Children's Books

Simply superb. A simple book telling a beautiful tale. Wonderfully illustrated. My 3 year old and 19 month old love this book. There is not too many words that they get bored. It is large enough for children to hold and read.

This is a beautifully written book for children and adults. We totally love the story. It was given as a gift to our newest granddaughter by her godparents for her Baptism . the book was read by us and then we read it to her 3yr brother and 5 yr sister. It's a great book for the family to share. My daughter asked the 5 yr old who was that angel, she answered right away loud and clear. I'll let the readers read the book and answer that question for themself. I came home and ordered this copy and would love to see every family having a baby (1st or last) to read it together. It's a very special story. It's a gift that we will be giving to new parents as gifts as is our daughter planning to have copies on hand to give to parents of friends and Baptism gifts.

I enjoyed "Angel in the Waters." It is a beautifully written book from the point of view of a baby in the womb. As an expecting mother, I loved to imagine it was my child. I bought one for me and my husband and a couple of our friends who are expecting, too.

The pictures are true without showing gender, so it could be any Caucasian baby. It would be nice to have the story remade for other ethnicities, too. (Just an idea!)

I am going to buy more for other pregnant friends!

This book showed up on my reccomended list a couple of months ago. Hmmm, I thought--I'll chance it.
Since then I've given copies to:
--a 3 year old preparing for baptism
--a friend in the middle of potentially bad news about her pregnancy
--the teen mother of a child who died at 5 months gestation (I read it at the memorial service)
--the mother of a 19 year old killed in a car crash
Oh, and by the way, my son, who is adopted and who was abandoned at one week old, loves it, too. I think it's helping him form/reform hid connection to his birthmother in a really healthy way.
In any event--I like it. A lot. It is very simple, but can be used in very profound situations where something less whimsical would not work. It's charming, with gentle humor, and full of love.

I bought this for my older daughter when I was expecting no.2. It's about an unborn baby speaking to the angel inside the womb. It is so lovely, it actually brings tears to my eyes while carrying my baby and reading it to my older daughter on my lap. It also helps my older daughter to appreciate what is happening inside my tummy and appreciate her baby sister more!

My kids have taken this out of their school library several times. The story is sweet and the illustrations are charming. I purchased it for them this Christmas-now we have one of our own forever! This author and illustrator have achieved a winning combination for kids with these books.

We love Bear Snores On so this was a must-have as it takes up where we left off, after Bear's hibernation. I love the pictures, the story and most importantly - my 4 year old loved the book as well.

This book as well as "Bear Snores On" are 2 of my daughter's very favorite books. The rhymes and beat are very fun. Now, when we are looking for another book, we always look-up Karma Wilson to see what else she has out.

My five year old daughter was 3 when we started reading these books. She loves everyone of them. I love the stories and the way the animals display their friendship.

I would highly recommend these.

My son and I really really enjoy Bear Snores On. Bear Wants More, has the same adorable animals and brightly colored eye catching spreads, but the story seems to be lacking... when Bear gets stuck it seems contrived (not at all like when Winnie the Pooh gets stuck in his bear hole).

When I first opened the box that contained this book, I very greedily sat and held the book to myself; this is mine I thought. I have never seen all of Miss Potter's work in one place, with all her illustrations so perfectly recreated and the background of Miss Potters life included with each story . The book is bound chronologically, and is so sweet. After I devoured the book I realized what a perfect nursery gift it would be, and took it to my favorite grandchild; she can learn to read and share the book with her younger siblings! How lovely is that!

I thought this collection of Beatrix Potter Stories was just precious. The book itself is beautiful and made with quality in mind. I would recommend this to anyone who has kids or is a kid at heart.

While this is a beautiful anthology, I find that my children never choose to read it or look at it themselves because it is simply too heavy and bulky for little hands. It's heavy to hold while laying down reading before bed, so I don't tend to pick it as a read-aloud either. The binding has also broken loose from the pages, caused by a very little girl trying to carry the book by the front cover! I've decided to break down and get the individual boxed set of stories so that we will actually read them!

