Classics Books

A Home For A Bunny was my son's all-time favorite book. We read it over and over again. Now my son is nearly 27, and I still have the same book and read it to his 5-year-old-daughter, whom I am raising. It was her very first book and she demanded it be read every single night. We had fun using different voices and she especially liked the happy ending. She decided that the bunnies were a "Mommy Bunny and a Daddy Bunny", and would kiss them goodnight each time.

I highly recommend this book! I buy one every chance I get, whenever I know someone is going to have a baby.

I purchased this book (my first "big" little golden book) and love the larger size and pictures. My two-year-old daughter loves this book and often picks it from her huge selection of books. A great sweet story to share. I'm now looking for more "big" little golden books to buy.

This book is such a sweet, cute book. I am 24 years old and still read it to my nieces every once in a while. I have grown up making my parents read me this book over and over again every night and day. My copy is worn out but it also shows how much I enjoyed it. I hope you decide to buy it and read it to your children they will love it!

I read this book 20+ years ago to my two children and it was their favorite and most requested Little Golden book. It is such a sweet and well illustrated book. My only regret is that I didn't keep it over the years because I now had to go on a search for another copy for my brand new grandchild. My new copy of "Home for a Bunny" will be extremely well used, I'm sure!

This is such a sweet little book! Probably not much past age 5, but the story has a bunny looking for a place to stay or a home of his own. He proceeds to ask everyone he meets if he can live with them and they all say no. However, when he meets a little white bunny, the bunny takes him in and they then live together. The last picture is just so sweet with the two bunnies snuggling together. The illustrations make you touch the page because the bunny looks so fuzzy! It is very much loved in our house and we highly recommend it!

Ian Hunter's self-titled solo debut is one of the best British rock albums to come from a glam-rocker in 1975. The former Mott The Hoople vocalist attempts to attack the whole rock & roll scenemaking machine, as well as anything honoring false gods, on this CD, and he succeeds magnificently, starting with the opening track, "Once Bitten Twice Shy." Even if the Bethany Hamilton shark attack hadn't happened, I'd still prefer Hunter's original version of this great song to Great White's (named after a man-eating shark) wimpy, Top-Ten-selling remake. Another song here, "It Ain't Easy When You Fall", which excoriates the dangers of excessive self-indulgence, is making me think twice about using wine to toast my grandfather on his 95th birthday, or my grandparents on their 75th wedding anniversary, as well as inspiring me to keep myself looking well in all ways for any number of pretty actresses. It's unfortunate that this cautionary recording wasn't a bigger hit here in the U.S.

Ian Hunter makes meat and potatoes rock'n'roll with more than usual head and heart. King of the midtempo rocker, he's turned in some mean ballads as well. The man who penned DIARY OF A ROCK STAR has always been his own best subject, so it stands to reason this deeply personal record would stand among his finest. It also rocks like a #&@*%$! Hunter swings from swagger to intropection while the great Mick Ronson backs him up with articulate arrangements and explosive guitar solos. Ronno's lead on "Lounge Lizard" is one of the nastiest slow burns ever, all drama, attitude and corrosive texture. The album's self reflective core peaks with the remarkably naked "It Ain't Easy When You Fall/Shades Off" before closing with the jubilant "I Get So Excited". When this record (back in '75, remember) came out it was Rolling Stone's album of the month. their headline nailed it: "Ian Hunter professes faith: Rock Saves".

Those who like their Hunter more personal than political should seek out his 2001 indie "comeback" RANT on Fuel Records. It's great.

And for those who like macho rockers dragged kicking and screaming into self awareness, you should check out Bob Mould, Richard Thompson and Graham Parker if you haven't already.

I concur with all the other reviews. This is a below-the-radar masterpiece. If you like classic rock, you'll like this.
"3,000 Miles From Here" is not one of my favorites, but everything else is top-notch. "Once Bitten Twice Shy" is a classic and the collage of "It Ain't Easy When You Fall"/"Shades Off"/"I Get So Excited" is just amazing. I dare you to erase "I Get So Excited" from your brain. Later solo albums from Ian Hunter were spotty and not this consistent.

Ian Hunter's debut solo disk remains, 30 years after the fact, one the the finest albums released during the seventies. Fresh from the breakup of Mott the Hoople and alledgedly, a nervous breakdown, Hunter teamed with Mick Ronson to record some Hoople leftovers and some new tracks.

