The Other Sister Books

'Totoro' was the first thought that entered my mind when I saw this book. The author must have had some influence from the animation and nothing wrong with that. It is a beautifully water colored book and the familiar stories that I've heard as a child.

This book is amazing...not only are the pictures great, the story is one that you will want to read to your kids over and over. Zen Shorts has touching stories within an already creative and heartfelt book.

Great book for your preschooler and for you. The beautiful pictures capture the imagination, and the concepts introduced in the stories are springboards for conversation with your child (and can be just the right message for you after a long day).

As powerful for adults as well as children, Zen Shorts is a wonderful book that promotes deep critical thinking and discussion on topics such as family relationships, friendships, respect, disrespect, gratitude, greed, giving, taking, selfishness, selflessness, material attachments, material detachment, actions and consequences, luck, communication, anger, and togetherness. It is the kind of book that should be read and discussed in reading circles or at family time or bed time. For students who are beginning to study concepts in Eastern philosophy, this little book is approachable and the intended wisdom within one's grasp.

My favorite story portion of the book is "Uncle Ry and the Moon." My favorite illustration is the ones that depict the panda and Addy painting and eating.

Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth is about Michel, Addy, Karl and a panda named Stillwater. Stillwater's umbrella lands in their backyard. He went to retrieve it before it would become a nuisance. This is how Addy, Michel and Karl met Stillwater. The day after Addy went to have tea with Stillwater. He was in a big yellow tent with a long red flag on it. He told her a story about his Uncle Ry and a robber. The day after Michel went to visit Stillwater. He was in a tree. He told him a story about two rabbits and luck. The day after Karl went to visit Stillwater. They went swimming. Stillwater told him a story about two monks and a puddle. This is how Addy, Michel, Karl and Stillwater became friends.

Stillwater is a good story teller. He told good understandable stories. Simple things in life reminded him of stories.

I like the way the author put stories in a story. The normal illustrations were colourful while the illustrations for the short story were cartoony.

By Nik

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright was first published in 1941, and though it was written many years ago, is as delightful now as it was then. It's a story about a family who loves each other, works hard and strives to do the right thing. How refreshing!

Mona (13), Rush (12), Miranda (10 ½), who is known as Randy, and Oliver (6) live in New Your City in a brownstone that is rather shabby, but has many floors and fits their lifestyle perfectly. The Melendy children's mother died, but their father and Cuffy, the beloved housekeeper, provide the love, attention and care the children need.

Each of the children has dreams and desires for their futures. Their interests are varied and they each are independent and inquisitive about life and their surroundings.

But while the Melendy children find life generally interesting, Saturdays can sometimes be just plain boring. The children form a club they call the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.). All of the children agree to pool their allowances and each child takes a Saturday with all the money to do something by themselves that they really want to do.

The Saturdays are exciting, not just because of the activities they choose, but because of the people they meet and the stories they hear. Well, Oliver does make one Saturday particularly memorable, but you'll have to read the book to learn about his adventure.

In the day of the novels that glamorize the worst society has to offer, The Saturdays is delightfully refreshing.

Armchair Interviews says: Read the series and enjoy!

This book is different in a good way. It is about 4 children who decide to put there allowences to a good use. Every Saturday the add up there allowence and one of the children gets to do any thing that they will always remember.
By,
Girl With A Plan

I had doubts for this book because it didn't sound very interesting but my Mom wanted me to read it so I did-I loved it. It's original and imaginative and above all easy to read for hours without getting bored. It's original and fun like the story of Mrs. Olifount being kidnapped by jypsies, or Isaac the dog saving the family from suffocating. It's a wonderful book I can't wait to read the sequils.

When I was nine years old I picked up a copy of Elizabeth Enright's "The Melendy Family" on sale for 25 cents at my school Christmas fair, donated by some eighth-grader who evidently felt she had "outgrown" it. I wonder, does anybody ever outgrow the Melendys? "The Melendy Family" was a three-in-one volume comprising "The Saturdays", "The Four Story Mistake", and "Then There were Five". Alas, "The Melendy Family" is no longer in print, but fifty years later, I still have my copy, read to shreds, patched and repatched with scotch tape, a book to be treasured forever and never thrown away. Fortunately, the books making up "The Melendy Family" have been reissued as individual volumes available to enchant yet another generation of young readers.

"The Saturdays", the first volume in the series, introduces us to the four Melendy children: Mona, age 13, Rush, age 12, Randy, who is ten-and-a-half, and Oliver, age 6. Each is given a distinct personality and Enright modeled them on children she had known in her own life, her own children or childhood friends. The result is four fictional characters so totally believable that for years after the books were published, Enright continued to get letters from readers wondering if the Melendys were "real".

