Children's Books

This book is simply sublime. I had it as a child, got it for my own children over 25 years ago, and now am buying a copy for my new grandson. Everything about this book is wonderful!

This classic picture book details the lives of the Mallard family in the Public Garden of Boston. This is an excellent read for kids of all ages, and is a good introduction to Caledecott books.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard explore all the nooks and crannies of Boston and the Back Bay, before settling on the perfect place to raise their family. A true love letter to the Boston of 60 years ago (complete with Irish cops!), it is a classic that speaks to people from everywhere, and families worldwide, on the love and nurturing that parents show for their children.

This book was read to me, and I read it endlessly to my little sister and my daughter. Now I am reading it to my great-nephew, age three and a half, who fell instantly in love with it. He always lets out a little "whew!" of relief when Mrs Mallard and the ducklings make it through the gates of the Public Gardens. After about the fourth reading (there were two on that particular day) we went to a little park nearby where he insisted on playing out the story with me, complete with Mr and Mrs Mallard's dialogue. It is a ritual now.

This is an astonishingly involving book for small children. There is a practical but manageable level of threat (of traffic, which is very real and genuinely important for three and four year olds) with the assurance of adult help when it is needed, and the constant reassurance that they are being looked after. And adults can read it forever without getting bored!

This is the turtle back book. It is glued and stitched. It should hold up. If this book is going to get alot of use spend the few dollars more and get the turtle back.

This is book written for children but I have to tell you I loved this book as much as my 8 year did. I had to stop reading once or twice because I was so chocked up.

The writer did an amazing job of drawing you inside the mind of Squirrel the dog. I felt like I was the dog living this story at time. I tell you what, I look at our dog in a whole new light.

This is a classic must read for all.

This is such a wonderful and special book. You dont want to finish you just want it to keep going.

This book is a good book. Even though it was sad in parts, the happy moments that Squirrel experienced made up for it. The narration was so real that I felt like I was there, and Squirrel's voice was perfect. It allowed me to feel her emotions, hear her thoughts, and hope that everything would work out for her!I hoped that she would find Bone the whole way through the book. I recommend this book to all second graders and above. If you don't love dogs, you will after this book.

"I've known of dogs who were treated cruelly by human hands and dogs who were treated with the gentlest touch, dogs who starved and dogs who grew fat from too many treats. I've known all of these dogs and I've been all of these dogs."

This is a quote from Squirrel, the main character of the book A Dog's Life-An
Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin. Squirrel is a female dog who has lost all of her family, thanks to humans. She lost her mom, her brother, and others who were really important to her, but Squirrel is a smart dog. She doesn't judge all humans as being cruel to dogs.
When Squirrel was a puppy she lived with her mom, Mother, and her brother, Bone. Squirrel originally had four siblings, but only her brother and she survived. Mother called her puppies Bone and Squirrel because for mother dogs it's a tradition to name their dogs after what they enjoy. One day Mother left to hunt for food. Bone and Squirrel waited calmly for her, but soon became anxious. Mother never came back. She had been shot by a hunter. Bone realized that their mom wasn't going to come back so one day he just decided to leave. He just trotted off toward the woods. Squirrel wasn't going to let her brother leave too. She ran after him. While traveling they came upon a bag. Their noses didn't lie to them; there was chicken in the bag. The bag was across the street, but Bone didn't care. He ran across the streets not caring about the big, speeding cars. Squirrel followed him and just when Bone was about to stick his head into the bag, two big, rough hands grabbed them. The hands belonged to a woman and a man. Bone and Squirrel were taken against their will by the couple, but after one night they found themselves being thrown out of a car window and smashing hardly on a cement parking lot. Squirrel and Bone had been too much nuisance to the man, so he had gotten rid if them while his wife was sleeping. Bone and Squirrel yelped with pain and licked at their injuries. Two women came by and scooped up Bone wiping his bleeding nose with a tissue, leaving poor Squirrel where she was. Squirrel didn't know what to do. Her mom was gone and her brother was leaving right now. She ran after Bone as fast as she could (not very fast because of her injured shoulder), but the women, with Bone, got into a car and drove away. Squirrel was alone in the world, but then Squirrel met another dog, Moon, and her adventures of looking for Bone and for the right home continued.
This book touches my heart, like no other book has. It's sad, adventurous, happy, and every other emotion you can think of. I would recommend this book to all the dog lovers and to people who like adventurous and heart touching books. This book is cool because the story is told by the point of view of Squirrel. I really like that about this book. It shows you that life is tough for every living thing, especially for homeless. This book also shows you how to be independent.
What will happen to Squirrel and Moon? Will they survive or will they die? If they survive, will they ever find the right home? What about her brother? Is he alive? Will they ever find the right human to live with? Read the book A Dog's Life-An Autobiography of a Stray to find out.

Whenever I find myself caring about stray dogs and cats, I feel guilty. How many stray children are out there, ones with homes and ones without? Then I have to concentrate on the issue at hand: stray dogs and cats. "A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray" is not an easy read.

