Rebecca Books

Life as art ... there is a special gift in the ability to share one's life as art, to issue a challenge to each beholder, to trigger a deeper reaching within and without, to one's coming away changed. The amazingly insightful cover and the signpost of a title dare us to pass through this doorway, to accept the challenge to go beyond and experience what these travelers before us offer to share. Will any two come away with the same experience? I don't think so. For me this journey was worth the beauty, love, and mystery revealed along side the pain of Dark Card. Without the presence of light, we would not even see this silhouette. I am thankful that there are artists and poets who can transcend the dark to share their lives by shining light.

In Dark Card, Rebecca Foust gives the reader a lesson in courage -- the courage of a mother raising a child with a disability, the courage to face the reality this forces upon her, the courage to probe the feelings deep within, and the courage to put those feelings into unforgettable words. This is the open heart of a mother, with all the pain and joy exposed. Read it with respect. It will move you.

Raw and beautiful, this collection captures the complexities of motherhood in a way few writers ever have. There isn't a mother alive who -- if she is honest -- won't recognize herself on these pages. The cover art, with its dark haunting outline, makes clear that the child inside this book is not just Foust's. He belongs to all of us.

Rebecca Foust's has written a stirring book of poetry describing the mixed blessings of raising a son with Aspergers Syndrome. Dark Card is a must read for all families dealing with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, and for those who seek a better understanding of what it is like to live with them.

Dark Card is a beautifully crafted and insightful book. It carries the reader to the deepest waters of the joys, fears and sorrows of motherhood. Rebecca Foust's poems touch the anquish of raising a son with Asperger's Syndrome with exquisite understanding. At the same time, she has written a collection of poems which resonate with all who have loved a child. One does not have to parent a special needs child to appreciate the beauty of these poems. They touch our loves, our fears, our hopes, our deepest yearnings. These poems herald the arrival in the world of poetry of a wise and unique voice.

This book is based on a bold new perspective on mental health phenomena that are often loosely grouped into the category of "codependency".

Where the author excels is in elaborating this idea: that severely maladjusted views about expectations about life, and ways to cope with life, are often neuroses that are self-perpetuating throughout families, from generation to generation.

The book is in five chapters, where each chapter is a step toward identifying, escaping, and recovering from these destructive patterns. Chapter 1 ("Step 1: Awareness is more than half the battle") and chapter 2 ("Step 2: Overcoming judgments and fears") lay the conceptual groundwork, with dozens, yes dozens, of examples of these multigenerational neuroses, such as: low self-esteem leading to self-defeating career behavior, which a particular family might actually encourage in all of its members, because of its shared belief that "that's just the way the world works".

Chapter 2 also begins the work of the rest of the book: providing you, the reader, with strategies for untangling yourself from these deeply ingrained neurotic patterns; and Chapter/Step 3: "Getting Past /Groundhog Day/" resumes this topic, with a focus on managing the conflicts (in yourself or with others) that this process will produce.

Chapter/Step 4: "Finding The Treasure" is about both maintaining and restoring your own self esteem by reconsidering what in you, your past, and your environment are /actually/ harming or helping you, instead of relying on past neurosis-tinted appraisals of these things.

But Chapter/Step 5: "Making a Spiritual Connection" is where the book begins to come apart. It's a very mixed bag, with some amount of anecdotes and affirmations of the powers of intuition; but simply put, this is where the author says that, in order to be sanely recovered from your destructive past, you must be, or become, religious.

She expresses this in terms that are sometimes unclear (as a nod toward the possibilities of vague spirituality), but which are still basically about requiring you to believe in some brand of Judeo-Christian religion and thus adopting an affirmative but entirely superficial theology-- for example, that "prayer" is a merely matter of asking God for something, and at times getting messages back from God through "our intuitive connection" [p138]. Page 137 stresses the absolute importance of "Connecting Your Sprit with God's". Page 146 tells us that "Our spirit knows what's best for us, which way to go, and how to get there", and that [back on page 133] "unless we allow our spirit selves to guide us-- and we're committed to change-- we typically struggle to alter our behavior patterns." (And rewinding back to page 35, the author lists disbelief in God as a destructive neurosis!)

I can understand that the author, a Mormon, very earnestly believes that belief in a personal God is the best way to live your life; but therapeutically, it is at least unprofessional, and at worst psychologically dangerous to insist on this. Notably:

Firstly, this final chapter/step's constant emphasis on the kind of intuition that is as far from reason as possible, is an open invitation to poor impulse control, essentially undoing the work of much of the rest of the book, namely being levelheaded in situations of conflict arising from ingrained destructive patterns. For psychologically vulnerable people, the line can be very thin between trusting their intuitions and falling back into their past ingrained neurotic beliefs and behaviors.