The Melendy children's mother is deceased, but they are raised by a devoted, caring father and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, who stands in as nurse, cook, substitute mother, grandmother, and aunt, and generally rules the roost. The children are funny, refreshing and unspoiled. Mona has aspirations of being a famous actress and already at thirteen can recite "yards and yards of Shakespeare at the drop of a hat." Rush is the next to the oldest, a musical prodigy with a penchant for getting into and out of trouble. Randy at ten-and-a-half (the half is very important at that age) is an endearing mixture of grace and klutziness, a talented dancer and artist who keeps falling over her own feet when it comes to manual labor. And six-year-old Oliver is the baby of the family, placid and calm, very much his own person, as his story shows.

The story opens on a rainy Saturday which finds Randy and Rush monumentally bored with nothing to do. Randy wants to see a some French paintings. Rush wants to go to the opera. Mona wants to see a play. But in the early 1940s (the approximate time in which the story is set is revealed in the opening pages when Enright tells us that the long scars on the linoleum floor were made by Rush trying out a pair of ice skates on Christmas afternoon, 1939), fifty cents a week allowance was standard, and there wasn't a whole lot you could do with that. Randy has a brainstorm. Let's start a club, she says, and pool our allowances together each week so one of us can spend them on something we've always wanted to do. This idea is adopted enthusiastically by all the children (Oliver wants to contribute his ten cents, too), and thus the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (ISAAC) is born.

Each following chapter describes an adventure that takes place on each child's Saturday. Randy goes to see an exhibition of French paintings, runs into an old family acquaintance, Mrs. Oliphant, and is treated to tea at the Plaza while she hears a delightful story of the time Mrs. Oliphant was kidnapped by gypsies during her childhood.

Rush goes to the opera, walks home in a snowstorm, and finds a lost puppy that becomes the family's devoted friend and companion from that day on.

Mona, tired of her long braids, goes to a beauty parlor and treats herself to a haircut and a manicure. The resulting uproar by her father and Cuffy seems a trifle overdone, but as Father later admits, it's hard for parents to realize that their children are growing up.

And Oliver, keeping his own counsel, sneaks out of the house when his Saturday comes and goes to the circus all by himself. An even greater adventure occurs when he is given a ride back home by a mounted policeman on a horse, after he gets lost leaving Madison Square Garden.

After Oliver's adventure the kids decide to spend their Saturdays as a group, but that doesn't stop them from having mishaps such as Randy falling overboard from a boat in Central Park, the family almost suffocating from coal gas when Rush forgets to shut the furnace door, and the storeroom catching fire. It all comes to an exciting conclusion when Mrs. Oliphant invites the children to spend the summer in her lighthouse in Long Island.

"The Saturdays" takes us back to a simpler time and to adventures that probably couldn't happen today (no parent in his right mind would allow a ten year old to go to a museum alone in the New York City nowadays), but kids are still kids, and the Melendys seem so real they could be anyone we knew when we were children, or wish we had known. The time frame may help children understand what a dollar could purchase back then (a wash, set and manicure, or admission to a museum with change to spare). The whole series is a gem for every child and every generation. I still marvel at the priceless find I picked up off a bookshelf at random fifty years ago for only twenty-five cents. It's paid me back a zillion-fold ever since.

Judy Lind

I wanted to respond to the reviews below that thought it was either implausible or dated for children aged 10-13 to wander around New York by themselves. I grew up in New York (in Manhattan, across the park from the Melendys) in the late 1980s. I turned 13, just Mona's age, in 1990. I started walking home from school alone in fourth grade (when I was nine, a year younger than Randy). Like Mr. Melendy and Cuffy, my parents' major worry was that I was careful crossing the street. (Reasonably enough, they feared that drivers would not be able to see a small child.) Many of my friends from elementary school walked or took the bus to school alone at the same age. By twelve (Rush's age), I was allowed to take the subway to visit friends from junior high school, and they took the subway to visit me. By fourteen our teachers assumed that we were competent to find the Metropolitan Museum of Art on our own for projects. None of these people were neglectful, and none of them were "horrified" at the idea of pre-adolescents wandering around the city alone. This was in the supposed "bad old days" when crime was theoretically much higher than it is now, and none of us ever suffered any accident. (Although a group of friends and I got lost coming back from the theater in eighth grade, and were pretty embarrassed that we looked like tourists.)

Anyone familiar with the geography of New York City knows that the Melendy children stay within a fairly small geographic area in THE SATURDAYS, and that the areas where most of their adventures take place are some of the richest and safest in the city. Most sensible New York parents would allow their children to wander there on Saturday afternoons with no more concern than the appropriate ones that Mr. Melendy shows. (Be careful of traffic, don't talk to strangers, and don't get lost.)