Author of the Baby Sitter series, Ann M. Martin is apparently a proponent of humane treatment of animals and population control. This topic must be near and dear to her to go from the adventures of babysitting to tackle the topic of strays. The powerful and emotional message she delivers in this first person account of a stray dog is, quite frankly, heart-wrenching. After reading the book, I would not place it in the school library where I am librarian. Finally, I did but I warn students about its content.

The narrator is born stray with a brother. After Squirrel, as she calls herself, and Bone, her brother are old enough, they head out on their own. A couple stops and picks them up along a busy highway, takes them home without a clue in caring for young dogs. After Bone bites the man, he packs them up and dumps them on a busy street near a mall. During the rest of the story, Squirrel refers to this episode as "being thrown away."

Another couple stops to pick up the male and leaves our narrator to fend for herself. It is at this point in the story when I began crying and cried for the rest of the book. Squirrel is so confused in this strange place all alone. She learns to fend for herself and find food. It is one pitiful episode after another trying to find food, finding shelter, finding safety, avoiding humans, who always bring trouble and harm.

When Squirrel reaches her old age and is facing another long cold winter, she lucks into the yard of another aging being, a woman. In a long process the woman befriends the dog and invites her in, following the dictates of the dog--when to go out and return in. This woman finally gives Squirrel a real name--Addie. She has a warm bed beside the fire, she has the proper food to eat, the vet tends her, and the woman talks to her all the time in her own loneliness.

I won't relate the ending here. If you choose to read this book, you will have the absolute pleasure of the last few pages.

His opening paradigm (chapter 1) is remarkable. I remember it, even years later! And how he builds on that is excellent. One of his best.

Like some other Christian authors, Lucado has such a large library of books that deciding on one can be daunting for a new comer.
So, if you've never read anything by Lucado before, I recommend you start right here.
"In the Grip of Grace" is by far my favorite work by Max.
Enjoy!

Also recommended: He Still Moves Stones and When God Whispers Your Name

I was drifting from the church. I had (and continue to have) a different perspective on the church from certain issues. I was taking a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to homosexuality, basically saying, what they want to do is between them and God, and it's not the role of man to place judgment on them for that. And certainly not the role of man (or church) to LEGISLATE morality. But, before I get someone ripping my head off for that opinion, you can imagine that it isn't popular in the church.

When I read this book, I saw so many people in the Church in the role of the second brother in the parable of the river. The Fault-Finding Judgmentalist. And at that point I was instantly hooked into this book. I felt like this was someone who saw things from my perspective, whether he agreed with me or not. He could at least see what I was thinking, of this much I was assured. He doesn't mention any of those controversial topics explicitly, but I feel like the interpretation is valid.

Simply put, I came away feeling a greater love and appreciation for God, and feeling thankful for His grace that has saved me. I'm still more far from the Church than I would prefer. It will take awhile for me to find my way completely back. But guided by my re-growing faith, and books like this, I won't be gone forever.

My review is not meant to be a beautiful write up for Max, I am sure he is a great guy, but hey, even his insurance company has problems with him. (I must be a the judgemental type) This book helped me realize that no matter how hard I try or how hard I think I am trying its not good enough. I cant jump to the moon, I cant make it up the river alone, and I cant place a value of a sin and try to "repay it with good". I am helpless. The book made me feel uncompfortable and small, but compared to God I think thats exactly how we have to feel to even accept his grace let alone understand it.

I reccomend this book to anyone who is desperate enough to listen. Dont read this for entertainment, Max is funny, but not that funny. Read it if you want to change. I know I did.

Thanks Max, for allowing God to use you as His megaphone.

I have been a church goer my whole life and just went with the flow, never really in touch with God...until I read this book. I read it, and it turned me right around. This book will make you embrace the grace of an awesome God. If your life is off track this book will show you what is being offered to you, and if you've already accepted your forgiveness, this book will make you smile when you think of what an awesome God you serve. I love this book because it shows me how much God truly loves me and it sparked me into reading my bible daily and leading a different life. I love the joy that this book portrays that we Christians need to remember and embrace daily.

I really liked all three of the books in the Julie series. I liked all the information they had about life in the Arctic Circle, and found these stories very believable. I liked learning about why dogs/wolves behave the way that they do. I would recommend these books to anyone. Hunter 10

This book seems as if it shows the life in a wolf pack. It has comedy, romance, drama, and action all in one book. It shows you how wolves communicate and what they sometimes do to keep each other alive. This book continues Julie's story, but in the eyes of Kapu. It shows how he struggles to keep his pack alive. He might be new to the whole "alpha male" thing, but he is a great leader.

If you are ready for a great book, with wolves and their real life girl friend, then you will love Julie's Wolf Pack.
It is action packed with wolf fights and wars. Read this GREAT book to find out what happens to this wolf pack.