This is a wonderful book, with all the tales of Beatrix Potter, and will make a wonderful gift. A future heirloom.

Being an avid reader myself as a child, I thought it was so important to begin a collection of fantastic books for my baby. This was one of the first on my list, and I'm thrilled with the quality. The illustrations are stunning, as well as the weighty feel of each page and the nice, thick hardcover. Not highlighted in the description was the nifty hardback protective sheath that comes with the book--what a fabulous extra! I know it will be a book my daughter will treasure for many years to come and she will enjoy many bedtimes with this book. I especially liked that it was the complete tales, not just a few Beatrix Potter favorites--it was important to me that I get the "whole collection" of stories when buying a book like this. I'd recommend this book to anyone who values high-quality, heirloom books! You won't be disappointed.

I learned about this bible from my daughter, a preschool teacher at a Christian Day Care. She uses it for three year olds. It ties the old and new testaments together with all the stories they love, with a glimpse of God's plan from the beginning of a "Forever King". This is not a story-at-a time, but a book with a plan. Excellent, and can be used through Elementary. I've purchased four, one for a newborn-parents in vocational ministry and one for our Worship leaders two year old for Easter.

Have your children ever begged for more Bible stories instead of food? Have you ever read 160 pages to attentive toddlers in one sitting? And then have them ask for more? I certainly hadn't -- until I got this book.

The Big Picture Story Bible is unlike any other Bible story book I've seen. Rather than telling the familiar stories in the familiar patterns, this book instills in children a unified theme through both the Old and New Testaments. Author David Helm makes the common thread clear by emphasizing in each chapter how these true stories show God's love for the world and the fulfillment of His promises.

This is a big story in a big book. It measures about 10" square and contains 456 pages. Broken into 26 manageable chapters, the book begins with creation (Genesis) and ends with the Apostle Paul's vision of the new heavens and new earth (Revelation). Gail Schoonmaker serves as illustrator. She fills the book with big pictures, both colorful and unique.

What I Like: I love how my kids can't get enough of this book! We read 9 chapters (156 pages) yesterday, and they cried when I said it was time to stop. The chapter breaks offer easy "intermissions". The theme is clear! The text is perfectly toddler and preschooler friendly. I appreciate the use of repetition and the insistence on truth.

Some have complained that not all the best-known Bible stories are included; other stories do not provide all the details. This is not a Bible where you can look up favorite stories, but this is key to the point of the book: the Bible is more than just a collection of great stories; it is one big story consisting of several parts. Often children fail to see the connection between all the stories; they miss how God and His love for us strings the stories together to make sense of it all.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review

Hands down, this is the best story Bible I have ever read, reviewed, or recommended. It is a theological homerun, is kid-friendly, and is superbly written. Our church now uses it as a gift to every family with a new baby. I could not be more excited about this resource, and if you're looking for a story Bible, I'd say start here.
David Morris, Associate Pastor (with an emphasis on children's ministry)

I am sure this bible story book is great for families who want to teach their children an extremely conservative, fear-based view of religion. The text of some of the stories is rather severe (lots of "punishing", anger and "he**" references), and it would have been important for me to know that before buying the book. I would not have bought it in the first place, and it is going right back. This book is not for people who want to convey more of God's love and the lessons of forgiveness that Jesus teaches us. I would not read the Old Testament stories to my children for fear of scaring them right out of their faith.

I heard about this book on a John Piper podcast. We checked it out at the bookstore and then ordered it from Amazon. This is a fantastic deal!

Likes:

1. Quality - Smyth sewn pages to last a life time! Thick pages too!

2. Presents God as the rejected king of his chosen people throughout the Old Testament.

3. Presents Jesus as the rejected king of all people in the New Testament.

4. My younger girls (3 & 2) will sit with me for as long as I will read.

5. Quality of the graphics are superb.

Dislikes

1. It's huge and heavy. (But this helps to make it last so...)

This is a book that will be around for MANY years.

I really enjoyed to whole concept of this series. This book does a good job in setting it up.

the first bleach book, it takes you into a fantasy world that is impossible to put down.

bleach is one of my favourite manga comics.I think every fan of manga should read at least one part of bleach.If you like manga I also recommend death note and naruto.

