Children's Space Books Books

I have read this book three times and I love it. It's really random and the aliens aren't as menacing as in a lot of science-fiction books. They actually kind of seem like kids, because they have almost no common sense. It flows along really well, too, and it seems like the kids in it are smarter than the aliens (they've been fighting a war for three hundred years and don't really know the actual reason). Almost anyone that likes science-fiction and has a sense of humor would like this book.

This is a very funny, very fun book. It's not as bizarre as the Hitchhiker's series, but just as, maybe more, funny. My class is going to love this book!

The book "Beatnik Rudabagas From beyond the stars" is a classic Sci-Fi with hilarious twists on villans and normally scary or boring charecters. The story stays semi relistic while still being outrageous.It is an exciting book leading up to a somewhat funny and happy ending. Any one with a toch of humor would love this book. I reccomend it to 11yr olds on up. I give it five stars all around.

Our committee liked this book so well that we are giving it the Eleanor Cameron Award for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction.

It is very much like a younger version of Hitchhiker's Guide and should excite many readers.

As A person of practicaly 13 I found this book fairly interesting,however I fond it hard to follow the plot. It seemed that the chapters seemed to jump around a lot. I couldn't seem to follow it that well. My friends and I talk about books though, and I highly recommended it to them. One read it from our school library and told me that it was well written, she loved it.

There is a beauty in this book that touches you.
It is out of the ordinary. I was pleased to see the author digging deep in the hidden layers of the unknown and revealing new aspects of the paranormal neglicted or misunderstood by others.
A well-thought book.

It is not for children only as some claim.
This book is for all ages.
Nothing wrong with fables and fantasies.
They are good for the heart and the mind.
I love this book.
A great companion.
I wish a great success for this writer who is well known worldwide.

S. Mahdi, Caro, Egypt.

Cute book. Written mainly for children and young adults. It would have been nice to own this when I was a child as it clearly illustrates some basic principles of evolution/alien life/planetary physics. Eventhough it is simplistic I still value it as part of my collection for its illustrations that make your points clear to anyone who is interested in learning about this topic.

I bought this book at a book fair back in junior high probably 10 years ago. I must have read it cover to cover over a dozen times back then and the book still sits on my shelf today. Great illustrations, interesting concepts. This book is certainly worth the price and is great for children just beginning to show an interest in space, aliens and sci-fi, or for adults who simply want a book that is a simple intro into basic extraterrestrial theory. The book starts off talking about aliens in movies, and then goes into what some aliens might look like depending on the type of planet they inhabit. While the book could stand to be updated, it really is just a lot of fun.

This is the perfect book to use with middle school and high school students. I use this as a reference for cross-curricular projects with science fiction, science, language arts, and government. The background and general information is not too much for students to digest and the illustrations are fabulous. When required to come up with feasible life-forms for various planet types, the breakdown of possibilities for "alien" senses helps students to consider new approaches. The specific planet descriptions are also immensely helpful, giving students something to build on, opening their minds to the limitless possibilities of extraterrestrial life. This is the singlarly essential building block for endless projects. I wish I could afford a class set. Marvelous!

I read this book a few years ago. I've read it at least 12 times since then. I love Margaret Buffie's books, but this one is still one of the best. The lake area where she writes is a lot like where I live and so I really know the way it looks and feels. She has caught it perfectly.

This was the first Margaret Buffie book I read and it's one of my favourites. I especially liked the setting and the use of the supernatural, but mostly it's the characters that interested me. I loved Lizzie's humour and all the struggles with her family. The storyline with the ghost was so sad and yet it couldn't have ended any other way.

I remember reading this book in elementary school and since then I've been searching bookstores everywhere to find another copy. The story was just something I related to. I think it's a definite good read for any age.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time and I've read alot of books. It's interesting in a fictional sense but meanwhile the main character still has her own domestic problems so the book is almost taking you into 2 different worlds and the transition is very well done and wasn't abrupt which is what many writers would do. I'd reccomend this book to anyone of any age.

