Children's Books

Ranma Saotome is a boy who fell into a Jusenkyo spring called "Spring of drowned girl." Because of that he turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. (Hot water reverses the change.) He's not the only one though. There's his father Genma (Panda), Ryoga Hibikami (Black pig called, P-Chan), Mousse (duck), Shampoo (Cat), and more. Since Ranma can be a boy or a girl, you could guess he has many fiance's. As a boy he has, Kodachi Kuno, Akane Tendo, Ukyo, Shampoo and a few others that like him. As a girl there's Tatewaki Kuno, and some boys who like him. (as a girl.) Read about how Ranma got his phobia of cats, and how he goes threw life as half girl half boy. There are 36 in the series. I've read them all! So can you! Read Ranma 1/2, By:Rumiko Takahashi. I could'nt put it down.

The book I'm writing about is called Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma 1/2 is about a young boy, about sixteen years old, and his name is Ranma. Ranma and his father, Saotom, who go and visit and old friend, who Ranma has never met before. His friend has 3 daughters Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane. They're father told them one of them would be wed to Ranma. When Ranma arrived they didn't see a boy but a young girl and a giant panda. Kasumi and Nabiki where disappointed, but Akane was glad for she hated men. Later that evening Ranma took a hot bath and turned back into a boy. The family was shocked. Then Saotom and Ranma sat down with them and told them about their horrible encounter in china. After that Akane was the one who would wed Ranma, because she didn't like men, so this way she didn't have to choose. Ranma and Saotom stood there for a wile longer. While staying there Ranma came in to many other enouncements.
My favorite part of the book was when Ranma thought Akane looked cuter with shorter hair because they start off hating each other but toward the end they start to like each other.
I would recommend this story to people who want a quick read and who like manga books because it is about a one day reading book and it a manga book. Also I would recommend it because it is a good book and funny too.

The book I'm writing about is called Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma 1/2 is about a young boy, about sixteen years old, and his name is Ranma. Ranma and his father, Saotom, who go and visit and old friend, who Ranma has never met before. His friend has 3 daughters Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane. They're father told them one of them would be wed to Ranma. When Ranma arrived they didn't see a boy but a young girl and a giant panda. Kasumi and Nabiki where disappointed, but Akane was glad for she hated men. Later that evening Ranma took a hot bath and turned back into a boy. The family was shocked. Then Saotom and Ranma sat down with them and told them about their horrible encounter in china. After that Akane was the one who would wed Ranma, because she didn't like men, so this way she didn't have to choose. Ranma and Saotom stood there for a wile longer. While staying there Ranma came in to many other enouncements.
My favorite part of the book was when Ranma thought Akane looked cuter with shorter hair because they start off hating each other but toward the end they start to like each other.
I would recommend this story to people who want a quick read and who like manga books because it is about a one day reading book and it a manga book. Also I would recommend it because it is a good book and funny too.

Ranma ½ is about great martial artist boy named Ranma Saltome. Ranma find out that his father and a friend of his father made arrangements for him and one of the three Tendo Children to be married, but once they meat Ranma is not he really is but he is a girl. This is because Ranma and his father fell into a cursed pond and every time Ranma is touched with cold water, he turns into a GIRL!

Ranma is now forced to marry a 16-year-old girl named Akane Tendo but they do not really get along. (Ranma think Akane is a tomboy and Akane thinks Ranma is a jerk) Ranma and Akane try to get along but something always goes wrong. This is mostly because Akane has so many admirers, which always leads to a fight.

Most likely Ranma ½ is my favorite book ever. This is because of all the action, romance and comedy there is in this book. Also, I love to read this book because once you get to the end you will want to read the next one and the next and the next.

In the book Ranma 1/2 volume 1 there were many things I liked and only one thing that I didnt like.
One thing I liked about the book was the amount of humor. one example of this humor was when Ranma and the upperclassman were fighting and Ranma kept throwing food at him. Another funny part in the book was when the girls sister sold pictures of her to the upperclassman.
The only thing that I didnt like about the book was it was a little short, but there are like 37 of the books in the series so that makes it o.k.
In conclusion Ranma 1/2 is a great book and I would definetly recommend this book to anybody that likes humor and action because this book has both of them and then some.

I purchased this book simply to replace my original copy, which I loaned out and which was never returned. Reading this book has been a favorite part of my Christmas for many years. While I regret losing my old copy, I am thankful I will now be able to carry on this tradition.

