English Books

I remember reading this book elementary school and wanted to make sure it was in my daughter's library, too. Great starter mystery.

This book was a very good book. There are plenty of times when I got confused, like about who told on Emily. All of my questions were answered later in the book. It was a great suspense novel.

It is hard to overstate how much excitement Angela Lansbury brings to the reading of this mystery book for children. Suffice it to say that at age 52 I enjoyed listening to it as much as my daughter, and would have purchased twenty more had they been available. The text by Barbara Brooks Wallace is also very well done, and very accessible for children's vocabulary while remaining exciting enough for an adult to enjoy without becoming bored. I highly recommend both the book and the audiobook for parents of both good readers and readers who need something a little spicier to get them interested and involved in the story. It concerns a young girl who has lost her parents and goes to live with an aunt in San Francisco. The trials and tribulations to which Emily Lucock is subject make up the the plot of the story, but the author is able to build both mystery and suspense into the telling. The audiobook format is especially terrific because of Lansbury's wonderful technique for building drama and suspense.

When I first saw the cover of this book I thought it would be one of those trashy, dull mysteries (Who stole the peppermint candy from the christmas feast?!?) then I saw the sequal, with it's pretty, intresting cover, and began to reconsider buying the first one (if only so I could understand the sequal). I started to read it and was amazed. It has an amazing plot, and is definatly one of the best books I have ever read, and I've read a lot of books. It is completely Dickensian without the slow-moving plot, and hard to understand language that most children find boring and discouraging. It is a wonderful Victorian Melodrama! I LOVE THIS BOOK!

A bowl of lovely red and white peppermints waits on a table in the parlor . . . but the residents of Sugar Hill Hall are not allowed to touch them. That image sticks with me after finishing the final pages of Ms. Wallace's delightful adventure tale of a young orphan and the dire situation she finds herself in. This Victorian story of dramatic suspense is a perfect story for young readers just starting to break into longer fiction and craving something with adventure and intrigue.

Young Emily Luccock has recently lost her parents, and she is now going to live with her Aunt and Uncle Twice at Sugar Hill Hall, a fine mansion in San Francisco. Emily remembers her visits to see her Aunt and Uncle fondly and is looking forward to seeing them again. But something has gone terribly wrong. Aunt Twice has become a timid woman forced to be a servant in her own home, and Uncle Twice is nowhere to be found. The entirety of Sugar Hill appears to be under the thumb of the icy and forbidding Mrs. Meeching, and Emily is made a virtual slave, working in the kitchen and cleaning the rooms of the despairing old men and women who reside in the rooms of the house. But young Emily is not about to give up without a fight. She's determined to bring sunshine back to Sugar Hill and to discover what has happened to Uncle Twice. With the help of Kipper, a redheaded boy from town, Emily pits herself against the frightful Mrs. Meeching, and all the secrets hidden in Sugar Hill Hall. Ms. Wallace has provided a rousing adventure story that kicks off from the first page and never slows down until the satisfying ending. The story elements aren't particularly original, but the author uses them to good effect with engaging writing that makes us care about our heroes and hate the villains as the story progresses. Emily, for all her apparent fragility, proves herself to be tough in spirit, and to have a caring heart for the plight of others. She's likeable without being overly sweet or too plucky. Kipper adds to the flavor and fun with his cheerful commentary and use of street slang.

While the story has its dark elements: murder, betrayal, cruelty, Emily and Kipper's adventure doesn't become too frightening either. The story remains just scary and exciting enough for enjoyment of 9-12 year olds, but doesn't become gory or chilling. The book itself is a short read--those who enjoy such books as A Series of Unfortunate Events and want more of the type would probably find this title to their liking. It's also a good recommendation for young readers who want something with action and adventure, but require something without any fantasy or supernatural elements to it. If I have any complaints about the story, its that I felt the secrets unraveled a bit too quickly and all at once towards the end of the story. After wondering for so long what is going on and what happened to Uncle Twice, readers are provided the answers in short order--just in time for the final confrontations. Despite this, I found myself enjoying the entire story--and I particularly liked how the element of peppermints framed the tale. For those who enjoy this stand-alone adventure, Ms. Wallace has written a follow up story with the further adventures of Emily Luccock titled The Perils of the Peppermints. Readers might also want to check out The Half a Moon Inn by Paul Fleischman and the Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander.

Happy Reading! Shanshad ^_^

This book (The Naked Capitalist), along with the book "The Bilderburg Group", explains exactly what is going on in Government. The power of the men in the secret groups are dangerous to all Americians, and there are many in our Government at all levels. They are the Bilderburgs, Council of Foreign Relations and Trilaterial Commission, determined to make us a socialist country.

If this book were written by anyone less credible, you'd have to pass it off as conspiracy theory nonsense. But Skousen is anything but a conspiracy theory nut. He is a very well respected scholar. So what makes this book so infuriating is to realize both political parties are being swayed towards collectivism and totalitarianism through the robber-barons' self-percieved notion of good for the world and their "generous" donations to non-profits that promote this communist agenda. Thus, the Naked Capitalist reveals the wealthy elite to be promoters of exactly what would destroy not them, but the vast middle class of America. Ever notice that Karl Marx was fighting against the Bourgesie and not the aristocracy? The Bourgesie is the middle class. The rich want us middle-classers to simply revert to the equitable poverty of socialism while they continue to live luxuriously at our expense. This is a must read.