And secondly: On the one hand, this insistence on religion could put the psychologically vulnerable person into a friendly church community that will support them in hard times. But on the other hand, that church community could /also/ turn out to be a cult (The Peoples Temple was celebrated for being friendly, supportive, and charitable-- until it moved to Jonestown, Guyana...); or it could turn out to have radical fundamentalist views, such as have been fighting social progress, worldwide, for the better part of a century now.

To judge from the current state of the world (and its politics and history), you clearly need a healthy and intelligent skepticism and discernment to tell what, if any, kind of religion or religious community you should go trusting. An eagerness to simply make "a spiritual connection" is not enough to keep you out of trouble for yourself or others.

Behind this unprofessionalism, there is a question: is all this mental-health advice coming from someone with an actual psych degree?

She seems to hint that she is-- on p166 she says "a teacher in the field of psychology". But her "About the author" page says she is "a graduate of Brigham Young University". If she graduated with (for example) a Master's in Family Counseling, that's exactly where it would be mentioned. But from the fact that the sentence says no more than "a graduate", with no mention of level or field, we have to conclude that while she may consider herself qualified in many respects, she has no actual /credentials/.

I do not believe rigidly in the value of all credentials-- if someone building me bookshelves has experience, but no contractor's license, I don't care. But for critical life-changing mental health advice, I have to insist that it come from people with the credentialed education to benefit from the past century-plus of psychiatric and psychological experience with patients suffering from neurosis in all its forms. Lacking those credentials means just winging it, as Ms Hintze is doing more and more the further you get into her book.

Besides the insistence on religion in Chapter 5, the author occasionally drops in the occasional howler that also leads you to question not just her professionalism but her ability to cohere. On page 134, she says "75 to 90 percent of our emotional blocks- including our inborn (genetic) tendencies- originate from our experiences inside the womb". Her asserting this statement (leaving aside the conflation of "inborn" with "genetic") so far into the book leads us to wonder: is she actually saying that the familial neuroses that the whole book is about, are /genetic/!? First off, if true, then this is a fundamental point and should have been mentioned in Chapter 1, to say the least. But secondly, the idea that the /majority/ of the whole spectrum of neurotic behavior that she covers in the book is genetic, is the beyond even the wildest speculation you'll get out of any geneticist. It's well knows that there are genetic predispositions toward some mental illnesses (notably schizophrenia)-- but trying to claim you can have a 75-90% ability to track a neurosis like "I must hold on to all my money or it will go away" (page 33) to an actual gene, is ludicrous.

The author, and her writing and work, would benefit from getting an actual degree in the field that she's already involving herself in and generally shows a genuine and earnest talent for. But the lack of actual credentials undermines the effectiveness of her ideas and how well they can work for people trying to recover from personal or familial neuroses.

This book is on the cutting edge of a new movement toward healing family Issues.This book guides the reader, in a very pracitcal manner, through the steps of integrating mind body spirit to for ever heal the wounds that bind you.What I like best is the fact that the 5 steps absolutlely hold the individual, with the family history to heal, responsible for doing so. I can see Rebecca's book being gobbled up by those who have tried many other methods to heal the past but have fallen short.As a Life Coach, who has worked with thousands of clients dealing with past family issues, I have a new guide book to use in my practice.

"Healing Your Family History" clearly illustrates how unseen destructive family patterns visibly show up and play out in our lives. (No, it's not merely a coincidence when divorce, depression, substance abuse, child abuse, low self esteem, and poverty run in your family!) Rebecca's easy to follow five steps have enabled me to identify destructive patterns and resolve them as they've come up, and as a result, I have experienced many positive and welcome changes! I highly recommend this very effective book to anyone who wants to understand where their problems are coming from and heal them at their core.

I come from a family with some serious problems and because I learned how to think and act from them, I've made many painful mistakes that have negatively shaped my life. Reading "Healing Your Family History" has opened my eyes to what's really going on within my family and made me determined to change the dysfunctional patterns I carry so my children and grandchildren and so on won't have to suffer like I have. This easy to understand book has given me hope that I can change and my children can have a much healthier and happier future. I am very grateful that I can finally see the big energetic piture and don't have to live in the dark anymore! Thank you Rebecca for writing this valuable book.

