Literature Books

While I'm sure there are a few teens out there who are interested in cooking a turkey or baking bread, the book is doing itself a disservice by suggesting it is for teens. It's a very good book for the more adventurous of young cooks, but more probably for the 30-something set who loves spending time and money in the kitchen. Most teens and those leaving home for the first time more closely fit the profile illustrated in 50 Ways to Leave Your Mother, and are more likely to subsist on ramen noodles and popcorn. That said, this book is a wealth of information for the more adventurous cook of any age. The style is warm and a bit humorous, never a bad thing when tackling your first pot roast. So, while I do recommend this book, I have to add that I would not buy it for any inexperienced cooks, especially teens.

Everyone knows someone that can't cook or doesn't cook. This book is different from other cookbooks in that it explains much more than just recipes. Its rough to make time to cook a decent meal and many people have grown up on microwaves with the occasional homemade food. This book starts from scratch, explaining things your parents forgot to mention. Like how to defrost the freezer? You won't find that in an everyday cookbook. Its written for a teenager but I found it to be for all ages. It was a fun book to give to my nameless chef. I did look through it before wrapping it and found several recipes I would enjoy making myself. I might be borrowing it more than the chef will use it. I also purchased the baking book by the same author. Once again it gives a concise explanation on how to bake from scratch and keeping it simple. I only hope my nameless chef will use it well and maybe will invite me over for dinner. Its perfect for a new home/apartment gift, or that someone for christmas that always burns their food. And its enjoyable to read through.

This book is fantastic for anyone who has little or no experience in cooking. I have purchased four or five of these books because I keep giving them away. I first gave one to my teenage daughter, who set out to amaze her parents with her culinary skills! The Desperate for Cheesecake recipe is great. Most of these recipes are "basic" types of recipes which I often use as a springboard for my own cooking creativity. I finally bought a copy for myself!

This is a fabulous cookbook. I bought my first two at a library book fair and gave one away to the daughter of a friend. Since then I have bought more and recommended it a number of times.

My four boys don't like the way the author talks to teens, but ignore that, and what you have is a tremendous collection of from-scratch recipes that are very do-able. My favorite is the stuffed bell peppers. I had never before seen a recipe that called for simmering the stuffed peppers in a pot of tomato juice. They come out beautifully tender, and then the remaining liquid makes a terrific soup, with or without additions.

So, buy this book and you'll be glad you did.

This book is great for teenagers, and also for people like me: the ones that just never learned. It is simple and easy to use. My guests are so happy that I can now whip them up something for breakfast or dinner. Also, this is a really great gift for those people going off to college. It even includes a complete list of what to get for a starter kitchen.

It is difficult to praise "The Discarded Image" too highly. It can be read with profit many times. Other reviewers have told you why.

That said, I would like to say something to those who have read and enjoyed the Space Trilogy, especially "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra." In writing those excellent stories, Lewis decided that the medieval outlook on cosmology, however incorrect from the scientific standpoint, would provide a marvelous-and to most of us-unfamiliar backdrop for tales of imaginative fiction. I promise you that once you have finished "The Discarded Image," you will reread the fictional works pleasantly fascinated by how the medieval image informs the novels.

This book explained and gave amazing and insightful information about the development of the medieval worldview and mindset.

To begin with, it must be acknowledged that the subtitle of this work is apt to be misinterpreted. Lewis's last book of his own initiative, which but for some late corrections would have been published in the final months of his life, might be better understood as a 'preface' to mediaeval and Renaissance literature than as what is now most often meant by an 'introduction'. For his stated purpose is not one of identifying, summarizing, and expounding major works, but of explaining the world-view or Model of the universe which informed any educated writer or reader of the time.