Dr. Carroll Quigley, favorably cited by then-governor Bill Clinton at his acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president in 1992, penned "Tragedy & Hope" in 1965 after his review of many pages of documents of what he describes as the "power elite." This elite, composed of powerful banking families (Morgan and Rothschild) and uber-rich industrial capitalists (the Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegie) along with the intellectual wells of John Ruskin and billionaire Cecil Rhodes, comprise a well-connected, well-established power axis that is intent on clutching the world's social, political, cultural, and economic powers into their tightly clenched fists. The banking houses, typically referred to as simply the "international bankers," have been the hidden money powers behind the revolutionary movements of the 20th century, including Bolshevik revolution to overthrow the Russian monarchy.

The overarching question of W. Cleon Skousen's "The Naked Capitalist" is a puzzling one: why do the world's largest fortunes, which have amassed their wealth under free market capitalism, support the socialist, fascist, and Communist powers with continuing financial aid? The answer is an unpleasant, but simple, one. These interlocking powers, the Federal Reserve System, treasonous tax-exempt foundations, the Council on Foreign Relations, Fabian socialism as articulated by Ruskin and Rhodes, and the American slide toward socialist economics, are in league to envision the new "Tower of Babel," namely a collectivist World Government, under their jurisdiction and guidance, naturally.

"Naked Capitalist" carries the themes of "None Dare Call It Treason" by John Stormer in that every Communist nation has a glittering, red-inked "MADE IN THE USA" stamp on its blood-soaked land. Coupled with John Ruskin's idea of keeping the wealthy elite in control of the masses, the Anglo-American establishment could shape each nation's political and economic future in its hand, eventually leading to the institution of a global government that all nation-states would recognize.

The power elite controls and manipulates the economic and political life of the United States still today. The Federal Reserve's siphoning off of American wealth through fiat currency, artificial "boom-bust" cycles, and the repayment of massive interest from the U.S. national debt by the American taxpayer is creating an enriched political class able to dominate the masses as easily as a farmer directs and controls his cattle. It matters not who wins the White House or controls Congress. The CFR, Trilateral Commission, and the Bilderbergers, bought both institutions long ago, and they are directly in league with the international bankers.

The most entertaining part of the entire book is Skousen's review of multiple historical instances throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s where the power elite's exposure was all but inevitable. To paraphrase one commentator, the elites are running naked toward the finish line. The establishment elites are probably having a grand old time chuckling about the "old days" where there was a possibility they might be caught red-handed. Nowadays, they can flaunt themselves in the faces of the sleeping masses and still get away with things. With the advent of the Internet, however, they may not be so lucky these "last days."

I was a down-to-earth skeptic as I approached the claims of not only "The Naked Capitalist," but also many other well-known authors, who appeared to me at first to be a bunch of right-wing cranks (on par with leftist 9/11 "Truthers"). As I have extensively followed current events for the past three years, I concluded that the evidence is too overwhelming to be ignored. World government is in our future, and nothing can divert us from that road. Not even the election of Ron Paul to presidency of the United States would buck us off the path to global socialism, although he may have been able to shield us from the atrocities for just a few more years.

Have you awaken from your slumber yet?

"The Naked Capitalist", first published in 1970, is a review and critique of a much longer book, "Tragedy and Hope", first published in 1965. While the references are inevitably dated, this book contains insights that are essential for understanding our current situation. While I wholeheartedly recommend it, it important to take into account the book's context and point of view.

This book must be understood as an attack from the right on "Tragedy and Hope" -- not the 21st century neocon right, but the old fashioned right that may be best thought of as a libertarian point of view these days. Mr. Skousen's approach is consistent with his conservative religious background (LDS) and his background in law enforcement (FBI and later Salt Lake City Chief of Police). Skousen's academic background is reflected in his exegesis of "Tragedy and Hope".

I thought his defense of J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy was thought provoking, and not to be dismissed out of hand as most left-leaning people would tend to do. By illustrating the clear link between the Eastern Establishment and Communism, the author perhaps provides a better understanding of the criticism of corporate media as "Liberal". Corporate owned media did at times cover the issue of Communists in government in a way that tended to downplay the extent to which the government, particularly the State Department, was infiltrated by Communists, which could lead a right-wing or even a neutral observer to believe that the fourth estate had Communist sympathies.

But that's only part of the story. The corporate owned media has also had a history of covering up the extent to which Fascism has infested USA finance, corporations and government. One example from the time span that Skousen focused on, but which he failed to mention, is the Fascist plot to overthrow the US government shortly after the start of FDR's first term. Jules Archer's recently re-printed book, The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR, tells this story persuasively. The earliest incarnation of the HUAC (House Committee on Un-American Activities), the Special Committee on Un-American Activities (1934-1937) actually investigated not only domestic Communist activities, but domestic Fascist activities as well, including the plot just mentioned. Contemporary press coverage of the Congressional hearings and the plot itself was shameful for the most part, particularly the coverage by Time magazine and the New York Times. They covered the story in a way similar to later coverage of UFO and Elvis sightings, poking fun at the very suggestion that such a plot could even exist.

