English Books

this is a lovely children's book. Adults like to look at it too! Interesting pictures and nice story.

This children's book is a great gift for anyone with a heart who loves to garden. The little girl in the story must go to live with her uncle during hard times. He is a gruff baker but his little niece brightens his world with her loving charm and amazing gardening skills.

This is a book is written as a series in letters and has a lot of great pictures. It is about a little girl whose mother and father don't have jobs. She also has a grandmother who gave her, her love for gardening. Lynda-Grace (the girl) has to go live with her uncle who never smiles. When she gets there she finds out that her uncle own a bakery and has helpers. One of the helpers name's is Emma. Emma and Lynda-Grace and Emma have a scheme to make Uncle Jim smile! Read the book to find out what happens!

This is a really good picture book. As I said before, it is in teh form of letters from Lynda-Grace to her parent's and grandmother. It is a fantastic book for all ages!


Give "The Gardener" a try!

My mom bought this book last year for my daughter, now 6. My daughter loves gardening and "old-fashioned" books, and really enjoys the story and the pictures. She focuses mostly on Lydia's garden and cat. I cry every time I read it, because I focus on the little girl leaving her parents. My mom used to read this at a parenting group she ran at a women's prison. She said all the women were touched by it, as they had the experience of sending their kids away to live with other people. My mom pointed out that while Lydia's letters are very brave and positive, the pictures often show the sadness and loneliness of Lydia's situation in the first half of the book. So this is a very complex and thoughtful book, but still simple enough to be enjoyed by young children.

The time of this story takes place in the mid 1930s and the family of the little girl of the story has had some hard times as so many families did during those horrible years. Briefly, the little girl is sent to live with her uncle Jim in the city until her father can find work and get the family back on thier feet. The author has chosen to tell this story via letter written back home to the little girl's family, by the girl herself. The story is through her eyes. The story is excellent, as it points out just what one person, even a little one, can do to change people lives. The running theme throughout of course is the little girls love for gardening. I certainly will not go into a blow by blow account of the plot, etc. as that has been done here several times, and done quite well. The text though, is quite readable and the illustrations are great. One other theme, other than the gardening, that runs through the story, is the fact that the little girl seems to be quite concerned over the fact that uncle Jim never smiles. In the end....well, you will have to read the story yourself, does he or does he not smile...you figure it out! Love this book and recommend it highly.

This rhyming children's book is terrific toddler reading. The drawings are beautiful and our kids have both loved it. Our two year old loves the animal illustrations and verses. A great pick!

We recently ordered 5 copies of Quick as a Cricket for our grandson and as gifts for other children. Our kids grew up with this book and it is timeless. All the copies we ordered were paperback but one arrived supersized. The pages are 15 x17 which is wonderful. The pages of the smaller books are 6x6. Both sizes have their uses but we really enjoy the wonderful illustrations in the larger format.

My children love this book (they are 5, 3 and 1). The illustrations are amazing and the words are few, but very creative. It's very fun to immitate the pages as well.

Cute book! There are puppets that can be purchased to go along with the story, they are great for kids to keep them engaged and involoved.

I used to use this book while teaching children at a learning center, and now I use this book to read to my daughter before bedtime. The pictures are great! The read is short which is great for kids with short attention spans. Absolutely a must have!

I loved this book it brought me back to my child hood in a fun and loving way. I thought it was well written, I did not want to end. I hope the Author writes a sequel

This is the greatest book ever! Kept me on the edge of my seat every time I picked it up to read. Full of hope and wonder. I lent it to my sister, a teacher, and she recommended the book to the school's librarian. Most of her students wanted to borrow it from her to read it, because she'd read some of the book outloud to them and they fell in love with it. I recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!!!

This is a fabulous story about adventure, magic and the power of kindness. Its so creative, I just had to share it with other teachers! It gives a whole new life to the 'pantheon' of Santa Claus, creating characters who move you, scare you and have you cheering them on.