I love Rebecca Linder Hintze's book, "Healing Your Family History." Her book is filled with psychological and spiritual wisdom. With her wonderful title and well-written content, she cleverly summarizes and merges insights from analytical and developmental psychologists with modern therapies focused on both changing beliefs and emotional regulation. I frequently recommend her book to my clients. The content and exercises help clients in their own space and time consider the value of introspection not only on their own psychology but on their immediate family's and beyond. Especially for those afraid to say anything less than positive about their families, Rebecca's book helps me explain to clients why looking into family patterns is essential to psychological and spiritual growth without having to resort to complicated language that often leaves clients more weary than excited. Thank you for this helpful book!

I do NOT have a french or english country estate, so decorating books showing large rooms are not helpful for me. I hate French country decor, with the stupid ugly chickens and everything painted mustard and blue. Pottery Barn, Res Hardware and Crate and Barrel are handy but cookie cutter... This book is not any one of these things and I really love it! Some of the decorating styles, like "Alienated" are a bit too eccentric even for me but I love seeing the ideas taken to completion with out appology. It's not about shabby chic, it's more eccentric than that, like vintage photos of show girls, morrocan lamps and velvet couches... I really hate decorating books where everything is painted flat white, like an apartment, and cutsy little flowers everywhere. Too girly. No punch. This book is using what you love, even if, or especially if, its odd to create atmosphere with attitude. I think this is especially good for people with old houses or apartments, who are good at found art and collage. If your mother was an antique dealer like mine and you have mis matched yet interesting things, there are very useful ideas here. Medieval enthusiasts and goth kids would love this book. People with Magickal households that have unusual things would love this book, as well.

I have mixed feelings about this book, despite the 5 stars. I don't actually like clutter myself. I take its presence as a sign that somebody needs to tidy up and/or throw a few things out.

Still, whose home is neat and organized all the time? Through great effort, I can get mine to lose that just-been-burglerized look for about 5 minutes a week.

So I was delighted to find Purcell's book, much of which is devoted to making clutter actually look good, a process she refers to as "hooshing."

She also appreciates that few people's household belongings are new, unstained or well-matched.

--which is (IMO) why the rooms in this book bear some resemblance to places people actually live.

The main deviation from TRULY realistic decor derives from the fact that HER piles of clutter consist of things like old globes, brocade samples, hardcover books etc., whereas most people's clutter is stuff like old newspapers and dead plants. But for an interior decorating book, it's close enough.

This is more of an analysis of your artistic style than one of those cookie cutter decorating books--every page is amazing. If you are artistic & don't like to follow current trends, you will love the offbeat, quirky ideas. Worth every penny--sequel, please?

Firstoff the four stars is hard to explain. I want to give this item five. But there is a few things I cannot overlook. However, this book is amazing. It is a decorating eden, filled with wonderous things you should look into and explore. If you look at this book and you think "ack, $$$!! I do not have the money to pull off these styles" you will miss the entire point of the book. The entire book is about doing it yourself, and she does it on a penny. she explains throughout - its possible to get the look and spend a reasonable amount of money. The book is not about buying the most expensive antique. Its about creating. Its about making something yours from junk. Its about hooshing - making it yourself; spending no money. It is a tome of creativity.

The only reason I cannot give it 5 is the one chapter 'Humble' - while the style is visually appealing she seems to forget a few things, like sanitation. The cute little guest cottage is made out of an old large chicken coop, where the walls have sustained beautiful natural water damage. While asthetically pleasing, its mold. Also, chickens carry alot of airborn diseases that if you mess around in their dried feces (like oh say, in a chicken coop) you can inhale and get terrible things like meningitis. (It happened to a friend's brother of mine while he was cleaning out a similar coop to the one she uses. Not something to mess around with. And he was wearing an air filter and construction gear.)
While this chapter can be completely overlooked and ideas still gained from it, it completely ignores hygine and health. But honestly, this shouldn't make you ignore this book. Its a diamond in the rough. No book is perfect, but this - is pretty darn close.

I adore this book. I found a copy of it mysteriously in my office (I'm a set dresser) and it has completely overhauled my beliefs in decorating. The pictures are feasts for your eyes... There's just so much to look at, all layered so perfectly. I can't wait to create my own lofted bed, my own hooshes, and mysteriously curtained nooks. I feel like I finally fit into a design catagory.

Even if this book doesn't quite mesh as well with your design style, it is still interesting to look at the unique ways of decorating, and the text is lively and quite non-snore inducing (which most decorating books tend to be).

Amazing book. Buy it, you won't be disappointed. It will leave you yearning for another one from the very creative Rebecca Prucell.