It's a fun story about an untraditional Christmas play. It shows how good can come of seemingly negative changes and find some unexpected, meaningful outcomes.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

I like books and I don't know if this is my favorite book but it is excellent. We read it as a family every year at Christmas. It never fails to touch me. It is fun with a redeeming message.

I have read this book at least once a year for 15yrs and now I'm reading it to my kids. It's a quick read, I can't put it down.

This is a great, easy way to get into the holiday spirit. Even though the intended audience is kids, I enjoyed it as well!

I had the pleasure of joining a few hundred people today, in Malibu, to celebrate the birthday of this beautiful and enormously-gifted author! It was truly a pleasure to meet the woman who I have admired since reading, "Lilla Belle the First Stages." "Lilla Belle" stirred my heart, like few books that I have read. I laughed, cried, and it made me think. This is a glue-book. Once I started reading "Lilla Belle," I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read Ms. Cole's latest, "F.A.T. CHANCE." Hats off to you, Ms. Cole! Happy Birthday, and keep bringin' the hits. Thank you for autographing "Lilla Belle" and "F.A.T. CHANCE." And thank you for sharing your talent. You are a class act. You are one in a MILLION!

Lilla Belle touched my heart! This book also made me think. I have read it three times so far, and I just received it on Saturday. Truly an UNFORGETTABLE CLASSIC!

"Lilla Belle" is an unforgettable book, that stirred every emotion that I have as a human being! I was filled with anger, laughter, tears, and much cheer! This book educates, and speaks volumes to ALL! And it certainly didn't hurt that the BEAUTIFUL little girl on the cover, stole my heart!

Lilla Belle is a well-written, heartwarming novel that stirred my heart, especially, in major ways! This is a book for all. Old folks, (like me), and it's a very good book for our young folks, too. I loved the book, and I hope to meet the author one day.

TEARS, JOY, PAIN, LOVE ... YOU'LL EXPERIENCE ALL OF THE ABOVE!
EXCELLENT BOOK THAT TOUCHES THE HEART IN A MAJOR WAY!

Outstanding!! I bought eight copies for my grown children and friends to protect their children.

This is a great un-biased book about vaccines. It tells you ingredients, side effects, and how to safely give the vaccines. I think it is a must have for all parents or parents to be.

You must be informed of all vaccinations, and what is in them, and what is necessary (HiB) and NOT necessary (Hep A & B? Come on). Plus knowing should consider delaying shots until at least 6 months of age to let the babies develop an immnune system, then doing ONE at a time. I

I learned a lot from this book. As a medical professional, I think this book does a good job at presenting the facts with a fair and factual position, and lets us know what we don't always have time to find out about vaccines and the controversy about them.

I am a holistic health practitioner specializing in children's care. I like to provide reference books for parents who are looking at taking back control of their family's health by learning about alternatives to the Western medical model. A lot of parents have concerns about vaccinations these days, and since I fully support the Attachment Parenting model that Dr. Sears espouses, I was looking forward to the views presented in this book on childhood vaccinations. What I found in this book was a very middle of the road and cautionary view on limiting vaccinations. Dr. Sears simply restates the information found on the vaccine packages, inserts, and governmental information already out there. While he does state his personal opinions as to how effective or dangerous these vaccinations are, most of his opinions are still in favor of the recommended vaccination schedule of the CDC. There was very little information included in the book from independent researchers on the efficacy and dangers of vaccines. However, he does include some good information, such as an ingredient list of each vaccine, vaccination schedules, sides effects, and travel considerations. This book took the tone of a doctor trying to not stir the waters within his own profession, but also trying to be compassionate to the concerns of his patients. Overall, it came out feeling a little flat. I would recommend The Vaccine Guide by Randall Neustaedter OMD in addition to this book if people are looking for more information from the holistic side of the fence.

I loved this book, its really helpful in making vaccine discisions for your children. Its nice to be able to go the the Dr., and know more about the vaccines they are giving your children than they do! I think every parent who is in doubt about vaccines should read this book. It is not anti or pro vaccine, just the facts.

A lot of information, but not a lot of guidance. Should still be helpful in making decisions.

It just came to my attention that a new revised and corrected edition with a little additional material will be released in a couple of months! I have the orignal Random House edition and this is a great collection of instructive games with analysis of every move. I have enjoyed it with the "More Unbeatable" book as well.

This is a revised edition of the book originally published in 2003. The main difference between this edition and the earlier one are:
1) The format has been changed to double column on the pages. This allows the explanations of the moves to be closer to the diagrams which accompany the explanations.
2} Some of the analysis has been updated and expanded to further help the student.
3) A result of the new format and slightly smaller print has been a saving of space (less white space per page}. Therefore, the new edition has the same number of games and explanation, but in under 200 pages. At less than 1/2 the thickness of the previous edition, it is much easier to carry.
4} A new edition gave the author a chance to correct many typographical errors and rephrase explanations to make for further clarity.