Amazing, heartwarming, magical, these are a few words to describe it. If you despise wolves, it will change you into a kid who wants to grow up to protect them. I am a wolf lover who stumbled apon this book. It introduces a new action living action. However, it's about wolves instead of people, yet it makes us know the truth, wolves and other animals ARE people. In the book you follow the alpha wolf, Kapu, through life. While you read, you learn about wolves. Good for kids 8-15. If you love it like I know you will, you should try books like The City of Ember, The Eragon trilogy, and Artimis Fowl. Enjoy a pleasent read.

This is one of my favorite books. My favorite part in the book was when Uqaq (a captive-raised brought back to the wild wolf) gives birth to nine puppies but she runs away from them because she doesn't know how to be a mother. Then the nine puppies go looking for her and when they finally find her, they swarm around her and Uqaq runs with the puppies hot in pursuit. ^-^

This is a good book to read and I recommend all wolf lovers to read this book!

:)

After reading Wise Child I was very happy to discover Juniper. It is the story of Juniper and how she became a doran after enduring her teaching from Euny. The story is well written like Wise Child. I recommend reading this book especially if you enjoyed Wise Child.

The prequel to Wise Child, Juniper is the story of Ninnoc, know as Juniper, a medieval princess sent to apprentice under her godmother. Juniper leaves her friends, family, and the comforts of her father's small palace to live with Euny, her grandmother, in a small cold shack on the edge of the kingdom. Under Euny's care she toils throughout the day, eats little, and sleeps poorly, all with the promise that, in time, Euny will teach her the knowledge and ways of a doran, the women of the world who live alongside the rhythms of nature and use their skills and magic to help others. While Juniper spends a year and a day at Euny's shack, her father's castle comes under attack by her aunt, and evil sorceress who wants the kingdom for herself. Juniper's first task as a doran will be to use her powers and what Euny has taught her to defeat her aunt and save her father's kingdom. While I prefer Wise Child, Juniper is also an engrossing, worthwhile read. Many of the same themes are present, especially the concept that nothing worthwhile comes without a price. Juniper's story is darker than Wise Child's: Euny is a tough task master and Juniper's aunt is a more immediate and threatening foe. In exchange, the elements of magic are larger and more visible. While perhaps not as enjoyable or as skillfully crafted as Wise Child, Juniper provides interesting backstory and continues to examine the path of a doran--how they learn, what their purpose is, and what trails they must face. I recommend this text, especially as a prequel to Wise Child.

Despite the similar storyline, Juniper is very different from its sequel, Wise Child. Both stories are about young women who live with a doran, working hard and suffering in order to learn from her and train to be dorans themselves. However, Juniper deviates from Wise Child's focus on the nature of love and family: unlike Wise Child, Juniper comes from a stable and loving home. Rather, Juniper's story is about assessing one's own skills and finding one's own path, even if that path takes you far away from the comfort and desires of your youth. This theme of self-discovery is worthwhile and interesting to readers of all age groups: it's instructive and comforting to the young, and reminds older readers that the sacrifice and reward of self-discovery is never really over.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Wise Child and Juniper is the role of magic in the books. In Juniper, magic plays a much more visible role and doesn't fit into the world as we know it quite as well as it does in Wise Child. Talking animals, transforming sorcerers, and magical items all transform the visibility and role of magic. While not as extreme as it could be (there are no dragons here), magic is more obvious and harder to explain in this book. As a result, the story is a little more distant and harder to identify with than Wise Child, making for a less sucessful book. Juniper's story is more exciting, with a more physical and exciting climax, but on the whole it isn't as successful or as enjoyable as Wise Child.

Nonetheless, Furlong writes in a clear, readable style, her characters are realistic and easy to identify with, an the lessons contained within the book are worthwhile and personal. It is a fitting companion to Wise Child and contains many of the concepts and themes that make that book so wonderful. As a prequel, this book successfully provides backstory and characterization that should interest anyone that has read Wise Child. I do recommend this text, primarily but not only as a sequel, and I like to come back to it every couple of years.

If you have read Wise Child...(I don't know, I read Wise Child first--I don't know if that's out of order or not)...anyway, this is a great book to go along with Wise Child. The books are imaginative and fun to read, and I'm not even a kid anymore...she just makes them fun for all ages to read...I highly recommend this book...

I hope this helped you...

I picked up 'Juniper' in my local used bookstore a few years back, in the mood for a simplistic YA fantasy. I had never heard of Furlong, nor had I read 'Wise Child'. I just thought it looked interesting.. and it was!

While in some ways this book is rather formulaic, (girl apprenticed to priestess type, has to save various people or things), in others it is extremely unique. I love the Zen feeling-- half of the time Furlong is not concerned with adventures, but rather simple, engaging illustrations of Juniper's day-to-day life. The feeling is mostly restful and peaceful, with an edge of excitement that shows through now and again. A very good read for people of all ages who are looking for a simplistic, beautifully-drawn, more-to-it-than-meets-the-eye book.

I'm a guy (you know the drill - testosterone has me rooting for the robots in the terminator movies) with 3 young daughters and so story time for me can be it's own kind of hell, overpopulated with too many thoughtful ponies, joyous princesses and other terrors from the Id.