Nice to Come Home To is based on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, but it's easy to forget that the story is a retelling as Pru (Prudence) navigates her way through the realities of family trials and dating past thirty. Pru is always the voice of reason and when her sister Patsy (Patience) visits DC with her quirky, disorganized personality that is the polar opposite of Pru's, she knows she must continue to be the strong one for Patsy. Unfortunately for Pru, family visits are never orderly or predictable. Readers will laugh and their hearts will ache with Pru as she tries too hard to keep her feelings about men and her family bottled up inside.

Peopled with colorful Characters and set in the neighborhood of Adams Morgan in Washington, DC, a setting that Rebecca Flowers seems to know inside and out, Nice to Come Home to is an exceptional read. This funny, witty novel will likely keep readers up past midnight to see if Pru will ever be able to let go of taking care of everyone else and finally let someone else walk beside her.

I absolutely loved your book. It was a truly fun read. I love your detail, wit, compassion and the characters. The scene with the pet psychiatrist had me laughing out loud. What a vivid moment. I felt like I was right there in the room, and that cat definitely is alive and well far beyond the pages. The suspense of who would stay in love, fall in love, end up happy etc. kept me turning the pages. As a matter of fact, I read much of it while flying to Florida for a week of performances, and finished it en route home. In all my years of flying as frequently as I do, a trip has never gone so fast because time was suspended as I was absorbed by Pru and her crew of unique family and friends. Great Read! From Judy Gail Krasnow, author of the memoir, "Rudolph, Frosty, And Captain Kangaroo."

This wonderful novel kept me engaged from the first line and drew me in throughout. The characters come to life with all the comedic lumps, twisted flaws and sincere beauty we find in our own lives. Rebecca Flowers' unique voice as a storyteller, her clever, witty phrasing and insights left me very satisfied as a reader. You know you have read a great book when you don't want the story to end because you will dearly miss the characters. Might we hear more from these characters in the future? I hope so. I will definitely follow this author and I anxiously await her next novel. I recommend Nice to Come Home To to anyone looking to read a thoughtful, intelligent novel from an aspiring new author. A great read!

This is a delightful novel about two sisters and the twists and turns that love can take. It's set in a funky urban neighborhood and populated with quirky, interesting characters. It's full of smart conversation and surprising plot twists. Ms. Flowers has a voice that's funny and incisive (there are some lines that are absolute classics) and then, when you least expect it, extremely moving. Once I had read the first chapter, I was hooked. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes Jane Austen, anyone with a sense of humor, anyone who likes clothes, culture or cats and, basically, anyone who wants a great read. You'll love it.

When I read a book, I'm looking for a lot--a great sense of place, characters that I actually care about, and a story that feels like it's going somewhere. I like to feel that these characters mean something to me, going about their lives in an interesting place, doing interesting things, and that stuff is going on.

Pru and her sister seem real, seem like women I've known, have hopes and desperation and humor the likes of which I know, and their lives don't seem like programmed steps in a novel-writing formula of what-should-happen-next, but instead unfold with the real, gentle grace of real life ... only a bit wittier, a bit snappier, and with a bit more style. The writing is really smart, funny, and has such a great voice--if you don't know exactly what that means, read this book--you'll start to see and hear the world through Pru (and Flowers's) gimlet eye--sharp, whip smart, and with a tangy wit.

And the story goes on in two fully realized places, both DC and the beach ... I've read a lot of fiction with a great sense of place--from Marcus Sakey's Chicago to Elmore Leonard's Detroit and Miami, Lehane's Boston, and Pelecanos's DC ... and while Flowers isn't hard boiled like those guys, she creates a DC that is real and lived in and immediate, just like Pelecanos and the rest ... a really lovely, meaningful, and intelligent book, that stayed with me long after I put it down. Good stuff.

