Literature in Art Books

This resource includes annotated citations for a wide variety of resources focused on international ethnic and national groups. These ethnic groups in the United States are covered: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans. Also includes other areas and nations of the world, such as Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, Central and South America, as well as Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Approximately 1038 resources are listed. Resources are grouped first by ethnic group, then by grades: preschool through grade 3, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. Full citation information is included.

Annotated citations are detailed and provide substantial information about the resource. Content scope, organization and format are described. When the resource is fiction, the story and characters are summarized, yet provide enough detail so I could glean an understanding of the style and relevance of the resource.

This work also contains background and explanatory material that is useful for understanding the use and evaluation of multi-ethnic resources. For example, the Introduction section describes criteria for evaluation and the major concerns of evaluation (specifically, general accuracy, stereotypes, language, author's perspective, currency of facts and interpretation, audience, integration of cultural information, balance and multidimensionality, and illustrations). This material serves as a solid introduction to the need for and issues related to multi-ethnic bibliography.

Additional context and background is provided for the ethnic or national group covered in this work. For example, the opening piece to the chapter on United States Native Americans describes the history, type and availability of resources for children and teenagers.

I would include this resource in my collection. Its scope allows flexible use to answer questions about both ethnic groups located in the United States and other countries. The list of contributors indicates a solid diversity of individuals and professional backgrounds. However, I cannot directly ascertain the ethnicity or ethnic experiences of the contributors.

The overall quality, completeness, breadth and depth of the citations is impressive. Given that Bowker is the publisher, I view the contents with hopes of more accuracy and correctness than resources from other publishers. However, I would still care to "spot check" several citations by a careful read of the original works.

This resource contains annotated bibliographies for books of fiction, oral tradition and poetry for these major groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native-Americans.

As stated in the preface, the resources are limited to those published 1985 through 1993 for individuals of preschool age through high school. Resources focus on the American experience, and do not include content or stories that occur in other locations. A total of 570 resources are listed in this title.

Resources were reviewed by an Advisory Board for suitability. Advisors are clearly identified and include librarians, professors and a teacher of various ethnic backgrounds. Resource annotations are listed by type (fiction, oral tradition, poetry) and ethnic group. Also, resources are indexed by title, writer, illustrator, grade level and subject.

Annotated citations are substantial and provide appropriate detail on the resource's content, quality, format, illustrations, interpretation of subject and suitability for intended audience. Through a quick reading of the citation, a teacher, librarian, parent or other user can easily determine whether the book might interest the reader, be topical for a lesson or plan, and serve well for individual reading, storytelling or other uses.

At first glance, I would include this item in my collection of multi-ethnic resources as it provides a relatively recent, comprehensive list of print materials with quality, objective and complete annotated citations. This book is limited only by its scope of ethnic groups. For example, I could not answer patron questions or provide resources about their European ethnic background.

Before making a final decision to buy this book, I would select and read a representative sampling of several listed resources. I could then compare and contrast the accuracy, completeness and objectivity of the resource's citation with my own independent read.

My son and I read together at night. He is 8 years old and not all that interested in reading books "just for fun" on his own. But, he doesn't let a night go by without some reading time "together". We loved this book the minute we began. Switching reading turns per page, it was a great book to use character voices and talk about the books "Richard" had to deal with. Fun reading. My daugher, 5, loves it too.

Some of the most eye-catching and vibrant illustrations are found in this book illustrated by Jerry Tirtilli.

Pagemaster is the saga of ten-year-old Richard who finds himself in a closed library where he meets astonishing talking books and travels through some of the world's most cherished classic stories.

Richard's adventures are sure to beguile young readers and perhaps prompt an interest in some classics.

I bought this book years ago at an art museum bookstore. It was one of those books that I nearly didn't buy because I didn't think I would look at it more than once, and it was an impulse buy, but it is one of my favorites now. Every now and then I take it off the shelf and look through it, and each time I do I am glad. It reminds me of all the beautiful parts of my home, California. It is a great collection of lesser-known works which capture our landscape perfectly, beautifully. It would be nice if it were a larger book because the pictures would then be larger, but if it were, I might not pick it up so often, and I might not have bought it. The print and paper quality is excellent, so perhaps it is fine as-is.

