English Books

CAUTION: Be aware of your surroundings if you are in public! You will find yourself bursting out in unexpected, uncontrollable laughter. This book, in fact, all of the books by Pat G'Orge-Walker are absolutely, positively, downright hysterical! I would love to see these characters brought to life on stage in a play.

I have never, ever laughed so much and so hard at any book in my entire life! I laughed so hard that I cried. My co-workers would come over to my cubicle to see if I was alright since I was usually the only person in my row after 5pm and I would find myself laughing out loud even though I tried hard not to. This was a wonderful, wonderful book and I was sorry to finally finish it. I have read all but one of this author's books (I am having trouble finding the last one as it is out of print now). Of the 3 that I have read, this was the funniest with "Cruisin On Desperation" being next. Definitely an enjoyable read!

This novel is off the wall.It is very funny,lively, and page turner.
It really blend with some of our church folks these days maybe, not as much, but it's there.I look forward to reading more from Pat.Keeping it real!!

This book had its moments that was funny and it makes you think about our "church folks". I enjoyed how things turned out in the end. I'm waiting for the next book to see what happens with Miss thing that was talking to the lawyer.

When Mother Eternal Ann Everlastin dies, the fried chicken hits the fan in Pat G'Orge-Walker's, Mother Eternal Ann Everlastin's Dead. After being a faithful member of Ain't Nobody Right But Us--All Others Goin' to Hell Church, pastored by the Rev. Knott Enough Money, Mother Everlastin moves her membership. Needless to say, the Rev. Bling Mo' Bling, of The No Hope Now--Mercy Neva Church, is all to happy to receive the wealthy-widowed-several-times-multimillionaire into his fold. When Mother suddenly dies with her hands clutched to the cash register during service, the antics begin as everyone competes for Mother's millions. Unknown to everyone, the overbearing Mother is still running things from the grave as she teaches the members of both churches a lesson on serving God with a sincere heart.

If you have ever gone to an African-American church you will recognize some of the antics in Mother Eternal Ann Everlastin's Dead. Although I am not a particular fan of this particular genre, I found this book to be laugh-out-loud funny at times. Walker managed to bring over-the-top characters to life while delivering a powerful message in the process.

If you are a Christian fiction fan and you like a good laugh, do, by all means, get a copy of Pat G'Orge-Walker's, Mother Eternal Ann Everlastin's Dead.

T. RHYTHM KNIGHT
APOOO BookClub

This is the Mother Goose of my children's generation. It was always a favorite. The illustrations are humorous and not too frightening (as in "A Real Mother Goose." This book is beloved by all three of my children, and was often their bedtime story pick well into elementary school. I would recommend this book to any parent looking for a comprehensive Mother Goose.

This book is in excellent condition and is exactly as I remember it as a child. It has brought fond memories back and I am sure my god children will enjoy it as much as myself and my brothers did growing up.

As a small child, I read Gyo Fujikawa's Mother Goose with my mom almost every night. As much as I loved the rhymes, I loved Ms. Fujikawa's drawings even more. Her little line drawings created a little world for each rhyme, and her full color illustrations--stretching across both pages--were gorgeous and mesmerizing. How wonderful that it is back in print so that my 2-yr old son can enjoy this book, too. (My own 40-yr old copy is lost somewhere in my mom's garage.) He loves it and clamors for "Goose! Goose!"

They don't make them like this anymore. A beautifully illustrated book. I had "Oh, What a Busy Day" as a child and we looked at the pictures over and over again- never got tired of it. Hoping my child will think the same of this one.

This is more than a kids's book to me: it is a treasured family heirloom.

The Volland Edition of Mother Goose Nursery rhymes is a well-worn book that sits on our lowest shelf for our kids to access freely. This has resulted in a bit of fraying on the edges of the pages and a binding that has started falling apart. But I have no regrets that my kids have returned to this book often and with anticipation when I announce that it is story time.

In this Mother Goose collection, you will find all the favorite rhymes in their original form; beautiful, sentimental, at times seemingly savage to our 21st century sensibilities - they were all written without regard to political correctness. For instance, the little old woman who lived in a shoe actually whipped all her children soundly before sending them to bed (not "kissed"), and Jack and Jill really do "break their crowns" instead of their hats or just bumping their heads. A few other selections mention the deaths of children and animals. Parents will have to prepare to explain some serious things to children after reading some of these rhymes.