This is an Outstanding Cookbook by Rebecca Wood! In this book you won't find much for pictures, it's strong point is the wonderful recipes for Grains with Vegetables, Fish, Poultry, Meat and Fruit. I love it when reviewers list a variety of recipes in a book, that alone will make me want to purchase a book!
The Contents are divided into categories such as Native American Grains which include Wild Rice, Corn, Mesquite, Amaranth, and Quinoa. Native Asian Grains which include Buckwheat, Millet, Rice, and Job's Tears. Native Near Eastern Grains which include Barley and Wheat. Native European Grains which include Rye and Oats. And Native African Grains which include Sorghum and Tef. This book also includes Mail Order Sources if needed.
There are 394 Pages of information and Fabulous Recipes such as:
Wild Rice Tortillas With Poached Huevos Rancheros and Ginger-Peach Salsa, Elderberry Blossom and Wild Rice Griddle Cakes with Hot Apple Syrup, Mom's Wild Rice Stuffing, Whitefish Stuffed With Wild Rice, Traditional Grits, Cornmeal Mush, Posole From Scratch, Creole Corn Oysters, Corn and Clam Chowder with Roasted Parsnips, Herbed Posole Salad with Dried Cranberries, Stir-Fried Dried Scallops with Baby Corn and Bean Sprouts, Southwestern Cheese Sandwiches with Sweet and Hot Pepper Sauce, Greens and Herbed Cornmeal Dumplings with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Honey Carmel Corn with Roasted Almonds, Sage and Blue Corn Skillet Bread with Fresh Corn, Santa Fe Spoon Bread, Corn Tortillas with Marjoram, Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips, Corn and Quinoa Raspberry Muffins, Hominy Breakfast Cakes, Strawberry and Blue Corn Waffles, Popped Amaranth Cold Breakfast Cereal, Pinon Crackers, Quinoa and WInter Squash Potage, Quinoa Soup-Saigon Style, Quinoa Carrot Cake, Quinoa Butterscotch Brownies, Homemade Buckwheat Noodles, Jicama and Buckwheat Salad, Panfried Buckwheat Breaded Catfish, Baked Blinis with Strawberry Sauce, Buckwheat Rolls with Thyme and Oregano, Buckwheat Waffles with Peach Butter, Buckwheat Pumpkin Muffins, Overnight Millet Buckwheat and Coconut Waffles, Apricot Millet Breakfast Cake, Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Chinese Almond Cookies, Purple Amasake, Barley Poppy Bagels, Barley Flatbread with New Mexican Chilies, Yellow and Purple Bean Tabbouleh, Eggplant Zucchini Tofu and Penne Salad, Dutch Apple Pie, Wheat Pastry for Pies and Tarts, Pueblo Bread Pudding, 100% Whole Wheat Bread, Thin-Crust Pizza, Easy Rye Bread, Boston Brown Bread, Pumpernickel Bread with Currants and Walnuts, Coarse-Grain Sourdough Rye, Cream of Shiitake and Broccoli Soup, Irish Tabbouleh, Orange and Coconut Drop Biscuits, Oat Groat Pancakes, Granola, Vegetable Stock, Chicken Stock, Fish Stock, Shiitake Dashi Stock, Tofu Mayonnaise, and so much more! This is just a sampling of the Varieties of Recipes you'll find in this book. I felt it was important especially in this book of Grains to list many recipes, as you can see these Healthy Grains can be much more than a side dish! You cannot go wrong with this cookbook! If you are looking for different ways to use grains this is definitely the book for you!

Who says whole grains have to taste like health food? Rebecca Wood lays out everything you need to know about the common grains (oat, wheat, barley, rice), the not-so-common (quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat) and the downright rarely eaten in this country (tef, Job's tears). For each one she explains how/where it is grown, how to buy and store it, what it is used for, its nutritional advantages, etc. She gives basic recipes for cooking the grains plain or nearly so, as well as more complicated recipes and suggestions for what to pair with what. The chapters are divided first by the continent to which each grain is native and then by the grains themselves, and then for each grain there are recipes for plain grains, soups, main dishes, side dishes and desserts. I like this organization, although if you want to make a whole grain dessert, for instance, you'll have to look through the chapters on the various grains or in the index, as there is no organization by type of dish, e.g., soups, desserts, etc. The intros to each dish give you a good idea of what to expect, the instructions are pretty clear, and the results are spectacular. The Winter Squash and Quinoa Pottage is amazingly great (especially if you make it with homemade stock -- it is particularly awesome using the vegetable stock recipe from The New Basics Cookbook, but was also good with Swanson low-sodium chicken broth), is ridiculously easy, and extremely high in protein and vitamins. Just wash the quinoa really well first. Takes less than 1/2 hour plus the time to wash the quinoa and cut the onion and squash. The pinon (pine nut) crackers with amaranth are all whole grain, super easy and the only problem with it is that it's hard not to eat the entire batch myself as soon as it's done. Recipes include a good mix of vegetarian items and ones with meat so it's a good book no matter how you eat. My only quibble is that measurements for baked goods are given solely by volume, rather than by weight, which is more accurate, but it's a small one. This is my new favorite cookbook.

I initially checked this book out at the library and just had to have my own copy. The author has done years of research and provides very detailed and interesting information about various grains to include their origins, historical uses and various methods of preparation. There is also a section detailing little-known places where you can order seeds to grow your own or purchase ready to use grains/grain products. This book should be in every home cookbook collection!