Ironically, this ties in with the review that says that Enright did not take enough "risks" with the book, by having her characters get kidnapped by gypsies or run away from home. The fact is, she wrote a fairly realistic description of the childhood of the middle and upper-middle classes of New York City....kids who come into CONTACT with a relatively diverse group of people who have had a variety of experiences, but who actually live in a fairly safe, and sheltered world.

As a New York City kid, I was thrilled to read a book that reflected MY real life experience, as opposed to yet another story about kids who lived in houses with back yards and rode a school bus, and generally had no relationship to my real life. I still love THE SATURDAYS for its loving description of a New York that has in some ways remained startingly the same, even though parts of it have disappeared (no more two way traffic on Fifth Avenue, and no double decker buses!). As other reviews have said, The Saturdays is a charming, well-written book for kids, that can also be enjoyed by adults. It's also one of the few accurate and positive stories about growing up in a great city. I would recommend it for all ages.

After months of "patiently" waiting for this title to come out in paperback, my almost 10 year old was thrilled to see its delivery from the UPS man. He LOVED this book, as he has the previous books and thinks they should all be made into movies and/or tv shows. He reads every night before bed, but usually only for about 20 minutes before falling fast asleep. With this book, he was up 2 hours after "lights-out" not wanting to put it down. Now he begins the wait for the next installment to be available in paperback.

I absolutely love this series. I have read them all but book 6, and can't wait for it to be released. I can see this series becoming very popular.

The 5th book is wonderful, but the end bit, which has to do with the Scarlet Hand, is extremely confusing. Furthermore, the 6th book (yes, its out!)has a plot that doesnt really match up with the 5th. Still, its an extremely compelling read, I suggest that you buy it!

I am sure that I am not the target market for this series, as I will turn 56 in less than a week. In spite of that I have to say that I love this series of books. The sisters and their extended family keep me entertained, crying and rolling on the floor with laughter.
I recently discovered these books when reading a newspaper article about the frenzy around the release of the sixth book.

I was a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and since there probably will never be another one am glad to find a replacement that is just as good and sometimes better.

I can't wait for the 7th installment, to find out what myths and fairy tale stories will have new light shed on them.

The adventures never seem to end for fairy-tale detectives Sabrina and Daphne Grimm. This time they are investigating a series of thefts of magical items like Baba Yaga's Wand of Merlin, Morgan le Fay's Wonder Clock, and water from the Fountain of Youth. Usually Granny Relda and Mr. Canis help them solve mysteries, but Sabrina and Daphne are pretty much on their own this time. Granny Relda is busy trying to raise money to pay her property tax and Mr. Canis is finding it harder and harder to stop turning into the Big Bad Wolf. Will Sabrina and Daphne be able to find the thief before they run out of time?

"Magic and Other Misdemeanors" is another great entry in Michael Buckley's delightful "The Sisters Grimm" fairy-tale detective series. Sabrina and Daphne continue to grow as characters in each book, especially Sabrina, 12 years old by the end of the book and not nearly as angry as she was in the earlier books. Buckley does a great job of incorporating fairy tale and other legendary characters such as Cinderella, Goldilocks, some of the seven dwarfs, the Queen of Hearts, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and many more. It's always fun to see how he tweaks the various characters - for example, Puss `N Boots is an exterminator, Cinderella hosts a radio talk show called The Dr. Cindy Show, and the witch from Hansel and Gretel is a (not very good) dentist. There's a wonderful sense of humor throughout the book (the magic mirror's computer still being on dial-up and Granny Relda's "recipes" are just two examples of that humor). There are some scary moments, but nothing too frightening. The reason for the theft of the magical items has been done before, but Buckley somehow makes it seem fresh.

"Magic and Other Misdemeanors" is aimed at ages 9 - 12, but readers young and old will enjoy it.

I tend to agree with the reviewer who found this collection a bit too long. As an avid reader of letters (mostly literary) I was interested to read these as references to the Mitford sisters turn up in many collections of the early 20th Century. I was by turns drawn to and annoyed by these letters. The most tiresome of the bunch is Unity -- a full blown nazi who shot herself when England declared war with Germany in 1942. Unfortunately, her aim was like her politics and she missed thus returning to England a veritable idiot who depended on the kindness of her mother, another Nazi sympathizer. Diana married Sir Mosley -- another nazi -- and spent her years defending his politics. Nancy took up a life in France fell in love with a man who did not return her affections and wrote a number of novels popular in their time. Jessica came to the United States, married an America, and took up the cause of civil rights here. Of course her sisters were put off by her Americanization; (Nancy and Diana had little if any affection for Yanks). So yes, the letters are interesting but one also asks "who cares?" These were women of privilege who, with the exception of Jessica, never did much to recommend themselves.