Lewis is concerned that a student may succeed in achieving a semblance of comprehension yet be wholly mistaken in his or her grasp of mediaeval literature through projecting onto it either very modern ideas or, perhaps worse, modern misconceptions of what our ancestors believed. While he does touch on authors and writings familiar from the average undergraduate survey course, he dwells far more on, and digs more deeply into, somewhat obscure examples which he feels better represent the mindset of the era. Boethius and his THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY get particular attention and are alluded to repeatedly throughout. Lewis then proceeds to outline the mediaeval picture of the universe's structure; of the inhabitants it held; and of the psychological, philosophical, and metaphysical aspects which integrated the whole system.

All of this gradually reveals a cosmology far more sophisticated and a civilisation rather better informed than they are often credited with being. Understanding of the nature of the universe was not so erroneous as is now generally supposed; and where it was indeed wrong, it was nonetheless remarkably insightful as well as internally consistent. The mediaeval era emerges as the vital and extraordinary world it was, and as a fertile ground in which the so-called 'Renaissance' took root and flourished.

Lewis concludes with a cautionary reminder that our own notions of the universe and of 'Reality' itself remain comparatively incomplete and are certain to be superseded one day, not merely by new discoveries but by the ever-shifting philosophies and tastes which determine what questions are asked and thus what answers are found.

This is a book I genuinely hope to read again. Parts of it, I confess, were a bit beyond me, if chiefly because I had too little acquaintance with what was under discussion. Even so, Lewis's characteristic wit, conversational style, and contagious enthusiasm succeeded in making me wish to improve my familiarity with his subject. And to inspire such interest is surely a teacher's purpose even more than the mere passing on of information.

C.S. Lewis is just such a pleasure to read. And this book is simply a joy. I am a PhD student in medieval history and have read an awful lot of books on the medieval mind and this is by far the best. There is a slight tendency in Lewis' writing to see philosophy as the sole motor of history--but this is to be expected from his generation and it doesn't detract from the picture he paints. The best part about this book is that when I was finished reading it, I loaned it to my mother, who has absolutely no formal medieval training, and she loved it too! It's such a relief to escape the arrogant jargon of academics, that just masks their ignorance and inane analysis, and explore the world of ideas with such a master of clear and honest language.

Highly recommended for students of history as well as literature. A product of C. S. Lewis's day job at Cambridge, this volume helps the reader get inside the mind of both the common man and the writers of this period. They had a different view of reality and the world than modern man. To understand, let alone appreciate their history and literatue, you need to know how they saw things.

Broader and more scholarly that Lewis' "Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature" (Canto, 1966), I recommend "The Discarded Image" over it.

By the way, though not intended as such, it's also a great source of trivia on the origins of names and expressions.

douglas adams shed real light on a subject few authors ever even dare to touch.he made me want to stop and take time to appreciate what i do have and feel lucky about what i have lost.he kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time

Although I have not had the pleasure of buying these tapes, I have, in fact, heard them elsewhere on a digital recording. These tapes are sure to bring a smile and some intelligent entertainment.

I loved it! I was so funny! I wish I had a robot like Marvin.

Douglas Adams is funny in print, but his books really come to life when you listen to him read them aloud. He has a good sense of comic timing and often addes just the right split-second pause, or twists a word *just-so* and brings off a joke that might otherwise be missed.

We've had the 4-volume audio set for ten years and my kids have worn it out. I highly recommend getting this as a book on tape. (Better yet- bring them out on CD!)

Some people say that pure genius is very close to insanity. Either Douglas Adams is a true genius or he smoked some serious stuff when he wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide. "One must have chaos in oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star" - Nietzsche. For me, the Hitchhiker's guide is the best escape from reality anybody can ask for. Travelling with Arthur Dent through different worlds makes you see our own world in a different light. It is almost inconceivable that somebody could consider the Earth to be "Mostly Harmless"! It makes you wonder what sort of galaxies they travel to. A great read - don't miss out on this one.