Lizzie and her family visit Grandma ("Gran") at her Canadian cottage near Rain Island. The good thing is, Lizzie gets to relax and enjoy herself. The bad thing is, her rowdy family gets into arguments during their stay, due to the presence of Toothy Tim, Lizzie's new step-father. Lizzie decides to paddle over to Rain Island, despite Gran's declaration that it was off limits, and finds the old site of a cabin. She discovers a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles. Putting them on, Lizzie finds herself on the island as it was 60 years ago!

This volume concludes Quinlan Vos' "undercover" mission. If you have missed a few volumes you definitely do not want to read this one before you finish the others. I thought this was an incredible story and I was surprised by the events more than I expected. I don't really want to spoil the story because if you've been following the series this has some big ones.

You should have this collection, it is very good, great drawings, great comic magazine!

To pewface this review, the Vos story line has intrested me, but never really captured me. I liked the idea of having a Jedi who was so close to the dark side, that he was endangered to losing it all. And Vos is a perect example. In previous Volumes it has never been clear where he stood, and this volume resolves it. I was always more intrested in Obi Wan and Anakin, but the conclusion of Vos was a good one.

However the general flow was not quite as well done as in previous volumes. This had a slow begining, and then picked up. In previous volumes the begining grabbed me and kept me tuned in for the rest of the volume. Tholme was a great charcter in my eyes. They did a excellent job with the Master and Appertence in this volume.

There where somethings that seemed a bit off for me though. Certain Charcters were intorduced that I didnt feel I got a chance to know. The two largest would be Akku Sell and Bok. Akku was totaly new, and I didnt get to know hom. Bok would seem to be an older Ccharcter, but I don't remember him in the previous volumes, so eitehr I missed him before, or he was in another storyline outside of the Clone Wars.

Either way it was a good volume. 4/5 Stars

I was starting to wonder if they were ever going to wrap up Voss' story. I found it very compelling and great continuity. I was waiting for the payoff on the Vos story line. I also like how it leaves the future open for more of his story. The story arc ended nicely. I would recommend this especially at the low price of Amazon. Worth the read!

N. Wells at the end of his review said "I hear there is a 9th volume coming out, not sure how much more there is to tell in this series though."

The 9th and final volume of the CLONE WARS series of the STAR WARS REPUBLIC comic line will be called ENDGAME, and it means basically what you think it might. It includes the last 5 issues of the REPUBLIC line plus one stand-alone issue. The action takes place during and after EP. III Revenge of the Sith. Strangely, the first two-part story takes place shortly after ROTS as the remaining surviving Jedi deal with the aftermath of Executive Order 66. The second 3-part story takes place during the Battle of Kashyyk in ROTS and deals with Vos' final conflict at which time Order 66 came down. And the final stand-alone issue called PURGE is what you think it means as Darth Vader hunts down the remaining Jedi, thus setting in the darkness that follows the rise of the Empire.

This last issue, well, the last of the 3-parter about Kashyyk was designed by George Lucas himself, so that which sets up the forth-coming live-action TV series. So characters that survive that story are sure to be found in the TV series.

Mine is not the best review to read because I'm not a kid.I found it abit boring,but thats because of reasons already mentioned.So if you are a grown up and said oh look a novel about angels,i always like a novel about angels,remember,this is for kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My daughter Genevieve goes to Macy School. Her teacher has them do a book report every month. We are near the end of the year and Genna has raved about how much she likes this book. We will be reading the others as well. So keep writing them Linda Lowery! Love, a thankful mom. Not alway easy to get them to read and enjoy it!

I am going to be 11 in two weeks. I really liked the story. I didn't think I would because it was about a girl named Hannah,but there was a boy named Ian who went with her on the adventure and he was cool. I liked the part about helping the endangered animals.I want to read the next book too.

My children 7 and 10 both read this book and loved the adventure story, learning about another culture and the angels. The glossary in the back of the book was most helpful. They can't wait until the next two books come out. P.S. I read them as well and love my children reading books of such high quality.

I heard about this book from a friend. My 6 year old daughter and I read this book together. We learned about a new country (Australia) and their customs. Have you ever played a digeridoo or spent time in the outback with skinks, wallabys and dingos? What a fun book! We are going to buy the next book today....