Juniper at least is a story that can engross a child while being satisfying to the adult reader. I never once had the urge to plunge my head through the sheetrock in the bedroom whereas when forced to read stories like the Pony Pals, that's all I can think about. The wise women in Juniper are are a bit too knowing and all seeing, the plot a bit formulaic but other than that, it's a story of growing up, persistence against adversity good and evil, courage and adventure and some things in between. Same holds through the rest of the trilogy: Wise Child and Colman though they're not written in order.

I suspect that these stories catch the mind of young girls more than boys and are aimed more at a female audience. I don't know if I would have read it by myself, but with mission to read to my daughters, it was an enjoyable journey. I could see adult women enjoying this for it's own sake. In any case the books of this trilogy are well above the average children's fare for girls or for boys. Definitely worth the price of admission.

This children's book is about a King who is very reluctant to get out of the bathtub. His court makes several unsuccessful attempts throughout the course of the day to lure him out of the tub. Instead of getting him out of his bubble bath they end up joining him in the bath partaking in the activity they requested. It takes a creative thought from an unlikely source to figure out how to get King Bidgood to finally get out.

The story line is humorous, repetitive, and entertaining. You can't help but chuckle or at least smile when you turn the page after a failed character has left the bathtub and are standing in the court dripping wet from head to toe. The simple text has a repetitive pattern that is easy for children to catch on to and join in with. The repetition pattern has minor changes from time to time that keep the story progressing. For instance, the line "come in cried the king" is repeated throughout the book but is followed by a different word repeated three times depending on the activity requested; "yum yum yum", "jig jig jig".

The incredibly detailed life like illustrations will keep your attention long after the text on the page has been read. From the small delicate bubbles that float out of the King's bathroom to the elaborate and accurate period clothing of the court. The color use throughout the book changes gradually with each turn of the page. At the beginning of the book "when the sun came up" the general color of the page is yellow then fades into light blue during the day, pink and red in the evening, and finally purple and navy blue "when the night got dark".

I enjoyed this book as a child just as much as I do now as an adult. It's one of those books that every time you read it you'll find something different that wasn't previously noticed. I recommend it for everyone but in particularly grades 1-3 who will comprehend and enjoy this masterpiece.

This is my all-time favorite childrens picture book! The story is simple and delightful. The pictures are fantastic! My kids have studied the details in these pages. Reading it always made them want to go play in the tub for hours. We have worn out our copy and I most recently bought this for a grandchild. If only all childrens picture books were this lovely.

King Bidgood's in the bathtub and he won't get out! This book has been a favorite in my household for years. The illustrations are exquisite and the meter of the verse makes it fun to read. The Wood team have done another wonderful job with this book.

I bought this book many years ago when my now 25 year old daughter was a baby. It is extraordinary. The illustrations are breathtaking, and I remember getting lost in them - much to the disappointment of my children who wanted to get on with the story. I still have the book and still enjoy getting lost in King Bidgood's world.

"Help, help cried the Page" is the captivating beginning of Audrey and Don Wood's picture book King Bidgood's in the Bathtub. The good old King has climbed into the tub and now refuses to get out. This story is a wonderful experience for children of all ages, especially the ones disguised as adults. The simple rhyme and diction coupled with the amazing illustrations allow your young readers to relate to the issues so cleverly addressed in this work of art.

RHYME:
The entire book is written with a simple, repetitive rhyme scheme. There are many benefits to this style. First of all, it works very well for those children who are just developing their reading skills. Children generally, like things that they can repeat and follow even anticipate easily. Wood's repetitions make this easy for many children while her small variations keep the story interesting. Every child will soon be able to sing out "come in" with the king and then wait anxiously for the "boom, boom, boom" the "trout," or even the "jig." The small variations also allow the child to follow the timeline of the story easily which encourages their ability to do `tell backs,' where the child reaches an age when then can relate and retell the story with the appropriate order of events. The simple references that Wood includes to the sun going up, getting hot, growing dim, and the moon shining bright are very clear references that the child can use. The interactions that the child participates in while developing these skills help to keep a child with the shortest attention span involved. Also the excitement that learning will create will keep your parental senses from getting tired of reading the same book again and again because it will never be quite the same to your child.

The repetition of the rhymes can also be connected to repetition of simple acts in both of your lives. There are generally two types of children, one that really hates the bathtub and the other that never want to get out. The bathtub represents a constant, repeating battle in your life either way. Children who do not like to bathe are encouraged to enjoy it by all of the fun things that can be done in the tub. You can do everything from "battle in the tub" to "dance in the tub." What child can say no to that? For the rest of you, the book is about getting out of the tub after all and a simple telling of the story and then an enactment of the end where mom "pulled the plug" can be a wonderful and stress free way to get that very hygiene oriented child out of the bath and into their bed.