I thought I had every Faery artbook available until I discovered this one. It's absolutely lovely. The images are large, colorful and gorgeous. If you love Faeries, you will adore this book. One of the artists whose art is inside is Arthur Rackam among accomplished others as well. If you love this book, you will also adore the Fairy and Mermaid books by Elizabeth Ratisseau as well as Fairyland in Art and Poetry by Richard Doyle. Enjoy!

This is a lovely book that any wild-hearted person will enjoy. By stepping through this Doorway to the enchanted realm you will meet the Daoine Sidhe, the Sith, the Tuatha de Danann, the Twylth Teg and many more beings of the faery worlds. The chapters cover the topics of Enchantment, Mischief, Good Fortune, Faery Encounters, and Various Faeiries and Others, so as you can see there is a lot of valuable information packed into a conveniently sized package. The author has delved into the vast treasure house of faery paintings to bring us the beautiful and fantastic illustrations for this book. Many of the illustrations that you may have seen before are here enlarged to a satisfying size that provides detail. Richard Doyle and Arthur Rackham are here just to name two...there is so much more and all wonderful. Bits of faery poetry are sprinkled in among the art and folk history so the whimsical feel of fey is absorbed on many levels. Lots of practical hints on the best rules of comportment when dealing with faeries are sure to prove useful. Come in! Come in! The door's open!

Starts off with an impressive pre-historical account, then takes a sharp left into fantasy, lore, and, well, what IS reality anyway? A shame it's no longer reprinting....

Wonderful, delicate writing paired with fanciful, masterful artwork.

Starts off with an impressive pre-historical account, then takes a sharp left into fantasy, lore, and, well, what IS reality anyway? A shame it's no longer reprinting.... You ought to get a copy of her Witches: A Book of Magic and Wisdom, too....

A.A. literature and independent research make clear the relevance of this little book to the A.A., 12-Step, Recovery picture. See Dr. Bob's Library, 3rd ed.[[ASIN:1885803257 ; DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers ; The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth [[ASIN:1885803265 ]; The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous[[ASIN:1885803176 ; and Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots and Successes.[[ASIN:1885803079. A.A.'s co-founder Dr. Bob said hundreds of time that 1 Corinthians 13 was an absolutely essential part of the early A.A. program. He thought so much of this Drummond study that he circulated The Greatest Thing in the World widely among the A.A. pioneers. It was part of his library. It was part of his expression of the meaning of love. For that's what the Corinthians chapter and the Drummond book are about.

I heard Larry Burkett highly praise this book years ago so I got one. I agree, this is an awesome book. read just a few pages and it will change your heart to love others more, no matter how grouchy you are at the time. I prefer the older editions of this book, they fit in my purse better

My brother sent me a copy. He liked it so much he brought fifty copies to share with friends. I in turn have purchased copies to give away. It is the Sermon on the Mount, The Gospel of John, and First John all in one by way of expounding upon Paul's great love expose. Gary Trawick.

This book by Henry Drummond is a much-neglected meditation on I Corinthians 13. With kindness and gentle encouragement, Drummond walks the reader through the characteristics of love we all fail so miserably to exhibit in our own lives. Well-written and short, this book should be on the shelf of anyone who is trying to live Scripture.

Hadn't read Henry Drummond's book in years, but I recently picked it up again and re-read it and found it had lost none of its power for me. This book can be read in twenty minutes, but it's a twenty minutes that can change your perception of life and love.

Drummond, who was an inspiring liberal-thinking Christian of the 1800's, divides Paul's chapter on love in First Corinthians into three parts: "love contrasted," "love analyzed," and "love defended." He shows us what love isn't, shows us what it is, and defends it as the "greatest thing in the world." He helps us understand that it is not a burden to love - it's the easiest thing in the world!

This book is one of the most inspiring pieces of Christian literature I've ever read.

I have been meaning to read Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (illustrated wonderfully in what I assume is pen and ink by Dorothy P. Lathrop) for a rather long time. Several years ago my mother bought me a reproduction Hitty doll by Robert Raikes (big deal carver of dolls and bears though he no longer seems to be making Hitty dolls).