I knew nothing about this book when I checked it out of the library, except that it had recipes for some of the more unusual grains. It is only now that I looked it up on Amazon that I discovered that it won the James Beard award. I am not the least bit surprised, however, because all the recipes I have tried have been consistently delicious, wholesome, and creative. You will find very few run-of-the-mill recipes in this cookbook.

I check many cookbooks out of the library, but for many I can't find any recipes that I want to make, or if I do find recipes to try, once I make them I am generally not impressed. So I was amazed when I opened this cookbook to find so many intriguing recipes, each of which turned out better than the last.

Some highlights: The grilled millet and butternut squash cakes had so few spices I was sure they would be bland, but they weren't. They were subtle but sweet and crunchy and addictive. The millet, quinoa, and burdock pilaf again looked underseasoned, but the burdock adds a great earthy depth to the pilaf, and again, I could not stop eating this dish. Wood's recipe for Locro, a South American soup, has a large number of ingredients, but it is well worth the effort. The barley and beans that make up the bulk of this soup make it substantial and extremely filling. The celeriac is sweet and delicious, the anise seeds add a subtle mysterious note, and the roasted New Mexican chili and the kombu create a great tasty broth with more depth than a typical vegetarian soup.

The only recipe that I was disappointed in was her basic recipe for "steamed" amaranth. Wood swears it's the best way to cook amaranth, but I thought it turned out exactly the same as it always does when I cook it--gooey, but tasty. Also, as a previous reviewer noted, Wood doesn't use too many green vegetables in this cookbook, but since it is a grains cookbook I can forgive this one shortcoming.

Overall, this book is full of healthy, nutritious, creative, well-tested recipes that please the palate and the body, and are reasonably quick to prepare. The flavorings are generally subtle, but perfectly balanced, allowing the taste of the ingredients to shine through. If you like very strong tasting food, however, you might find the recipes a bit bland. The recipes are not all vegetarian, but there are enough vegetarian recipes that I just returned my library book and ordered this book on Amazon.

Wood's book is a must have for any cook serious about understanding how to cook with whole grains.

this is the best book ive ever read. If you like fiction you should really read this book. this book is really great try reading it and youl love it trust me i loved it so you probobly will to.

This delightful book was - and yet is - the best piece of children's fantasy I have ever read. And I have read A LOT of children's fantasy (Cooper, McKillip, McKinley, Hunter, Jacques, Lewis, Rowling, White, Banks, O'Brien, Weis and Hickman, Pullamn, Paolini, etc., and many of these authors I would NOT recommend.) But I cannot say enough to recommend this outstanding author and her work.

First, unlike others who could not put this book down, I was so captivated by Rebecca Rupp's colorful, miniature world and its sensitive, hilarious characters that I read the story as sloooooowwwwly as possible, often relishing favorite passages multiple times before moving on.

Inspired by an imaginary nature God (named Pondleweed) that the author's son created as a child, this is the tale of a young Fisher boy (a pixie-ish and frog-like tribe of tiny people) who discovers a wonderful gift, and embraces the responsibility that gift entails to recover the Waterstone from the evil Nixies (water sprites.) The nature of the hopes, dreams, fears, frustrations, and challenges of Tad, Birdie and the others they meet and journey with will prove entirely recognizable to any child, as well as any adult who remembers struggling through childhood. Especially wonderful are Rupp's detailed portraits of the Fisher/Hunter/Digger Tribes and their cultures. Her interpretations of various forest animals, in particular the hawk with his hunting song and the weasels with their "earth-soft minds" provide some of the best moments in the story, effectively counteracting the otherwise heart-wrenching features.

With its rich language and vivid imgery, the text is intelligent enough to capture any adult reader's imagination without threatening a young reader's confidence. The plot is easy to follow, yet complex enough to keep the reader guessing until the end, and the climax is enough to touch any but the most hardened souls (yes, I cried and cried and cried, but how noble the sacrifice. That is all I can say.)

Though I did not want this story to end, it left me with a tidy conclusion and a necessary (although bittersweet) sense of security, which is essential to any child's world. Alas, all will be well with the Fishers, Hunters, and Diggers from now on (unless there is a sequal....) But, for now, how privileged we are to have such upstanding, quality writing at our fingertips. With originality and style so perfectly complete, Rupp's work is completely perfect.