Aptitude testing leads a young man to a job on a clunky old ship, not one of the fancy new shiny commercial fancy pants variety.

Through his apprenticeship he is forced to learn quickly, and spaceship maintenance and travel is not all.

They discover a planet with aliens, alien goodies, have to fend off nogoodniks, and all that sort of fun stuff.

"Sargasso of Space" is the opening novel in Andre Norton's so-called "Dane Thorson series," and is a fine introduction to the books that follow. In this first volume we meet Dane Thorson, a young cargo-apprentice who is assigned (by mechanical Psycho selection) to the trader ship Solar Queen. The crew of the Queen pools its earnings and wins an entire planet, sight unseen, at auction. (Perhaps Ebay will be conducting auctions such as this in 50 or so years!) The crew then explores this strange planet, called Limbo, and discovers the remnants of a lost civilization, as well as globular natives, space pirates, mysterious artifacts and so on.
Ostensibly written for juveniles and "young adults," this novel has a strong appeal for "grown-ups" as well. Not for nothing has Ms. Norton become one of the most popular of all sci-fi/fantasy writers, selling kajillions of books and endearing herself to the hearts of millions. She writes simply but directly, and her characters are always sharply drawn and easy to identify with. Her early sci-fi works (this one was written in 1955) are in the true Golden Age pulp spirit, with no symbolism or literary tricks to gussy up the pleasure of an exciting story well told. By the end of this short but exciting novel, we feel that we know a lot about the 12 crewmembers of the Solar Queen, yet want to know more. In that, the book is an unqualified success.
As a matter of fact, I only had one small problem with this Norton novel. At one point in the story, our trader heroes set out to explore some alien ruins located around 20 miles from their ship. They walk to the ruins in a heavy fog, look around, and then decide to walk back! Now, I don't care how tough these guys are (and truth to tell, they seem more like average Joes than Stallone-type action figures, to the author's credit)...nobody walks 40 miles in a day--not even the Marines--on a gravity-normal planet! But beyond this stretching of credulity, "Sargasso of Space" is a marvelous entertainment that I do recommend highly to all lovers of old-fashioned sci-fi fun.

"Sargasso of Space" (1955) and "Plague Ship" (1956) were the first two science fiction novels I ever checked out of our local library (I can still close my eyes and see that one dinky little shelf, crammed with some of SFs' greatest juvenile authors: Norton; Heinlein; Del Rey; Nourse).

"Sargasso of Space" is the first of four 'Solar Queen' adventures, followed by "Plague Ship,""Postmarked the Stars," and the novella, "Voodoo Planet." Norton's four-book series about the crew of the Solar Queen ended in 1969 with "Postmarked the Stars" but beware! Lesser authors have butted into the series, presumably with Norton's permission since this remarkable Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and the Nebula Grand Master is still writing (her first novel was published in 1934, her latest fantasy in 2002).

One Solar Queen rip-off to avoid at all costs is "Redline: the Stars."

Norton's Solar Queen stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced to us in "Sargasso of Space" as a "lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Trader's tunic." Most of this author's heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description.

After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile--not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for--but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training."

Sometimes I just want to give Dane a big hug.

The crew of the 'Solar Queen' risk their meager capital in a gamble at a Survey auction, and win trading rights to a barely explored planet with the unlucky name of Limbo. When they view a microfilm (okay, the technology is a bit dated in these books) of their new prize, it appears as though they have purchased ten years of trading rights to a planet that was burned to cinder during the heyday of the mysterious Forerunners, who predated humans in space.

Just when the Queen's fortune seems to be at its lowest ebb, a tough-looking archeologist shows up who is supposedly an expert on Forerunner artifacts, and charters her for a voyage to Limbo.

It might have been better for the free traders if her captain had kept his ship planeted and declared bankruptcy after the disastrous Survey auction.

This 'Solar Queen' novel is a prime representative of Norton's lean action-packed brand of story-telling. If you haven't read "Sargasso of Space" since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try it again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on an exotic, carefully-drawn alien world.