Bleach has become very popular so it may become easy to over look it as over hyped, but it really is a fantastic Manga. The characters are extremely well developed and nuanced for a "boy" or "action" manga, that being said the action is still great. Ichigo (strawberry) has to be one of my all time favorite characters as is Chad a big guy who like all things cute. Bleach is worth the investment such a long series entails.

I'm 27 years old and my hubby is 34 and we're proud to say Bleach is our new obsession...it's appropriate for pretty much all ages, witty, and highly addictive, even for folks who aren't comic book people.

My 3 year old son knows this book word for word. It is a superb story about patience and tenacity. Yet another library book that become so beloved we turned to amazon....

This book is a wonderful portrayal of perserverence and faith. Delightful to young and old!

i was happy to receive the book. it is exactly the book i remembered and its nice because it is hard.

thank you

Pictures are very cute and this book is so easy to read and make my son attacted! We love it!

This book had a huge impact on me as a child.

Everyone told the boy his carrot seed would not come up. Even the adults. My reaction was this: adults know everything, so why is this boy still trying? I was truly surprised when the carrot seed sprouted, and I clapped and cheered. My next reaction was this: maybe *I* shouldn't give up, even when other people tell me to. This is one of the greatest lessons I've ever learned.

I read this book to my own kids now, and they love it as much as I do.

In the 2nd book in The Cat Who...series, we meet again James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", a newsman for the Daily Fluxion. Returning to writing for a paper after several years absence trying to get his life together in which excessive alcohol was a factor, Jim has sobered up and sought gainful employment. After having been assigned to the art beat on his previous assignment for the Fluxion, Qwill is happy to be given a new assignment...until he discovers what it is. He is given the daunting task of writing a weekly magazine style insert titled "Gracious Abodes" that will focus on the world of interior design. Knowing nothing of the topic, Qwill throws himself into his new post, and quickly discovers that he has a lot to learn. When a home is robbed that was featured in the first edition of Gracious Abodes, Qwill wonders if his new assignment will be a curse. Several more mishaps occur with each edition, and Qwill begins to believe that someone is out to make the Fluxion and himself look bad. With the help of KoKo and the addition of his new cat, Yum Yum, a long-standing friendship and crime-solving trio is formed.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. Some of Qwill's background is explained, and it was interesting to revisit how Qwill found Yum Yum and where her unusual name originated. For those that have not read the series, I do recommend reading the first several first. Many others can be intermixed, but this book offers good insight to the way that Qwill and KoKo relate to one another in future installments. This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

Jim Qwilleran is a reporter for the Daily Fluxion. He's been working the art beat for the paper despite knowing nothing about art. His editor reassigns him to work on a magazine about interior design, of which he is equally ignorant. After he and his photographer do their first main feature on a private residence, the house is robbed. This starts Jim down a road that gets more and more complex and leaves him grasping for an explanation as to why every place they feature in the magazine has some sort of calamity immediately afterward. Thankfully, his Siamese cat, Koko, is there to give him the solution.

This is the second book in the "Cat Who..." series and it continues most of the pattern from the first. Jim gets a new home, takes on an unfamiliar assignment at the paper, a murder occurs related to his story, and he investigates with Koko's help. The supporting cast is pretty strong with some interesting personalities. Jim gets a girlfriend who is especially appealing, but she doesn't become a permanent cast member. The whol book is less than 250 pages, so you might well imagine that pacing is not much of a problem. Things move along smartly and is wrapped up satisfactorily at the end. This book also introduces Yum Yum, the female Siamese that becomes Koko's crime-solving companion.

Many people fall in love with the "Cat Who..." books and devour dozens of them. The writing is light and easy to digest. After reading the first two books in this series, I haven't gotten hooked but they were enjoyable reads. Fans of the series, would certainly do well to read this book, since it introduces Yum Yum. New readers don't need to read either this novel, or The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Cat Who...) in order to enjoy the later entries in the series, but they're a good place to start just the same.