After buying the doll, and doing a bit of research, we found an edition of Field's novel with the original 1929 text and illustrations. There is another, newer, edition with updated text by Rosemary Wells and illustrations by Susan Jeffers. The newer book came out, I believe, to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of Field's original novel. I never read this version, actually sending it back upon realizing it was an adaptation, but other reviewers' outrage at the changes suggest I was right to do so. If you haven't guessed already, Hitty fans are numerous and loyal.

Hitty, amazingly, was real. Hitty.org is but one site dedicated to chronicling the life and history of this amazing doll. The site includes the picture of a Daguerreotype actually mentioned in the novel as well as a variety of other interesting photos and well-researched facts.

As the subtitle suggests, Hitty is already a centenarian at the start of Field's fictionalized account of her adventures. Safely ensconced in a New York antique store equipped with quill and paper, Hitty decides it is high time to begin setting her story down for posterity. What follows is a children's novel that truly deserves the Newberry Medal it received in 1930 for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Hitty begins her life as a lucky piece of mountain-ash wood carried by an old peddler. In exchange for lodging during a particularly bad Maine winter, the Old Peddler decides to carve his piece of wood into a doll for the family's seven-year-old child, Phoebe Preble. Hitty and Phoebe have their share of adventures during their time together. More, it might be argued, than one doll could manage (including a section that reads very much like part of Moby Dick geared to a much younger audience). But, as readers realize soon enough, Hitty is no ordinary doll. As the story progresses, Hitty passes through many hands and a variety of owners. Like most things, some owners prove better than others in the same way that certain events of Hitty's life are more worthy of space in her memoirs than others.

When you realize that this book is from 1929, well before any other doll novels were published, it becomes clear that Hitty is something special because Field did it first. At first, I thought the novel might come off as dated since it was written so long ago. But I was happily proven wrong and found that the text stood up to my modern standards as well as Hitty's chemise survives her first century. Many of the insights that Hitty expresses throughout the book remain very accurate to this day. Hitty's calm demeanor and buoyant spirit also help to make this doll downright lovable.

Field's prose is wonderful. Even though I knew Hitty was safe in the antique shop, each new peril left me fearing for Hitty and in a state of suspense until I found out if she had survived. The people that Hitty passes during the course of her first century are equally well-realized in the text. In terms of classic children's literature (especially for a younger child), I can't think of many better examples.

If, you want still more Hitty, you can check out Gail Wilson's website. This very talented (and expensive) doll makers features her own version of Hitty available both ready-made and as a kit.

hitty....oh what fun we had reading this together as a family. i certainly did not know what i was geting in to when i started reading it aloud. very well written book; descriptive; memorable. after reading each chapter we wanted to rush to the library to find out about the place she had been. we also cooked a few things from different countries. we did not have a plan; it was so spontaneous; i think that is what i loved about it so much....learning at its best. my older children, after five years still remember vividly certain paragraphs. and we all smile thinking about how much fun we had reading this book together. i can hardly wait to read it to the younger ones. recently i purchased it for my shelf. it is certainly a keeper. copywork, narration, cooking, art, geography/history, a little science, etc... a years worth of curriculum in one book. all you need is a math book and your set. honestly, each chapter is like a springboard and it should not be hard to find a topic to learn more about. make some happy memories, read hitty aloud to your children. they will love it! (and you will, too...)

Many may remember Hitty from decades ago; I was introduced to her just a few years ago. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years is a wonderfully written, beautifully illustrated "children's" book that should be on everyone's reading list, regardless of age.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, as originally written by Rachel Field in 1929, is delightful. The story follows the adventures of a doll, carved by a peddler from a piece of mountain ash, as told in her own words. From being proclaimed a "heathen" goddess on a South Seas Island, traveling with a snake charmer in India, being alternately a fashion plate and a demure Quakeress in the midst of the Civil War, Hitty and her story are truly captivating. Rachel Field has given the world a wonderfully exciting and deeply touching glimpse at history through the eyes of this remarkable doll. The charm of this old fashioned story is enduring, powerful enough to endear itself to each new generation of readers that discovers it.