Sargasso of Space is the first novel in the Solar Queen series. This volume and the next two Solar Queen novels were first published under the pseudonym of Andrew North.

In this novel, Dane Thorson is a newly graduated cargo-apprentice from the Trade Training Pool reporting for his first assignment. As he waits with some of his former classmates for the Psycho computer to match him with a Trade organization, the others are assigned to interstellar companies -- Inter-Solar and the Combine -- and even the local Martian-Terran Incorporated line, but Dane is assigned to the lowest of lows, a Free Trader ship, the Solar Queen. However, the demeaning attitude of the other recruits only triggers Dane's stubbornness and determination to succeed in his assignment.

After he has a not very enjoyable last meal with his former classmates, Dane is joined by two crewmen from the Solar Queen who have overheard the name of their ship. They introduce themselves as Rip Shannon, astrogator-apprentice, and Ali Kamil, engineer-apprentice, and accompany him back to their ship. There Dane meets Captain Jellico, Cargomaster Van Rycke, Astrogator Wilcox, Com-Tech Tang Ya, Chief Engineer Stotz, Jetmen Kosti and Weeks, Medic Tau, Cook-steward Mura, the ship's cat Sinbad, and the Captain's Hoobat.

The first port of call is Naxos, where the Solar Queen buys ten-year trading rights to a planet, Limbo, in a Survey auction. The planet has been burnt off, but not completely. While their prospects don't look promising, a charter from an archaeological expedition interested in the Forerunner artifacts on Limbo will pay for the voyage, so they blast off to Limbo the following morning. On Limbo, the Solar Queen crew finds ancient ruins, strange machines, wrecked ships, and space pirates. They have to use all their skills, ingenuity, and courage to survive.

This novel has some of the signature characteristics found in many of the author's SF works, with Dane being an orphan and an outsider who eventually finds a niche of his own, but it differs from most later works in that Dane starts to feel at home on the Solar Queen even before going aboard. However, Dane becomes part of a human team, as in Star Guard and The Crossroads of Time, so alien sentients do not occupy a central role in this novel as in Star Rangers. Moreover, the animals, while playing an important role in the series, are more valued adjuncts rather than team members.

As with other novels of this period, the tale emphasizes teamwork over individual accomplishment. Each contributes their own unique expertise and viewpoint to strengthen the team. As with Star Rangers and Star Guard, this novel starts with a high degree of acceptance and companionship among the Solar Queen crew; in later works, such as Storm Over Warlock, active cooperation and good feeling is exceptional and occurs only at the end of the tales after much hard work and good fortune.

This story is one of the author's best accepted works, as witness the number of sequels. In many respects, this series is the positive side of the author's worldview. Despite the many hazards and trials of his chosen career and ship, Dane is part of a tight-knit group that freely gives acceptance and respect to each other. Many of the other tales by this author feature young persons who are desperately trying to obtain such relationships.

Highly recommended to Norton fans and anyone who enjoys tales of young persons striving for competence and success within a SF setting.

I am a 45 year-old electrical engineer, yet I have re-read my copy of this "juvenile" level paperback so many times that the paper is coming apart. Andre Norton's introductory story of Dane Thorton and the Solar Queen is close to timeless.

This SF action story from the 50's does have some dated technology (the "Psyco" asignment machine and the "Trade Center" Computer installation come to mind) but these are mostly obsured by not getting into their details too closely - No huge vacuum tube computers here! Later stories in the series have their technologies smoothly brought into the present (projected into the future) without losing their original series contexts. Very skillful.

I am hoping that "Sargasso of Space" and its next few successors are treated to the same updates that have been lavished on other Norton novels from this time period. In the mean-time, by all means go ahead and read this classic pulp!

