Titles Books

A mucho good book; filled with a sharp, sensitive, wisdom that is constantly searching for the light on the surface, through the depths of the forgotten and ignored....rare like all great things.

The great Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset left many followers, some of them also important thinkers, like Julian Marias. But most are common people who became much more educated and civilized persons by reading his wonderful books. Ortega was one of the rare species of philosophers who expresse his ideas in a very clear prose. Others in this line are Plato and Augustine, or Bertrand Russell, an Ortega contemporary. Meditations on Quixote is a small book where the master strives to give a synthesis of his thought. A synthesis of this synthesis could be given by two of his phrases: "Yo soy yo y mi circunstancia" (I am myself and my circumstance) and " I only offer a way of considering things" (modus res considerandi). A great philosopher and a great writer. His was my main intellectual influence.

Meditations on Quixote is the first major work Jose Ortega y Gasset published in Spain; as such, the reader will stumble across several infant notions that were later subjected to major philosophical treatments by Ortega. Naturally, therefore, this book is often passed over and dismissed. However, I believe it holds within its pages a very mature, coherent argument. It should be noted that Don Quixote is not actually the central focus of these meditations. Rather, Ortega only delves into Cervantes's great novel during the second half of the book (the "first" meditation), using that knight of rueful countenance to clarify his analysis. I will not attempt to explain the philosophy presented in this book, as I feel there is a reason it takes hundreds of pages to express these concepts. It is such with all philosophy; think of it as a food - I can compress all the contents of a five-star dinner into a dense pill and give that to you, but it would not serve justice to the original pieces. Having said that, I can certainly relay (as another reviewer has) the famous expression "I am myself and my circumstance." Ortega puts significance into what this "circumstance" is composed of, mentally dividing the material things in life and their deeper meaning, explaining that this deeper meaning is just as real as the material surface. He then leads into the concept of man as a hero via his own will ("the will to be oneself is heroism"), focusing on Don Quixote, and modern literature in general (as opposed the ideal epics of old), as examples. Julián Marías makes interesting notes throughout. Recommended!

From back cover:
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
It's sixteen years since the girls of the Class of '78 graduated from the Berkeley School for Girls. Four young women, four close friends, stood on the brink of adulthood and dreamed about the directions their lives would take. None could know what lay ahead....

For Meg Delgado, it's an exciting carrer as a private investigator specializing in cruise-ship crime. Her latest assignment is to catch a thief--by playing the role of a wealthy socialite aboard the glamorousluxury liner Galileo. She's already got a suspect in mind: a debonair Cary Grant type named Noah Danforth. But if Meg's not who she seems to be, neither is Noah! And they'll both discover that deceptions and disguises lead to danger...and to romance.
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I didn't think this was awful at all, really what an awful so-called review! Anyways this is a charming little book, filled with everything you could ask for. I highly recommend it!

...it's so much fun to make fun of! Especially when you read it out loud with accents for all the characters...there's no way you can help laughing hysterically. Painfully hilarious descriptions of every article of clothing and characters who are so wonderfully stupid and overemotional. It's the second best piece of complete trash that I've read in the past year. ("No Boys?" is the first!)

Meg Delgado has an exciting career as a private investigator in cruise ship crime. Her latest assignment is to catch a thief. She's already got a suspect in mind, a debonair Cary Grant type named Noah Danforth. They both discover that deceptions and disguises lead to danger...and to romance.

I was really amazed of this book.So unusual story and illustrations

Exellent illustrations and the fairy tail makes this book a wonderfull gift to any child. This one is one of the several books in our library we read, and enjoy the illustrations over and over again.

I read this book to my second grade class, and they absolutely loved it! The story was beautifully written, and kept the children in suspense throughout the whole book. The illustrations were wonderfully drawn and added a unique flavor to the story.

We recently had a class vote to pick our favorite book, of all the ones I have read to them this year. This book won by a landslide. I think that kids are some of the best critics of children's literature, and they loved it! What more is there to say?

The moon is tempted to earth to see what the bogels are up to. She gets captured trying to save a boy from their clutches, and the moon disappears. The boy must figure out how to save her. The artwork is wonderfully creepy, and the clutching, grasping, creaking, slurping descriptions bring to life the will o' the wisps and the bog-filled countryside. Not overly firghtening but thrilling enough (especially the bogels) to introduce an old, spooky, English folktale to youngsters.