Like its predecessor, this book is for anyone (not just juniors) who want to understand why certain moves are played. Those who have read Irving Chernev's "Logical Chess: Move by Move" will be even more delighted with Mr. Snyder's book. Instead of the lengthy explanations that are repeated over and over again in Chernev's book, the book by Mr. Snyder gives the important information once at length and then relies of the reader to review if the explanation is needed again. When a move is a simple recapture he keeps the explanation to a short senctence. In the case of the opening moves being repeated in a later game, Snyder does not give the explanation again, but relies on the reader to refer back if explanation is needed. Half of the games are those of the author and half by other masters. Some important features of the book for students are:
1) Games are arranged by opening and thus start the player on developing an opening repretoire to play against opponents.
2) Analysis (i.e. alternate moves) is kept to the minimum needed to help the student gain understanding of what is happening and of alternate possibilities.
3) There are numerous diagrams (generally after every 3 or 4 moves) to help the student make sure of the correct position. And for stronger players it allows for them to read the book without the need of a board.
4) Explanation of moves are clear and concise. Anyone from about age 11 or 12 and up should have no trouble understanding the material.
I recommend this book for anyone who seriously wants to improve their play.

After having learned the basics from the same author's CHESS FOR JUNIORS book I decided to get this book for myself, my children and grandchildren.

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I just finished reviewing CHESS FOR JUNIORS, which I consider to be an 8th wonder of the world, and now I discovered the 9th!
CHESS FOR JUNIORS leaves off at the end with with nicely analyzed games (move by move commentary) and UNBEATABLE CHESS LESSONS FOR JUNIORS adds 24 more games. You will learn just what the author knows you need to learn once completeting CHESS FOR JUNIORS (well, if you know the basics well, then you can skip CHESS FOR JUNIORS and jump right into this book).

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I might also suggest that you get WINNING CHESS TOURNAMENTS FOR JUNIORS in this series, which provides an explanded opening system, intermediate level tactics and endgames and lots of information on how to improve and prepare for tournaments.

ENJOY!!!

The idea of explaining the idea behind every move is a good. I wish that more books would do this for the Beginning and Intermediate level chessplayer.
There are several problems with this book; 1) The book is overly focused on the opening - it should spend more time going into the middlegame and endgame, and 2) It often would not answer the questions I had about a move or what was going on it the game, and 3) half the games are of the author, who is only a measly master. However, overall I can still recommend this book.
This book does not compare in quality to my favorite book, "Logical Chess, Move by Move, which just recently was updated."

I really enjoyed reading Unbeatable Chess Lessons For Juniors. I felt that I gained a lot of knowledge especially in the following areas,
a) Learning how to build an attack. The placement of your pieces and planning aheady.
b) Learning how to use sacrifices and to recognize when they work and do not work.
c) Positional play - manuvering your pieces and planning the use of Pawn structures.
d) Many tactical ideas were covered.
e) Learning the openings. The openings in the complete games are well covered with important opening lines being show. The games are organized by the type of openings being used. This makes it easy to study openings. The lines being shown are up to date and very accurate.
f) There are not a lot of endgames but the ones covered are very instructive. What I like is to see how plans were made to get to the winning endgame right from the opening! This book then gives a step by step explaination of how to win the endgame.
Some special features I liked about Unbeatable Chess Lessons For Juniors,
a) You are asked to find the best move. This forces you to think and makes for fun problems to solve out of games. This is much different than most books.
b) All the moves are analyzed.
c) General rules are pointed out. But, what makes it really nice is when the exceptions to the general rules happen, they are pointed out.
I like the nice easy flowing style of the author. For a person who already knows the very basic stuff about chess this book is just right. This is because there is both a review of important ideas and a depth of analysis making this book interesting for a more advanced player as well. The author uses a lot of his own game where he has used them in chess lessons with his own students. This makes the explaination very clear and things that only an experienced chess teacher knows need to be covered are right there. I have read some of the other reviews which have been helpful to me in being able to point out some of things that I agree with.
If you really love chess and like to study to improve this book is good for any age. But it is written so a 6th grader can understand it.
I understand that this book is going through a new printing correcting any typos and may be hard to get for a while. It would be worth waiting for if you cannot get it now or even getting a used copy for now.

