Susan Wojciechowski Books

Great book...good quality...arrived in record time. I will highly recommend ordering this book for a Christmas present for any age.

This story will rank among my all time favorite Christmas stories! It is heartwarming and humorous, and conveys the true spirit of Christmas!

This book is a GREAT human interest story that uses a man's skill-carving, with a family need for a nativity. In the process of carving the characters and the friendliness of a woman and her son, Jonathan changes from a bitter, lonely man to a believer.

Each year I buy myself a new Christmas book, looking for something unique..Just ran up on this book at a company book sale and stood in awe as I read the story. I knew this was "the one" for this year. Not only is the story heartwarming but the illustrations are perfect. My children are grown as well as my granddaughters and I plan to buy copies for all of them.

A friend and I are often comparing notes on wonderful new and old books and stories for children (and adults), especially at Christmastime. When I saw this book, I knew it would fill the bill as a perfect gift to her to add to her wonderful collection of children's books. I was right--she loved it. I'd never heard of this story before, but, in my opinion, it should be much better known and read. It's so sweet. I'm certainly sharing it. It's perfect for reading aloud. Again, a real good experience with you folks.

I can't say enough about the "Beany" book series. From the moment my daughter opened her box from Amazon containing 3 of the books in the series - she couldn't put it down. My daughter (7 years old) likes to read - but I usually need to remind her to read daily for at least 20 minutes (especially during summer break). Well, needless to say, I didn't have to remind her once. =) I couldn't believe how much she loved the stories... she would stop reading every so often and give me a short rundown of what was going on and the funny parts. I would look over at her every once in a while and see her smiling and giggling. What a great feeling to not have to nag my kid about grabbing a book and reading! LOL

Beany and the Dreaded Wedding is about Beany's cousin, Amy, having a wedding with Peter, her boyfriend. Amy wanted Beany to be the flowergirl and the bearer. Beany sort of wanted to go and sort of not, because she was scared of everybody staring at her in the wedding party. She wanted to go because she thought it would be exciting. When the wedding was finished, she was not scared any more. The wedding ended up to be a fine and peaceful wedding. I like this book so much. I would like to recommended it to all of my friends, my family and best of all, all my best teachers, counting all of them. And the part I most liked was when the big fat celebration of the wedding started and ended. If I were Beany, I would not be so scared. I would just be super excited. By the way, I am [...]

Beany is a nice normal kid. She's not as loud as Ramona Quimby but she's just as earnest and concerned about the world around her. If you're asking a young girl to be in your wedding, I highly recommend this as a good primer on the ups and downs of being a flower girl. I especially like the adults in this book, who are warm and caring and make you feel like Beany is going to grow up to be a great person.

Beany is the kid everyone of every age can relate to. She worries about everything! She's timid, curious, and sweet. Reading about the ups and downs of Beany's life, and how she conquers her worries, will give you hope that if Beany can do it, so can you! Beany is the genuine article. You'll love her, I promise!

I loved Beany and the Dreaded Wedding! Children will relate to Beany's worries when she is asked to be a flower girl in her cousin's wedding - will the dress be ugly and frilly, will she trip going down the aisle? The author is always sensitive in handling Beany's worries. Beany's "know it all" friend Carol Ann is always close at hand to "help" Beany solve her problems. The contrast between Beany and Carol Ann adds just the right tension which is so common in childhood friendships. Beany is delightful! The book is sprinkled with humor which will appeal to kids and adults alike. Throughout the story, the reader can sense that Beany will work out her concerns and a happy ending is right around the corner.

Children ages 8-10 will love Beany and will be eager to read more of her stories!

Great book, beany is out in the store gets lost and alredy had experience with this problem so she goes up to the store clerk and asks for her mommy, the store cleark sends her to Rosie, Rosie tells her she will give her a candy bar if she helps her so she does looking up she sees a box and couriusly asks what's in there she pulls them down and tells her some of the crystals are magic and Beany asks her how do you no if there magic later on her mom comes and Rosie gives her a choise and Beany chooses the crystal read the book to find out what happens......

This is a wonderfully wholesome book (as is the series). Bernice (Beany), her brother Philip, Mom, Dad, and her best friend are the main characters. I read this book (over the course of a week)at bedtime to my 4 year old and 6 year old boys. They remained interested throughout - often asking for "just a few more pages..." Beany is a well rounded, believable character. She runs into difficulties and struggles with issues that any young grade schooler might. When Beany recieves a crystal, that she believes to be magic, she looks for exactly the right situation to use it. There are many opportunities for her to use the crystal for herself - but in the end Beany discovers a far more important reason to use the "magic" Beany always seems to do the right thing (without making a show of it). This is a humorous and heartwarming story. If you enjoy this one - read "Beany and the Dreaded Wedding" - it is also fantastic for many of the same reasons.

I recently discovered Susan Wojciechowski's Beany series and I love them! Beany is a believable character, with whom I think many children can identify. Often her worries and troubles remind me of things that bothered me when I was a kid. As a teacher, I plan to use this book (and the other Beany books) with my grade 2 class. It has a great flow, is engaging, and has many lessons on appropriate problem-solving and kind, considerate behavior without that actually being the focus of the story.