While I am grateful that Skousen wrote this unique review/critique of "Tragedy and Hope", I would urge readers to take "The Naked Capitalist" as a point of departure in their study of the power elite, not the final word. The plutocrats who run things behind the scenes take on many guises, using politicians and movements across the political spectrum to further their malevolent aims. They quite obviously used both Fascism and Communism simultaneously for a time and have moved on to other totalitarian movements, such as neoconservatism and various religious movements. Focusing excessively on these movements and philosophies only serves to distract us from discovering the actual puppet masters.

I must finally express my disappointment with the inclusion of a vitriolic attack by Al Smith on FDR's New Deal policies in an appendix. Al Smith had preceded FDR both as Governor of New York, and as a Democratic presidential nominee. Smith lost the nomination in 1932 to FDR, who, unlike Smith in 1928, went on to win the election. There is the argument that while Smith had maintained his previous progressive beliefs, the Democratic Party under FDR had moved on to Socialist tendencies. (In other words, the Democratic party left him, he didn't leave the party.) However, if Skousen were to choose a disaffected Democrat to criticize the New Deal, he could not have picked a better example of a sellout, a turncoat, and perhaps even a traitor, than Al Smith. Smith was first of all a sore loser, and secondly had by that time become a 100% owned asset of the Eastern plutocrats, the very class that "The Naked Capitalist" rails against. Smith was a prominent member of the Liberty League which sponsored the Fascist plot against FDR I referred to above. I again refer to The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR for details.

By suggesting that Al Smith was still the brown bowler wearing "Happy Warrior" in 1936 that he had been in the 1920s disingenuous to put it mildly.

A Christian Review of, "The Naked Capitalist" By W. Cleon Skousen


"A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, scrapes with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. There are six things the Lord hates, seven of which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devices wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers." Proverbs 6:12-19 RSV

The above verse if the first thing that came to my mind once I finished reading this fine book. Skousen in "The Naked Capitalist" is really describing the events from 1913 through the 1960's that will someday lead to The New World Order. There have been so many great reviews on this book on Amazon.com that I would encourage the reader to not only read this review but the others as well. Skousen's book is a summary of Dr. Caroll Quigley's (a professor of Bill Clinton, and an insider to the New World Order boys) Book "Tragedy and Hope" in which Quigley being an insider and allowed to review the CFR's (Council On Foreign Relations) documents for two years in which he decided to write a book since he felt that there was no way we could stop this socialist empire now. Here are some of the highlights from this book that stuck out to me:

We were actually making post war plans to World War 2 a whole two years prior to entering the war (this is where we got the United Nations from).

The international bankers financed two conservative candidates to split the vote so Woodrow Wilson would be elected to office. Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Reserve which is actually a private banking system. This took the power of making money away from congress and gave it to a private bank. (Does anyone recall the bible verse that says, "The borrower is slave to the lender.")

The international bankers are in Europe, the United States and setting up shop everywhere. Since they came into power they have set up communist government after communist government because it's easier to work with a dictator and get rich than it is with a free society.

These bankers will usually finance both sides of a war, and have been linked to just about every war since they took power. They also make a lot of profit, and as Skousen points out their oil plants and businesses are conveniently not hurt even though thousands upon thousands may die for their gain.

I enjoyed Skousen's ability to break down the Korean War and show how (with facts that are documented from sources in the back) Communists within the United States working in high positions of power were playing both sides. The plan was for the U.S. to fight for South Korea, oh but wait, we were supposed to lose. When our military was TOO good there were 100,000 Red Chinese waiting for them. Our military was not allowed to take our Chinese supply lines or to go in and take territory. I mean the communists in Washington had it all set up and we were supposed to lose. What right did our military have actually being good.

The CFR (Council On Foreign Relations) is a front group by the international bankers (like the Royal Institute Of International Affairs is in Europe) . This council works for the international bankers and supports socialist causes.

The builderberg group is a small group of elites that meet once a year and plan the direction of the world and it's propaganda for the next year. It is very secretive and if someone finds out your invited your invite is automatically revoked. Group made up of large corporate heads, political leaders, media elite, and the international bankers.

Tax exempt foundations are influencing public policy and directly influencing our schools. They are pushing propaganda and dumbing down our society. These foundations oddly enough are places the big corporate big wigs and international bankers can stash their money and not get taxed.

Bottom Line: I could go on and on.... Read the book it's only about 125 pages, but it is loaded with some of the most important information you could want or know about our government and the New World Order.

Rain Song is an enjoyable read. There are dysfunctional family members with quirky habits, and plenty of unusual situations that keep you reading. I enjoyed the story but can't say that it moved me emotionally. I liked the subplot with Monet and Nicole's cousin Grady. I wish this could've been expanded a bit. The aunt with the cough I though surely would get cancer or something the way she was hacking all the time. And the grandmother was charming.

I wish I could've spent more time with Harrison (beyond the e-mails). I would've loved to have gotten to know him better, but when she finally visited him it all happened at the end of the story and a lot was implied. So while I found the storyline fascinating and the search for memories of her mother poignant, it never moved me to tears. Not even the break up with the prior boyfriend. I think it's because Nicole never really grieved. She seemed distant from her own pain. Not very healthy.