This is an enjoyable audio fit for the whole family. Crime is committed but the story is told without using graphic language or imagery. George Guidall's "reading" ability brings the characters to life.

What more can be said about this book that hasn't been said below. I will say that the shinanigans are in full swing this time with KoKo and Qwill and things are sure to get even crazier with the edition of Yum Yum.

In this second installment in The Cat Who... series we find Qwill on a new beat journaling the many different and eccentric people of the designing world. With each additional Gracious Abodes hot off the press comes a hot crime. Does someone have it in for Qwill and the Daily Fluxion or is it merily coincidence. Find out and more in this latest backstabing and fun addition of the Cat Who....series. With this one in the bag you will surely want to get your claws on the next in the series The Cat Who Turned On and Off and find out what Qwill, KoKo and the newest addition Yum Yum are up to.....

Lilian Jackson Braun's second novel in the "Cat Who" series is not only a worthy successor to it's predecessor it is even better. Even though the writing was quite good in the first book the story seems to flow better in this book and there are less jerky movements in the story. And a very good story it is!

When we last left veteran newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran he was reporting on the art scene for the Daily Fluxion, an assignment that he wasn't thrilled with at first but one that he had warmed up to. Suddenly he finds himself with an assignment that he knows even less about than art, he will be covering interior design. He was, in fact, placed in charge of putting out a weekly magazine insert called "Gracious Abodes", an assignment that would lead him into another adventure with his faithful cat Koko.

Since most decorators could use the publicity a newspaper spread on their work would provide Qwilleran has no trouble in getting help finding houses to profile. He first hooks up with decorator David Lyke who gets permission for the Daily Fluxion to do a photo shoot in a home occupied by an old money family that has more than the normal old money quirks. Just after the first edition of " Gracious Abodes" hits the streets the home in question is robbed of a valuable Jade collection. What's more, the lady of the house is found dead of an apparent heart attack, which police theorize was caused be fear during the burglary. Of course this incident makes the Daily Fluxion look bad, especially since the rival paper plays up the burglary. Qwilleran immediately suspects a set-up and even begins to suspect that his new girlfriend whom he found in another decorator's office is part of the plot. He gets really suspicious after the second edition of his magazine comes out and the next day the police raid the place. It turns out that his second featured home is a cat house, pun intended.

Things get even more bizarre for the ace reporter when his neighbor and prime decorating contact David Lyke is murdered. The more Qwilleran sniffs around, the more he is convinced that he is being set-up but he can't quite put all of the pieces together. Once again, Koko saves the day by both pointing out the solution to the jade heist and also the key piece of evidence in the murder. Along the way, Koko manages to save Qwilleran's life and personally capture one of the suspects. This is one amazing cat!

This is also the book that introduces the reader to Qwilleran's second cat, Yum Yum who enters the picture to keep Koko from engaging in the behavior that led to the title of the book. We only get a short glance at Yum Yum in this book but I feel sure that she will turn out to be just as clever as Koko which will make for even more interesting reading in the next installment.

Altogether this book is whimsical, light and very fun to read. Also, as in the first book of the series the characters the reader will meet in this book are fantastic and colorful to say the least. Give this book a try and see what Koko can cough up for your enjoyment.

Every color has a different way of popping up! My daughter loves this books, especially the green snake and black and white penguin pop-ups! Fantastic book for interaction and visual learning.

Pop ups were disappointing. Very basic. Good book for teaching colors to young children.

My kids love this book, it is our 2nd copy because the 1st got a little over loved (ie. ripped). So this is the special copy that is kept on the top helf. The illustrations and pop-up's are beautiful.

This was one of the very first books I read my child, who made it a favorite right from the start. The shapes and colors literally jump off the page and even managed to hold the attention of a one-week-old!

I've loved this book for years - it's just the right mix of simplicity and intricacy, with an elegant design layout & colors. I originally bought it for myself as a reference for making a pop-up book for an Art class, and now that I have a young daughter, she seems to love it too. Even at only 2 months old, she makes that cute "ooooh" face as we flip open each color flap. Possibly not so good for toddlers who would want to touch it themselves, since the paper folds are a bit fragile.