DICTION:
Once again the simple text is very beneficial for the new reader. There are no big words to be asked about and worried over, accept maybe "masquerade ball" and the pictures define that one so well that it really isn't a problem. Any child can understand that the page is calling for help and that everyone else is trying and failing. This simple understanding of what seem like big concepts can really help the child to develop a love and excitement for learning. The contrast between the direct call for "help" by the page and the round about reasons to "get out" offered by the members of the court shows how they want the king to get out of the water but are afraid to tell him what to do. They may offend his kinglyness. This is similar to the classic story of the Emperor's New Clothes where while everyone knows that the kind looks ridiculous it takes a poor fool to tell him so. Except in this case the king is in the bathtub and the only one willing to be direct enough and to take affirmative action to get him out is the page.

The very simple diction that Wood employs is in direct contrast to the very elaborate ways that the court members try to remove King Bidgood from the bathtub. In the end it is a simple action by a simple boy that confounds all of their extravagant attempts. This really boosts a child's self esteem. They are able to understand through this very primitive text that their small ideas can make a huge difference because they can see things that the adults in their world miss.

ILLUSTRATIONS:
The amazing illustrations give the child another chance to see things that you, as parents are missing. There are many ways to measure art work that could easily be applied to Wood's illustrations but by name they do not matter to a child at all. What matters is their ability to be incredibly realistic and to bring to life a fantastical story about a king who refuses to get out of the bathtub and all of the fun he has battling, feasting, fishing, and dancing in his bathroom. The illustrations are vibrant and very busy. They immediately capture the child's attention and can keep them entertained finding new details for years to come. When Wood is asked about how she comes up with the ideas for her stories she says that they are a mix of her life, her son's life, and her day dreams. This is clearly represented in the contrast between the simple fanciful text and the complex and realistic pictures. It also relates very well to the child whose mind's reality can be very different from the world that you live in. This book can provide a very productive outlet for the erratic idea's prominent in the life of a young child. The final pages of the book also reinforce a child's confidence in his own ideas. The simple text "glub, glub, glub" is contrasted with the very smug looking page triumphantly holding the plug while the king runs from the room in nothing but his towel and crown. To a child with ideas that seem simple and perhaps even irrational to the general adult world this is the perfect picture of all of the success they can yet achieve.

Children of all ages and even the daring adult can experience the wonder of Audrey Wood's world through the simplicity of the rhyme and diction when it is contrasted with the amazing complexity of the illustrations in King Bidgood's in the Bathtub. Once in this world it is no trouble to learn and grow with the characters. For children it is especially rewarding to relate to the transformation from an overworked and stressed page to a triumphant one.

Lieutenant Hornblower occurs second in the series by internal chronology, though it was the seventh-written book. Unlike every other book in the series, this one is related from the point of view of Lieutenant William Bush. This alternate point of view allows Hornblower to be presented as a legitimately heroic figure, though it does deprive the reader of the internal thought process of the series' protagonist. The text provides solid background on Hornblower's early career as a lieutenant. Written as a novel, it paces well and has an authentic texture. Indeed, the small-scale combat action is so gripping that in many ways the book eclipses volumes in the series which deal with Hornblower's later career.

Plot Summary (with spoilers):
The novel takes place from May 1800 to March 1803 aboard a cruise of HMS Renown, a 74-gun frigate. The ship's captain, Sawyer, is dangerously paranoid and believes the lieutenants and warrant officers are plotting mutiny against him. To circumvent their putative desire, Sawyer panders to the crew, encouraging them to be lazy and insolent, and issues additional rations of grog. The situation becomes untenable as Renown reaches its cruising grounds near Haiti. Even so, nobody will take the decision action of attempting to remove Sawyer from command.

Fortunately, Sawyer falls down a hatchway and receives a serious injury. There is intrigue surrounding his fall, but no actual witnesses to the accident. Upon Sawyer's physical recovery it is evident his mind is gone--he sobs hysterically and cringes away from everyone. Buckland, the senior lieutenant, takes ostensible command. The unimaginative Buckland botches the ship's primary mission, but disaster is averted when Hornblower proposes an audacious recovery.

From that point forward, it is Hornblower who guides the ship as he influences Buckland subtly but correctly. Indeed, the theme of Hornblower leading his superior officers is a dominant thread in the narrative. The ship carries out other duties with great success until Hornblower is placed aboard a prize--whereupon Renown is almost seized by prisoners. Hornblower once again comes to the rescue and recaptures the ship. The novel ends with Hornblower losing his job because of the Peace of Amiens. He takes up lodging in a public house, makes a meager living by playing whist, develops his friendship with Bush, and meets the young Marie Mason.

This is the sixth Hornblower book I've read, although it's only the second in terms of the chronology of Hornblower's naval career. And I must say, it's one of the better books. CS Forester could be a compelling writer, but some of the Hornblower novels feel a little disjointed. Not this one.

Lieutenant Hornblower is written from the point of view of Lieutenant Bush, whom Hornblower meets in this book. The result is that Hornblower is a more interesting character. It also, unlike some of the other books in the series, primarily covers a single plotline dealing with Hornblower's last mission as a lieutenant, so it hangs together very well. The result is a book that I had trouble putting down until I had read the whole thing. I wholeheartedly recommend this installment of the Hornblower series.

Forester's key book on the times...the made-for-tv series episode parallels this book very closely. And I am very picky when it comes to sea books. Definitely at the same level as the Bolitho series!