All of the Erin Hunter books are great! I just love them and have read them many times over. I am not a reader, I hate to read!!! But give me a Warrior series book and leave me alone for a few days. They are the best. Thanks Erin for opening up a new world for me.

The forest is in its darkest hour, and frightening new prophecies come up:
"Four will become two.
Lion and tiger will meet in battle,
and blood will rule the forest."

To find out if the Clans will survive this hardship, you have to read The Darkest Hour.
This fantasy novel, part of the ever-growing Warriors series, takes place in a forest near a highway, some time in 21st century mainland ("modern times"). There are four Clans in the forest: ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. Fireheart (later known as Firestar) is the new leader of ThunderClan. He is described as a `handsome ginger tom", and like his name implies, he is brave and will stand up for whatever he thinks is right. Tigerstar, the vicious leader of ShadowClan, is a tyrant and will stop at nothing to take over the forest.
StarClan can be described as cat heaven or the cats living in cat heaven. When a cat becomes leader of his Clan, he receives nine lives from StarClan (get that: cats don't come with nine lives; they have to earn it): courage, justice, loyalty, tireless energy, protection, mentoring, compassion, love, and nobility, certainty, and faith. Of course, all this life receiving is very painful.
Something bad is coming to the forest, something bad enough to have its own prophecy. Firestar is sure this has to do with Tigerstar, but he can't really be sure. When Tigerstar brings up the idea of joint Clans, Firestar is convinced. How could he even mention the idea? There`ve always been four clans in the forest, and it's the will of StarClan to be that way, right? But Tigerstar is definitely hiding something here...
This fast-paced book was easier to read than maybe Brian Jacques' books but not so easy as Guardians of Ga'hoole. I think the theme would be courage. Yes. Stand up for what you believe in. The title is what it is because the Clans faced a looming crisis, bigger than even a forest fire. Erin Hunter uses lots of descriptive words to give you a good picture of what's going on in the novel, and keeps you reading until you're done. I think it showed some Christian perspective in one of StarClan's many visits to Firestar. Contrary to what the cats are taught, StarClan do not control everything; they give the Clans free will and don't force things onto them, kind of like God does.
I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to middle-school-and-up people who enjoy reading fantasy things or likes to contemplate what their cat might be dreaming of.

The forest is in its darkest hour, and frightening new prophecies come up:
"Four will become two.
Lion and tiger will meet in battle,
and blood will rule the forest."

To find out if the Clans will survive this hardship, you have to read The Darkest Hour.
This fantasy novel, part of the ever-growing Warriors series, takes place in a forest near a highway, some time in 21st century mainland ("modern times"). There are four Clans in the forest: ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. Fireheart (later known as Firestar) is the new leader of ThunderClan. He is described as a `handsome ginger tom", and like his name implies, he is brave and will stand up for whatever he thinks is right. Tigerstar, the vicious leader of ShadowClan, is a tyrant and will stop at nothing to take over the forest.
StarClan can be described as cat heaven or the cats living in cat heaven. When a cat becomes leader of his Clan, he receives nine lives from StarClan (get that: cats don't come with nine lives; they have to earn it): courage, justice, loyalty, tireless energy, protection, mentoring, compassion, love, and nobility, certainty, and faith. Of course, all this life receiving is very painful.
Something bad is coming to the forest, something bad enough to have its own prophecy. Firestar is sure this has to do with Tigerstar, but he can't really be sure. When Tigerstar brings up the idea of joint Clans, Firestar is convinced. How could he even mention the idea? There`ve always been four clans in the forest, and it's the will of StarClan to be that way, right? But Tigerstar is definitely hiding something here...
This fast-paced book was easier to read than maybe Brian Jacques' books but not so easy as Guardians of Ga'hoole. I think the theme would be courage. Yes. Stand up for what you believe in. The title is what it is because the Clans faced a looming crisis, bigger than even a forest fire. Erin Hunter uses lots of descriptive words to give you a good picture of what's going on in the novel, and keeps you reading until you're done. I think it showed some Christian perspective in one of StarClan's many visits to Firestar. Contrary to what the cats are taught, StarClan do not control everything; they give the Clans free will and don't force things onto them, kind of like God does.
I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to middle-school-and-up people who enjoy reading fantasy things or likes to contemplate what their cat might be dreaming of.

Pre-teen and early teen girls love the series. It has my 10 year olds attention. She is reading like never before.

"Today is a good day to die, but tomorrow is better. Unless, those doing the dying are six foot, mutated chipmunks with blaster rifles. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should start at the beginning. If you ask me, the end makes a fine beginning. Things come together and things fall apart, and the fur flies a little easier with the help of a Rolling Thunderä shotgun, as long as that fur isn't mine, and I'm the one pulling the trigger. Yep, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, but I ain't Mr. Rogers."