The album kicks off with three undisputable hard rockers, ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY (the most famous song from this set), WHO DO YOU LOVE and LOUNGE LIZARD. The ballad BOY is supposedly about former pal David Bowie, and depicts a tale a star who loses touch via fame and drugs. The heavy rocker THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH... marries a Lennonesque theme to a crunching rock tune. Ronson solos with a venegence on this one. The album winds down with a triolgy of songs, the poignant IT'S NOT EASY (WHEN YOU FALL), a poem, the touching autobiography SHADES OFF and finally another searing rocker, I GET SO EXCITED.

To me, this was the apex of Hunter's career. Though he had a number of notable albums with Mott the Hoople and a long successful solo career, nothing matches the power, emotions and consistancy of this record. It sounds as fresh in 2006 as it did in 1975!

Ian Hunter by Ian Hunter and featuring Mick Ronson is one of the finest albums to come out of the seventies. Not only are the songs tight, spirited, and well played, but they seem to have stood the test of time. Listening to them now they sound as good as they did back in 1975 when I first bought the lp and wore it out. Though Hunter may not be a 70's rock and roll poetic genius like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen or even Paul Simon, he can still write a genuinely captivating song, as can be heard with "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," "Lounge Lizard," or "Boy."

I absolutely love this album, and I would put it in my list of top ten albums from the seventies, which is a difficult task. I think what makes it so great is the combination of Ian Hunter's songwriting and vocals mixed with Mick Ronson's guitar and production work. Ronson is easily one of the most over looked talents from the seventies, and his work with Ian Hunter is simply devine rock and roll. By all means buy this album.

Looking through some old books in my Attic, I happened upon this novel; first released back in 1995.It chronicles the down-ward spiral of a young Man with hopes an dreams, into a never ending slide towards his worse nightmare, a walking, Zombie. This is a harrowing depressing read, which I've often thought would make a great movie. It written in a very matter of fact way (Mr. Snell is an actor by profession, and it tells) but once you get used to his style, the novel opens up to you. Harrowing.

I read this book about four years ago and still think that it is the best book I have ever read, and I still cannot get the story out of my mind i think it is one of the most compelling and real novels I have ever come accross and feel that it should be re-released to show people exactly what it is like to be in a situation like the character in the book.

Well done to Ray Shell!

Het verteld een verhaal van een drugs verslaafde persoon.
Het verhaal is ten einde als je het boek begint te lezen, Cornelius (en niet de schrijver!) neemt je mee naar zijn wereld, zijn gedachte zijn parionide wereld. Heel erg vlak geschreven, heel erg simpel, maar o zo puur naar voren gebracht. Het item drugs speelt een rode draad in het boek.
Hij beschrijft zijn wereld in fases, periodes, van die heel goed gingen en die hel waren.
Het einde van het boek is een beetje zwak, maar dat moet je op de kop toenemen. Want het is de moeite waard om het te lezen en te BELEVEN!

This was a good book. Change your life good? Not mines. It's about a crackhead and you see things how he see and feel thing. You really have to get use to the writing style because some may call it artistic but for me it was mumble jumble. As you get into the book it become more coherent. It's always amazing the roads people choose to walk and what can be at the end of it. After wading through the mind of someone so grimy you actually look at your self and realize that could easily be you. As in life not all things are what they appear and this book is a prime example. This book also spoke a lot of truth concerning black people and why they not as together as they should.

I read the book a few times, because it really got to me. Out of own experiences with drugs I know that it is so authentic and it describes exactly how the selfdeceiving and -destruction works. And the pain you have inside and you can just not deal with. I never read somebody which came so close.

I saw friends going the way Cornelius did over the years and the book is very close to reality (besides the extreme ending) and that is why it touched me deep. It describes the life of a junkie how it is without that "social" touch.

Considering the biography of the author, it can hardly be his own experience and I keep wondering how he got this inside.

This is a great book. The girls of my girlfriend love the book. As soon as I sit down, they grab a book and jump in my lap.

I stumbled on this with my daughter one night and she quickly fell in love with it.

It's one of the lessor known books but I think it's a great story. Dr. Seuss did a great job with with his words as it easy to get into a flow while reading and it also allows the story teller to play ring master and have fun.

This is a great bed time book and my daughter declared that only I can read it to her.