This is a fantastic story! I really liked the characters, especially the main character, Holly. The beautiful illustrations add to the magical feel of the story. I really like the author's style. I liked how you couldn't tell who the "bad guy" (Herrikhan) would appear as in New York at first. The author has a great way of describing everything, especialy the land of Forever. This is a great book to share and read aloud. It is one of my top two favorite books ever. Most people who really like high fantasy will really enjoy this book.

The Legend of Holly Claus by Brittney Ryan and Illustrated by Laurel Long
While the premise of the fairy tale is pretty cheesy (Mr. and Mrs. Claus have a daughter), and the book dwells way too long in the cutesy (read: fairy hide-and-seek and doll making), this turned out to be a pretty good fantasy, right up there with the Oz and Narnia series, and very, very reminiscent of Victorian fairy tales like The Rose and the Ring, The Reluctant Dragon, The Selfish Giant, and others I read in a 19th Century Children's Literature course. It's a fairy tale, while sometimes clumsy in prose, is beautifully imaginative and grotesquely described. Holly Claus has the most pure and innocent and loving heart in all creation. Unfortunately, this is the very thing that--when willingly given--will break the curse on the evilest of warlocks. Holly travels to late Victorian New York City, inspires children to follow their dreams by giving them toys (the old "toys are powerful" motifs of Christmas), and eventually defeats the evil Herrikham in an unfortunately predictable ending. But this tale is woven with such clever and imaginative pieces (particularly the creatures from all over folktale in the Land of Forever) and folktale plot twists (Holly's heart is encased in snow, so she is cursed to always be in the cold; a creature of such goodness and purity actually causes fear and horror in the perfect Land of Immortals). Also, there are some genuinely awesome characters, most importantly the two that serve as counter-points to Holly's optimistic innocence: Tundra, Holly's gruff wolf guardian who's a bit tormented, and Christopher Carroll, Holly's love interest, who has seen too much of the evils of the world and has lost his faith in magic. Also, this book is amazingly, beautifully illustrated, truly like a Victorian fairy tale. Grade: A-

Nice, colorful, easy to read and has 40!!! stickers, which are the most important part after the kid reads the book. Organized in one full book.

I have recommended these books to all of my friends. They have helped my 4-year-old (born October) read and he LOVES to read them every day, twice a day. He can read sentences with ease like "I want a plane and a crane" or "The hot dog is on a log." In a matter of one month he's learned to read. The stickers offer a great incentive and make it so much fun for him. I have bought these for kids birthday presents (they have enough toys already, right!) and have 5 of them at my home. I wish there were more!

The best way to expose your child to reading. My daughter reads a couple books on most nights and she has improved dramatically over the past months. She enjoys reading the stories and putting a sticker on each time she does. Every parent that cares about education should get these books for their kids.

Great for blossoming readers. My kindergartener is really enjoying these funny short books. He loves seeing what happens next as he sounds out new words. My only complaint is that in this series as well as the level 3 the font isn't appropriate for new readers. The "g" is cursive looking & is very confusing. Don't know why that changed from the pre-readers & level 1&2, disappointing.

I bought this for my 4 yr old after having used the first two sets of Bob Books (scholastic). Now I'm Reading!: Amazing Animals is an excellent next step! Amazing Animals introduces long vowel sounds and vowel pairs (digraphs) in managable chunks.

This set is great for kids who are intimidated by the usual graded learning-to-read books (like Danny and the Dinosaur) or books which rely on the repitition of longer sight words.

Younger readers benefit from these short funny texts with lots of words worthy of sounding out. The illustrations and vibrant colors have kept my dughter enthused through out.

Young children can learn to read too with patience and these great books.

I've just begun reading this book, but i must say the first impression is great! all the arguments are really easy to find, well organized and explanations are clear and pretty helpful.
surely, you you'd better speak already English to derive much benefit from reding it, but in this case it's practical, every grammar rule is handy and clears up any doubt.