"But, I should introduce myself, you can call me Ishmael. Just kidding, bit of classical allusion there. Call me Hobo, warrior, poet, and one fine-looking feline, that's me. See, all cats are warriors, at least at heart, and that's why I'm the best one to introduce the series, Warriors."

Warriors is a book series first published in 2003 by Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry, under the pen name Erin Hunter, and introduced to me by cat and book lover Billy Waltz. The second series was written under the title Warriors: The New Prophecy. The third series, The Power of Three, and two more books, Firestar's Quest and Secrets of the Clans, are coming in 2007.

The series starts off with Into the Wild and a young "kitty pet"(house cat) name Rusty who yearns for adventure and has vivid dreams of the wilds. He meets a young feral cat, and this meeting leads to a chance to join a clan of wild cats called Thunderclan. He's renamed Firepaw and becomes an apprentice warrior. He finds himself in the middle of a tribal war with three other clans who coexist and compete for food and resources.

Allegiances are constantly shifting among the clans of warrior cats that roam the forest. With tensions so delicately balanced, former friends can become enemies overnight, and some cats are willing to kill to get what they want. Our young protagonist quickly moves from apprentice to warrior, to second-in-command, to leader of his clan. He must learn wisdom, deal with betrayal, and ultimately save his clan and the forest way of life.

The author has created an intriguing world with an intricate structure and mythology. There is intrigue, themes of loyalty, friendship and death, and an engaging young hero. The difficult life of a feral cat is described in some detail. (Oct. 16 is national feral cat day. Check out www.nationalferalcatday.org ) The cats, anthropomorphism aside, are true to their feline nature, which should delight cat and animal lovers alike. There is some violence. Some characters are killed through fighting and natural disasters, and there is treachery, betrayal and traitors, and even murder among the cats and clans, though it is crucial to the plot and not excessive.

Overall, I believe readers will find a fun-to-read series of books. Though not as elegantly written as Brian Jacques' Redwall series. The superb storytelling drew me into a realm so vivid that it could almost be real and I really came to care about the characters I found myself staying up late, with the old flashlight under the cover trick, to finish the books, and that Sand Storm sounds like a babe. Wonder what she's doing Saturday night? Hey, this cat is a fighter and a lover....

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" editor "Of A Predatory Heart"

Shannon Hale has proven to be a real creative, original and compelling writer. I was taken in by her storytelling, and completely sold by the characters! The Goose Girl is promising to be my favorite book of 2008. I couldn't put it down and when I finished it, I definitely wished there was more!

Goose Girl
By Shannon Hale

I loved the Goose Girl, for the well planned out characters, vivid imagery, smooth flow, and the continued suspense. This book had me hooked from the very beginning.

Ani was born a princess and was taught by her aunt to speak to swans. Her mother, the queen, found her to be a strange girl, who was awkward and uncomfortable with people. Her mother kept Ani inside the castle, so she could not talk to the birds and swans. Ani was not even allowed to associate with her own brother and sisters. She found solace in riding her horse, Falada, with whom she could communicate. She also enjoyed her best friend and lady in waiting, Selia. Selia had the gift of `people speaking', where Ani was best understood by the creatures.

The Queen Mother prepared Ani's brother for the throne. When confronted, she told Ani that she had prearranged her marriage to the prince of a far away kingdom.

Ani's lady in waiting schemed to take away the throne, marry the prince and kill Ani, along with all of her gurards. Ani, who had never before left the castle grounds, escaped with her life. She was exiled to live as a goose girl, taking care of the kings geese, while her lady in waiting lived as royalty.

Ani needed to disguise herself, and find allies to help regain her royal heritage and over throw the imposter, Selia.

There are bloody scenes, so the story would not be appropriate for younger children. This book will be delightful for the 6th to 9th grade level.

I highly recommend the Goose Girl and look forward to reading other books by Shannon Hale.

I thought this book was a bit simplistic in style, but it was still an enjoyable read. I wish it had been a bit more atmospheric. Between the updated, modern attitudes of the characters and the sparse descriptions, the book seemed much more modern that its intended setting. I liked it, but I felt like with a bit more effort, it could have been fantastic instead of just good.

This was the first book I read by Shannon Hale and since then I have recommended it to anyone looking for an enjoyable read. This is excellent for young and old, male and female. It is hard to find acceptable reading material for youth and this is outstanding!