Wonderfully edited collection of letters by the famous sisters. Fascinating to read, in that they all seem to have had considerable writing talent & lived through dramatic periods of the 20th century. Snap it up!

3/31/08 The page on nicknames,The index, The footnotes, The profiles of the sisters and The photos make this extra weighty book become the fascination that most books of so many pages often fail to do..;of help, thanks to the book's editorial genius is : the ability of readers to note what the sisters had in common vs where they disagreed and when and to whom they wrote lengthy and/ or more confidential letter ..., whom they implored for help (even to wanting a health care provider in the hospital to be threatened to be less spartan)..also " continuous scanning of index cross referencing due to footnotes or in specific letters plus being informed from "the profiles" who was the "nazi",or "fascist",or "communist",or " quiet /country girl' or "wit /writer" or "elitess/socialite" ...The surviving sister , the socialite ,who was "apolitical" ,has made their saving of their letters to share with others not in vain;: a glimpse into the world in which the privileged often choose to travel . Their "bios" will probably benefit the "privileged readers "the most, as this book reminds them via "one(s) of their own" that right decisions guarantee more than the values of family status,money and/or power.

A fascinating collection but too long -- also I feel likely of limited interest unless one is British, and was alive and aware of this family at the time these letters were writtten, otherwise too many explanatory footnotes would be necessary. Nevertheless, a rare glimpse into a period that was unique, and likely a surprising portrait of a family who lived, considering their place in upper-class English society, "outside the box".

Once several years ago, I cancelled plans to attend a New Year's Eve party because I was enthralled by an early edition of Mitford letters edited by Charlotte Moseley, "With Love From Nancy" which collected the letters of the eldest Mitford sister.
Now Ms Mosely has given us the letters written between all 6 sisters: Nancy, the author of a number of witty novels and biographies; Diana-who married Oswold Mosley, the head of the British Union of Fascists and spent time in prison during WWII; Unity who was enamored of Hitler and shot herself in the head when Britain went to war with Germany; Pam, the family farmer; Jessica, Communist and muckraker and Deborah, the Duchess of Devonshire Prepare to become addicted to reading these letters.
The Mitfords are interesting all on their own and the tensions and divisions created by their individual political views is worth a read. In addition they knew everyone and were not afraid to voice opinions.
For a special chill, read the letters written by Unity and Diana during WWII. "Poor, sweet Hitler" indeed!

I have been looking for this book forever and because it was out of print I had to go to the library every time I wanted to read it, which was often. The only copy I could find was $200. This book really tells the truth to what it was like as a person in the Imperial family. This puts an end to a lot of rumors flying around about Rasputin and Anna Anderson. This was told from a trusted person, someone that Olga trusted to put the truth about her family out there. It is beautiful and compassionate and a fabulous historical read.

I normally race through books like a speed demon, but this was so enjoyable I read it s-l-o-w-l-y - and several times.

Olga was a woman raised in the lap of luxury in the Russian court but was able and willing to work at hard physical labor on farms in Denmark and Canada for decades without apparent bitterness at what many might consider her "fall" from high status.

At the very end of her life with no income and relatives around her, she accepted an invitation from Russian emigrees and spent her last months on a second-floor apartment in a working-class neighborhood in Toronto.

I have been going through some drastic changes in my life - rather unwillingly - and have spent a lot of time thinking about Olga and how she accepted things that happened.

Was she perfect? No, but I wonder if I could have lived her life with so much courage and acceptance.

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandra was nothing short of a amazing woman and this book is great in showing that. From her childhood days spent in her father's study to the Revolution to her days in Canada, this books gives vivid details of everything. Ian Vorres put this memoir together beautifully. A must have for all Romanov fans!

Honestly, I had trouble putting that book down at night, but we all have to get some sleep ;o) Reading that book is like reliving the splendor of Imperial Russia , and at the same time, going through the lives of those who left Russia during the Revolution in unimaginable conditions... in fact, we could say the worst conditions possible. As I gathered, Olga's life was no piece of cake to say the very least. What is also fascinating about that book is Olga's demystification of Raspoutine and Mrs. Anderson. She sets the record straight about those two, once and for all. I won't tell you about the rest of her life... you have to read the book, and believe me, it it a fascinating one!

I normally race through books like a speed demon, but this was so enjoyable I read it s-l-o-w-l-y - and several times.

Olga was a woman raised in the lap of luxury in the Russian court but was able and willing to work at hard physical labor on farms in Denmark and Canada for decades without apparent bitterness at what many might consider her "fall" from high status.

At the very end of her life with no income and relatives around her, she accepted an invitation from Russian emigrees and spent her last months on a second-floor apartment in a working-class neighborhood in Toronto.