This is arguably the best book as "literary work" in the "Hornblower" series (although my personal favorite is the collection of short stories called "Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.") This story has two aspects that make it unique:

1) it is told from the viewpoint of Hornblower's comrade Bush (who is senior to Hornblower) and provides a completely different view of Forester's diffident hero.

2) It shows how Hornblower functions and succeeds as subordinate while working through some thorny ethical dilemmas that stump Bush and the rest of the characters.

The story line is terrific, as always, with dramatic action "drawn from the files" of the Napoleonic Naval Gazette providing the backdrop to life at sea.

Like Forester's other books, this can be read by adults but it is for young male teens, and suitable for even younger ages. If you like Hornblower, and want a similar story by the same author, read the stand alone novel "The Captain from Connecticutt" which looks at the naval war of 1812 from the American point of view and, as a book, is better than most of the Hornblower series.

C.S. Forester created a superb naval drama that gave me an inside look at the life of a sailor serving in the Royal Navy on the wooden war ship Renown. With Hornblower, and his companion Bush dealing with their befuddled Captain and fighting off the attacks by the Spanish this book kept me reading page after page. I believe this is one of the best books in the Hornblower series and I would encourage anyone with an eye for historical novels to check this series out.

Momo lives in the ruins of the ancient amphitheater alone. She is in rags and an orphan. Though she could stay there by the residents' help at first, she becomes indispensable to them more and more. That is because they get a solution or confidence while the residents are telling Momo about their stories. However, Momo does not do anything to them. She just listens to them with the utmost attention and sympathy. One day, the gray men suddenly appear in the city. They are people who work for the company called TimeSaving and steal time from the residents. Many residents who were happy are being changed by the gray men little by little into busy people who do not have time to enjoy themselves. After Momo finds out the reason that people are getting busy, Momo starts an adventure with the tortoise and Professor Hora to rescue the residents from the gray men.

This book is for an adult who is pressed for time. This book includes many valuable lessons and suggests a right direction of life to people. I could learn from this book how important listening to other people is, and I also could think about time I have and spend every day. Momo helps people to listen to themselves by talking to her. Even though I have tried to listen to other people, I would find myself telling more about things I wanted to say. This book makes people realize once again about the importance of listening. Like this book says, people live busily to pursue their happiness, but they tend to lose their happiness because of that. Even if people make lots of money, they could lose their important things and get unhappy. This book tells us that we should take care of people who are around us more and try to feel the change of seasons and appreciate our life. How to spend time that we have evenly is up to us. We can make us be pursued by time. In addition, this book is very exciting. The adventure that Momo shows to take back time from the gray men led me into the exciting and fantastic world.

MOMO es un libro lleno de fantasía, pero que con cada una de sus palabras nos recuerda la cruda realidad que vivimos y en las miles de cosas en que nos escudamos para no apreciar la belleza a nuestro alrededor, el compartir con otros y el poder que tiene sólamente escuchar.
Esta historia la debemos compartir con otros, porque no puede quedarse encerrada en nuestro corazón.
Está escrita para ninos, adolescente, adultos y mayores, cada quien con su experiencia sabrá sacar el mejor provecho de las enseñanzas que nos deja esta pequeña niña, no tanto con sus palabras, como con sus acciones.
El lector definitivamente se siente transportado a un mundo que conoce y compate pero se niega a reconocer como verdades, porque nada es más duro que reconocer en si mismo los errores que cometen otros.
Momo debiera ser un libro de lectura obligatoria en la escuelas, pero por no serlo, estoy segura de que más personas realmente lo van a disfrutar en cada una de las etapas de su vida.

I am so pleased that Momo is available again after being out of print. It is one of my all-time favorites. Read it aloud to your kids or your class. There is so much wisdom in this book and it is a great way to start conversations with children about the true values in life.
While the story in itself might appeal to very young children (amazon recommends it for pre-school children) I think that its beautiful depth would be lost on them. I am positive that the book wasn't written with this age group in mind.

(Young adult fiction) In Momo, Ende tells the story of a young girl (Momo) who wanders into a neighborhood and lives alone but is supported by the local residents. She repays them with her wonderful powers of listening which inspire arguers to resolve their fights, storytellers to tell wondrous stories, and children to play exciting games. Soon, though, a group of strange men begin to steal people's time, causing them to work constantly, feverishly, and mirthlessly. Momo must save the day.

My wife and I began reading this aloud and stopped because of the slow exposition. But as I continued on my own, the pace picked up, and I was treated to an adventure into the origins of time and back again.

The book has several strengths. Ende draws his characters with wonderful detail: Momo and her friends are drawn with painstaking detail (sometimes too much, maybe, but ultimately with benefit). The moral of the tale, that time enjoyed is not time wasted, is a valuable if simple reminder to all of us in our rushed world. A secondary theme, established early in the book, points to the powerful value of listening to others, another valuable reminder. (As an aside, my favorite book on that theme is Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie.) As Momo journeys to the origin of time, Ende employs evocative imagery to help us visualize a physical manifestation of time.