I love this book. I lived in California for 10 years and became totally enchanted by it. This book brings back pleasant memories of sites, sounds, and smells from the Golden State. The total sensory experiences of the Sierra foothills covered with wildflowers in the spring, the ocean's edge at Big Sur, the hills above San Louis Obispo, the sierras in the summer, and many others come flooding back while browsing this book. My only complaint is its size. These images deserve a big coffee-table style book.

Thomas E. Kennedy has written yet another brilliant novel. Ostensibly , A Passion in the Desert is about a college creative writing teacher , Fred Twomey , a name perfectly suggestive of dichotomy , struggling with normal mezzo del cammin issues: marital fidelity , alcohol dependence , a senescent mother , an alienated teenage son. Kennedy's novel , a feast of language like all of his oeuvre , is , in fact , questioning the idea of paternity. He's a Joycean running with the concept proposed in the National Library scene by Stephen Dedalus viz., paternity might be legal fiction. Like Joyce , Kennedy is not afraid to take us through the muddy terrain of his protagonist's consciousness. And if there's a father , there must be a son. Kennedy gives us a '' nullius filius'' to correspond with a father deaf to a son's pater ,ait , and until the penultimate scene , a terrifying Ithaca , if you will , in a tour de force second person narrative. A Passion in the Desert is powerful storytelling. A veritable masterpiece.

After reading Kenney's Copenhagen Quartet, I couldn't imagine where he would go next to mine his seemingly endless supply of fascinating characters and stories. But "A Passion in the Desert," shows no fall-off from the brilliance of the Copenhagen Quartet. This book is, by turns, creepy, funny, amazingly insightful, and as personal as it gets within the ruminations of a character's mind, in this case, one Fred Twomey. And the great trick of Kennedy's writing is that no matter how surreal or fantastical his plots sometimes become, it always seems that they could happen to us. Everything remains plausible and personal. "A Passion in the Desert" is to be savored. Read the newspaper on the train or on a bus, but save Kennedy's latest for your armchair, with a chilled martini on a table next to you. And then begin reading and you'll know you are in the hands of legitimate master storyteller. Kennedy's work is as good as it gets.

If you can't believe the websites of Rutgers and Princeton Univiersities, and just have to read it for yourself, this is the book for you. Just being able to read Mr. Robeson's beautiful ode to one of last century's most influential world leaders, Joe Stalin, is worth the price of the book! I'm tickled pink (or should I say "red") that the United States Postal Service has done their homework and honored Mr. Robeson with his own postage stamp!!

What can I say? Paul Robeson put his money where his mouth is. He gave up millions for what he believed in and stood his ground. He fought for Black freedom and also took up the cause for poor whites and workers. Whether you agree with him or not, this man is one of America's greatest heroes! It is amazing how his life and contributions are overlooked. Buy this book and read about a great American hero.

This is an amazing book, not to be taken lightly as the cover suggests. The writing displays a certain amount of eloquence that only a brilliant writer like Harold Segal could pull off successfully. Thank you, Harold, for this essential piece of literature.

This book is amazing. It covers every aspect of avant-garde puppetry with a certain amount of eloquence only a brilliant writer could display.

If you missed the exhibit during its tour,you must own a copy of this beautifully produced tribute to the art of the midwestern landscape

This exquisite volume is a MUST for anyone who loves 19th and 20th century American landscape art. From Keith Jacobshagen's breathtaking "Crow Call (Near the River)" to the works by Grant Wood and Alexandre Hogue, to the photos by Wolcott and Gerster, this catalog is a strong document, chronicalling the changing face of, and attitudes toward, the prairies. Buy it for the stunning artwork, cherish it for the depth of feeling

Models are pretty simple. The "X-Fighter" is a great version of the X-Wing Fighter from Star Wars. It is an eye-catching model that will impress your fellow fans.