The book was so well illustrated and colorful. Story was real scary. What a unique book.
Sally Molock

My husband, daughters (4 & 5) and I all loved the book. Beautiful art work. A little more sophisticated story line.

Fabulous dialogue and humor abound in this refreshing tale of the cow that jumped over the moon. The change of attitude is welcome, fun and irreverent. A must-read for anyone and their child. Sweet and aesthetic illustration makes it a pleasure, suits the story beautifully. Looking for more from this talented writer.

This book is hilarious. It's a scream! The old nonsensical nursery rhyme is freshened up, dusted off and given a satirical slant. The parts with the horse are very funny. The humor runs rampant throughout this work and will leave readers of all ages, young children and adults alike laughing uproariously.

For Beatle fans, the "horse" brings to mind "Dark Horse," the one who pulls ahead, a description George Harrison often applied to himself. The short of it is, this book will delight all.

Choldenko is a gifted author and is one to keep a watch for!

This review from The National Parenting Center sums this great book up perfectly:

This hysterical and irreverent book which explores, in extraordinary depth, the well known Mother Goose line, "And the Cow Jumped Over The Moon", will have you and your children in stitches. With her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, Gennifer Choldenko tells the "true" story of the very first moon jumping bovine. You will laugh out loud as you read this book, we guarantee it. The illustrations by Paul Yalowitz are equally wonderful making this a book you'll love having on your shelf. END

This is excellent book, full of facts.
I congratulate the writer for this marvelous work.

This is excellent book, full of facts.
I congratulate the writer for this marvelous work.

...as a long standing student of Morocco I found this book focused and factually correct. Unlike some other books written about this country, 'Morocco Under King Hassan' provides a balanced picture that allows the reader to make his or her own judgements. If asked which books a student of Morocco should put at the top of their reading list I would start with Maxwell's 'Lords of the Atlas' and then Mr. Hughes' book.

YEARS ago I discovered Bernard Wiseman's wonderful Morris and Boris books on the shelf of a rural elementary school library while searching for good read-alouds for story time. During my years working as an elementary school librarian I spent hundreds of hours doing story time--and these books were ALWAYS a favorite. The two chief characters--Morris the Moose and Boris the Bear--are friends--but Morris is goofy and Boris is grouchy and Morris gets on Boris's nerves pretty regularly. The dialogue is sharp--the jokes genuinely funny. Word play is clever. Kids would ROAR when I read it. We read ALL the Morris and Boris books we could find. Fast forward 10 years. I'm transferred to the high school. Some of the kids I had read to as K-5 graders are IN high school. They STILL talk about their favorite books from story time on occasion, and the Morris and Boris book titles will invariably be mentioned. Fast forward another 5 years. I am asked to start a regular story time with our high school Pre-school Lab class of four year olds. I begin gathering my arsenal of good read alouds and find that not all of the Morris and Boris books are still in print. This is catastrophe! I gather whatever I can find from new and used book venders. The children LOVE arriving for story time and seeing a "NEW" Morris book. Wiseman wrote a number of Morris books. His earlier ones did not include Boris the bear, and we always like the ones that also have Boris the best. My favorites are Morris has a Cold, Halloween with Morris and Boris and Christmas with Morris and Boris. Children like being able to predict the plot and can laugh when Morris doesn't understand very common things about being sick or the holidays. Boris always explains to him--with Morris interrupting to create more funny misunderstandings along the way. I have a goofy "Morris" voice and a gruff "Boris" voice that I have developed over the years just for the books in this series. Back in the day the kids would invariably interrupt me just as I would begin to read to say--"Will you make the noises this week?" "Don't I always make the noises?" I would reply. The children like books with "noises" or voices. These books work VERY well in that respect. A good time will be had by all.

I grew up reading this book. Definitely one of the best children's books of all time. It has hilarious pictures and a cute story.

We found this book in a thrift shop and it has become a favorite of my children. I wish it had been a series. We would love to have heard of further adventures of Morris.

I have known BJ Edwards for over 23 years, and while we spent many a happy afternoon and evening at boarding school playing blind cricket (he has a tiny amount of sight, while I'm totally blind), I had no inkling that he'd one day be a published author - and a good one at that. When I first considered reviewing this book publicly, then, I was a bit concerned that my friendship with him would make me hopelessly biased, and that my review may be worth less than the paper it was written on.

That was before I read Myth Makers.