This book is clearly written and very handy for a quick referring, the topic has been indexed by alphabets. I think it is very worthy for a research student like me in the thesis writing. I even read it for pleasure as I found it's interesting enough for a light reading.

The book arrived on time in perfect condition . I am very satisfied. Thank you

This reference book is almost perfect. I nearly always find in it what I look for. Everything is easily explained an well organized.
I'm so happy with my purchase.

it's one of the best
english book I have ever seen on the market,

I love the serenity that comes over me when reading Mary Oliver's poetry. Her way of tying the physical and the spiritual speaks to my heart. I appreciate both nature and the God of my understanding better because of her words.

"Thirst" is my favorite book of Mary Oliver's poems and prose. This contains some of her most overtly spiritual work. You can find a kindred spirit in her words. In addition to the title poem "Thirst," I especially loved "Making the House Ready for the Lord."

* Thirst, Mary Oliver. The tone of this beautiful collection of poems is set in the first line of the first poem, entitled Messenger: "My work is loving the world." It is obvious in this collection and in the larger body of her work throughout her life that her work is loving the world deeply. And it is in this same spirit that, after the death in 2005 of her beloved longtime partner Molly Malone Cook, has led her back to the church she disengaged from many years ago. Her journey has always been a spiritual one. In her poems about Jesus, God, faith and sacraments it is clear that for her, rdeengaging with the church is part of loving the world. A line in her poem "A Beautiful Striped Sparrow" says it best: "as they promised,/ God, once he in your heart,/ is everywhere--"

Though her path is different from mine, and though it may be off-putting to some, I deeply appreciate and respect each of these poems. I look forward to seeing more from her as she continues her work of loving the world.

The poems in this volume are poignant and touched me deeply. I read from it almost daily and find something each time to relate to and discover.

This is a phenominal book of poetry that both the novice and seasoned poetry reader will enjoy. The poems are filled with palpable imagery and the rhythmic genius that I have come to expect and crave from Mary Oliver.

I loved this book. It was a book given to my mother and she never read it and for the longest time I picked multiple books over this one. After a while I read the book and absoultely loved it. I am such a history buff and the reality behind this book just intrigued me. I would recommend it to any serious reader. If you only pick a book up evry now and then, then this book may not be for you. But to those who read on a continual basis and need alittle extra "padding" in a book (lol) this is the right choice. I loved it. (Sorry for all the grammatical errors....... I was in a hurry)

This is the first book I've read by this author. I thought it was well written and I would not hesitate to read more by Rosalind Laker.

I read this novel almost 30 years ago, and it is still as fresh in my mind as when I first read it. It contains a wonderful, accurate history of French monarchy from the reign of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Laker builds her characters with great skill and care.

Whenever I want to thank someone for something they have done for me, or want to give someone something special, I buy them this book. They always get back to me with thanks and raves.

Bloodstone Castle

Jeanne Dremont lives in the shadow of the palace of Versailles. As she lays giving birth to her daughter, a group of drunken young noblemen make their way into her home and witness the birth of her daughter, Marguerite. One picks up the baby and promises to return to her one day. Jeanne believes this is pure destiny. She is certain that Marguerite will one day belong to him. When Marguerite comes of age, the young nobleman returns and Jeanne arranges for her to become his mistress. But the country is plagued by religious turmoil and he is forced to flee the country without Marguerite. Marguerite soon meets and marries Laurent, an architect to the King. She bears him a daughter named Jasmin.

Laurent loves Jasmin, his only child, and there is nothing that he can deny her. Raised in the proximity to the palace, Jasmin ultimately meets the new young King of France. A mutual friendship develops between them. Their closeness comes to the attention of the Deputy Ruler. He forces her to marry a dishonored courtier named Sabatin. e two are banished from court and from Versaille to a secluded country home.