I also like more romance in a story, and this one barely touched on the subject. Again, she seemed pretty unemotional about everything. Maybe that was because it was written in the first person POV. I'm not sure. It was a charming story, though, and a perfect beach read type of book. If you want a story that will pull you through an emotional rollercoaster of feelings, this isn't it. But if you like a story with interesting characters and situations that won't bore you to pieces, this is a good read for that.

"Don't miss the adventure." (p. 251)

Rain Song is a story about Nicole Michelin and her search for the missing memories of her mother before tragedy took her from life. Nicole is also searching for understanding about her father's withdrawal from a full life as a physician and medical missionary into the dark world of alcoholism and depression. Although Nicole's life is filled to the brim with loving relationships in the warm Southern town of Mount Olive, North Carolina, there are still empty places in her heart and mind left behind by events that took place a world away.

The world isn't as vast as it used to be though, and a reader's response to Nicole's article on the Pretty Fishy website finds its way into her email box and sets off a series of correspondence that ultimately changes Nicole's life. As she begins to talk with Harrison Michaels via cyberspace, Nicole discovers that there are still those from her early life who can answer the lingering questions from her past. However, the effort to uncover those answers means stepping outside the comfort of her close-knit family and predictable routine. Nurtured and encouraged by a wise and loving grandmother, Nicole is finally able to embark upon her own adventure. What she discovers beyond the familiarity of Mount Olive, North Carolina are the missing pieces of her memory and the beauty that has always lain dormant within her heart.

Alice Wisler tells this story of Rain Song in the slow, deliberate style of Southern tradition. Along the way, you will come to love Nicole's eclectic family and you will cheer her as she makes her very cautious discoveries. I look forward to more beautiful stories from this very talented writer!

Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler makes a delightful weekend read. This appealing narrative takes place in Mount Olive, North Carolina and like so many stories set in the South, is chock full of quirky, charming, characters. You can't help but like grandmother, Ducee, and her wise, yet eccentric, words of advice. Pretty cousin Grable struggles to cope with her fraying marriage and at the same time care for her daughter Monet, a special needs child with behaviors as unusual as her name. Their side story adds level of depth to the already interesting primary story about Nicole Michelin, a school teacher, who avoids airplanes, motorcycles, and all things Japanese. Nicole is given the chance to deal with her demons, and the gift of hope for a different future, when she forges an Internet friendship with Harrison, a man met through her website writings about tropical fish. Wisler's book is a light read with a fresh narrative that will be appreciated most by those who enjoy a story with characters real enough to be a neighbor next door, or your own family members. Rain Song breathes hope into our troubled world.

Nicole is a touching, charming and inspiring character. Included in this description would be her family and hometown, located in North Carolina. This is a book I will hold in my heart and read again.

"Rain Song" chronicles the story of Nicole Michelin, a young woman filled with fear and held motionless by a hole in her heart that longs to be filled. Tragedy entered her life at the tender age of two, leaving blank spots that desperately need to be colored in.

Through what appeared to be chance, Nicole has found a friend in Harrison Michaels via email. He discovers her through her articles posted online at Pretty Fish, a website for lovers of aquatic beauty.

What Nicole soon discovers is that nothing about God's plan is random: from the moment she was taken in by her grandmother, to the quirky Southern family who helped raise her...even to the random email from Harrison...all tie together to heal Nicole of her fear and her questions about the past.

Her biggest fear involves her life of two years in Japan where her parents served as medical missionaries...where she lost her mother and all memories of her life in Japan. Harrison lives in Japan...and he remembers Nicole.

Can she release her fear long enough to ask the questions her heart yearns to have answered? Or will Nicole push Harrison away, leaving the past as a gaping heart hole that nothing but answers can fill?

Alice paints a vivid picture that slowly captivates the reader. That ache inside Nicole will awaken any ache you've had buried inside your heart. That sense of mystery that surrounds many of us--you'll find a kindred soul in Nicole.

And those fears that entangle us and hold us back? Alice's slow, Southern style, filled with Grandma Ducee's Southern Truths, will carefully unwind the burial clothes that enshroud us and set us free.

You simply have to be like Nicole and step out in faith and learn the "Rain Song" of Alice J. Wisler and her cast of beloved characters. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of Nicole, Harrison, and the entire McCormick/Michelin clan...at least, I'm hoping so.

I absolutly love this book! It provides you with so many creative ideas and incorportes the skills that you are trying to teach your students. I teach 3rd grade and my students love it when I pull this book off the shelf. I also absolutly love her Dynamite Writing Ideas book. It was very helpful with getting organized and creating a writers workbook with the students, although my kids call them their author books. They really have found a love of writing with these skills and the way that they are presented!

As a writing teacher, I am looking for practical ideas not philosophies. This book is nothing but terrific. It has immediate lessons and handouts. Every 4th-8th grade teacher needs this book.

This book is great! I love the plays the kids can act out and also the way the lessons are laid out makes it easy to teach and for the kids to understand. The activities are fun and my class doesn't moan and groan when I do activities from this book!

This is a great book for any teacher. It gives great ideas for teaching writing in an exciting way! I recommend Melissa's other books as well.