I have been going through some drastic changes in my life - rather unwillingly - and have spent a lot of time thinking about Olga and how she accepted things that happened.

Was she perfect? No, but I wonder if I could have lived her life with so much courage and acceptance.

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This book weaves three incredible stories into one. All women and especially sisters can relate to Ann and her sister's story.

But what is most compelling is how Ann Pai uses metaphor to create vivid pictures and experiences for her readers. You will want more from this author, for no one else can describe the world to you like Ann. She is in turn funny and ever heartfelt. The connections in Ann's world will open your mind to a new way of thinking that you will enjoy.

Looking forward to her future works.

I had the honor to be nominated for a special award, known as the Needle Award, along with Ann Pai. There were five books total, who were nominated, and Ann's did not win. Before I found out the results, I bought her book, in part to check out my competition, and it part because I believed this would be the one to win, based on reviews and the part I read from Amazon.

Of course it was difficult to find out on the fateful morning that I had not won, but I never really expected it. I ordered the book that acutally won, but it had yet to arrive. Meanwhile, I had been reading Ann's, and was spellbound. Ann's words were beautiful, her thoughts jewels. I felt like I was listening to a friend. I, too, had lost a sister.

A few days after the award was announced, I found myself throwing a book against the wall and breaking down into tears. I was reading the book that won, and I threw it against the wall, irrevocably creasing it's catchy cover, ruining it's pages. (I'm not mentioning titles here, they are unimportant)

Why was I crying? The judges who decided this award had this to say about the winning novel: "Deasy has penned a fantastic debut novel. [New York Publishers] need more books like this and less of everything else. This is [the kind of book] that comes to mind when someone says American Literature."

Perhaps I am prudish, but knowing this was what they thought of the book, and seeing for myself the senseless sex, the drug use, binge drinking, the ridiculously recurrent use of the F word, the "by the way" type of voice it had, I couldn't help but throw it against the wall. If this is what American Literature should be, God help us.

Ann's memoir, My Other Body, IS WHAT AMERICAN LITERATURE SHOULD BE!

I have yet to read a book that touched me so much, that took an uncomfortable topic and told the beautiful truth. Notice I did not say brutal truth. Ann's book could have been brutal, it could have shocked me, it could even have sickened me, as morbid obesity sickens me, but it didn't. Because of the tender way she shared her sister with us, painted her as a person who was a "prisoner" to her body, I loved Joyce along with her, and cried at her death, at her pain and her struggle. I lost my sister to schizophrenia, another disease, which like morbid obesity, snatches those we love from us, changes them irrevocably, twists our hearts, yanking them this way and that between revulsion and seemingly hopeless love.

I cannot accept the other book as the winner. I cannot change the result, but I am a writer, and can say my piece. Ann Pai's book did what I tried to do with mine. So, here's to the first ever Fay Freimuth Award. Congratulations, Ann

Our book club here in KC just read "My Other Body: A Memoir of Love, Fat, Life, and Death" by Ann Pai. The author, who is local, came to our meeting. It is self-published so has limited availability. It is beautifully written (especially for a first book - the quality of writing ranks up there with the best) memoir to her obese sister who in the end dies of her weight problem. The three interwoven stories each evoke strong but distinctly different feelings and hold your interest through the end. In the first story - the one of their childhood, it seems that this is a story that she has had bottled up inside of her long before her sister's death and couldn't wait to get it out. The accurate and colorful metaphors of childhood and the intimacy and issues between sisters are better than one can remember them in their own childhood. In the italicized story, she succeeds at detailing what it feels like to struggle with a weight problem and compulsive eating disorder. While reminiscent of my own binge eating problem during college, the feelings are universal to any addiction or compulsive disorder. The third story was more clinical and sad but a good representation of many who are put in the position of caretaker between generations.

An overall theme in the book, she succeeds at seeing the person separate from the "problem" and exposing how society has a hard time doing that. The whole book club here loved it.

I completely enjoyed this book, not because of the subject matter, but because someone finally put into words what I was feeling. Part of the illness of compulsive eating is the aloneness. Suddenly, I don't feel so alone. Ann Pia was able to love her sister unconditionally and that is what everyone is looking for in this life. She has helped me find my own voice, by giving me words for the emotions. I would recommend this book for anyone that struggles with complusive eating or anyone that loves someone that eats compulsively.

This book grabbed my soul as it chronicles a real life tragedy unfolding in slow motion from both first person and third person point of view. Beautifully written, insightful, engrossing, and personal. Sometimes as I read it I almost felt like I was in the movie "Being John Malkovich" as I really saw life through Joyce's eyes. I can't decide if I should describe the emotions felt while reading this as being "brutally honest", or "beautifully honest".

My Other Body would be a great book club selection, and also will resonate with anyone who knows someone with (or has) eating or obesity issues.