Sabatin is a dark, morose, angry man who blames Jasmin. He is a cruel man who treats her badly and rapes her regularly. Even worse, he keeps her in seclusion, forbiddng any contact between Jasmin and her parents. Years pass and in desperation, Marguerite and Laurent send a painter to her home in the country. Love soon blossoms. The painter cannot stay forever, and he soon must part. Unbeknownst to him, Jasmin is pregnant. Fearful for the life of the baby she carries, she keeps the pregnancy secret from Sabatin. When Jasmin gives birth to a daughter, she sends the child to a a family who lives in the country a comfortable distance away.

Violette grows into a beautiful young woman, angry at Jasmin for depriving her of a more prominent life. Sabatin dies and Jasmin rushes to reclaim her daughter, but Violette has run away from home. Jasmin seeks her daughter, but never finds her. Years thereafter, Jasmin's banishment is lifted and she is permitted to return to Versaille once more where she finally reunites with her lost daughter, now a woman grown.

Violette has not led an easy life. After a trail of abuse, she became mistress to the king and bore him a child. The King arranged for her to marry an Austrian nobleman, but her new husband refused to accept her baby who she has named Rose. As a last resort, Violette seeks out her mother to hand the child over to her to raise.

Under the loving care of her grandmother, Rose lives a contented life. At the tender age of sixteen, she is commanded to become lady-in-waiting to the new queen, Marie Antoinette. She learns that it was her late father who arranged this for her. When she learns the secret of her true parentage, she blames her grandmother.

Four generations of women live and dance in the shadow of the palace of Versailles. It is an intricately told tale starting with the creation and splendors of the French court and culminating with the turbulence of the French Revolution. The novel is a testament to historical detail and a tribute to the brilliance of author, Rosalind Laker.

This book was absolutely wonderful. It's quite easy to get entirely lost in it and accidentally stay up all night reading. It's hard to put down - and after letting a friend borrow it, I found out that I'm not the only one who thought so. I highly recommend it! :-)

One doesn't usually expect to find oneself laughing when reading a book of criticism written by an academic, much less a book on Shakespeare. But Burt's book is frequently just that, funny to the point of making me laugh out loud. Burt has a refreshingly off-beat sense of humor, and the materials he has discovered--such as an adult movie version of Hamlet--aer themselves often hilarious as well, though not always intentionally so. But far from being just a laugh riot, the book is also a serious, critically sophisticated analysis of Shakespeare's fate incontemporary mass media, where much of hte lnagugae is cut or confined to well-known quotations. Burt's final chapter on films about teaching Shakespeare is quite moving, and Burt has the courage to raise difficult questions without pretending he is able to answer them. He is right to think that the questions are more important than the answers. Burt is to be congratulated for writing his book in a clear and engaging prose style without sacrificing the complexity of his thought.

In his wonderful and fascinating book Unspeakable ShaXXXspeares, Richard Burt, the leading scholar of Shakespeare and film studies, pioneers research into the manifold ways Shakespeare enters into American popular culture. Concentrating mostly on film but attending as well to television sit-coms, Burt offers penetrating insight into everything from mainstream adaptations of Shakespeare to "low" spin-offs in which Shakespeare's language almost entirely disappears. Burt explores both what film and mass media have done to Shakespeare and also what Shakespeare enables our culture to do trhough film and other electronic media. Readers intersted in this book will be happy to know that Burt has since edited a related collection entitled Shakespeare After Mass Media and has co-edited Shakespeare, the Movie II.

One of the many strengths of Burt's truly excellent book is that it not only discusses Shakespeare adaptations but uses Shakespeare, or of ShaXXXspeares, to discuss post-war American popular culture. Burt's theory of the loser as critic has ramifications for all criticism, not just Shakespeare. This is a profound, original, and engaging book.