As the parent of a 7-year-old girl, I recently discovered Beany when my school teacher wife brought one of the books home. Since then I have read several with my daughter, and plan to purchase all books in the series. There are many similar books available to kids in this age group (my daughter calls them "chapter books"), but the Beany series are the best for our family at present. They can be read by good readers ages 7 and up, but are also short enough an adult can read them to a child.

Beany's problems are timeless - reading this title will bring back memories from childhood. The story conveys Beany's experience of being paired up with a difficult kid for a science fair project. Watching her friends Carol Ann and Stacy enjoying their project together, Beany feels understandably left out. My daughter had just experienced a similar problem with kids down the street, and I think reading the book helped put the issue in perspective.

The character Beany has pathos, a quality enhanced by the author's skill as well as by illustrations that seamlessly convey parts of the story. The book also subtly conveys a decent science lesson within an entertaining story line - bravo! Ms. Wojciechowski has an eye for a child's experiences, something I could feel as I talked the book over with my daughter. As a parent, I am grateful to the author for providing such a morally centered and meaningful read for my child.

Susan Wojciechowski's Beany And The Meany is peppered with black and white drawings by Susanna Natti as it tells of a science project which sticks Beany with the class bully Kevin. How can Beany save her project and work with the meanest boy in school? A realistic dilemma will attract readers in elementary grades 3-5.

Two big things happen in Beany's classroom on the same day: a new girl named Stacy joins the class, and everyone teams up to do science projects. Beany's best friend, Carol Ann, pairs up with the new girl; Beany gets stuck with Kevin.

Beany knows what she likes: her family, her teacher, her best friend Carol Ann, and her stuffed moose Jingle Bell, campouts, and her big brother, sometimes. She knows what she doesn't like: Kevin. She think he's a bully and he thinks she's a nuisance. When they finally start working on the experiment, Beany learns that Kevin is smarter than she thought he was, and that he really likes science. Beany and the Meany is a simple, cute story about getting along and working together.

This story could have been heavy on jealousy and misjudging new classmates, but it wasn't, and that was nice to see. Instead of ditching her best friend for the new girl, it is made apparent from the beginning that Carol Ann was the "special helper" in the classroom that week, so she was assigned to help Stacy out. The two naturally became fast friends, as kids that age are so likely to do, and they spend a lot of time working on their own project together, but Carol Ann never outright ignores Beany nor vice-versa. Beany feels left out, but she is more sad than she is jealous. Of course, by the book's close, Beany has two new friends in addition to her best friend, and all is well.

I love this tale for it offers the perfect opportunity to discuss generosity and service to ones community. In the story the whole community comes together to paint the town Limerick Lime. They also unite to help the traveling stranger with his problem. There's so much selfishness in society today, and every now and then it's nice to be reminded of the things that matter most in life, friendship, love, and community. Well, those things matter most to me anyway...

The illustrator, Tom Curry, has a folksy style that lends itself to Wojciechowski's countrified fable. Reminiscent of Grandma Moses' folk art, Curry's pastoral scenes are charming, and out of the ordinary for children's literature.

Susan Wojciechowski generally known for the Beany series succeeds in writing a noble tale of charity verses greed. She has a pleasing way with words as the text flows along page after page. There's a lilt to her writing, and she's thrown in a bit of the Irish brogue as well. All in all, A Fine St. Patrick's Day is a worthwhile read.

Looking for a book with a fun St. Patrick's Day tale, bright illustrations, a moral and a wee bit `o leprechaun magic? Here it is.

Wojciechowski spins an original folktale of two Irish towns engaged in an annual St. Patrick's Day decorating competition. Preparations are getting heated and judging time draws near when a stranger arrives asking for help. How each town reacts teaches a moral lesson about helping others and working together.

The folk-art illustrations by Tom Curry complement the mood of the story and are fun to look at. I can't wait to read this to my kids.

Dawn Mena
www.bookbuds.net

Every St. Patrick's Day two towns compete to see who could decorate better. Sick of losing every year a young girl in one of the towns comes up with the idea of painting everything in the village green (except the mailboxes - they're government property and fire hydrants - which must be yellow so they can be seen). When a stranger comes asking for help the town must decide whether or not to abandon their painting to help. The illustrations feature bold colors and are well suited for this delightful folk tale.

My daughter and I read this book as part of our nightly reading ritual. I think that I loved the book as much, or maybe even more than she did. We enjoyed reading about Beany's worries and we laughed at how she solved her problems. This is a must read for any young reader.

My son (age 7) and I are currently reading this book at bedtime. He loves the book even though the main character is a girl. He identifies with Beany because he, too, is a worrywart. I would recommend this book for both boys and girls.

Parents always want to help with their children's Halloween Costumes. But it's not for children. It's just hfor parent's fun. Parents' wishes are differnet from children's wishes. And this book gave measome ideas for Halloween,too.

Patty Dillman was an OK book. This girl, Patty, really wants to go on the school field trip to the mountains. She has saved up a lot of money from baby-sitting to go. Her school is also doing a project with a homeless shelter. Patty thinks that homeless people are bums and she does not want to go, but her mom makes her go. Since it is the middle of winter the men's hands are cracked. Patty has to decide what to do with her money- should she go on the ski trip or should she buy the homeless me gloves.