This book is just the best!! recently, i've been watching trigun and now im in this whole trigun craze!!! i have the whole dvd box set, which by the way is on sale here at amazon.com, and is highly recomended! anywho, i now have both of the mangas, volume 1 and volume 2 , and am desperatly awaiting trigun maximum to be in stores already!if u know when and where, let me know!!! well, if you watch the anime or read the manga, you would love this one! i am sure you are addicted or obsessed with trigun, already though, huh? I SURE AM!! well this is definately a great manga and includes all of the stuff u may have read in these other reviews.
need i say more?
buy it!
you wont regret it!!!!

This was such a good book. When i picked up the first manga, i was addicted and brought it around with me everywhere i went! This is deifently a must have for an avid trigun fan!

Trigun 2 finally came out!This volume concludes the first part of the manga series.Some key events are verrrrry different in the manga.The atmosphere itself is far more dark,and weird.Even the characters are quite different.Vash is detirmined to send Knives to hell.Knives has long hair,and is nude for a while near the end.(I know why,but still...)The manga is very gory and dark,I'm warning you.Immature children should not read.Nudity,language,violence(Of the heart-rip,bloody child birth,decapitated head in bag,eye gouging with a gun variety.Mm-hmm.)
This may seem a bit rushed compared to the original,but keep in mind,there's still Trigun Maximum to develop the characters as much as the anime does.
It's sometimes hard to understand what's going on,but you should study the art anyway.It's amazing.There's so much detail,from all the buckles on Vash's clothes,to the awesome angel arm.And just look at Vash when Monev call him Diablo.Coooooool...
OVERALL:
PROS:Awesome art,keeps original Japanese honorifics,Smooth transition from dark and violent with funny,Bonus Trigun manga at the end,untranslated sound effects
Cons:Sometimes very difficult to tell what's happening.
Definitely a ful 5 stars.
be warned,the manga is definitely not for kids.Trix is.Eheheheheheh

I've heard a lot about Trigun and started to read it. Though, the first volume is okay, the second volume is much better! I mean, the first volume has a slower pace than the second. Also, the art in the second volume improved. Even if you're not into anime, you might still enjoy this manga! It's almost better than the DVD version! I'd recommend this manga for more mature people, who can deal with gore and darker stories. :)

When I picked up the first Trigun, the plot was a bit slow. I felt like I had to push myself to get through it...but now I've come to the second Trigun, and the story is so much faster! It is very climactic, and I was rushing through each page to see what would happen next. The illustrations are beautiful. Some of the characters seem (to me) to be drawn a bit similar to that of a shoujo manga artist, which is a nice change from being crudely drawn...The few comical moments are appropriate for the situation and made me laugh. Some of the more intense battle scenes confused me a bit. With a large amount of detail, it was very hard to see what was going on. In a few instances, I was only able to tell what was happening because I had watched the anime.

All in all, a very good manga. Please don't buy this for a youngster. It'll scare them.

An Exciting Story About Rebuilding a Neighborhood by Reclaiming Lost Dreams.

Wall On 7th Street
July 14, 2007

This is the second book that I've reviewed in the last year after a brief hiatus and it was well worth the wait. This book satisfied the cravings felt by anyone in search of a good book. It was colorful, well written and the plot was outstanding!

Toby and his sister have moved into a new neighborhood after their parents' recent divorce. It's a new neighborhood for Toby and his sister Beth but it's their mother's childhood neighborhood. Toby's mother has fond memories about this neighborhood, but now it has been overrun by a gang called the "Strafers."

Toby befriends a homeless man named Moe and is given a reason to love the neighborhood that he has thus far despised. Moe and Toby will fight the Strafers with a rather unconventional but effective weapon ... a paint brush.

As the book progresses from the normal to the paranormal there are so many reasons to keep on reading. This book will engage your imagination in a manner reminiscent of Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia. Toby begins to see what Moe has already seen and then the reader and the other residents of the 7th Street neighborhood are privy to their vision. Together they will fight back to regain control of their neighborhood and to make their visions a reality.

An exciting and well written piece of Children's literature through and through; The Wall on 7th Street is a classic fit for the silver screen.