The language back then was apparently more sophisticated than modern versions: consider "The Cat and the Fiddle" in which the little dog laughed to see such craft, which rhymes rather better than the later versions' (dumbed down) sport or play. In my opinion, that only adds to their color and charm. Hey, you can use it as an educational opportunity to teach new word usages to your kids.

But the real reason to choose this rhyme book is that the Volland Edition of Mother Goose is illustrated with an eye to beauty that you simply won't find in modern nursery rhyme books. That is what really sets the Volland Edition apart from all the modern collections; magical, perfect watercolors for each rhyme. No picture book since the Volland Edition has matched the quality here and I do believe that children enjoy good artwork and benefit from it greatly. In my case, this very book was inspirational in setting a high standard for my aspirations to become an artist someday.

As a great way to teach children poems and rhymes that will stay with them their whole lives, or as a valued heritage from another century, the Volland Mother Goose is one book every family should experience IMHO.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

Savoured the book from start to finish. It took me 2 weeks to read the last 20 pages because I did not want it to end. I am looking forward to reading the next Gillian adventure.

Everyone loves an adventure (or at least reading of one) and most of us will never take a boat from China to America. Envious of this one, I curled up by my fireplace and read Mr. Ding's Chicken Feet with a taste for the fascinating journey of a Caucasian woman on a boat full of Asian men. I was not disappointed.

The author sets sail on an ocean of cultural difference and wins over the hearts of the crew - a rough and salty bunch who sit spellbound by her in English class.

Because of the obvious vast expanse of ocean to cross, you know that the author is going to have to face a few things she has probably never had to before, and deal with them. There is, after all, no escape on a small boat in the middle of the ocean.

Kendall reveals the color of the crew over the course of the journey as if she were polishing up tarnished brass. It was great fun to read about the men as they blossom at the hand of their teacher...though the revelations were not one-sided.

Not surprisingly, I felt the poignancy at the sight of land, which meant having to say goodbye.

Kendall writes with an unpretentious clarity, humor and heart. I definitely recommend it.

Ji Lians book very good. Makes me laugh. Have to laugh and wake up husband to read good part. I like this book. I like especially page where I am mention. I am Li. I am beautiful asian/american. Not Chinese. I too, don't like chicken feet.

In Mr Ding's Chicken Feet, the author, Gillian Kendall, comes across at first as maybe a little naive and unwary. She is a risk-taker. Her apparent lack of serious doubt about the whole enterprise, her trust in her fellow human beings not to harm her and her faith that it would all work out made me a little nervous on her behalf. But she is vindicated by the experience and it is her empathy and geniality that are the keys to her success. Observing Kendall's openness to life and her willingness to reach out across cultures became one of the pleasures of reading the book. A cynical reader such as I am found it instructive to watch her interest in humanity unfold and be repaid.

Her story really takes off once the ship leaves shore. Then it leaves behind any experience I and probably most readers have had. Shipboard life with a completely male crew who mostly speak very fractured English seems so weird and challenging that you half expect the book to be a story of failure -- perhaps noble failure but depressing nonetheless. So it's very satisfying that she actually makes a difference to the sailors' English and lives. She is inventive in her methods and determined to give her employers their money's worth and thereby wins the crew's respect and affection.

Kendall can write -- just see her description of the terrible storm at sea. It had me rigid with tension. Shades of Conrad in Typhoon. She has a distinctive and likable tone of voice. The book tells an optimistic story in an unpretentious way and gives you faith in the power of empathic teachers (and English!).

I spent the academic year of 1999/2000 teaching English in Shenzhen. I spoke no Chinese, at the time, and had no formal teaching experience. So I could definitely relate to Gillian's frustrations, culture shock, and malentendus. It's 1991 and Gillian is a grad student in Galveston, TX. The semester is coming to a close and she spies an ad on the bulletin board for an ESL teacher aboard a ship sailing from Shanghai to Galveston. After a hard sell Gillian manages to land the job aboard the all male ship. The company flies her to Shanghai where she boards the ship. The reader witnesses her feelings about being the only woman on the ship; loneliness and some sexual harassment egged on by the only other American on board. She experiences a Sapphic awakening as she realizes in her state of isolation that she doesn't have any romantic feelings for her boyfriend. She manages to break through the cultural, gender, and language barriers to form some attachments to her students and especially Mr. Ding, the cook. The book is riddled with faux pas but the funniest part, I would say, is when she saves Mr. Ding by hurling the violent Panamanian vendor into the Canal.