This book was interesting and fun to read. Ride along with, the doll, as she tells her life story. Watch as she goes from one owner to the next. This book is an adventure to read. Hitty has seen so much you forget she is a doll. This book pulles you in like a vacuum cleaner. You'll love it when she travles to New York. You'll jump out of your seat when she goes whale hunting or when she gets stuck in a tree. There is a couple of settings but it doesn't jump around. The message that i got out of the story is live life to it's fullest I would recomend this book to preteen girls that like history and fiction. This book was fantabouls!!!!!!!!!!

This is an ageless book on what every person who wants to be successful needs to model. My wife's Uncle, who was highly successful in his time as an executive, gave this book as a graduation gift to every loved one he knew. You just can't lose with such ageless advice.

I can't believe I am 50 and never heard of this book until a co-worker loaned it to me. What a great gift! Who wants to do unimportant and uninteresting things? On a dare, anyone can practice his Four-Fold Development/Four Square Living. Make your checker, sign your name inside and draw the words around it:
Stand Tall
Think Tall
Smile Tall
Live Tall
Or: Play, work, love and worship. Body, brain, heart, soul.
I'll never walk in the shade again. He says the warmth and power of the sun enters your system. Its rays give your face a glow and you reflect sunshine to others.

This I DARE YOU (MP3 CD) version will NOT PLAY ON A CD PLAYER. IT ONLY PLAYS on a computer.
I was a little disappointed since I purchased it to play in the car and on a portable cd player. It only plays on the computer disk player. I'll have to download it myself to an audio MP3 format. It must have been recorded as a DATA file. The narrator is a little momo-toned and I was very surprised that I zoned out on a self-help type CD. There are 14 chapters that run anywhere from 2 minutes 16 seconds to 26 minutes 14 seconds. Some are short, most are average 5-10 minutes.

The "I Dare You plan," first published in 1938 for the young and young at heart, is brightly authored by William H. Danforth, founder of the Purina Company. Written in scoutmaster style, this little gem will have you saluting to adventure. It is precise, simple, and uplifting.

"That is the first principle that I want thoroughly to fix in your mind--that life is a four-sided affair--that your daring program is going to lead you into physical adventures, mental adventures, social adventures, spiritual adventures. You have not one, but four lives to live--a four-fold opportunity to grow. A body, a brain, a heart, and a soul--these are our living tools. To use them is not a task. It is a golden opportunity. To find new capacities within you is not robbing you of any pleasure. It is bringing new treasures into every waking hour. It is helping you touch life at all angles, absorb strength from all contacts, pour out power on all fronts." Danforth adds "How dare you have within yourself these four-fold capacities and not use them?"

Like to be riveted into action? This book will do it. You will also feel rather selfish after the first reading (for witholding your dynamite). Go over it again several times. Mine is highlighted at every point (and there are many). I suggest you study I Dare You! along with the vintage movie "Fighting Father Dunne" (1948).

As one of the other reviewers noted, I too read this original book from my father's library when I was [...], in the 50s. Although almost forgotten, when I was writing articles on leadership, I realized this may have been the single most important book I had read...and used throughout life, becoming a leader in every...yes every...organization I belonged to, from high school Senior class President, college fraternity President, Band president(s), VP-Pres. elect of a national association, President of a state-wide organization, to Editor of a writers Quarterly and business owner. Now at 71, and looking back, "I Dare You" is quite possibly the only book necessary for directions in life. It's not about "success" or "money," it's about being your best and being the best FOR everyone around you.

I bought this for my grand daughter who is half Italian. She enjoys having stories read to her and this is a good book to aquaint her with her Italian heritage.

This was a childhood favorite, and it remains today.
As my family's old copy fell apart, I bought this new one to keep it for the generations and children to come.
I love the virtue and morals behind each story.
It's a beautiful book.