"If I ran the circus" starts off with a boy and an empty lot. I had a lot similar to this near my childhood home. This book played perfectly into my wild imagination of what one could make out of a seemingly uninteresting place. It made me see things in a different way, the possibility that was in every place and every thing. This book is wonderful. Calm Sneelock is worked into the plan. (Isn't it just typical that kids think of shopkeepers as friends?) This book is a big part of my childhood and now I am happy to share it with my kids to help them see the potential in everything. One just needs to use a bit of imagination -- a lesson for young and old.

My daughter and I love love love this book. It is so creative and everytime we read it (which is seriously twice a day) she finds something new in one of the pictures. The cadence and flow of the sentences is almost mesmerizing. Really delightful to read!

this book is great for kids because they get to see whats at a crcus. it broadens their vocablary. its an easy book to read with great pictures and fun rhyming!

by:
laura r.

I often disagree with some things a writer chooses to share but those are small things that prove your thinking about what you've read and not just scanned the material. The one that stands out the most after 20 years is the piece on Cuba. Each piece however took me somewhere beyond my own thoughts. It is more than well written, it is thought provoking and at times peaceful.

and this is not exception. Her honesty, her heart and her story telling is excellent as ever. May she bless us with many, many more stories.

Alice Walker is insightful and thorough in her examination of literature. I especially enjoy her piece about Flannery O'Connor.

This book helped me gain my voice. I love it so much -- I have two copies of it and I would still not be willing to loan one out. Alice Walker is a powerful visual writer and a Gift to the Womanist Academy!

In her essay concerning post-Reconstruction African-American women, Alice Walker seeks to put a human face on what Americans may otherwise only remember as an unfortunate scar on our glorious history. She asks, "Who were the Saints? These crazy, loony, pitiful women?" And in answering herself, she replies in repetition, "our mothers and grandmothers." These are the human faces to which she has attributed all that is contemporary Black America.

"Moving to music not yet written," Walker's image of the former female slave is one, not necessarily of a battered laborer, nor of a heifer being kept only because of her ability to breed valuable livestock, but rather as an artist ahead of her time. These women made beauty while amidst horrible conditions. These women were not merely ex-slaves, but they were "Poets, Novelists, Essayists, and Short-Story Writers" whose potential was never met, and dreams were never realized. For this reason, Walker attempts to embolden and even mobilize African-American women with the responsibility of realizing the potential of black creativity denied their ancestors.

Walker asks, "Do you have a genius of a great-great-grandmother who died under some ignorant and depraved white overseers lash?" What an amazing question to ask. How many geniuses and artists were slain by the horror of slavery? Americans spend a lot of time and energy thinking about the economic, political, and social restrictions slavery imposed on African Americans, but I have never even heard elusions to the loss of black creativity due to slavery. I too have given more thought to the socioeconomic inequality within black America than I've ever given to the stifling of their creative ability. Perhaps, we should give this idea more thought, for it was the efforts of these "poets" in everyday life that transported black women to where they are today, and have arguably elevated the intellect, creativity, and soul of an entire nation.

Thought provoking; this is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the effects of slavery, especially those effects that go beyond our typical understanding of oppression.

Quick, name the ten top novelists from Nicaragua. Give Up? Well extend it then to the top ten from anywhere in Latin America.

After reading this book you will almost certainly put Gioconca Belli on this list. The Inhabited Woman is Lavinia, a modern woman of our time, she becomes 'inhabited' by the spirit of an Indian woman warrior and she joins the revolution against a violent dictator.

At least semi-biographical, Ms. Belli joined the revolutionary Nicaraguan FSLN in 1970 until forced to leave the country in 1975. After Somoza was ousted and th Sandinistas came to power she entered Government service to 1986 when she resigned in to write full time.

Una escritora increible para una historia verdaderamente emocionante donde el presente con su guerra civil en Nicaragua y el pasado con su Conquista espan~ola tienen aspectos en comun, se unen, se cruzan, se mezclan, pero todo tiene siempre sentido. Es una de las novelas mas intensas que haya leido de toda la literatura hispano americana. Lo aconsejo a todos los latinos.

This is a book that is a must because it helps to understand (or at least to have another point of view) about latin american "guerrillas", but also about the subtle and not so subtle differences between men and women, that havent changed so much in hundred years. Going back to the past (to the spaniard invasion)and forward to our days, Belli knits a unique beautiful story of two eras distant in time, but very close in their needs. Not perfect in its "literary structure", but an original, passionate and enlighten story.