I happened to be doing research for my thesis on Shakespeare in the university library and, while looking for other books, I was intrigued by the three XXXs in the title of Burt's book on the shelf, so I pulled it off and looked through it. What a daring work of cultural criticism! When I saw the chapters on Shakespeare porn, I marvelled both at the courage of the man to write such a book and how at the publisher who took it on. Of course, I check it out and read it. I especially was drawn to the chapter on action films and Burt's point that while the films cannibalize others, no one in the films ever eats; the characters are anorexic. The book is full of similarly wonderful insights. I am a cinephile, and very much appreciated Burt's quite hip approach to ShaXXXspeare. Now, it's back to those other, rather staid books of Shakespeare criticism, I was orginally looking for.

Whatever you think about Shakespeare, it is impossible not to agree with the points Burt makes in this book. His analysis is right on the money and you will never be able to look at Shakespearean movies or literature in the same way. A fantastic book and a must read.

Wodehouse is perhaps the best antidote I know for depression. His novels are literally unreal, for Bertie inhabits a world of leisure, servants, and privilege, an Edenic world where even the threat of pain, suffering, and mortality have no place, and Jeeves is always there as a deus ex machina. But ultimately we return to Wodehouse (again and again!) because of the language--quite simply, the man cannot write a bad sentence.

I am a big P.G. Wodehouse fan. This series of books is especially fun as each book is easily read and enjoyed. The print size is perfect. Great nighttime reading to relieve the stresses of the modern world.

What can I say that hasn't already been said about the inimitable P.G. Wodehouse???

Carry On, Jeeves is a great starter book for those who are intimidated with the amount of J&W books available (or rather, don't know where to begin). The first story in this book is about the first day Bertie Wooster met his personal gentleman (or valet, if you prefer), Jeeves. The stories easily stand on their own; with the exception of characters being mentioned or being part of the plot, the book is not a novel you have to read front to back. Consider it a literary sitcom, where new scenarios and conflicts arise with each story you read.

My favourite bit about reading Carry On, Jeeves was the last story of the book, where it takes a refreshing twist and is narrated by Mr. Jeeves rather than Bertie Wooster. It was great reading from Jeeves's perspective.

Lots of chuckles throughout and a few hardy laughs. Overall a perfect read.

Carry On, Jeeves is another classic from P.G. Wodehouse. It follows in the same kind of humorous hiliarious vein of his other books that involve Berty Wooster and his Man Servant Jeeves. This is a book that should not be missed. In fact,
all of P.G. Wodehouse's books involving Jeeves and Berty Wooster
should be thoroughly enjoyed by every one.

This volume of ten stories originally hails from 1925. I read them in the 1999- 2000 Penguin paperback edition. While many readers like the covers by Ionicus on earlier Penguin paperbacks, these recent editions with covers by David Hitch are my favorites. They are very well done, reasonably priced and just the right size, which is to say, perfect for the novice or seasoned Wodehouse reader. The stories are also among the absolute tops in the Wooster/ Jeeves canon, and give the back stories that Bertie meditatively refers to in so many of the later books.

As Richard Usborne notes in his invaluable guide, Plum Sauce, five of these stories appeared earlier in My Man Jeeves (1919). Two of the stories there told by Reggie Pepper are here transformed into Bertie's ruminations. Carry On Jeeves was the next collection following the ten stories in The Inimitable Jeeves (1923), and Wodehouse was on a roll. Here's Bertie's first engagement to Florence Craye, and his first encounter with her younger brother, Edwin, the Boy Scout, who rapidly renders unsafe house and home. Enter Biffy and Bingo Little, later fixtures in the Wooster ouvre. Here also Bertie pens his oft- mentioned "piece" for his "good aunt" Dahlia Travers, and her struggling paper, Milady's Boudoir. The last story in this collection is somewhat questionably narrated by Jeeves, but Wodehouse fortunately reverted to telling tales in first person Bertie in the later shorts. Some of these tales also found their way into the Jeeves and Wooster TV shows with even more riotous results. All in all, a capital collection.