After borrowing this book from a colleague, I decided I had to have my own copy. It's a resource I keep going back to each year. My sixth graders love the activities, which are fun and easy to follow. Melissa Forney knows how to motivate students to improve their writing.

These are very intense stories. Each of them gripped me and forced me through them. And yet, I don't know...I don't think he's top-rank. Maybe I'm just prejudiced against short stories? Too much compression? I really like Beware of Pity a LOT.

The Royal Game is a very striking reflection on intelligence and torture, written by an Austrian exile early during Wolrd War II. It is highly original and moving. The other stories are "lighter," being set in everyday life and dealing with self-induced frustrations, and his apparent obsession with adulterous women is odd after a while (unless of course it is an obsession of the editor who selected the stories for this collection). Nevertheless, each story is different and engaging, with depth, respect and loving interest for his characters. It reads a little like a fiction version of Freud's essays (a bit like I believe Camus wrote complementary essays and novels), and the two men were close.

I bought this work mainly for the 'Royal Game' story because chess fiction is dear to my heart and I collect these kinds of books. I must admit that I loved this story, but I figured since the other stories were there I should give them a fair chance at a read as well. I was really stunned to find out how well Zweig wrote! Now mind you these books are translated - I can only imagine how well the original works must be! Zweig can take regular events and suck you right into the reading and it's really amazing how hard it is to put the book down. A pure genius of the 20th century is all I can say. Please do, enjoy this master's work! Zweig's stories are intended for mature audiences. If you like chess fiction - other books you may want to look at are 'The Queen's Gambit' by Tevis, 'The Luneberg Defense' by Maurensig, 'Alekhine's Anguish' by Yaff, or 'The Chess Team' by Sawaski

This collection of short stories includes some of Zweig's best fiction ever! The author writes in a beautiful, alluring way that pulls the reader into the story. The intensity of the subjects provoke suspenseful emotions in the reader while entertaining and educating about human conditions. His descriptions of emotions are realistic while at the same time heavily weighted by difficult situations that few people encounter. His imagination is incredible!
I have read this book numerous times and it's one of the few books that I dislike lending to others because my attachment to the stories.

If you are new to Zweig then this is for you. All the stories are very engaging and represent the style of writing of that era. I wish I could find more writers like Zweig, alas...
Beware of Pity is also very good. He is probably my favorite writer next to Witkiewicz. Do yourself a favor and get this book.

This book is a very helpful guide for everyone, who wants to study Shakespeare. I am not a native english speaker and it was perfect for understanding the necessary terminology. I suppose that the content of the book is also precious for native english speakers. The book contains:
1) A very important chapter which contains the most frequently used words, and proves to be valuable for quick reference.
2) Words which still exist in the english language but with a different meaning.
3) Words which vanished through the years.
4) Several chapters describing the structure of several shakespeare's works.
In all cases the meanings of the words are simply stated and well clarified providing a perfect guide for every intermediate reader.

the book is great, if your'e an actor, or anyone who deals with shakespeare-get it yesterday!

I must have spent two hours reading reviews of Shakespeare lexicons and dictionaries before settling on this one. I am so pleased with my choice. It is simple to use and so far all the words I have needed have been listed, miraculously along with the verses I am reading! Please note that the price of this one is so affordable! The best thing was, when I opened the Amazon Box, the first thing I saw was Kenneth Branagh's name. He did not create the book, but he recommends it in writing on the front cover.

As an added bonus in the back of the book there are detailed maps of all the story plot lines, indicating the relationships between the characters. All in all, very helpful.

What an awesome idea! To put into one place definitions for the hard-to-understand Elizabethan English that one runs into in Shakepeare! Whether it be "prithee" or "forsooth" or "prating mountebank," the dictionary will help give the Shakespeare novice or pro the information needed to decipher the Bard's often-complex writing.

In addition, there are frequent collections of definitions that gather together words in a single theme -- say, words related to politeness, or swear words. These colections give the reader a chance to compare many words of the same genre and gain even more insights into Elizabethan usage.

The defintions are somewhat sparse, but that's probably necessary given the sheer volume of words being defined. However, each word references the play or play in which it it used.

Marry! -- that is to say, "By Mary!" -- a wonderful accompaniment to anyone interested in Shakespeare!

This is a wonderful book for all people who love Shakespeare and want to come to a better understanding of his insights into living.

If it weren't for the illustrations, this book would be rated two stars. I saw this book advertised on Amazon's website among other children's books. The cover was so beautiful, that I had to read the reviews about the content and artistry of this book. I was seconds away from making a purchase when I decided to borrow it from the library instead. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous and I liked the way the author took a spin on the mean old woman in a shoe rhyme and made it into a loving mother bunny rhyme. Children get to learn all kinds of uncommon words (at their age) like shed, trellis, etc. but the rhymes are just names of rabbits who sleep on those objects - boring and uncreative. Example, "Zed slept on the shed" The whole book from A to Z is like that. I was wondering why such a beautifully illustrated book was not such a hot seller on Amazon's rankings and found out why. It's pretty but not educational. I don't need my little one to learn uncommon names of people that are supposed to rhyme with the objects. If you want a good ABC book, I highly recommend Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. That is by far the best. It is very educational and very fun. As for numbers, I recommend Ten Little Ladybugs and/ or Over in the Meadow. Both are just excellent.