There are a few books and serieses -- Harry Potter; Narnia; The Dark Is Rising; Inheritance Trilogy; Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher; Beyond the Valley of Thorns; Lord of the Rings -- that really touch me and keep me on the edge of my seat. The Waterstone has now been added to that list of greats.
I stayed up all night to finish this book. I loved the end, it was so dramatic and heartwrenching -- both when Pondleweed dies and Tad is calling all the creatures, I don't know why. It was practically flawless, I thought, and I'm almost afraid to look for the author's other book, because this one was just so GOOD.

The WaterStone

Tad, a boy of a fisher tribe is really worried about his village and his family. After he had almost drowned in the lake he has been hearing strange voices. And if that's not enough to keep him worried the lake is drying up any way. So his father, Pondleweed and his sister Birdie (RedBird) go out into the world to see why the lake drying up when it shouldn't. When the 3 of them go out into then world they meet some troubles but they can get through it. One of the troubles was, they met another tribe and they wanted to capture Tad as a prisoner they put him in a dungeon, but later he escaped. I would recommend this book for people that like adventure and for people who like to fit clues together.

When I read this book several years ago, I remember it being the first book in a long, long time to keep me up past midnight. It was the first book in a very long time to perfectly capture in a few words all the emotions that I was feeling and put it into the main character. It was the first book I read in a while that could do what all great books do -- make your heart swell and break and heal -- all in a few pages. Some of the scenes and dialogue ring in your mind long after you put the book away, and finally you just have to read it again, to re-experience it all.

When Tad's spear flies to the bottom of a pond and Tad goes after it, the last thing he expects is to meet a water-spirit there, Azabel. But this meeting is but the first of strange things, because slowly but surely the water supply of the Fisher tribe is drying up. When Tad, his father Pondleweed and his sister Birdie go to investigate the cause, they find something terrible has happened to the lake that was once their water-source: it is black and dammed up. Pondleweed is drawn into the water by a strange song, and doesn't return. Tad and Birdie are left alone.

Fighting back the memories-that-aren't that are growing ever stranger and more disturbing, Tad has to discover what has happened to the water. He must make allies with everyone from weasels (Not slaves!) to the different Tribes of Diggers and Hunters, and unite them all for the dangers to come. Tad must discover his own identity and destiny as the Sagamore of legend. Most importantly, they must retrieve the Waterstone in order to save the tribes -- and the world -- from certain destruction.

But nothing ever comes without a price...and sometimes the price is too painful to imagine.


Rating: Masterpiece

This was just a fun book to read! It brings a very cute story together with the feel of the North Country. The Adirondacks are my favorite place to visit and Rebecca Leonard got it right.

My daughter and I hunkered down one blustery winter night and as is our custom we had a glass of milk and read a book. Fortunately, this night we chose to read a recently purchased copy of "Adirondack Halloween". It was wonderful. The characters were interesting, the accurate references to the area were very good and the suspenseful tone was fulfilling. I especially enjoyed " the spooky walk home from the diner."
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of books that I read as a child that had a special kind of magic that keeps my joy of having read them alive to this day. I believe that for my daughter, this was one of those experiences. Easily one of the best "quick reads" I've had in a long time.

A nice spooky story that appeals to a wide audience. I loved the Adirondack theme and it really was spooky for this eighty-something reader!

Not too spooky for a wide age range. Catches local "Michigan" flavor; did he like it ? Awesome illustrations.

This is one of the best "spooky" Adirondack tales I have read in years. Being from the region makes it even more exciting to read. The illustrations completed the perfect reading experience!!! Although it is aimed at a younger audience, anyone, young, or old, with a love of the Adirondacks and an exciting tale will surely enjoy the journey of this book.

"Sophia's The Little Book of Hot Love Spells contains a plethora of unique and "do-able" spells each of which are crafted with a specific purpose in mind (there's even one for each of the zodiac signs!) This is magic perfectly suited for our post-modern times: Sophia draws from her own intensive/extensive wisdom and experience and from various esoteric traditions as well to weave these decidedly contemporary spells. Hard to say which spell I'll try first but it's bound to be fun. Cheers for this up-beat, witty, wise, and HOT spell book."

"Sophia's The Little Book of Hot Love Spells contains a plethora of unique and "do-able" spells each of which are crafted with a specific purpose in mind (there's even one for each of the zodiac signs!) This is magic perfectly suited for our post-modern times: Sophia draws from her own intensive/extensive wisdom and experience and from various esoteric traditions as well to weave these decidedly contemporary spells. Hard to say which spell I'll try first but it's bound to be fun. Cheers for this up-beat, witty, wise, and HOT spell book."

This book is a blast. Once I started browsing I found it difficult to put down. Each entry sparks the imagination!