Reviewed by Tyrone Vincent Banks

Well I thought this book was really good, and too tell you the truth i didn't think it would have been that great at all. What I liked about the plot is that they used a gloomy neighborhood of quiet and nasty people, But then it changes to a nice place and not so scary anymore. I liked how determined Moe and Toby were to get all these paintings on the wall and all of the bad things on 7th street out. I think that they could have made the Strafers a little bit nicer because it made me said when it said they picked on the little old lady sarah. I also didn't like when Toby just got their and gets beat up right away. Also when they beat up moe and ruined his little house. I would recommend this book to a kid whos 13 and likes a good mystery. Also if you like bright colors. Also if you'd rather sort it out in a non violent way instead of a punch and hurt kind of way.

Genre: Youth Fiction
Title: The Wall on 7th Street
AUTHOR: Diane Martineau
Toby Maxwell's 13 year-old world is crumbling around him. No teenager is prepared for the word `divorce' but now Toby, his Mom and sister Beth have moved into a sad and lonely neighborhood run by bullies. The Strafers have control of the street and the huge warehouse wall that dominates the landscape. Strafer art consists of monsters, war, murder and mayhem and intimidates the people of 7th Street.

Toby's only friend is Moe the homeless man, who is the bravest man on the street. He and Toby plot to overturn the Strafers' power in a rather unconventional way.

The Wall on 7th Street is chocked full of entertaining, colorful characters who interact in a most interesting way. Educational, enlightening and inspiring the story will capture the interest and the hearts of young readers. The cover art portrays the wall beautifully.

Author Diane Martineau is a retired art teacher living in upper New York State in what was once Iroquois Land. Her interest in the Iroquois culture shines through in this novel as well as her experience with paint and art. As a retired teacher, she understands the psyche of young people and her writing appeals to their interests and problems.

Pick up a copy today and tremble, cry and cheer with the people of 7th Street. Highly recommended by Shirley Roe, Allbooks Reviews.

This captivating story mixes real life with a bit of fantasy. Although it was written for younger audiences, it would be great reading for any age. It was inspiring to see how this young boy didn't want to give up on the difficult situations he faced, but used ingenuity to make things better for the whole neighborhood. I especially enjoyed all the many varied people that Toby meets and his growing friendship with the homeless man, Moe.

The author uses great description, so that I could actually picture the neighborhood and interesting characters. I really wanted Toby to succeed.

This is now one of my ALL TIME favorite books! You start it and you won't stop reading until the end. I think that it is a good book for either boys or girls up to about age 15. (I am 14 and loved it, and now my 11 year old brother won't give it back and he usually hates to read.) It talks about things that kids really experience and you can tell that the author really knows kids and respects them. What's best about the book is how great the characters are. They are like real people. I also liked learning about the Indians and thought that having the boy in the book have a friend who is homeless was excellent. It gives you a new perspective on what people experience who are homeless. I think that you see people in that situation differently after you've read the book. I recommend this book to any kid who is looking for a really good book. Or it's a great idea for any adult who is looking for a gift that a kid will really like.

This was also a great discovery book of planes and flying for my grandsons.Airport

As you read this excellent book to them, remind the children of the heros who flew the bombers, fighters, and used their guns to secure the glorious future your kids are enjoying in America and the free world today.

My 3-1/2 year old was immediately hooked by the cover of this book. The great pictures make it his current favorite, but I wish I had read it before making my purchase. The copy includes words that I do not think are age-appropriate for him such as "bomber," wartime," "fighter," and "enemy." When he is older and has developed reading and comprehension skills I think the book will be okay, but for now I edit parts of the text as I read to my son.

My 3 1/2 year old asks for this book at bedtime almost every night. I do have to change the words a little in the section on the Wright Flyer since it says "almost 100 years ago" and we have passed the century mark since the book was published. Also, I've practically memorized the text and sometimes shorten the names of the planes because they are so long and cumberson. I admire the accuracy, but it's not necessary for a preshooler. I like the illustrations in this book and it's just the right length for a bedtime "story." Great for little boys or girls who love planes.

All Aboard Airplanes is a great book! This book is what made me interested in airplanes. I now Know all sorts of facts about planes, and I want to be a pilot when I grow up. Plese buy this book for any plane loving child you know.

