

You would think being able to write a pre-existing character and doing it right, knowing what they would or would not say would be easy. But I've read books based on series' where you wonder if the author ever watched the show or read up on the characters or anything before taking the job (My main beef being with the Star Trek Voyager book Homecoming. Could barely get through the first few chapters. Truly aweful) But there are those, like the DS9 relaunch series of books and this book that truly capture the essence of the characters and you can picture them very vividly as they say their lines; as if you were watching it as a brand new episode, after all these years.
**(Spoilers)**
I gotta say, the ending was bitter-sweat. I would have preffered Terressa ending up working for the project, especially with them making a big deal about being this genius, akin to Sam. Sure, it would have had shades of Sami-Jo Fuller working for the project, but that just plays into the other coincidences and similarities with other leaps.
For some reason, I would have liked to have seen more happen with George; him being drugged and found passed out seemed, somehow, anti-climactic.
All and all, though, it was really well written. And I loved the running gag of Sam never getting to eat. You never really think about it and in a television show, seeing them eat or perform any other necessary vital functions (like sleeping; we never saw Sam have any down time in the show) and the author worked it in well and made it very real.

This book was wonderful. I really liked the episode and the fact that there was this wonderfully written sequal...
There is too much to say and so little room. It's very inspirational.

Although this book may seem a little slow and boring at first, keep reading! If you remember the Quantum Leap episode "Another Mother" and it touched you, this book will do the same, as it is a continuation of Al's promise to a little girl that someday, he'll come back to her. It has everything in it, from suspense to comedy, while still maintaining the important elements of a good Quantum Leap Novel. This book would make an excellent movie. Don't miss out!

When something arouses passion in us, we are sometimes lucky enough to sleep with it. That is exactly what I have done with Jeremiah Comey's "The Art of Film Acting". The book rests on my nightstand, and I frequently turn to it for inspiration and knowledge. I have never found a more direct, simple and understandable explanation for this very complicated art known as acting. And if teaching art is so difficult, how does Mr. Comey make it seem so easy? I have a bachelor's degree in acting and more than 30 years in the business. It took me this long to find my "bible". This amazing book could also be titled "The Art of Teaching". Thank you, Maestro!

As an actor who is very comfortable on stage, I've always been surprised by my difficulties in front of the camera. This book not only identified what I was doing wrong but has given me very helpful and practical ideas about how to work in the medium of film. What a great find!

Loved this book! The author's writing style is easy to understand. A lot of the book is an actual script of what happened in his class - the students dialog and his (the teacher). The students read scripts with each other and he instructs/helps them improve their acting. Highly recommended for the beginning actor!

Jeremiah's ability to convey such a clean and concise approach to film acting is endlessly refreshing, especially to the working actor overhwhelmed by the endless masses of techniques and methods out there. He strips acting down to its very essence and truth through his emphasis on being in the moment and on developing ones skills of observation and listening. His simple wisdom reminds us of what we already know-- what we knew as children and chose to forget-- the endless wonder of a human face, the natural expression of unjudged emotion, how to live openly in the present without expectation, to trust unwaveringly in the given circumstances. Truly a great work and one every actor, director, artist or film enthusiast should have. I will read this book again and again and I do not doubt that one day it will be a staple in any serious actor's collection. Excellent.

Jeremiah has an honest approach when presenting this book. It is very useful, and a definite book to have on your shelf. I have found myself unable to put it down. I would recommend this book for any type of actor wanting to understand and practice his craft too the best of his ability.

For a designer+Trekkie like me, this book is a collector's item. This compilation of scenic art, concept sketches and production stills is just inspirational.

When I was first given The Art of Star Trek as a special gift by a close friend I was to say the least, over the moon. The present came as something of a pleasant shock for I was totally unaware that it had been published. As a lover of "the art of" books and an avid fan of Star Trek, I had long hoped for such a title and finally... here it was! The Art of Star Trek has fast become my favourite "art of" book (along with the Art of Star Wars books) and it is always near at hand.

The Art of Star Trek is everything I would have expected and more, stunning colour pictures, informative text and lavish presentation. This long overdue book covers several of Star Treks many and varied incarnations thus far on television and film alike and charts its visual evolution over more than thirty years. It is positively overflowing with many fascinating examples of the sketches and storyboards, production and matte paintings, posters, costumes, props and sets [etc] that fill the Paramount archives and private collections alike. Although most of the designs will not be used for various reasons, they loosely form the basis for how a Star Trek production might appear when completed. The concept art included in this volume has been created by many of the top film-television designers to have worked in Hollywood throughout the years. These creative individuals have played a seminal role in shaping the distinctive aesthetic of Star Trek over its almost forty year history. Included are such artists as Mike Okuda, Andrew Probert, John Eaves, Mike Minor and Matt Jefferies, who created the first brilliant prototype Starship Enterprise in the 1960s. Mr. Jefferies classic design has served as the blueprint for all subsequent Starfleet starship designs. The many individuals included in this wonderful book are the unsung talents of Star Trek, and who for the most part go unrecognised by its legions of fans. They have diligently worked long hours behind the scenes of Star Trek series and movies to create the multitude of conceptual and commercial art that helps Trek run efficiently. Their concept art and finished designs play an important role in Star Treks appeal to a devoted fan-base around the world.