"Sophia's The Little Book of Hot Love Spells contains a plethora of unique and "do-able" spells each of which are crafted with a specific purpose in mind (there's even one for each of the zodiac signs!) This is magic perfectly suited for our post-modern times: Sophia draws from her own intensive/extensive wisdom and experience and from various esoteric traditions as well to weave these decidedly contemporary spells. Hard to say which spell I'll try first but it's bound to be fun. Cheers for this up-beat, witty, wise, and HOT spell book."

This saucy little book is packed with quick and easy spells to spice up your love life and light up your world. Sophia has cooked up a jambalaya of varied traditions, including European witchcraft, Norse runes, Hindu chants, Voodoo powers, and Mexican magic. These fun, energetic spells need only simple ingredients and a few minutes to prepare. Turn a simple meal into an aphrodesiac feast, or bring a glamorous glow to your face before going out for the evening. Focus your magical will, get out the red candles and hot peppers, and charge yourself up with these mini-rituals!

This one is by far the best out of this series. I don't know who enjoys these books the most, my 10-month old son or my husband who is learning Spanish. The beautiful graphics in all the books in this series keep them both engaged. After he outgrows these books, we are looking forward to utilizing them as a resource for art projects. This particular book contains no errors per se, but keep in mind that the Spanish language is very rich, and there are different words (used in Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America) that mean the same thing.

Whether you're introducing Spanish to your child, or wanting a nice review, this book is GREAT because of the bright, simple pictures, its sturdiness, and its perfect size for younger children through upper elementary.

I pull out this book when I need another way to drill numbers in my Spanish classes. It goes great with the numbers lesson in the workbook Flip Flop Spanish!

A enjoy looking at this book just as much as my children do. I am a mother of 4 and a preschool teacher. The colors in this book are simple and bold. It is a great resource for teaching Spanish/English and numbers in the classroom. I like the fact that the Spanish words are not the simplest choices. It challenges the Spanish learner in me. I use this book with pre-schoolers mainly 2 year olds. It is easily adaptable to the older classroom learning Spanish.

MY NUMBERS/MIS NUMEROS is a simple, fun book. There are two pages for the numbers one through ten. The first page shows the number, with the name of the number in English and Spanish. On the facing page is a picture, with as many instances of that object as go with the number.

The illustrations in MY NUMBERS/MIS NUMEROS are spectacular. They look as if they were made using cutouts of construction paper, and combine overall simplicity with some fascinating detail. For example, for the number one the illustration is of a salamander with little round ends to his toes. My son puts his finger out and traces over the shapes with fascination. Each of the ten illustrations is excellent.

My 10-month old son loves MY NUMBERS/MIS NUMEROS. It is one that he will pull out of the book basket and look at at on his own. A good friend of mine, an artists and former teacher, loves it. Her 2 year old son also enjoyed reading this book, enough that we read it over and over when I recently babysat him. I am also enjoying MY NUMBERS/MIS NUMEROS as a way to brush up on a bit of my Spanish.

The vocabulary: 1 salamander, 2 leaves, 3 strawberries, 4 hearts, 5 carrots, 6 snakes, 7 stars, 8 bumblebees, 9 ladybugs, and 10 butterflies.

I have been using this entire series with my son since he was born, and he is now 14 months. He loves the pictures and turning the pages. The books use the format of one word per page and it gives both the English and Spanish form of the word. This is a great series for early language acquisition.

I love cats and I loved reading this book. This book contained numorous cat tales that even surprised. I have grown up with cats all of my life. I recomend this book to all.

That's all I can say! I truly loved every moment of reading this book, and at the time I didn't even have a cat! (I have one now...)

I have a Herd of little Fur Babies of my own and this gave me insite into the past and present lore of the cat. I love the every part of this book. It even gives spells using cat parts, but only the good kind such as shed wiskers and claws. A must for any mystical person with a magickal cat.

D.J. Conway has done an EXCELLENT job with this book. There is everything from ancient history on felines, to rituals and spells that you can include your kitty in. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I'm so glad someone finally wrote this book! It's all here -- history, myth, spells your kitty can help you perform, info about the different breeds, touching stories by cat "parents" whose kitties showed psychic abilities, interesting scientific facts about cat behaviour, photographs of exotic cats, folktales, cat deities, etc. Only one thing I didn't like. Was it really ncessary to tell us about cat persecutions and actually show us a picture, albeit an old one from some old horrible time, but, you know, to show us? The truth is harsh and I didn't really want to see a chapter on that in a book I love so much. But, that was only one chapter and the rest of the book is truly loveable. Thank you, DJ Conway, for writing about our furry little bundles of love :)