I look forward to recommending this title to my children and to other young readers.

It is not because you do not really have enough time to ...
It is not because you do not have enough skills to manage your time to...

It is because you choose to happen it to be so.

See (in this book) how

As a dabbler only in the manga field I was familiar with the ttile but decided based on the price, this was a good try out book. I was not wrong!! Defintly worth your money as you get alot of story for the money. Actually cheaper than buying the individual books. Printed on strong paper with a handful of color pages at the front this is a compact beautiful apckage with a great starting story and I intend to buy all of the VIZBIG editions!

There are many manga that use themes that are similar to this one, but among all these, Rurouni Kenshin stands out as one of the best. Part of what makes this series so good is the great set of characters. There is also the wonderful recreation of the era in which the story develops; we truly feel like being at a different time in history. The impressive drawings are also a trait that makes this a successful series, and I particularly like how they use the distorted facial expressions for humorous situations. Finally, there is the story in itself, which has many layers and the deeper we get into it, the more mesmerized we are. The fact that this volume is not at the level seen later, in terms of the complexity and richness of the plot, is the only reason why it gets four stars instead of the top rating.

Hitokiri Battousai is a warrior that with the help of his sword slew many rivals of the imperialists and contributed to entering the Meiji era, and then, he disappeared. A few years later, in the eleventh year of the Meiji era in Tokyo, times are such that carrying swords is forbidden, and Kenshin, the former Battousai wanders around with a reverse-blade sword, after having vowed not to kill anymore. Soon Kenshin runs into a murderer impersonating the Battousai and trying to discredit the Kamiya Kasshin School. Luck has it that before running into the killer, he met Kaoru, the young woman who is in charge of the school, and therefore, soon gets involved in helping her clear her name. This is the first bond that will stop Kenshin's wandering, but there are even more to come.

Kenshin is a man with deep convictions, and nothing can steer him away from the goal he set after abandoning his previous life: to build a world where people can pursue happiness. He is one of the most interesting characters I have met in the world of manga, but he is not the only notable character in this series. Far from it! In this first volume we meet Kaoru, a brave young woman that provides the series with some fine humor, and there is romance to come. And we meet Yahiko, a kid that has somewhat of an attitude problem and that hopes to become a samurai and become strong. Maybe most importantly, towards the end, we encounter Zanza (Sagara Sanosuke), the street fighter who will become a central character in this series, so pay attention! He is a very complex character, with an unconventional weapon and a baggage from the past that makes him hate the Ishin-Shishi (imperialists).

This is the start to a wonderful series, and one that goes way beyond the fighting, humor and romance. The quality of this volume should be enough for most people to want to read further, but even if that is not the case, trust me, this series gets much better, so I urge you to keep reading the next volumes. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

A mysterious warrior named Hitokiri Battôsai arose in Kyoto 140 years ago. A fiercesome warrior, he slew countless men, his efforts helping bring to a close the Bakumatsu era and bringing in the age of the Meiji.

Then he disappeared.

In the 11th year of the Meiji, a rurouni--a vagabond--named Himura Kenshin surfaces in Tokyo and befriends the spunky Kaoru, the owner of a student-less dojo.

With the aid of young new friend Yahiko, a boy wanting to be a samurai himself, Kenshin and Kaoru must ward off those looking to kill them.

And so the story begins...

Despite its label being a "romantic comedy," this is by far the most serious out of the manga I read. Nobuhiro Watsuki has crafted an incredible tale, an important story, one that had captured my full attention the second Kenshin showed up in Tokyo (which is pretty much the first page of the book).

His art is stellar. The detail is astounding (even after the first 22 pages when the art goes from ultra detailed to "just" super detailed). His rendering of Japan from 140 years ago is believable, each panel transporting you directly to the past.

The big deal about this book is the fight sequences, each chapter in this volume containing at least one battle. I've never seen action like this before--so huge, so intense, so detailed, so explosive, with speed-lines everywhere--AMAZING!

This volumes also includes a special bonus story that was originally published about a year before the now-complete-twenty-eight-volume series began.

This is a great opening story to what is sure to be a fantastic saga this reviewer looks forward to finishing. (I'm also now eager to check out the anime for this.)

Language warning: Cursing

Applauds should be given to Viz for taking a step in this direction, we can only hope they add more series to their VizBig line up!

In this book, you get the first three volumes of the series (Vol I: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, Vol II: The Two Hitokiri, and Vol III: A Reason to Act). Pages 11 - 32 are in full color, which adds another dimension to the story, I was sad the color had to end. The last few pages also give us some wonderful color pictures from the original volumes, without text. We also get 2 end of volume specials, the first occurs a year before the series begins and the second is, as the author describes, sort of the 'pilot' episode of Rurouni Kenshin, where the details are a bit different than the actual story, but it's still the Rurouni we all love!

The size of the book allows us to look at the detail a bit better. Another feature I noticed was page numbers, which are great if you lose your place.

If you're new to the series, I recommend buying this version over the original 3 volumes as you get more for your money.