I have read this book so many time and it still doesn't get old.

I have always been an avid fan of LJ Smith, so I was not surprised that this series was awesome. Her descriptions are always so clear (and so strange) that you can almost envision the people and things in front of you (unlike everyone else though I loved Rob more than Gabriel). As an adult now, I still read her books (although I have yet to find the last book of the Nightworld Series). A great read for anyone!!!!!!!

Whilst LJ Smith's books are a good read, I do get narked with the characters sometimes. Most of the lead characters are too nice and any 'bad' characters are always gothy and into heavy metal. Goodie is sickly sweet and oh so nice blonde, baddie is hot but very nasty brunette (see how easy it is to follow the plot read the secret circle if you don't believe me) But back to this, this had a great starting point, but lost the plot slighty. LJS seemed to be really hitting us on the head with how 'bad' Gabriel was and how nice everyone else was, and of course the main female is so understanding and desired by all. Liked it but not as much as the Forbidden Game.

I had read several of L.J.Smith's Nightworld series when I read Dark Visions, and I was immediately spellbound. The characters were all well-developed and very appealing - you cared what happened to them. Of course, Gabriel was my favorite. There's something so appealing about a bad boy in need of salvation. I read the whole thing through in one sitting and then sat down and read it through again. I would recommend it for anyone interested in the unknown, in coming-of-age books, or just interested in a good read.

This book is by FAR my favorite book of all time. Kaitlyn Fairchild is my new favorite female character. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings... Yeah, they don't hold a candle to L.J. Smith's Dark Visions Collector's Edition.
Personally, I am AMAZED that this book doesn't get more recognition than it currently does. I would enjoy it more than life itself if this book became a movie. I'm actually telling all my friends about it.
I am not much of a reader... at all... But this book... This book made me cry, made me laugh, made me think hard on certain subjects... everything. I loaned my copy to a friend in hopes of getting her hooked on it too.
I have read and re-read this book, time and time again, for years. It never gets old. Smith's vivid descriptions of surroundings and characteristics give me a good mental image of all her characters.
I am seriously thinking about getting her other books. In fact, I will.
Read this book. If you think you knew what a good book is... you haven't read anything until you read this.

I first saw this book at an open house. It was part of the staging for the unit but once I saw the book, I stopped looking around the property and had to read it. I was all smiles from the first page.

This book is great for both children and adults. The text and the illustrations are of equal quality (excellent) and make me laugh every time I read the book. It is obvious that the author has spent a lot of time with wombats and has observed their behavior with humor. The words and pictures capture the quirkiness and cuteness of wombats perfectly. Another thing I liked about this book was that the text is shown as if the wombat was scribbling in his diary (same look as how the title is written). I keep this book displayed on the shelf at all times in my room so whenever I look in that direction there is something to brighten my day. If you like animals, you will love this book.

We just discovered this book at the library, and our six year old son thought it was great. He's had us read it with him over and over. We might have to buy our own copy.

What a sweet book! The illustrations are wonderful. I just wanted to read the book over and over again!

I bought this book after reading it at the library. The illustrations are fantastic and the the first-person narration is too cute! I'm sure it will be one of my son's favorites!

We read dozens and dozens of childrens' books featuring local flora and fauna during our trip to New Zealand and Australia and this one was by far the most engaging and delightful. We didn't buy it in the first store where we saw it and then spent the ensuing several weeks quoting it at every available occasion. We even started demanding carrots for both good and bad behavior.

One thing we loved is the link between the narration and the drawings -- they complement each other in clever and wonderful ways. On one page the wombat discovers a new scratching post and only in studying the drawing do you see that he has dislodged a can of paint. At the end of the book many of his targets (from clean laundry to a pair of boots) are visible in one truly great image.

Another great thing is how well the book gets across how wombats really act without ever stating any boring facts. The humorous text and graphics simply show a wombat doing what wombats do -- it's a great purchase as a souvenir because it can introduce a child to this funny animal.

Strongly recommended.