I write educational songs for a living, stuff in the vein of Schoolhouse Rock. I used to rely on online rhyming dictionaries until I found this book, which is about 20 times more thorough than any website I've found. This book has saved me countless hours and made my songs immeasurably better. I love this book!

I use this book often to write poetry. It is helpful that it has many phrases that I would not usually think of on my own.

I bought this, not too long ago, for a friend of mine who is a high school English teacher. She raves about how helpful it is to her in class and how much the kids enjoy using it.

She has stressed its value so much that I now feel it is a must for my reference library. After all we've all been there, trying to find a rhymne for that odd word. It's like trying to think of a synonym something and there not a thesaurus to be found.

I teach a college course in songwriting, and in preparing to teach the course did an extensive review of many rhythming dictionaries. This one is by far the best, for the reasons other reviewers have stated.

If you buy one rhyming dictionary, make it this one. It's the one I use.

Hi

It has been my good fortune to songwrite with many of the world's greatest songwriters, and to have had a bit of commercial success. So, for what it's worth, I offer the following review of this dictionary, plus a few other recommendations for aspiring lyricists and songwriters.

I own eight or nine rhyming dictionaries, and am constantly on the lookout for others, and basically, they all pretty much suck compared to this one. You certainly don't need any of them but this one, and I am continually surprised when browsing through bookshops to see many of those other lousy books on the shelves, but not Sue Young's excellent reference book. I don't know what the explanation for that is, but whatever it is, it has nothing to do with quality. If something has superceded it, I don't know about it.

Young's book has four main strengths which put it above the pack:

1.) It simply has a greater number of rhyming words than other dictionaries;

2.) It includes rhyming phrases, e.g., when you go to look for rhymes for "ground" you will find (amongst single words) phrases like "merry go round", "lost and found", etc. This feature is a valuable rarity.

3.) It arranges the rhyming options under each suffix in groups according to numbers of syllables: first there are the single syllable options, then the two syllable options, and so on. Believe it or not, I have a number of rhyming dictionaries which instead list options in alphabetical order (mixing up one, two, three, and four syllable options), obviously a cumbersome and time-wasting arrangement.

4.) Unlike those found in most other dictionaries, Young's rhyming lists include slang words/phrases, contractions, acronyms, obscenities, abbreviations, etc. Beat poets to Broadway lyricists to Ogden Nash humourists to rock writers will all appreciate these.

Perhaps I might also add that if you are an aspiring songwriter who wishes to enjoy commercial success (i.e., getting on the radio in whatever genre, or in broadway shows, etc.), Young's book could help form a kind of "starter reference package". The components would include:

1.) The New Comprehensive American Rhyming Dictionary by Sue Young

2.) Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus by Barbara Ann Kipfer (this is the best one out there).

3.) Any or all of the Sheila Davis lyric writing books, especially, "Successful Lyric Writing: A Step-by-Step Course and Workbook". (Davis' books are clinical and mechanical, but you need to know song mechanics in order to be a consistently successful songwriter. Her books are really good for this, though won't be appreciated by those certain that each aspect of a song is dictated by heavenly muses rather than largely being the product of conscious and unconscious mental effort).

4.) If you would like an in-depth, "artistic" perspective on songwriting by a successful songwriter, add to this list the Jimmy Webb book, "Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting". (This one isn't necessary, it just may be of interest to some people).

I should add that most of the other "How to Write a Song!" type books out there are total garbage, so I wouldn't even bother with them.

But by far the best thing aspiring songwriters can do is deconstruct their own favourite songs to see why and how they work, and then incorporate what they discover into their own catalogue of creative knowledge.

Anyway, bravo to Sue Young for coming up with the best rhyming dictionary out there.

I hope this review has helped someone. Good luck.

I've tried several translations for morning devotions (4 & 6 year olds) and they actually seem to follow this through an entire passage! Some explanation but still.... Yea!