I just received this as a gift today, and I loved looking through the beautiful photographs. So many interesting ideas for treehouses, mazes, theme gardens, and uses for those left-behind stumps and odd-shaped small yards-- it truly encourages people to plant where they're blooming, no matter how less-than-ideal the yard. It does seem to favor northern climates on the surface, but a Miami garden is highlighted, and the basics-- structures and uses of space are more of a focus, rather than specific plants or seasonal values. (This is important to me as a southern gardener-- we just don't have the same gardening calendar.)

Of course several of the featured gardens are owned by professional landscape designers or are part of large public gardens. But that shouldn't deter the novice with a vision; don't we all want to learn from the pros and use them as a springboard? If nothing else, I am inspired to continue creating a fun place for my children to play and roam, as well as consider ways to branch out into other local institutions that could provide these play spaces.

I have not read this book, but was disturbed to read, in the description of the book, the suggestion to plant norway maple as a climbing tree for your child. Norway maple is an invasive species in northern forest zones, and is threatening habitat for sugar maple, an important tree for wildlife, tourism, maple sugaring, history, and the regional economics that accompany those. Norway maple became very popular in urban areas for its pollution tolerance. It should not be planted anywhere near natural habitat for sugar maples. American beech is an excellent choice for a hardwood tree with good climbing branches, and delicious nuts. All hardwoods grow much more slowly than softwoods. There's nothing wrong with climbing a white pine tree. And try swinging on birches.

Our whole family has enjoyed reading this book to get ideas for our Sunflower/Fairy Garden!! Every section offers wonderful ideas that we would never have thought of to add...What Fun our Magical Garden will be thanks to, A Child's Garden : Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents! One section offers the idea of planting different berries around the yard so the children can snack as they play! I have given this book to our landscaper to see what ideas he has for adding water to the garden...Already he has suggested using a water pump to circulate water in order to make a small trickling brook for our boys to sail their boats on! I also got the idea to make a willow archway that will be child size for the children to cimb through! We are so very excited to spend this summer creating and adding to our Enchanted Fairy Garden!

Every page of this book has full color photos from some of the most incredible gardens for children I have ever seen, from the large elaborate planned spaces of botanical gardens, to small modest spaces that will fit any space or budget. While this is not a heavy-duty "how to" book, it is a book of ideas--and we all know that ideas lead to other ideas! The cover of this book alone is inspiring!

The author asks, "How important are the old childhood pleasures of collecting seed pods, fishing in ditches, making bowers, picking flowers, and climbing trees?...long hours of unstructured outdoor exploration are a fast-vanishing aspect of contemporary childhood." She continues, "...the environment [on her uncle's farm] was so complex--full of smells, varied land forms, and mesmerizing creatures. I remember a scooped out pond surrounded by mud in which pigs, geese and ducks joyously wallowed. The strange pungency of the air, the frighteningly gigantic hogs, the mysterious, billowy grasses...still fill my senses." The author talks at great length about the psychology of nature, and of German educational reforms of the early 20th century (but only the good ones ). Each page has a line fron a Robert Louis Stevenson poem, for "...you may see, if you will look Through the windows of this book, Another child far away, And in another garden play."

The book includes suggestions for water gardens, sensory gardens, vegetable gardens, themed gardens, natural sand boxes, mazes, and attracting wildlife, plus many resources for strange seeds, odd plants, and landscape designers in varied areas of the US and the UK, all geared towards making a child's space a natural one.

BTW, when I bought the book, my kids grabbed it from me immediately. They love to look at the gardens and plan ours. Oh, and there are two black and whilte photos in the book: One is of children during WWI, tending a large city garden; the other is a 1940's style playground, with the steel and concrete structures that many of us recall from childhood. My 4yo playground-lover looked at both, and declared that he'd rather explore the garden.

This book is exactly what I was searching for. I love to garden, but I also need to accommodate my two rambunctious children and a variety of pets. This book has page after page of creative ideas, safety considerations, examples, and plenty of photos. The author is clear, interesting, and very informative about both gardening and childhood development.