Shannon Hale has committed a horrible sin; her re-telling of the Grimm "goose girl" is better than the original! The other two books in this series, Enna Burning and River Secrets, are also wonderful reads and bring back to life some of the lovable characters from goose girl.

Enjoy!

I have just finished reading this series, and I must say that I am AMAZED. The books are much more philosophical than the movie (which corresponds to only the first two books), and contains many more characters that are more developed. Unlike the movie, where Nausicaa was practically perfect, and Kushana was purely evil, the book's characters are much more complex. Kushana reminds me of Lady Hiboshi from Princess Mononoke.

The tone of the series changes from beginning to end. This makes sense, as the series was written over about 10 years, with a number of hiatuses. The first two books are confusing and not terribly interesting, but the story blossoms from there.

On top of that, I don't even like manga or anime as genres. Miyazaki is truly exceptional.

these are two reviews for the two different volumes combined here.

Volume One.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind is one of my favorite movies. After seeing for the first time I was amazed that I hadn't seen it sooner. It had everything I like in a movie, a good premise, deep and emotional characters, amazing art work, a deep meaning, and an awesome soundtrack to boot. So when I heard that there was more to the story I went out and bought this book to see if it was as good as the movie. After waiting about a month for it to come in, I bought it on Amazon, I finally got it. I was not disappointed. Let's break this book down into categories.

Art Work. The drawing pretty much, how do they look and how much detail is put into them. Miyazaki, I have to say, is a master in his field. All his drawings are extremely detailed and you can really get a sense of the surroundings. The characters emotions are brought out almost perfectly, especially the Nausicaa herself, who is shown as a powerful, yet fragile girl. Overall the drawings are almost perfect and I don't think anybody would disagree with that.

Characters. I was already familiar with all the characters in this book, having seen the movie already. They are pretty much the same here as they are in the movie so if you've seen it, which I'm taking for granted you have, and then isn't much knew. They mostly do the same things as they did in the movie and feel the same emotions with a few fun differences, but nothing really is too different.

Story. This book follows the movie almost exactly up to the point where Nausicaa and Asbel discover the underground system under the sea of corruption, or toxic jungle as it is called in the movie. There is one big difference that I must share, the Valley of the Wind is really an alley of Torumekia, and Nausicaa goes out to fight under Kushana agents the Doroke principalities, a nation not even mentioned in the movie. Other than that it follows the same story almost to the letter.

Overall a very good and strong opening to the series. This entry doesn't really add a whole lot to the overall story if you've already seen the movie, but there are some important differences which mean you can't simply skip over it if you want to read the series.

Volume Two.
As I continue my reviews on this series I have come to Vol. 2. Nausicaa has left the Valley of the Wind to go to war with Princess Kushana of Tormekia, but on their way to the front their attack group is attacked by Asbel of Pejite. Asbel is shot down and Nausicaa goes to save him, only to be stuck under the Sea of Corruption. As the first book ends Nausicaa and Asbel are seen trying to fly out of the bottom of the Sea and get out.

This book, for those who've seen the movie, covers closely the events that take place in the second half of the movie. Here's the difference. One of the Doroke tribes, mentioned in the first book, has been driven from their lands by the Tormekia invasion and has been sent to conquer and settle the lands of the Periphery, where the Valley of the Wind lies. To do that they must first destroy Kushana's army by luring the insects out of the Sea to attack. Of course Nausicaa finds out about this and manages to not quite foil the plot, but she does save the baby Ohm larva. Much of the Tormekian army is destroyed but the Dorokes are forced to retreat. By the end of the story Kushana takes what is left of her army south to join up with the rest of her men already engaging in battle, and she takes Nausicaa with her to find the stone that controls the God Worrier.

halfway through this book it goes in a completely different direction than the movie, Nausicaa goes off to war, Asbel and Yupa foil a Doroke plan to conquer the Valley, and we are introduced to knew characters such as the Doroke Priest, who is known as the Holy One, and Ketcha, a Doroke girl who serves him. The part where the Ohm attack the Tormekian army is one of the highlights of the series, but the ending was a little odd and might feel rushed. Not the best in the series, but it is a good follow up to the first.

If you have seen the movie then there isn't anything new in the first half of this book for you. But don't just skip this book to save money, there are enough differences to make buying it worth wild.

I am surprised that USA people watch this comic series in addition to the same title movie.

As you know, Naushika's story don't finish to the movie. The truth story start from reading this comic. Even if Japanase read them, the story is a little difficult, but there are more wondeful things than the minus point.
For instance, the drawing ways. Generally comic(Japanese MANGA) is simple drawing. But the comic is very detailed drawing. They is like art rather than comic.