My son is 5 and absolutely loves this book. It's a story about young boy and how he must help to care for his large Italian family that has come to America in hopes of having their dreams fulfilled. Disappointment of a father leads his young son to think his job is meager. But in the end one little boy does make a difference, for without his light the whole world is a dark place. The book just gives you a warm wonderful feeling when you finish reading it. The illustrations are beautifully drawn and give you the contact to really feel what Peppe and his family are feeling.

A young boy of modest means seeks a job to contribute to the needs of his family. Initially, his father is disappointed in the lowly responsibility that his son fulfills. The young man takes inspiration from his sister's admiration of him and finds that his job as a humble lamplighter blesses others beyond his understanding. The breath-taking illustrations span the entire two-page spread. This is a beautiful story of how everyone has their important role in life and can embrace it with excellence and passion.

I purchased this book for my husband for Father's Day (he's Italian American")--I didn't really think that our then 2.5 year old would really care for the book. But he loves it! It's a good story, although at times the messages can be a bit confusing for a very young child--but my son seems to enjoys the illustrations, the sounds of the Italian names, and of course the most elemental aspects of the story.

There's a whole genre of picture books that examine the working class members of American society throughout history. These stories are usually based on the lives of the relatives and ancestors of the authors. "Peppe the Lamplighter" is no exception. Loosely based on the grandfather of author Elisa Bartone, the book examines one boy's occupation and his struggle be accepted in the eyes of his father.

Peppe lives with his sick father and seven sisters (not including the one in Naples) in the section of New York known as Little Italy. Taking place in what looks to be the 1910s, Peppe moves from store to store, attempting to find work. His father, is too sick to work himself, and all the children in the family must strive to find some kind of money. One day, old Domenico the lamplighter asks Peppe if he would light the lamps for him while he returns to Italy to fetch his wife. Peppe agrees readily and is delighted with the prospect. Delight slowly sours to shame, however, when his father is horrified by the job. Says he, "Did I come to America for my son to light the streetlamps?". As time goes by, Peppe's disenchantment with the job grows until he doesn't light the lamps at all. Only through the discovery of how important his job is to others can Peppe find the strength to return to lighting the lamps of New York City.

The pictures in this book are wonderfully rendered. Here we find the New York City tenements in all their filthy glory. At the same time, we see the strength of the people living in them. The first painting in the book shows Peppe and his family staring at the viewer as if they were posing for a formal family photograph. The light from a single latern lights them all, and illustrator Ted Lewin shows off his talents. In many ways, the book is similar to Chris K. Soentpiet's style (of "Molly Bannaky" fame). Reading this book is to actually find yourself in early New York itself. Crowds come alive and individuals display a wide range of emotions. The best picture in the whole book, to my mind, is the image of Peppe lifting his little sister so that she can light the lamp on the street herself. The light is above them, illuminating their faces with incredibly intensity. The two stare up at it, entranced.

The story itself if good, if not overwhelming. Peppe's father has a somewhat unbelievable change of heart towards the end of the tale. For a man who has harbored so much bitterness towards his son's chosen profession, he seems to come around to it mighty fast when the mood calls for it. Otherwise, it's lovely. Peppe compares the lighting of the lamps to the lighting of candles at Mass, and even goes so far as to say a small prayer for each. Small details like this truly bring the story to life.

The book celebrates one small boy who can, in his sister Assunta's words, "scare the dark away". It is a book about how every human being, if they've a mind to, can bring light into the world in their own humble fashion. Peppe may only be a lamplighter, but even his father recognizes by the end that this honest job gives safety and comfort to others. We should all be so lucky as to have jobs that do half as much.

"Peppe the Lamplighter" combines a story by Elisa Bartone with illustrations by Ted Lewin. The story takes place "[a] long time ago when there was no electricity and the street lamps in Little Italy had to be lit by hand." The hero of the book is Peppe, who lives with his widowed father and sisters in a tenement. Peppe's decision to get a job as a lamplighter leads to conflict between Peppe and his father.

This is a good story that is greatly enhanced by Lewin's superb artwork. Most of the illustrations are two-page spreads that are packed full of energy and emotion. Lewin's realistic style is well-suited to capturing many colorful details: the sausages hanging in the butcher shop, a crowded street scene, the old-fashioned iron stove in Peppe's home, etc. Overall, a memorable celebration of Italian-American history.

After reading his earlyworks you can see how Chandler used his previous stories and ideas to develop these incredible novels featuring his most famous detective Philip Marlowe.

Chandler is arguably the best detective story writer out there. If you expand this genre to all mystery writers, he would still be one of the best.