As a retired English teacher longing for a "good read". I was delighted from the first chapter of Inhabited Woman. The concept of one woman from one period/culture being a factor in another woman's life sent a tingle through me. As I read on, I was excited in the insights gained by the main character. As she struggled with choices, I found myself rethinking my life and values. The characters are well drawn and the plot complex enough to be interesting. Furthermore, the author's use of langauge and images is sometimes almost poetry. BRAVO!!

Gioconda Belli is one of Nicaragua's most highly regarded writers. Her poetry and fiction have been published in Spain, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Finland, Greece and Turkey. She currently lives in Los Angeles. THE INHABITED WOMAN was awarded "Best Literary Work of the Year" by the Union of German Publishers and Editors.

"[It] is a passionate story of love, courage, solidarity and death, where reality and legend blend harmoniously. The lives of the characters are intertwined with the destiny of a country and the struggle of a people for dignity. There is so much truth in this book, that it is impossible for the reader to remain indifferent. This is a story that needed to be told and Belli does it with talent." --Isabel Allende

"THE INHABITED WOMAN is engrossing, reading like an action adventure...[it] opens on a stunning, magical note..." --The Daily News

"THE INHABITED WOMAN revitalizes two literary genres that in recent years seemed to have lost their grips on the imagination of new writers and, as a matter of course, readers-magic realism and social realism." --The Hartford Courant

I had never heard the real King Arthur tale. I enjoyed it tremendously! Sean Bean's narration of this tale is exquisite. His voice is perfect for books on tape. Such depth. You felt you were really there. I would recommend this to anyone!

This CD was bought for our then seven year old son and we listened to it on a long car trip. What a fantastic way to pass the time. Sean Bean is phenomenal as the narrator and characters of the story. Thrown into this great story is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, another exciting story within the story of King Arthur. This story on CD appeals to all ages from our seven year old to our sixteen year old and to adults. It is one of a few stories that you really can listen to again and again and still be enthralled. I would highly recommend keeping it in the car for the long trips. In fact, I just convinced myself to listen to it again on our upcoming trip!

The whole family is hooked on this. The classical music that accompanies it is compelling. You think you are there.

Sean Bean does an awesome job on this production. His range of voices and dialects are amazing. Very eerie in the parts that are supposed to be.

It's hard to take such a well known tale and still make it fun to listen to, but Sean Bean's voice and cadences kept me listening to the end.

I had been looking online for this book for some time - I remember it very well from my childhood, and wanted it for my grandchildren. Although, like "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" and "Bartholomew and the Oobleck", the story has dark and sinister elements, there is enough of a fairytale setting to make this book exciting and memorable without it being terrifying - and there is always a very good "moral" to the tale - in this case, individuality must be nurtured, not crushed. The earlier Dr Seuss books are in my mind his finest work, and I am collecting everything before "The Cat in the Hat" for my grandchildren. This book was unavailable when my children were small, and I'm really glad to have been able to get it for the next generation. Having said that, the first person to read it when it arrived was my stepson's 20-year-old library assistant girlfriend..... she had never heard of it, and loved both it and "The Oobleck", which I bought at the same time.

This is one of Dr. Seuss's earlier works, in the style of The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins. The King's Stilts is an engaging story that explores the importance of balancing work with play, showing how neglecting play in order to work harder can lead to unhappiness and thus to poorer work. This lesser-known Seuss definitely deserves more attention.

Great book to read your children. It is unique and endearing.

No Seuss collection could be complete without this classic tale about a King and his responsibilities to his kingdom and his people. Seuss is ahead of his time in this environmentally sound story with Katrina disaster overtones and gripping suspense. Hard to put down.

This is more of a personal note than a review, but it serves to show how a children's book can resonate through an entire lifetime.

My first encounter with THE KING'S STILTS was hearing my mother translate each sentence into Hungarian for me. I was less than five years old, and lying in my crib. As she turned each page, she leaned the book toward me and showed me the picture. I remembered those pictures, and that fragile world under sea level -- a world constantly under threat of annihilation by wicked black birds who attacked the trees on the levee which were protected only by cats.

The place was Cleveland in the then Hungarian neighborhood around Buckeye Road. Because everyone around us was Magyar, my parents never taught me English until I got sent home from kindergarten with a note pinned to my shirt: "What language is this child speaking?" Needless to say, Mrs Idell was not one of my countrywomen.

Throughout my life, I was always impressed with levees, as when I read William Faulkner's story "Old Man" and John McPhee's essay on keeping the banks of the Mississippi in place in THE CONTROL OF NATURE. One day, I had a madeleine-like damburst of memory: I saw the book almost entire in my mind's eye and used a search engine to reveal the title. Reader, I bought the book; and it was exactly as I remembered.