I have an older edition of this book. I quite enjoyed reading it. Of course, I more or less collect compilation of folktales and fairy tales.

Italo Calvino is mostly known for being a brilliant magical realist. But he also collected two hundred Italian folk and fairy tales in "Italian Folktales," apparently because a publisher wanted a sort of Italian Grimm. The resulting collection is actually better than your average fairy tales -- full of the cute, bizarre and funny.

Basically, we have the usual collections of folk-tale oddities -- princesses and princes, talking animals, murderers, dragons, colourful peasants, ghosts, magical rings, bookworms, ogres, merchants, lots of money, wise professors, hunchbacks, people magically turned into dogs, and even an Italian version of Beauty and the Beast.

But there are also plenty of folktales in here that are outright weird: a kid with a goose that causes hands to stick to the holder, a young groom whose night in paradise has tragic consequences, a maid imprisoned in the sea, a girl transformed into a statue, the Queen of Luminous Souls, and a talking buffalo head. Even Jesus Christ and Saint Peter get to star in a longish story.

Fairy tales are always meant for kids, but folktales can be aimed at adults. And there's pretty much half-and-half in "Italian Folktales" -- Calvino includes some stories which are cute and have morals ("Don't be greedy, or a wolf will eat you"), but there are plenty that are weird, bizarre and grotesque (three dead men bowling with skulls).

Calvino can't include too much description, since most of these stories are straight-out fables. But he retells these stories with enchanting flair, funny dialogue and his knack for mixing the magical with the real. And the translator George Martin should get props for preserving the sparkling, spicy flavour of the original stories ("Cro! Cro! We come from brine/On gold and pearls we dine/Belsole's fair, as fair as day...")

These stories aren't the Brothers Grimm -- they're better. Calvino collected stories that were magical, horrifying and extremely funny, and "Italian Folktales" is a delightful, extremely fat book of folk stories.

Italo Calvino is one of my favorite authors and if you are considering buying this book because he is yours as well, I would say approach with caution. This isn't If on a winter's night a traveler or Invisible Cities. Calvino may have had a hand in the final print version of the tales, but this book in no way reflects his other writings.

That isn't to say I do not recommend this book.

If you are a parent, these make wonderful bedtime stories- though most are simply amazingly strange. If you enjoy reading odd little folk tales, I am certain you'll find most of these original. I took a class in folk tales and I have always enjoyed finding new ones and finding connections to other tales, this one is simply in a class of it's own.

The tales themselves are usually funny and where funny fails, oddness prevails. Additionally, these are all short, good for quick reads.

Hope this was helpful.

I really loved the story. It's a very real story. Any one who's parents have ever fought will probably be able to relate.
This is the $25 hardcover edition. The book is dark green cloth. The title is on the front cover and side in gold. Cover seems well made. The print is usually okay, but maybe three or four times in the book one paragraph gets slaughtered. It's like the old ink-jet printers when the page jammed and you see part of the sentence which runs over another sentence and you can't read either, but the page isn't folded. It only ruins three or four paragraphs and you can read most of if. It's pretty annoying though at first. Other then that it seems like a sturdy book.
Still a worthwhile book to own if you like L.M. Montgomery.
Five stars for the story, three for the printing.

I enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables series of books. But, if you haven't read LMM's other books, you are missing out. I especially like "Jane of Lantern Hill". And my favorite "The Blue Castle" which is perfect romance.

Read these 2 books and her others. You may have to dig a bit but it'll be worth the trouble.

This was L.M. Montgomery's very last book that she's ever written during her lifetime. I own all of Montgomery's books, and after reading them over and over again, I have to say that this book is the best of her writings (right after the Anne of Green Gables series, of course...). I highly recommend this book, and encourage you to read it, for it shows what kind of inner strength and courage one can possess. Additionally, I recommend all of Montgomery's books to read, for being an avid fan, her books can teach us many lessons that we ourselves can apply during our lifetime.