And in addition to the wonderful drawing,the expression of the character's face is very excellent, for instance joy, sarrow, longing, anger... Mr. Miyazaki can write their expressions very well. There are writers that can write comics very well in the world, but there will not are writers that can write their expressions of face very well.

If there are people that was moved when watched the movie, absolutely we recommend this comis..art series.

You will not waste your money by buying this arts series.

I am sorry for my poor English.

Just like LOTR, children love it, but until they grow well into their adulthood, they will not be able to fully comprehend the essence of the story.
Children, both boys and girls, will love the major characters in "Nausicaa", because children can find all they wish to be in these characters, but most of them would be puzzled (or troubled!) by the development of the story. An exceptionally smart kid may be able to guess some of Miyazaki's plan of the story before he/she reaches Vol. 7, but I dare to bet, he/she will not accept that plan until he/she reaches 30.
This is a great gift to children. They will thank you many, many years later.

I've been a Miyaki fan for years! Of all of his movies and books, Nausicaa is definitely the best one! Miyaki creates a beautifully vivid world and characters that will you will most certainly NEVER forget! This is one manga series (and the movie as well) that I've never gotten tired of. Every anime fan should have Nausicaa in their collection! You won't regret it!!!

The book brought the old animorphs style I think the story line was great and the middle was exiting the end wow! K.A.Applegate realy hit it this time I is one of the good ones it just has a good fealing when you reed it

I like this book because while showing Rachel Yeerk Pool entrences, they wind up at an exit in the woods where two free Hork-Bajir are escaping. the Elimist tells Tobias that if he helps the free Hork-Bajir get a place to live that he'll get what he wants. What Tobias wants is to be human again, but keep his morphing power. Will the Elimist cheat Tobias? Read the book!

I've been reviewing all of the Animorphs as I reread them (and filled a few holes in my collection via Amazon) so if anyone is actually interested in other reviews, you'll find me there. Being this is a book in a series, you'll need to read Animorphs #1: The Invasion to get all the details of who these characters are, why they're doing what they are, and how they "morph." However, like all the other books of the series, there's a general outline at the start of the book to condense events so the reader isn't utterly lost on what's going on. There's enough written in paraphrase to where you can start with any of the books, and reading the others isn't critical (but is helpful.) Since there isn't already a synapsis on this one, I'll begin there.

The Change is narrated by Tobias, one of the five humans who have the power to become any animal they touch, and one alien who was a survivor from a crashed spaceship. They, alone, are the resistence force for earth to halt a race of slug like creatures called Yeerks from taking over the bodies of billions of humans, then destroying what's left of the planet. Tobias is a boy who is trapped in the body of a red tail hawk, so different from the others in that respect. Why is covered in the short form at the start of the book, or full form in The Invasion. He spends his days either hunting for rodents or when full, has a lot of time to follow known Controllers (people who have a Yeerk living in their brain which completely controls the host body.)

When Tobias invites his fellow friend and Animorph, Rachel, out for a flight to look at some entrances to the Yeerk pool he's found (again, see earlier books in the series for the Yeerk pool), they find themselves flying in completely the wrong area, as if Tobias was lost. Although this bothers him, because he can't imagine how he lost his sense of direction, all thoughts turn to something else when they witness a pair of Hork-Bajir fleeing for their lives from other Controllers. To date, all the Hork-Bajir have been enslaved, so why they're being chased is a puzzle at first. The once gentle species was entirely enslaved because of their great physical strength and cutting blades covering their arms, legs, heads, and tails. As Marco put it "walking salad shooters." The realization strikes the characters that somehow these two Hork-Bajir might actually be free of the Yeerks which were inside their minds, and they rush to the rescue.

Unfortunately, saving and keeping two free Hork-Bajir from recapture is a grueling task. The Yeerks are willing to stop at nothing to get them back, throwing Taaxons (a giant centipede race with a nasty habit of devouring even their own kind, along with anything else), humans with Dracon beams, humans with ordinary guns, helicopters, vehicles, and Hork-Bajir controllers at them. Tobias brings in the rest of the group to help, and throughout the story, he finds himself places he didn't intend to be or has visions which help him along. Angry at being used, Tobias finally plants his talons and won't carry on until the person/creature who is using him reveals himself. The Ellimist proves to be behind it, and says he'll grant Tobias' greatest wish if he'll continue the mission. He would have done it, anyway, but now he hopes to be human again, giving him even more reason to carry on. Working with the Animorphs, he has to try and find a safe haven for the two peaceful, sweet, and somewhat dull witted aliens. I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't read the book, but as always, the story keeps itself together well. It has more action in it than the last book, being closer to Megamorphs #1: The Andalite's Gift in that regard. The ending is also well thought out.