Illustrations are wonderful. Text is silly fun, but instructive in counting and alphabet. Just don't be so taken by the beautiful bunny drawings that you decide to get a bunny for your young one- they're more adult pets, despite their cuteness. They require a lot of care, research, adult attention and space to roam. Let your kids enjoy the pretty pictures instead.

Mama bunny lives in a shoe, has 26 babes, but knows just what to do. She tucks them into various "beds" as she counts them off. The detailed illustrations are what I like best about this book. My son loves studying them. He gets a kick out of the quirky places the bunnies sleep, esp Frankie in the hankie for some reason. I wish that this was written so that the bunnies' names and the places they slept started with the same letter. That would have reinforced the alphabetic aspect of this book, but maybe it's asking too much. I still really do like this one.

Unlike so many poorly executed rhyming books, this one is a joy to read. The rhymes are well constructed and creative. And the pictures are delightful. Just tonight, my 6 year old asked me to read it again as a bedtime story, because he loves to study the engrossing pictures. And we've enjoyed this book for years. I was happy to just now see that this author/illustrator pair have done other books together.

I'm such a sucker for rhymes. Fortunately, so are my kids. There's nothing like a story with pleasant and soothing rhymes to get them off to sleep quickly (giving me more time to write reviews :D) See, there's an Old Mother Rabbit who lives in a shoe. She has 26 children (those rabbits sure know how to multiply!) but she definitely knows what to do. The tale travels through the alphabet -naming each bunny and where they fall asleep (1 is named Abel, he slept on the table.....and so on) My kids delighted in guessing where each little bunny would sleep (some places were pretty strange - like who could fall asleep in candy???) It also taught them words they don't normally use (e.g. lane, holly, kettle). Counting, the alphabet, and rhyming.... all in one sweet little bedtime story. What more could a parent ask for - besides children who beg to go to bed?

Jimmy Liao is my favourite illustrator and I was excited to find his book translated into English. I have seen the illustrations before in the Chinese book and enjoyed them on a visual level. However, having the text in English really brought the story to life.

The story is of a young woman who is going blind - it is an exploration of sight and how imagination can compensate for the loss of sight. The ending is inspiring.

This book would be excellent to expose children to a different perspective of the world and also would make a lovely gift for any adult who enjoys detailed and whimsical illustrations.

The reason I bought this book is I rented a movie called "The Sound of Color". It is a movie about a woman who is blind, strong, resourceful and full of joy. In the movie she teaches a man who becomes blind how to live and navigate around the city he once knew. The movie has drawings from the book and I became intrigued. The director of the movie told how he loved the book but it was hard to bring it to film. I disagree with him because his film and the book tells of one persons joy with the world around her even though she becomes blind and can't see it anymore. The beautiful ink and watercolor drawings with the powerful story will show you another way to look at your world and inspire your imagination.

This books is good in English, but I preferred the Chinese version much better. In English, things got a little over simplified, where as they were more complex in Chinese. I recently saw the Chinese version available for sale on the China Books website.
This book is age appropriate for older children to adults, not exactly children. I wouldn't buy it for anyone younger than 10.

Captivatingly colourful and creative illustrations combine with dreamy inner dialogue to carry us along on a journey of reflection, isolation, loss and hope. This book envelopes our whole family and sweeps us away.

With allusions to "The Wizard of Oz," "Alice in Wonderland," and psychologist/anthropologist C. G. Jung, "Color of Sounds" tells teh story of a blind young girl who rides a vast subway network because "I have a journey to go on. There are some thing I need to find." What follows is a remarkable narrative about internal and external discovery, with some of the most luscious and creative illustrations in recent memory.

The girl disembarks at various subway stops (subway illustrations are always panelled strips running across the middle of a two page spread), and climbs colorfully patterned stairs (often reminscent of M.C.Escher) and arrives at archtypal settings: An apple tree sitting Eden-like in a verdant forest, alongside dolphis and atop a whale, a topiary-adorned maze. Jimmy Liao presents his metaphors on both adult and children's levels. While adults may recognize the symbolic conflicts and issues presented by a maze; for example, children benefit from the explicit text: "Sometimes the street twist themselves into a maze.But if you look hard enough, there's always a way out. Other sections may benefit from discussion at an age-appropriate level. At one subway station, there are four trains going in both directions, all filled with people, and all colored differently. THe girl stands between them, "Which is the right one? It's easy to get lost underground."

At his point, she seems to take her own route, riding a kiddie train (decorated with motifs decorated a la Guaguin, Matisse, and others), then abandons the train to a white swan swimming against a cloudy yet luminescent background (a mystically beautiful and serene illustration). She slowly arrives at her answers. "HOme is the place where everything I've lost is waiting patiently for me to find my way back." She realizes that because she "went forward, step by step, into the dark," used her other sense (listening "for the sound of colors I can't see"; smelling the shapes and tasting "the light and dark," and hoping for someone "who'll sit beside me, sip tea, tell me her hopes for the future, and listen to mine." (Here, the two-page spread depicts her sitting on a green oval-shaped chair, surrounded by four rows of empty chairs in various colors, shapes, and sizes.