Detective stories aren't as common as they once were, but if you look at the offspring of the Pulp magazine once so popular, television, they are still as popular as ever. Chandler was one author who defined what a detective story was. This book contains four novels:The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister, The Long Goodbye, and Playback. These are wonderfully entertaining stories that contain the archetypical hard-bitten detective, Philip Marlowe. After reading these stories you will forever see Marlowe in every detective story you see or read, from Magnum to the latest TV cop. How can you not love an author who sums up Modern American Capitalism with lines like these? "We make the finest packages in the world, Mr. Marlowe. The stuff inside is mostly junk." Or an author who in the early 50's, (50 years before the current 'Queers Dress Up' shows) so presciently wrote, "The queer is the artistic arbiter of our age, chum." Or his comment on a speech by a politician, "He did not bore us with any facts."
These books are not just riveting, fun reading, but full of thoughtful quotes like the above.

Chandler also is must-reading for his understanding of criminality, venality, human nature, Southern California, Movies, American culture and American relationship dynamics. I hate to use the word "classic" to describe stories that are just so plain fun to read, but I find it hard not to.

This volume also contains a screenplay, Double Indemnity, and a few essays and letters. The essays "The Simple Art of Murder", and "Writers in Hollywood" should be required reading for anyone interested in 20th century culture, movies, and literature. Just a few tidbits more. Chandler on English Mystery Writers - "The English may not always be the best writers in the world, but they are incomparably the best dull writers." Chandler on boredom - "There are no dull subjects, only dull minds." Chandler on critics - "The average critic never recognizes an achievement when it happens. He explains it after it has become respectable."

My only criticism is that the plots are contrived and sometimes complicated. But such criticism is like complaining that the Mona Lisa would be a fine painting if only it were of a different size.

Chandler is simply wonderful, funny, cynical, and yes, - respectable.

First, let me say that there's a separate volume of Chandler's early novels. As much as I liked this volume, I actually enjoyed the earlier novels just a little bit more and suggest starting there. I started reading one story and wound up going through all of them in both volumes in the space of a few months. I also wound up reading and enjoying all the Dashiell Hammett stories, but I give Chandler a slight edge.

I won't try to list all the ways these novels are great and entertaining, but here's one thought that hasn't been mentioned in other reviews. Chandler is excellent at presenting a hero-character who has to worry about money and making a living. Indeed, Chandler makes this issue integral to the character's persona and to the plot line. Yes, the books are escapist in so many ways. Yet, in this respect at least, they are far more realistic than almost all of the fiction, and much of the non-fiction, these days.

This book, contaning Chandlers later works, is perhaps the best collection of Chandler you can find. Sure, does not contain the better-known novels - The Big Sleep and Farewell my Lovely - but it does contain The Long Goodbye, which is not only Chandler's finest, but a great novel by any measure.

Chandler lived a tough, hard-drinking life, and these later works came out of his mind with difficulty. But the quality of The Lady in the Lake and The Long Goodbye (The Little Sister is less memorable) make this collection essential.

In addition, the book contains some essays and letters, including Chandler's writing on the mystery genre, which will interest any budding suspense author.

In short, read this book! Read The Long Goodbye, then read it again. This is not just a great mystery, but it is also great literature.

C-L-A-S-S-I=C HIGH/low notes. These stories are like a deck cards, all aces...... but there are way too few left. I finished "Little Sisters" (GREAT), "Farewell, My Lovely"- is recommended in the other half (earlier edition). The hook is Marlow. In times where many take the easy/cheap way out, I ride hard with Marlow. Marlow does it with style, humor, wit, grit, and nothing less than an all american: get the job done. But in a way that is the opposite his nemesis: the monopolies of power & money. Of course they admire and hate him. But it just doesn't get any better than Chandler. Need an excuse? Then read it for the wrting alone. The best!

Reading this story is like going on an adventure. With enjoyable characters and wonderful prose,Maureen's story is enchanting. Her words and descriptions are a joy to read. Kids will enjoy the fantasy, adults will ejoy the writing itself as much as the story. I can't wait for a sequel, and would love to see an entire series with these characters--they are easy to become attached to.

This excellent book was written by a new author, Maureen McQuerry. Her writing style is different from most of the other books I have read, but it is without any uncertainty one of the best books I have read in quite some time. She moves between different perspectives of each character. In between a character change there is a symbol. This is really unique, and can give a more in depth experience. It also enables the author to tell two or three perspectives in the same time frame.