This area is what I call my "older than thou" part of the review because I'm way over the normal age group these are written for. So why exactly do I write these reviews? Because I think it's a good idea to have a synapsis up if there isn't one, yet, and also to give a very different insight if adults are looking into what their kids read, looking for a gift, etc. (Much like the last book, there aren't any strong, underlying themes to this story (as there have been in others.) Tobias is, in many ways, the inner strength of the group, not letting self pity take control over him in spite of the tremendous amount of loss he's had to deal with. To use an old phrase, "when the going gets tough, Tobias keeps going." The character has to question himself in several places when the Ellimist keeps his "promise," and in doing so, has to do even more growing up mentally and emotionally. He asks himself if this was what he really wanted, and had he been tricked? The reader is left to decide that on their own, but the very ending paragraphs will tend to leave the reader with a smile. Overall, this is one has a lot of action, near escapes, and "grip the edge of your seat" scenes in it. Some of the books in the series get more introspective, others focus mainly just on a good, flowing story, and still others have more action than normal. Although this is a well written novel with a very good flow beginning to end, its one of the more action oriented ones, in my opinion. This is a good one if you want to skip books like The Secret where the reader is left to ponder age old questions which don't have answers (yet they will always still be asked by the human race) in favor of some hard hitting scenes of fugitives on the run and trying to beat all the odds which are against them. This is also a very important one to read for some of the future books in the series.

I knew that Tobias hadto get the morphing power back sometime, but I never excpected it to be like this. It was really exciting,plus, I really liked that there are finally Free Hork Bajir. This is a definate must-read for anyone reading the Animorphs. I would suggest reading a few books before this one though, or you could get a little confused.

W-O-W!!! This used to be my favourite animorph book(and believe me, it has to be good to top that lot!), it's topped, only just, By number 45, about Marco and his Family. Anyway, I adore this book, for HUNDREDS of reasons! Tobias and Marco are my fav characters, Tobias because of all the stuff he's been though, and his family doesn't want him, and you automatically think ahhhh, and Marco just coz he's the humourous relief and all that! In this book (and I can't remember it too well since I haven't read it for agggges) Tobias regains his morphing powers. Just when your thinking, 'O.K, so he can morph, but he can never be truly human can he, the poor soul' he has a dream, and he sees him self. Somehow (and I, as I'm sure many others are, that the Ellimist had SOMETHING to do with it) he manages to aquire himself, so that he can morph his former body. At the end, the most touching part of the in my opinion, he goes to an award ceremony that Rachel tried not to let him know about, as she thought he couldn't go. He surprises her there, and I can't think of anyone who could read that part and not think..ahhhh. As a girl i realise that some people might not like this as much, as it doesn't have many battles, but it's so sweet and lovely that I find it wonderful. Also, as a girl I am fasinated by the relationship between Rachel and Tobias, and think the final gesture of this book is inspiring. I hope I haven't spoilt it too much for you!!!
p.s. if you liked this one, try number 45, That is MY FAVOURITE EVER!!!thanx!!!XxX

Sorry, but the glut of coincidences and melodramatic writing was just too much. I'm going back to my nonfiction now.

I just read this book and what can I say except that it was amazing. I actually prefer Neil to David. David was never very consistent in his faith he was good talker but he had no understanding. I recomend this book to anyone who already has faith or is struggling to find theirs. Read this book! You won't be sorry!

I really enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed the fact that many of the events in the book are in the series released on DVD. I would have preferred if certain subjects had not been discussed in this book so that it would be more appropriate for younger ages. Other than that it was a really enjoyable read.

This is one of my very favorite books! I've read it over so many times and never get tired of it. It's just so interesting, captivating and touching.

By no means am I a Christian but instead a certified Wiccan. So to those who know me actually found it surprising that I had this book in my library. Christy is a heroine that you can't help but fall in love with and her story. The young woman has spunk, ambition, intelligence, and above all a good heart. It was hard not to get caught up in Christy's story and as you move through the book and meet the characters it's hard not to care for them as well. From the aged wisdom of Miss Alice, the determination of Mr. Pentland, and of course to the handsome but stubborn country doctor Mr. McNeil. The book promotes wholesomeness and a goodness we rarely see. So please don't hesitate to pick up this book. I'd hate for anyone to miss out.