Towards the conclusion, the young girl encounters a butterfly, whom she believes may offer the answers to her hopes and dreams:

She'll tale me
to the friend I need to find.
She'll lead me to the place
where all the colors are.

she'll bring me back to the light that I lost,
still glowing here, in my heart.

An enormously colorful mosaic of birds, flowers, eyes, and other motifs surround the now smiling girl, when Liao write "in my heart." It's neither saccharine or precious. While the book may be read at many levels, and it simulatneously present many emotions and moods (fear, comfort, solitude, hope, wonder) the overall effect is an almost staggering visual and narrative display of poetry. The undertones can be dark and may even frighten some children (know your audience), but for othos who have begun their own journies of self- and other- discovery, for those who feel lost or have experienced pain, poor health, or disability, this book highlights the fact and ignites thought of possibility and transcendance.

NEW EDITION, PLEASE!! Why are great kids' books like this allowed to fall out of print? All of my kids spent hours pouring over every page of this thing, seeking all the exciting little details that were hidden in the illustrations. The story is fun, the illustrations ravishing-- it's a joy to read to a 4 or 5 or 6-year-old, and older kids will enjoy reading it themselves. Seeing the prices on available copies, I'd better hang onto our tattered copy for eventual grand-kids....

I have always loved this book. It is for anyone with a vivid imagination. I first saw it fifteen years ago and still read it today. It is one of those classic books like "The Battle of Otok" "Trumpets in Grumpetland" or any other great children's adventure.

The illustrations are really good in this book. I especially liked the keys on some pages that explain the many details in the pictures. I like the hidden faces in every picture. I like the Grumpets and Trumpets and their battles between bad and good. I like the maps. All aged kids would like this book and its companion, Grumpets in Trumpetland.

hello my name is nick thomas,
When i was a younger child (i am now a teenager) i owned the book trouble for trumpets. Recently i have remembered the book and realized i have lost it and have not looked at it for a long long time. it was always my favourite book and i still wish to find another one, but the sad part is that it is now too much for a book i once owned. i highly recommend this book for anyone that has a superb imagination. this book inspired my life deeply. I am still tempted to find that book and for anyone looking for one go for it , that book was amazing.
thank you for your time.
Nicholas James Thomas

The English cultivate a talent that we Americans, for all our inherent charms, lack. Consider for a moment the picture books of artists like Graeme Base or Peter Cross. In both their works, lush full-color illustrations are filled to overflowing with hidden details, small clues, and minor hilarities on almost every page. Of course, for all Base's charms, he can't hold a candle to Cross's work on the "Trumpets" series. I've never run across a picture book, no matter how beautifully illustrated, that sported the illustrator's name before the author's on the book's cover. "Trouble For Trumpets" is the first I've seen to do this, and deservedly so. Fairly reeking of its own Englishness, the story tells of a battle between good and evil in a fairly Redwallian manner. It's not for the plot that you'll be reading this book, however, but for the journey that takes you through its pages.

Podd welcomes you right from the start. He's a Trumpet, which is to say that he's a rather adorable creature that enjoy the summers and hibernates during the winters. Trumpets have a well-organized society and must continually protect themselves from the opposing Grumpet army. Grumpets are like Trumpets but they prefer the cold and dark and are intent on conquering the Trumpet land. In this particular tale, Podd and his friend Livingstone are on a bit of a vacation when they come across a Grumpet submarine. While the rest of the Trumpets are traipsing off to hibernate, Podd is intent on discovering what the Grumpets are up to. He spies on them and is captured rather quickly before he can ascertain the nature of the Grumpet "secret weapon". Fortunately, Podd is able to make a daring escape, warn the Trumpet army, and participate in a truly epic battle between Trumpet and Grumpet forces. In the end, the Trumpets win and Podd is allowed a much-deserved nap of his own.

The story, such as it is, is nothing much to crow about. Traces of "The Borrowers", "Redwall", and "Brambly Hedge" come to mind in its narrative. None of this is to say that the story is poorly written. I'm just pointing out that the real winner here is illustrator Peter Cross. I spent literally half an hour inspecting as many little tiny details as I could in a single picture, and I probably haven't even scratched the surface of what there is to find here. Cross makes references to Magritte and M.C. Escher, places little numbers all over the pictures with a corresponding key at the bottom of large color spreads, and is shockingly accurate when it comes to the flora and fauna of the British countryside. Mice, birds, insects, and reptiles are rendered completely realistically here. You can make out every little feather on his English Robin's breast and for some it will come as no surprise that starlings are the birds most used by Grumpets. And just in case you're feeling particularly in need of entertainment, Cross has hidden 22 faces amongst his illustrations throughout the book, as well as including a Grumpet alphabet for translating secret messages. Whew!

It's very sad to say, but the nearest American equivalent to Cross's work would have to be Martin Handford's, "Where's Waldo" books. And like "Waldo", I'm more than certain that if the "Trumpets" series achieved the same level of popularity, it would be banned just as quickly for the same reasons. Do you remember when some overly protective parent got "Waldo" banned because in one of the pictures featured a woman leaping out of her bikini top? Well, should a reissue of "Trouble For Trumpets" ever come to America's muddle-headed attention, the two pictures of topless female Trumpets (they're pin-ups and not grotesque or even particularly noticeable) would undoubtedly turn a few heads. By the way, don't go picking up this book if you're looking for strong female characters. The only gals you're going to find here are nurses, mothers, ladies on the wireless (tip o' the hat to World War II), and little girls. No fighters nor independent gals. We're talking 1940s roles for women. So eschew the book if you don't dig the archaic use of ladies.