For those who already know these tales and poems and those who have never been introduced to them THIS is a sublime edition of A.A.Milne's work. I regret the Disney's works on Winnie the Pooh. THIS is the "real deal"known a the Classic Pooh. The colored illustrations by Ernest H.Shepard make it even more delightful! Also included are the two books of enchanting poetry. This anthology should be part of everyone's library young and old and revisited often!

This is a wonderful colletion of all the tales of Winnie the Pooh....I have had a copy for more years than I care to disclose, but recently bought a copy for my secretary's new daughter....It is a classic and something all children should grow up with, even today!
May Winnie the Pooh remain in your heart forever!

I'm sharing this review with the intention of being particularly helpful to parents of toddlers and preschoolers. I found that having a very young child with the attention span to sit through chapters of a novel left me scrambling a bit to find novels that were appropriate in theme and content for her age. I am reviewing each novel we have read or tried in the hopes of being helpful to other parents in the same situation.

We read Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne in this collected volume, moving from one book right into the next until we'd completed the entire volume. This was a great beginning for us because it is a glossy-paged, color illustrated version. Moving into novels from picture books is a transition, so having pictures in full color was still very much expected by my daughter when we started reading this at two and a half years old. The edition is something of a monster, a heavy lap book, but it was well-suited for bed-time. Well, with the exception of the extremely long chapters - you'll definitely need to start the bedtime routine early. But another thing that makes this book an ideal transition book is the fact that each chapter is a self-contained story. You can read any of the chapters in any order without upsetting the plot line of the novel (as there really isn't one). This is good because Meridian was accustomed to picture book length stories that move through a plot line in a relatively short period of time. This way you can read a story as a chapter, but still have the continuation of the larger work to introduce the idea of reading longer works of fiction.

The material was the perfect transition into novels in it's fantastical tour of the imagination through the eyes of stuffed animals come to life. At this time I don't think my daughter really got the concept that these were all just imaginary stories going on in the head of Christopher Robin as he played with his toys. To her Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and friends were almost more real than Christopher Robin who comes and goes from time to time. It's neat to think that when she rereads these stories in a few years, she'll discover a whole new layer. I don't think we could have found a better match for the level of suspense needed than we did. Though we're now reading books that are far more suspenseful than these are, it was perfect to start out with these gentle stories which so expertly navigate young readers through the concept of emotional characters (gloomy Eyeore, grouchy Rabbit, cheerful Piglet, etc). At her age, my daughter was just beginning to really explore emotion and give name to it. Seeing it in characters on the page could have been overwhelming, but Milne doesn't over-do it. He really understands that what constitutes catastrophe to young readers need only be something as small as a balloon popping prematurely. In fact, the only edit I did in the entire course of reading the book was to eliminate the part where Christopher Robin used a gun to pop a balloon. We don't do guns as toys, and it was easy enough for me to have him throw a rock. But now, so many months after completing these and so many books later, I can say what value there is in having a book you can just read from the page without having to worry about acquisition of inappropriate language or attitudes.

I have reviewed all of the books in this collection individually, and let me say that trying to read only one of them without reading the other three is like digging up only one leg of a completely intact Tyrannosaur skeleton - neglecting buried treasure when you know for sure it's there. Who would do such a thing? Who COULD do such a thing? And imagine how much worse it would be if the skeleton were that of a Heffalump instead of a Tyrannosaur! Even the frightened little Piglet would come hunting you down.

It doesn't matter which Winnie story or poem one loved most when growing up. They're all here to share with new generations of children and grandchildren, together with the the original art work (albeit colorized).

Personally, I'm rather fond of the poems--especially "Rice Pudding" and "The Mirror," from When We Were Very Young. But of course all the favorite Pooh Bear stories are here, too, one of my favorite being "In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and gets into a Very Tight Place."

This is 557 pages of pure delight, and at used prices, it's hard to imagine finding a better value for a gift, or simply for reliving a bit of childhood fun with your family.

Words cannot express the joys to be gained from reading Milne, over, and over, and over....