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens have carefully chosen a wide selection of the finest art created for this most enduring of franchises. The book is arranged in a chronological order, the first half being devoted to the television series from The Original Series to Voyager. The second half of the book is devoted to Star Trek films from The Motion Picture leading up to Generations. With stunning full colour photographs throughout this is a fascinating and engrossing volume that will keep one rapt for hours. So if you haven't already got a copy in your library and are a serious Trekkie and art lover do yourself a big favour and buy this incredible coffee table book, you won't be disappointed.

Since The Art of Star Trek was first published (some years ago now) the Star Trek universe has been steadily expanding, Voyager and Deep Space Nine have long finished, three more movies have been made so far... and Star Trek: Enterprise has sadly been cancelled. In their wake they have left a whole gallery of exiting new material gathering dust in the Paramount archives that hopefully will be used in The Art of Star Trek: volume two at some future date.

This book has some of the best artwork that was made for the first four Star Trek series and some of the movies. It has photographs of the sets and props as well as diagrams of the ships, including Klingon and Romulan vessels, the movie and series Enterprises, and even Voyager. The book follows a plan which views the art history of Star Trek from the pilot film "The Cage" to "Star Trek: Voyager". You'll love this book if you're a Star Trek fan!

"The Art of Star Trek," by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, is to date the ultimate "coffee table" book for devoted Star Trek fans. This book, which was published in 1995, covers all aspects of "Trek" history up until its publication date. Through text and plentiful illustrations, the book celebrates the visual artistry that has been such an essential component of the "Trek" phenomenon.

The book deals with each of the specific series from the original until "Voyager," including both the often neglected animated series and the aborted "Phase II" series of the mid-1970s. All films from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" to "Star Trek Generations" are also covered.

The amount and quality of items in this visual "museum" are astounding. There are behind-the-scenes photos, concept drawings, photos of models, prosthetic makeup designs, storyboards, movie posters from around the world, closeup shots of props, and more. Particularly interesting were the shots of certain props and aliens which were barely seen in fleeting shots, but which represent great imagination and artistry.

Also noteworthy are the drawings which document the evolution of both the original series "Enterprise" and the "Next Generation" ship. I was fascinated by the concept drawings of possible "Enterprises" for the aborted "Phase II" series, as well as by the rejected new uniforms for the first "Next Generation" feature film.

The concise but clear text is a good match for the wealth of glorious, full-color photographs. This book is, from start to finish, a visual feast for "Trek" fans.

My initial reaction to The Art of Star Trek and it's hefty price was skepticism. Once I did purchase it and start running through it, the price could've been twice and I still would've bought this gem. The Art of Star Trek is a pure celebration of everything that Star Trek is and was all the way through it's publication date. It includes articles from the very beginning to the lastest on Voyager and Star Trek Generations. The pictures and drawings are stunning to say the least. This is a book you'll definitely want to add to your collection if you haven't already.

Great book! I am a reading teacher and love Patricia Polacco's books to teach with. This story is wonderful to read to classess, especially around TV turnoff week.

This is a great book to read to children to stress the importance of reading. My kids loved all the different ways that the books were once used. They could't believe people were not reading. It really encouraged many of them to get out a book and read.

In the town of Triple Creek, television is the only source of entertainment and information. In fact, the teachers have even been replaced with educational programming. The library was torn down to make way for a television transmitter. For fifty years, the town has not read a book, but has instead used them to prop up buildings and fill in potholes. So long they have been without books, that they have actually forgotten to read.

When Eli begins visiting his Aunt Chip, she teaches him to read. The most wonderful gift in the world. His enthusiasm spreads and soon all the children are begging to have Aunt Chip teach them to get stories from a book. When the adults learn of what is happening they respond at first in fear and anger, but eventually want their children to teach them to read.

Why 5 stars?:
Polacco has a wonderful way of making her characters a little zany, but still real enough to be believable. The watercolor illustrations give the soft feeling of her words. Most importantly, the message of the importance of books and reading is something that purveys through most of Polacco's works. This book deserves to be a part of your home, school or classroom library. Read it to, and with your child. Let him or her know that you value reading and they will too.

In Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam affair, Patricia Polacco teaches you that you shouldn't watch more t.v. than read. I thought this book was excellet. I recommend this book to people that like t.v. because maybe this will teach them a leason to STOP WATCHING T.V.! My favorite part of this book is when they destroyed the t.v. tower.

This book is a wonderful story about what happens when people no longer read. It has great imagery--books being used for table legs and to prop open doors, even as a dam. I used it in my seventh grade language arts class, following it up with a discussion of why reading is important. Even though it's a picture book, my seventh graders really got into it.