I've hardly scratched the surface of what there is to find in this book. If you look at the cover you'll see references to future illustrations, a ladybug processional, Celtic Trumpets, machines to bowl over Rube Goldberg.... the list goes on and on. Undoubtedly some people will claim that the "Trumpet" series is too British for Americans. I disagree. If Alfred A. Knopf will do Mr. Cross the honor of republishing this title, I think we might all be pleasantly surprised by the reception it receives. In case that never happens though, let's just enjoy the book for what it is. A rousing gem to be treasured by those few who know about it.

As a French teacher, I highly recommend this book for advanced beginning through advanced learners. The authors'signature contribution is to address such things as the pronunciation of singular and plural third person indicative (straightaway on pages 1 and 5) and the differences beween English and French for focusing specific elements of a sentence (pp 173-175.)

This book was suggested to me by Amazon and I am very pleased that I bought it. I am in my 4th year of Studying French and this book has enabled me to do some revision and also learn some new verbs. I particularly like the way it uses modern verbs that are practical for everyday life. It explains the various grammar points extremely clearly and it has made my understanding so much clearer.
Thank you Amazon

Used as a review tool for a college course after taking a year off in French. Very useful and helpful.

I began studying French more than 40 years ago, in elementary school, kept going through junior high school, high school, and college, and continue to work to improve my written and spoken French even today. Even though I'm fairly fluent, I'm not a native speaker, and there is always room for improvement.

How I wish that a resource like "The Ultimate French Verb Review and Practice" had been available during my school years.

The book states that it is directed to "advanced beginning" through "advanced" learners. While the initial chapters -- covering regular verbs in the present tense, irregular verbs, the imperative form, and the passé composé -- should be at least largely within the grasp of someone at the "advanced beginner" level, the book may put such a student in fairly deep waters after that. I would commend it more to an intermediate student and above, with the initial chapters forming a combination of review of the basics and expansion of the student's repertoire of constructions and vocabulary, and the later chapters helping with more challenging aspects of the subject.

There are several things that set this book apart from others I have used.

First, the authors have a particularly clean and lucid approach to the various topics they cover. This is reflected not only in the English portions of the text, but also in the French examples. Many books of this kind tend to have rather forced and artificial-sounding examples, and classify them in rigid and difficult-to-remember categories. The authors here have managed to develop a more organic structure that makes sense without being forced.

Second, following the introduction of the material, the authors offer a number of different kinds of exercises, approaching the material from a number of different perspectives, to help cement the principles. This makes the material easier to grasp and easier to remember.

Third, the examples all sound natural and plausible, and cover useful sentences that belong in the toolkit of any speaker or writer dealing with everyday matters. The authors use each set of examples as an occasion to stretch the student's vocabulary and repertoire of common expressions and locutions. They also provide some extremely helpful explanations of nuanced differences between similar-sounding constructions that would not be obvious from mere literal translation. A number of discussions provide insight into differences between more formal written and spoken French, on the one hand, and colloquial spoken French, on the other. This contrasts with the more formal approach often found in French educational materials, which pretend that people speak only in perfect, grammatically impeccable complete sentences.

Because facility with verbs is one of the marks of fluency in French (or any language), this book serves an important function and serves it well. And it costs no more than far lesser books on the subject. This one belongs in the library of anyone serious about speaking and writing French with confidence.

Yes, David Stillman and Ronni Gordon have done it again. Years ago, when I bought The Ultimate French Review and Practice, I was certain that it was the most thorough French grammar book I had ever encountered. However, the newer Ultimate French Verbs Review and Practice carries coverage of the French language a step further. Don't be fooled by the title. To be sure, this is a book on French verbs, one which provides just about everything one might wish to know on the subject. But, it is also packed with up-to-date vocabulary such as computer and internet terms and a wealth of extra tidbits covering other aspects of usage and French language history and development. I took my first French class in 1961 in a high school language laboratory and have been captivated by the language ever since. I went on to study French in college for four years. Since that time, I have continued to read French and to use the French soundtrack on DVD movies as a means of experiencing the language on a regular basis. Living in West Virginia, I rarely get a chance to speak French. It's so nice to have the two Ultimate books to recall things I already know and to learn new things. One little gem I had never encountered before is the use of "vous autres" to emphasize the plural use of "vous." It is simply the French equivalent of "you all" or "you guys." I had always wondered if the French had a way of saying that. Now, I know. The French, however, go a step farther. They also have "nous autres" or "we all" to emphasize the inclusion of particular groups in the use of "we" as opposed to the generic "on" which is an all-inclusive non-particular "we" and is also rendered as "one, people, you, they, etc." I had come across "nous autres" in high school, but never "vous autres." I haven't nearly exhausted the comprehensiveness of this book. I am sixty years old. I will probably never need another French book in my lifetime. These two should do it quite well.