It helps you to understand the bible a little better, even if you are not a kid!!!

We recently adopted our 13 year old daughter from Russia and she is still learning to read and speak English. I did not want to get a kids' Bible story book because she is at an age where she needs to learn the teachings of Jesus. She had no religious background in Russia at all and everything is new to her. She really enjoys the devotionals and likes being able to check them off as we read them together. The topics are easy to relate to.

There are very few books that are interesting enough for a 13 year old and yet designed for a beginning reader. It took me a long time to find something that she would enjoy.

This is an excellent bible for all ages. It is easy enough for a 2nd grader and also great for anyone who wants an understanding of the Word of God. I am a primary Sunday School teacher with two young children. The children and I absolutely love it!

I bought this bible, so that I could read it to my 5 year old. I wanted a real bible, not a storybook bible, in language he could understand. He is in awanas, so he is learning lots of verses and I sometimes have problems explaining the context of the verses. So far, it is exactly what I expected. The language is easy to understand. My son is not old enough to use it as a devoltional bible, but it looks like it would be great.

The only reason I didn't give this review 5 stars is because I am just starting to use it for a few MA courses I am in. I will see if it can stand up to the demands of academics. This dictionary was highly recommended as a reference tool by my prof and not a required reading. It seems, then, that it will be a valuable tool.

Plus, it's pretty expensive for a dictionary. It seems it would need to stand up to my classes with a price tag like that! We will see. I probably would not have purchased it if it were not for class.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church is without question a de-facto standard text for study in medieval history, church history, or any of the myriad of related topics which fall along such themes. A massive, comprehensive volume that has been put through three major revision editions over some 50 years, the book represents a modern day "summa" that more than admirably fulfills its purpose as a research and reference text. Entries in the dictionary are comprehensive to the point that one wonders why the word "dictionary" rather than "encyclopedia" was chosen for its title, but that oddity is of little concern to us. Looking up a term in the text is just the start of an exploration of the rich and detailed information that the volume contains.

For example, let's say we wish to study scholasticism. In looking up the term, we don't just find a definition of the term as we might expect with a typical dictionary, but we instead find a detailed, expansive description that presents the historical context of scholasticism, its use in the medieval university, the pivotal roles of Abelard and Anselm in scholasticism's development, its connection with the medieval investigation of the notion of "universals," and even its roots in the writings of Porphyry's discussions of "genus" and "species" in the 3rd century AD. For each of the key terms that arise in the "scholasticism" entry, we are pointed also to each of their own specific entries within the dictionary so that we can further explore the topic to any desired level. In the specific case of scholasticism here, we end up with a comprehensive introduction of the term, learn its meaning and history, explore its implications for education, and even its philosophical underpinnings (including objections), and more. We are also given a listing of additional key references should we wish to pursue our studies in additional publications.

The best way for you to see the level of detail that these entries provide is to use the "look inside this book" link (under the listing, above) and read through a few sample entries. I have little doubt you'll be as impressed as I.

The text does not limit itself to conceptual entries. There is wide coverage of personages, philosophical positions, historical items, theological issues, church history, church liturgy, and more. The current incarnation of the text has resulted in an extended collaboration of hundreds of scholars, teachers, historians, and researchers to expand the coverage far beyond its original 1957 incarnation. The most surprising thing about the text is that it doesn't cost three times what it does. How to improve it? Well, the only thing I can come up with is that it would certainly be nice to have the book also released in electronic format, so that we can search by term, print selected entries, or copy selected references together for future study. Nevertheless, the book as it stands today easily takes its place among the premier reference works of the domain. Highly recommended.

Indispensable for many areas of Theological research - Church history, Dogmatic overviews, biographies, editions, and so many many other things.
A masterpiece! If I could afford it, I would give everybody who press the "yes" button by "was this review helpful to you?" a copy! :-)

The third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church retains its great reputation as the single best reference work for use when studying the Christian religion. Now in the hands of E. A. Livingstone (who took over for the late F. L. Cross), it combines excellent scholarship from all parts of the Church and presents each topic relatively free of ecclesial bias. The topics covered are not short descriptions of a few sentences but multi-paragraph articles that are well researched, very readable, and remarkably complete. For those who are developing an interest in Church history, it will be an indispensible tool for their research. All in all, it is a masterful triumph.