I have read it several times since and love it for the reason that it stuck in my memory for more than 55 years. Of course, it's a rollicking good story, too, with an excellent moral: Never give up the things you love.

This is an excellent novel which I greatly enjoyed. It describes, from the viewpoint of a young girl, the experiences of a family in the fight against racism in Florida in the 1950s. The most striking aspect of this is the description of living in a society whose basic assumptions are different to one's own. Most of us have experienced people making off-color/racist/sexist comments in our presence (although nowhere near as overt nor as excessive as those expressed by some of the characters in the book). It is interesting to see how this family copes and compare their reaction with one's own and imagine how one would cope in the same situation.

The book is well written and is easy to read. The characters are well defined and the story beautifully paced.

I would recommend this book to teenage as well as adult readers.

I loved this book. Ms. McCarthy writes simply and beautifully. I was raised in Central Florida and could recall some of the events mentioned in the book. What I loved the most about the book was the relationships, the use of poetry and bible scriptures. I think this book is a 'must read'.

Whether you loved, hated, or somewhat like To Kill a Mockingbird, its guaranteed you'll love this book. I had to read this book for an advanced Engish class and I dreaded reading this book, but after reading a couple of pages, my whole mind changed. If totally recommend this book to everyone, from the mature reader to the less developed reader. Great piece of literature.

Susan Carol McCarthy tells an amazing story of family, friendship and personal strength through the eyes of a young girl, Reesa, living in central Florida in the 1950's.
Two families become entwined when the KKK intimidates, stalks and randomly murders a young man, Marvin Cully, because he is black. The young man's death is a turning point for Reesa McMahon because the ugly world of racism is unveiled before her young eyes. Marvin Cully's family and Reesa's families are friends, and Marvin's death draws them even closer. Reesa's parents must make decisions to do what is right, even at the risk of endangering their own family.
The early Civil Rights movement is explored, with the founder Harry T. Moore joining the McMahon's and the Cully's in trying to expose and bring to justice those responsible for Marvin's murder. This opens the window on the KKK and more violence and terror is unleashed.
This is a story that is both beautiful and heart-wrenching. It is a story about friends, faith and families that make definitive choices to do the right thing. It is also about innocence lost when wrong and right collide, leaving moral courage stamped in fire upon a young girl's soul.
I met the author at a book event in Tampa. She spoke about the historical accuracy of her book and told of her decision to write this book based on her father's actions in that time. Also at this event was Evangeline Moore, the daughter of Harry Moore, and she told of her view of events of the time and of her parents violent murder.
This is an amazing book that is an honest and insightful view into the thoughts and lives of those in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement and a foresight of changes that were to come.

"Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands" has been compared to "To Kill a Mockingbird", and I think the comparison is warranted. With a young, spunky girl as the narrator, troubled racial events taking place, and the relationships between people at its heart, using this book to bridge to the denser classic novel will help kids make the transition. I'm planning to use it with my 8th grade students; I might question using it with younger students.

It isn't only a great book for teaching purposes, though! Pick it up and prepare to connect with the characters and become immersed in the story.

My husband and my mother love to read the Little Quack books to my son. My son is very interested in the pictures and it's the only books he'll sit through.

This is a well-written book for toddlers--a fun story, with interesting language, that they can easily understand. It's got a good message, about not being afraid to try new things, and the illustrations are very cute and interesting. My 2-year-old is madly in love with Little Quack, and my 4-year-old likes to listen in too!

My 13-month-old generally has no patience for books, but she pulled this one off the shelf at the bookstore and squealed with delight. There's something about the illustrations that holds her interest, and the story has a nice rhythm for reading aloud.

This book is perfect for kids. It uses simple words, which lets you imagine everything the characters do. It uses what every children books should have. And as i say, it is Perfect!

With characters named Widdle, Waddle, Piddle Puddle and Little Quack you know that your pre-schooler is bound to love this book. It's a cute little story about the ducks leaving the nest for their first big swim, and how Quack builds up the courage to leave the nest with lots of love and encouragement.

There are wonderful lessons here for little readers, but the best and most amazing part of this book are the fabulous expressions on the faces of all these little ducks! I didn't think it was possible to make ducks look all that different and show real emotion, but it's all here in this wonderful, entertaining book that will win raves from the kids and parents.