The story takes place in a small town in England, in a present era. The two main characters are Timothy and Sarah James. Timothy is extremely bright, but not entirely popular with the rest of the school. Sarah is another case entirely, she is still very intelligent, but she is also popular. She is a ballerina, and she recently graduated from Enterprise Middle School. Timothy is still going to Enterprise. The book begins with Sarah's performance to get a scholarship to go to play with the London Ballet. Her parents accompany her to the audition. When they are gone, Timothy is left alone with a mad old woman named Mrs. Clapper. She always warns Timothy to close the door, because you never know what might come in. Timothy never took this seriously, but obeyed nonetheless. Later that night Mrs. Clapper fell asleep, so Timothy decided to test the theory. Apparently, Mrs. Clapper knew what she was talking about, two strange men and a woman entered Timothy's house. These people talked silently for a few minutes, and then left. When Sarah came home, she done brilliantly at her audition, and so her parents left to celebrate. That night, Timothy told his sister about the strange visitors that came to his and her humble abode. This was repeated that night, only instead of the three random people, there were many Morris Dancers, who just danced around their house.

The most popular girl in Timothy's grade is a snobby, self-centered girl named Jessica. Jessica is the niece of Mrs. Clapper. Jessica gets a note that just appears in her binder, that has the name Timothy James in it. She doesn't remember ever receiving that note, so she is curious to see where it came from. She meets Timothy at the library the next day. Timothy already has a hunch that these people have something to do with Celtic Mythology, so he has gone to the library to check it out. There is a lot more to this book, but nothing else I can tell without giving it away. I will let you read the book to figure out the rest.

I recommend this book to a younger teens audience, just because it is short, and to the point, but the story line is complicated, and a few exotic words are thrown in here and there. The book moves along at a very fast clip, and it is very possible to get lost in the climax. At more times than once, I found that I was so into the book, I was reading so quickly, that I wasn't even noticing half of the words on the page. This book is fantastic, and even older audiences would like it. I recommend it to everyone who thinks that they can keep up with it.

This is NOT just another fantasy story, but something fresh, creative and exciting. Timothy is now my friend. I've seen him somewhere before, and I look forward to more of his adventures to come. The author played to my imagination, led me through evil places and evil creatures, and left me wanting more.

It is rare to come across a fantasy novel with such an original style as well as a compelling story. Maureen McQuerry's background in poetry clearly comes out in this novel as her attention to word choice leaves you with a great aftertaste. Wolfproof has very real characters that are easy to identify with, a gripping plot, and some clever insights into British and Celtic mythology. If you liked the Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter (or even if didn't!) then you will love Wolfproof!

I found myself stretched by this intriguing new author. Through her curious and wildly adventurous plot, I learned much of mythical characters and Celtic legend. Who could imagine the pain of transformation as a man gradually leafs out, toughens, and stiffens into a tree? The descriptions are engaging, the metaphorical languange entrancing, and the story moves ahead at a good clip. Although some of my questions were answered, I am eager to read on and discover all the reasons behind the mysterious hunt of Herne and the evil doings of Balor as they relate to young Timothy James. I am thoroughly entrenched on the side of Timothy, his sister Sarah, and friend Jessica as they move along in their surprising and important roles in the unfolding drama. Let the sequel begin!

this was a great book. its about two sisters the younger has ocd and the older has to take care of her. if thats not enoguh they feel constanly compared to there older siblings who died years before. then a painter nmaed a nnie comes in to there life and makes it better.

I can confidently state that Adele Griffin, when I read her other books, will probably become one of my favorite authors. I LOVED "The Other Shepards". My older brother died in a car wreck when I was a toddler, too young to really know or remember, so I sort of understand what Holland and Geneva were going through. (I loved their names. I wish I had a name like Geneva.) Holland seemed to be the realistic older sister -- wishing to help Geneva but becoming understandably impatient at times with her sister's bizarre behavior. I didn't realize Annie was a ghost till the end, though I thought she seemed pretty peculiar. Not much actually happened in the story -- I'd call it a novel of adjustment -- but it was a pleasant read. I'd highly recommend it.

this is a really great book! from the start u are drawn into the story and the main charachters. the story is about thier time spent w/annie, a sort of imaginary friend and how holland and her sister discover new things about themselves and learn to sort of live thier lives in the present instead of basing it on the past. it's kinda hard to explain but i reallly recommend reading it for yourself!

The book was about these two kids who tried to convinse there parents to get over there childrens death.Holland meet Annie, which is a nick- name for Elizabeth, which is Hollands and Geveva dead sister. I think that it was there sister made up in there mind because they wanted to know them so much.I also think this because when they were on the air plane going to Saint German nobody but them noticed annie,and when they were in the museam nobody noticed her either and how she kept dissapearing fo an example when they were at the phisicks Hplland went to introduce her and annie was noweare to be found. I am going to encourge kids to read this book and hopefully you will to.

I, too, suffer from OCD and I could relate so well to her rituals and phobias. Perhaps she seems unbelievable to those who have never suffered from or encountered another person who suffers from OCD, but the behavior is just as odd as Griffin portrays it.