'The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church', edited by the late F.L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, is perhaps the authoritative, one-volume encyclopedia of information on Christianity. With over 480 contributors, from a myriad of denominational backgrounds, this book has a completeness that is unrivalled. Scholars from Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and other denominations, as well as Jewish and secular authorities from all over the world, have written or contributed to articles that reflect as best possible an unbiased and authoritative compilation of history, theology, liturgy, scriptural study, art, biographies, denominational and calendrical organisation, and inter-religious attitudes.

The current edition, published in 1997, is the third edition of the ODCC to appear since its was first issued in 1957. It has an unrivalled reputation since first being published by Oxford don and cleric F.L. Cross. After his death, Dr. E.A. Livingstone took the helm to oversee production of the current volume.

There is increased coverage of the Eastern Churches, certain issues in moral theology, and developments stemming from the Second Vatican Council. Numerous new entries have been added and the extensive bibliographies have been brought up to date. Readers are provided with over 6,000 authoritative cross-referenced entries covering all aspects of the subject.

The book is over 1750 pages in length, very much the ready reference rather than the narrative sort, but many of the longer articles provide depth and detail, and articles generally include references for further research at the conclusion.

Topical entries include:

Theology
Discussion of theological topics from the earliest days of creeds and heresies to current topics on Christology, ecclesiology, sacramental theology, and other topics Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox.

Patristic Scholarship
The early Church Fathers are covered in detail, particularly in creedal development. Likewise, recent scholarship on Nag Hammadi writings, newer Augustinian sermon discoveries, new scholarship on Gnosticism, and established work on early church history are included in the articles.

Churches and Denominations
Beliefs and organisation of the major denominations are covered, as well as lesser-known and smaller denominations such as the Amish, Shakers, Old Catholics (my own denomination); as well as particular national structures and variants on the Christian scene.

Church Calendar and Organisation
This includes feast days, saints days, calender issues (such as the date of Easter), sacramental and liturgical systems, rites, church and canon law, and discussion of religious orders.

The Bible
An entry on each book of the Bible, including apocryphal and deutero-canonical scriptures, as well as entries on major Biblical figures are included along with major schools of thought on scriptural interpretation and study.

Biographical Entries
Saints, popes, reformers, church leaders, mystics, heretics, kings and emperors, theologians, philosophers, artists, musicians and poets are included among the many people with an impact on Christianity.

New Entries
These entries include ecumenical dialogues, ethics of procreation, contraception and abortion issues, theology of religions and different religions, articles on Black Churches, C.S. Lewis, and the Holiness Movement.

I find this an almost indispensable reference book. Priced at suggested retail of [retail price], it is unfortunately out of the reach of most of those who need it most -- seminary students. But it belongs on the shelf of anyone who has intention of being scholarly in their approach to Christianity.

I think this volume is the best in the whole History of Middle Earth series. Answers a lot of questions. Christopher Tolkien did an excellent job.

This one, 10 (Morgorth's Ring), 9 (End of the Third Age), and 5 (The Lost Road and Other Writings) are the most worthwile entries of the 12 volume series. Don't buy it for "The New Shadow", however, as it is only 20ish pages and Eldarion or Aragorn don't even come into the story...closest tie to LOTR is the brother of Bergil, son of Beregond. However, there's lots here for you Numenorian fans...full account of the Heirs of Elendil, additional background on the tale of Aragorn and Arwen, how the humans under the oppression of Sauron viewed the Numenorian ships in the 2nd age. Then you get the history of Lembas bread, some more info on the feud between the houses of Feanor and Fingolfin and why, and even some dwarf and Rohan info. The lone entry for Hobbits deals with their family trees in full, excrutiating detail, even more than the Appendicies in the LOTR. This is probably my second favorite entry overall (next to Morgorth's Ring), as it has the largest amount of interesting material in the whole series.