If you like space and hands on learning and art, get this one. It's fun

The Poetics of Childhood is Roni Natov's most recent contribution to the study of children's literature. The book is remarkable in its breadth and depth, considering, as she states in the introduction,
the literature of childhood through a variety of texts both those conceived and written for children and those that engage an exclusively adult readership. Its focus is those works that provide a shared area where adult and child come together... The majority of works considered here belong as much to adults as to children, as the world of childhood belongs to adults in memory as well as to children temporally. (3)
The close readings of texts from William Blake to Lewis Carroll, Maurice Sendak to Faith Ringgold, Gertrude Stein to Arundhati Roy, Lolita to Harry Potter, allow the reader to consider not only the literature intended for children, but work through a concept, a poetics of childhood itself as experienced by the child and remembered by the adult. Throughout the book, Natov reveals a profound respect for children's books and childhood and children. Lois R. Kuznets, former President of the Children's Literature Association, lovingly ends a review published in the Children's Literature Association Quarterly stating "Natov displays both an acute sensitivity to the joys and pains of childhood-immediate and remembered-and a strong sense of responsibility to the child reader as well as to those adults who empower childhood and children."

Natov's thoughtful analysis of the literature of childhood in Poetics, marks a good first step in "Childhood Studies," which will make as lasting a contribution to the scholarship of childhood as The Lion and the Unicorn, the journal of children's literature scholarship founded by Natov and her long-time collaborator, Geraldine DeLuca. Most importantly, I think, the book advocates a respectful and sensitive means of addressing children and childhood, recognizing the trauma that children around the world face as part of their everyday lives. In her concluding paragraph, Natov argues-perhaps even pleads-that we advocate for and protect our children: "In its broadest sense, then, the literature of childhood represents a challenge to the world. In the voices of children, in their questions about things that seem unfair, this literature demands that we look again at the crippling and divisive forces of racism and sexism. In its depictions of children suffering and struggling against the bleakest and most unstable conditions, it is an indictment of the barbaric effects of poverty on their lives. In response to our current world that criminalizes them, in response to our polluted, wartorn, power-hungry world, the literature of childhood, in its varied imagined landscapes, suggests an inclusive society in which children can find a safe and creative way to live" (262).

It's a wonderful book and clearly the product of a lifetime of thoughtful, respectful study.

In The Poetics of Childhood, Dr. Natov masterfully interweaves archetypal themes of child-centered poetry into a visionary work, which is itself poetic in its aesthetic depth, eloquence, and economy of expression. While it honors the directness, clarity, and playfulness of the child's world, it is simultaneously imbued with the wisdom and maturity of erudite scholarship. The author conveys a vast, comprehensive knowledge of the topic through poignant narratives of beauty and imagination, providing fresh insights into the work of even the best-known poets, and providing new perspectives on the nature of the psyche. Through her literary mastery, Dr. Natov brilliantly plumbs the depths of human consciousness, illuminating the divine in the concrete, and evoking the fantastic in the ordinary. She approaches even the most fundamental themes of childhood with profound respect and revence (as one would approach something sacred), and treats each poem as a living, breathing, art form, with its own life story to tell.

Far beyond informational, The Poetics of Childhood is transformational. It is a moving testament to the resilliance of the human, childhood spirit, which prevails even in the midst of the most intolerable conditions, through its innate artistry and boundless love. As the author portrays dialectic struggles between shadow and light, internal and external, past and present, conscious and unconscious, and body and soul, she simultaneously reveals how each of these dichotomies is ulitmately transcended through the creative process inherent in child-centered poetry. In this way, the reader gains an appreciation of these poetic works as reflections of, and as pathways to, self-integration, healing, and spiritual development.

Because Dr. Natov is forthright about her own life context and peresonal values, the reader is continually aware of her authenticity and genuine presence. The Poetics of Childhood is a compelling, inspirational work, capable of enriching the lives of artists, scholars, and healers of all disciplines. Truly, it provides possibilities for relating in new ways to the child each of us has been, and which each of us still is.

This book has beautiful illustrations, is well done and the writings are a wonderul mixture of stories, poems and myths. The works of authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Updike, Franz Kafka, Mark Twain, Sylvia Plath and Leo Tolstoy are included. It is not a book you read cover-to-cover at one sitting, but a volume you take your time reading and enjoying. I spend hours just enjoying the art work that was done by Peter Malone. It is interesting and fascinating to read how different cultures see "divine messengers". It is also thought provoking. If angels don't exist, why have so many written about them for so long?

The works anthologized for this beautiful edition are so varied any reader is sure to be inspired by at least one. Despite the wide variance of influences, each story, poem or lesson flows perfectly into the next. From the bible to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the influences span history and the globe to bring to life in the reader the real possibility of angles.