As someone who spent many hours alone as a child, I found I could really relate to this book. I first discovered it when I was eleven or twelve. I loved reading about how Jane'e grandmother dominated her and made her feel out of place and about how people at school regarded Jane, because I was treated in the same way. If you've ever been pushed around as a child, or as an adult, read this book. I'm 21 and have been forced to grow up rather quickly in my life, still I enjoy this wonderful novel. I thought the character of the mother could have been more developed, otherwise it was absolutely a stunning work of art. Go SUPERIOR JANE! I can also relate to the way Montgomery portrays Jane's dad, and Jane's relationship with her dad. It's interesting how when Jane sees her father's picture in a magazine, even though she does not know it is him she cuts it out and keeps it, and it is heart-breaking how her grandmother takes it away from her. It is touching how Jane helps her poor orphaned friend and neighbor, and her grandmother's disdain for this makes one exceedingly angry. I also thought Jane's mother did not defend her daughter enough. Montgomery's own father made himself scarce to her when she was young, moving out West and remarrying. Montgomery seems to have never gotten over this, so when she describes characters like Emily's father, and Jane's father, she does a wonderful job of speaking of how intimate they are with their daughters. As a child of divorce I loved reading of how Jane played a role in getting her parents back together. .......

I read this in my early teens, after I had read most of the LMM books (the Anne series, the Emily series, etc.) I loved them all, especially the Emily series, but Jane of Lantern Hill is my favorite of them all. Jane Stuart is not, as many of LMM's other heroines are, obsessed with the idea of being a writer, storyteller, etc. There is no potential boyfriend/husband lurking in the story either. This book is more about the how understanding and love can transform an introverted, unhappy child into a confident, intelligent girl (the story ends when Jane is about age 14.) In that sense she's really one of the most understandable and likeable of LMM's heroines. She is also very modern. You can easily imagine her growing up to become a successful career woman, something you can't really say for many of LMM's other heroines, other than the at-home and time-flexible occupation of writing. If I had an early-teen daughter I would buy this book for her, especially if she has any self-confidence issues.

This is also one of the few books that deals with the subject of divorce or the separation of parents from the perspective of the child in an intelligent way. Given the time that it was written, divorce was a horrible taboo, and the resolution of the story is a bit unrealistic perhaps. That's the only quibble I have with the book.

Incidentally there was a television movie based on this book, by the same people who did the excellent Anne of Green Gables series (at least, the first two parts of that series were excellent). Don't bother with the Jane movie if you love the book..it only vaguely resembles it.

Most of the planes in the book were very easy to fly, and the children had fun making them. I also liked the extra activities and information included to help them learn more about flying.

My son just turned 8 and has really been having fun with this book recently. He got it as a gift when he was 5 (despite the recommended age range of 9+) and would always get frustrated when he tried to do one himself because he couldn't fold it as precisely as required and then it didn't turn out right. So he lost interest in it, but discovered it again recently - now he can do all of the airplanes himself and is having great fun. He does like to make paper airplanes out of just about anything, but this book has neat patterns and different shapes to try. Fun for littler ones too if they don't mind a grown up helping (and if you don't mind if they squish it after all your hard work!).

this was a Christmas gift for my 11 yr. old grandson. We have had so much fun doing this together and his father joined in to add even more fun. Winter has flown by much faster with this FAMILY TIME craft project. We are looking forward to logging our flight distances as soon as the weather warms a bit. Quiet time together becames lots of laughs and individual creative juices began to flow. who knew paper airplanes could be so much fun.

They have some planes with preprinted pictures that I would have prefered they left out like a vampire and ghoul. I don't know why they have to make stuff which doesn't need to be scary.

The paper in my printer has been stolen, all the loose paper in the house has gone the same route. Flying through the air and landing in various places like behind the couch, under the tables, into the closets, and onto the bookshelves.