`The Peoples of Middle Earth', the twelfth and last volume of unpublished notes by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by son Christopher Tolkien, is, for me at least, a high point in this series. I have read `Lord of the Rings' at least 10 times, but I have read the appendices at the end of `The Return of The King' at least 20 times. Until the publication of `The Silmarillion', these appendices were the only tonics to cool the great interest in the history of Middle Earth and its larger context. And, it is this depth of history twinkling through crevices in the main text which makes Tolkien's two principal novels, `The Hobbit' and `The Lord of the Rings' so engaging. And, in so many of the earlier volumes, the primary subject was the history of the elves in Middle Earth and their battles with Morgoth. I confess these tales did practically nothing for me. I was much more interested in the histories of the Dwarves, Tom Bombadil, Numenor, their colonies Gondor and Arnor, the Istari (the wizards), and the Hobbits. For the Hobbits, this volume covers just about everything you would ever want to know, usually three times over, in different versions of the same texts. It also has some goodies on Numenor and as good a chronology of the first three ages as you can ask for. But still, it has scant new information on the wizards and nothing on that great deux ex machina, Tom Bombadil, who remains totally unique in the great world of Middle earth.
The best single value of this volume is for those who own only the Second Edition or later of `Lord of the Rings'. Apparently, the First Edition `Prologue' or `Preface' was removed from the `Lord of the Rings' printing, and this is a significant loss. Otherwise, those who delight in genealogies, chronologies, and linguistics, will get a new and better dose of these confections in this last and (one of the best) of this series.
As an aside, I was interested to discover that Christopher Tolkien had a deadline for this volume which, either by coincidence or by design, coincided exactly with the release of the first of Peter Jackson's three movie interpretation of `Lord of the Rings'.

But is this the end -- or only the beginning? This book, the 12th in "The History of Middle-Earth" series, wraps up the final loose ends of Christopher Tolkien's 25 year labor. Unlike many of the other titles in this series, "The Peoples of Middle-Earth" does not concentrate on a single "Age" or storyline. Instead, it attempts to answer remaining questions, correct errors and misimpressions, and provide extra bits of information about the lives and histories of the many peoples populating Middle-Earth. Of special interest are the two fragments of unfinished stories: one, dealing with the coming of the Numenorean ships to the shores of Middle-Earth (told from the perspective of the men living in desperation under the tyranny of the Dark Lord), two, dealing with the return of evil in Gondor, some 100+ years after the downfall of the Lord of the Rings. This hobbit wishes that these two stories had been finished. This book is a delight for all lovers of Middle-Earth -- Elves, Dwarves, Men and Hobbits will all find something of interest. Highly Recommended.

This book should have probably been placed as book number 9, but I don't freaking care what order these are in.

This book goes back and shows you the evolution of the appendices, warning----------this is almost as boring as books 6-8, but still very enjoyable for tolkien fans. i really liked the tale of years but didn't really care about the FULL, and I mean FULL hobbit family trees. So even though ALL of the info in this book si good, some of it much better than the rest.

This book will be bought by a lot of tolkien fans, maybe even some who didn't read the silmarillion or any of the history books. The reason they will buy this is for the "New Shadow", and while it's very good, it is not the reason you should buy this. The reasons you should buy this is that the whole book is filled with interesting stuff, like the last pages of this book which shows you the unfinished story of tar-elmar. A very intrigueing tale that i certainly don't want to give away for all you tolkien diehard.

Overall, a very nice finish to the series.

Also there needs to be at least A movie made about the silmarillion, or at least a tale from it. COME ON PETER JACKSON, I KNOW KING KONG WAS COOL, BUT GO BACK TO WHAT MADE YOU FAMOUS, PEOPLE SAY YOU WERE NOT THE BEST CHOICE AS DIRECTOR, WELL THEY ARE RETARDED AND I THINK THAT YOU COULD SURPASS EVEN YOURSELF IF YOU MADE TOOK ON THE PROJECT OF THE SILMARILLION.


THANK YOU CHRISTOPHER SO MUCH FOR PUBLISHING ALL OF TYOUR FATHERS works, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sue Holt's poetry is truly inspirational. She shows how faith can overcome great difficulties, and that no matter what, survival is possible. Everyone will find strength in her poems.

Holt submerges her life experiences of manic depression within her deeply moving and inspirational poetry. Her language is dark and grabbing and she is a highly skilled poet at evoking pathos. This is my favorite book of poetry and I recommend it to anyone.

Sue Holt's book gathers dozens of vibrant poems. She has that gift which only great writers possess, that makes you very concerned about what she's talking about _in this case, mental illness_
A very emotional journey...