I do not understand how people can review this product in 20006 and 2007 when this product came out in 2008.

First off, I ordered this book and the shipment was suppose to arrive in February since the book was suppose to be released January 29, 2008. However, I received it January 24 which shows that this product has fast shipping and was in mint condition.

Now this manga is very different from the normal manga released. A normal one volume manga has a couple of pages, is all black and white (expect the cover), is printed on low quality paper, and contains a little of the author's comments. The heights of these books are about 7.5 inches in height by 5 inches. The thickness varies, but is usually around .75 inches. These books are usually worth and sold for $7.95. This is not the product that is being sold under this item. Most of the people writing these reviews think this is what the book is.

Now here is what this book really is. When an old manga series becomes very famous in Japan, they re-make the series into a special edition one. It is the same story line and everything with a few changes.
Here is a list of the diffences:
Contains 3 volumes (books) of manga into one book
New cover art from the original manga
8.5 inches by 5.8 (about right)
1.8 inches thick
More author's comments throughout the book (not too sure about this one)
THE FIRST FEW PAGES OF THE MANGA AND SOME PAGES IN THE BACK ARE IN COLOR (then goes back to black and white)
Much better paper is used other then the poor one used in the original manga

As you can see there are big differences between this book and the other manga. This is more economic for people, because instead of buying separate books for about $21, you are instead paying $12. When this book enters in stores, it will coast $17.99. This is basically a collector's editions manga and something Viz (manga company for North America) decided to start up very recently. They will be doing this to old series like Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in a few months. This book is much bigger then a normal manga. As a reader, I really enjoyed how they made the manga. The color of the first few pages looked great. In the back there is a glossary of words used in the manga and some colored art work. As you can see this book is a lot bigger then the normal manga. After all they have to put three volumes of manga into this one book. I greatly recommend the book whether you never saw the series or even if you have the original manga.

I wrote this review because many of the people writing the reviews know nothing of this book and do not own. Instead they are telling you about the story line. I will not go into details on the story since everyone else here did. In conclusion, this book makes the original manga look like garbage and will save you money by getting this book ($12 instead of $21).

If you are wondering, as months go by, more these versions of this manga will appear.

This is Rachels story, and in it the Ellimist is introduced and makes them a nonbeatable personal offer. I always like when Rachel uses her grizzly morph, this book was good.

While on a mission attempting to find out more about the Kandroana - the center of the Yeerks' filthy lives - in the hopes that they can locate and destroy it, death seems inevitable for Rachel, the other Animorphs, and Ax. But then a strange and mysteryous beigng called the Ellimist offers them a way out of the war - and shows them what will happen if they decide to back down. While Rachel struggles with personal issues, can the Animorphs make the right choice for Earth when they're not even sure what the right choice is? 153 pages. For sequel see the first Megamorphs book, "The Andallite's Gift."

In this book, the Animorphs meet the Elemist and are told the human race is doomed. He offers to bring them and their families to a new planet very much like earth. But will the Animorphs accept the offer...or decline it? In this book Rachel gets he grizzly bear morph

Rachel is known as the warrior,right?she's the fierce,battle loving,not afraid of anything type,Right?Well,when Rachel's Dad tells her he's moving to another state,she's mad...How could he just leave??????????Well,then he tells her that he wants her to come with him,she could live with him,and they could do lots of things together,and Rachel could take gymnastics lessons with an Olympic Champion....It's Rachels Dream come true,but what about the Animorphs,the Yeerks,the Andalite???????Rachel has to think about this,I mean,You can't just walk out on your friends and leave the fight,can you?well,Rachel is getting a little stressed out about this,What should she do??????????Well,while all that's happening for rachel,the other Animorphs have found a way back to the Yeerk Pool,and you know what that means.Yep,that's right,a trip to the yeerk pool.....But things don't exactly go as planned(who knew that taxxons liked to eat roaches?),And just as they are about to be Taxxon Food,everything stops....Really,It's just like someone hit the pause button,but forgoy them...As they walk aroud they find Tobias,In HUMAN form,and they're puzzled,What made time stop???????????Then they meet the Ellimist.....He says that they are not going to win the battle with the yeerks,And Ax believes him,You see,Ellimists are like fairytale creatures to Andalites,They are supposed to be all powerful,and they can travel through time.....But anyway,What he tells them is that since he knows that they won't win the fight he offers to take them,a few loved ones,and some animal speices,and relocate them to a planet simular to earth,but they have to decide.
Later,he comes and asks again,Rachel is begining to lose it,Why where all these people asking her al these questions,like come live with me and we can go to ball games,or better yet we have a whole new planet for you!She just can't take it!!!!!!Then to prove his point that they weren't going to defeat the Yeerks the Ellimist zaps them into the future,in a world where Yeerks rule..........

This book is narrated by Rachel, so you know it's gonna be good. The book is kind of complicated, and it introduces the Ellimist, who appears in later books as well. This is one of the begining books, before the series started to go downhill. I would definately recommend this to anyone who isn't too far in the series, but stilll loves the Animorphs.