Read this book. No, honestly, read it; you owe it to yourself.

Myth Makers is an amazing addition to the fantasy genre, and has so much to offer that I could not possibly do it justice here. While it's suitable for teens and adults alike, it is deliberately written with multiple layers of meaning for the scholars amongst us, and also has the dash of drama, magic and romance that makes the best of this genre so unforgettable.

What would you want in such a book? An epic struggle between good and evil? Check. Prehistoric druids wielding magical powers, without being masters of destruction? Check. Parallel stories in prehistoric and modern settings, together with a sprinkling of time travel? Check. Courageous men and women, fighting to do what's right while all the odds seem stacked against them? Check. Giants raised from the Earth to do the bidding of higher powers? Check. Mighty Mmidgets who ride to battle on the back of bat, mouse and squirrel? Check. Large-scale battles waged with sword and spear, axe and arrow? Check. Honorable men caught on the wrong side of an implacable conflict? Check. Dragons, and dungeons? Check. A dark God, who meddles in the affairs of men and can terrify with a mere glance? Check. A goddess locked away in a frozen tear, in mourning for her lost son? Check. A strangely intelligent blackbird which may just be more than it seems? Check.

And no, that doesn't begin to do it justice. Not at all.

I recommend this book unreservedly. Give it a try - you won't regret it.

Picking up a book from a first time author sounds like, and often is a fruitless task. However, on reading Myth Makers by BJ Edwards, i was delighted to discover the exception to this common rule. The novel, a work of fantasy, is both intelligently crafted, imaginative and well written. The author moves away from common themes and exotic locales in favour of believable characters and historical contexts. Myth Makers is peopled by druids, gods, warriors and men; there is a good story and a thrilling climax. I visited www.myth-makers.me.uk and found out some interesting information about both the book and other exciting projects. Where Myth Makers stands out from the crowded marketplace is in the subtle depth and multi-layered concepts. One on level it is a ripping adventure story, but on other levels it is about war, religion and struggle. I urge you to read this great novel.

Make up your own mind

I must confess to being a little nervous about picking up a book from a new author, but I looked at the website and it interested me. Plus, I am a fan
of the fantasy genre.

On reading the novel my misgivings were proobed to be in vain. Myth Makers is a great book. The characters, Aer, Eidoel and Michel; the god Balor and king
Ghorthigurn are characterised splendidly through dramatic and superbly crafted writing.

Myth Makers proved to be a fantastic adventure story, with some intelligent subplots relating to death and religion, war and love. So, whether you are
a fan of fantasy, druidism or adventure, whether you are a scholar or child, I urge you to share the journey and buy this book!

This book is ideal for children whose logical, intellectual muscles need to be strained. Nate is a young boy who calls himself "the great" because of his ability to solve puzzles. Early one morning he encounters a torn piece of paper with the letters "VITA" on his doorstep. This is equivalent to a major dare, so Nate and his faithful dog Sludge embark on an exploration to discover what the message. After several small adventures and some excellent deductive work, the riddle is solved and Nate ends up where he was supposed to be at the appropriate time.
The story reads easily and there are a few clues that appear early that a sharp eye may spot. It is an excellent story for the second or third grader.

Nate the Great is a "great" series for kids in the 2-4th grades. My son enjoys reading about Nate's adventures, and the large selectionof other Nate stories makes it an excellent way to get a kid hooked on reading.

Another book featuring a young girl as the lead character who solves mysteries is "Abby and the Bicycle Caper."

My two boys and I have read all of the Nate the Great books, and this is one of their favorites. If you're paying close attention, you can even spot some clues long before Nate does, and help him solve the case.

As a traditional Native, I rarely read anything like this. I wouldn't have even ordered it, except the author is a modern Native striving towards his own roots. I thought that I would be offended, but was pleasently suprised.

The sweat lodge is a very sacred place and this book does a great job of illustrating that. From the history to the legends it is fascinating and well rounded. Many traditions are represented in the stories and I really enjoyed reading them as seeing both the differences as well as the commonality. Highly recommended reading especially for anyone interested in participating in a sweat lodge. Respect and Reverence.

If you don't even know what a sweat-lodge is you might not get what you are looking for reading this book. However, for those who would like to learn more about Native American spiritual practices, it's a rich supply of knowledge. The book sets forth the history of the Sweat-lodge in many cultures, and also tells some great ancient tales of the lodge--great for telling in the lodge, or around the fire.