"Snot and Tears"

Sue Holt's portrayal of Jesus Christ is courageous to say the least. Sue admits to feeling no repentance to not describing Jesus' love through reverent verses in " Poems of Survival". Sue describes her encounters with God through "snot and tears", and makes no apology for the offence this may cause others, for Sue this was the reality surrounding her conversion to knowing the living God.
Sue knows that Jesus was with her in situations, which many may shy away from. To her Jesus is not the "untouchable" God often portrayed; He is her rock and deserves to be acknowledged through her painful choice of words. Sue knows you may find her reality uncomfortable, but her greatest wish is that you will discover the reality of God's love shining through her honesty.

Dark and uplifting poetry concentrating on manic depression, abuse, love, pity, bewilderment and love. Holt's Poetry gives you a frisson and puts a tear to your eye. Christianity gives her the faith to bounce back and rejoin life. Although it must be said that the writing process itself seems to have made a magic wand for us the reader as well.

The pray and Play Bible has a great lessons for preschool age children. All of these lessons can be used in whole or in part. Great resource for anyone in christian education.

The art is fabulous. The Bible stories are entertaining and age appropriate for preschoolers. The songs, games, prayers, and activities that go along with the Bible stories make it so easy to have a lesson that engages every preschooler in REAL learning. I am so thankful that I have this amazing resource because I use it all the time.

This is a preschool Sunday School leader's dream resource for those days when you need a little something extra. It is also PERFECT for a substitute leader! The bright, colorful pictures totally capture the children's attention and each story is followed with many easy to learn songs, prayers and lessons that anyone could lead at the spur of the moment. The activities are very interactive and designed specifically with preschoolers in mind.

Our Play and Pray Bible arrived today, and we are already enjoying it very much! The large size of the book is appealing, as are the brightly colored illustrations. There are activities to extend each Bible story, and we have been singing lots of the songs tonight. (These are sung to familiar children's tunes, and they caught my daughter's attention right away.) I also teach 4-year-olds in a Christian preschool, and I teach 3's and 4's in Sunday School - I'm looking forward to using this book in those settings, as well as at home!

I liked this so well I bought the second one (Pray and Play Bible 2).
I am a Sunday school teacher for young children and was looking for stories that kept the children's interest. So often the Bible story books say they're for young children, but are either over their head or very boring.
I also bought this for my 3 yr old niece and it's one of her favorite books.
A quality product I don't think you will be disappointed with.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, at the end of the stories are suggested songs and activities that are very do-able.

As other reviewers have noted, everything Lewis wrote is amazing. The profundity of his thought and the simplicity of his presentation are two of the characteristics which mark him as a literary master. This book then gathers gems from Lewis' corpus, they are grouped topically, and indexed. Thankfully there are also references made to the source from which any given quote was taken, so that future reading is made easier to find. This is certainly a good reference book to have for reflection, inspiration or instruction.

Everything CS Lewis did was fabulous. If you are a fan, you should own this book.

This is a wonderful anthology of Lewis' writings. Taken from many of his well known and lesser known works, this is a great reference tool for anyone who is familiar with his works and especially those of us who only know him from his Narnia Chronicles. After much soul searching, Lewis became converted to Christianity. He moved from atheist to Christian theist. With much thought and talks with Henry Dyson and J.R.R. Tolkien, he became convinced about Christianity. From this conversion, a great Christian apologist was born or perhaps reborn as his life and thoughts expanded and shifted. Within this work are the thoughts of the pre and post converted Lewis. His train of logic can be followed and examined in a more readily available format. This hopefully will not eliminate the need to read his works but serve as a taste that leads to further readings. Lewis had an interesting perspective and viewed things from both sides of the coin and sometimes the edge as well.

Reading through these thoughts causes me many times to stop and reflect. Lewis was the type of author that really makes one think. Whether browsing by specific subject or source, this is a reference tool that is well worth adding to the shelf.

Whether to look up a quote almost remembered, to find a memorable quote anew, or to just enjoy browsing, this book is an amazing resource. Buy it.

For writers, preachers, and educators, this handy reference is indespensible. Imagine having the ability to probe the greatest works of C.S. Lewis on specific topics. You'll enjoy this and wish you'd bought it sooner!