Reds Books

These sets contain 10 books that each tell a very short story with a funny ending through repetition. Illustrations are done well, characters are memorable. Child feels a sense of accomplishment as the set contains a chart with stickers for each book completed, a certificate of completion and a "BLANK" book for the child to author/illustrate their own book. Set also contains a parent guide. Our son loves these books... highly motivated him into a reader. He is the top reader in his kindergarten class and now has the love of books/reading that will pull him along through his education at a heightened pace.Brand New Readers Red Set (Brand New Readers)

I love these books. My daughter loves these books. She has a new-found confidence and doesn't groan anymore when I suggest we read a book. She actually asks me if we can read them, which rarely happened before. She is now very proud of herself(as am I) and is so excited about reading! I am very glad I decided to get this set and plan on ordering the other sets as well.

I love these readers and, more importantly, my daughter loves them. She has been reading these since she was 4 1/2. The stories are fun to read and the illustrations guide the reader to success. You will be so glad that you purchased these readers for the child in your life! Have fun reading together.

This is a "whole language" reading set. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but it doesn't say that anywhere, and if you're looking for phonics, I recommend you look elsewhere, such as the Bob books. I gave these to my daughter shortly before her fourth birthday because she started to memorize whole words, and with some help, she read them on her own. The stories and illustrations are entertaining. However, as far as teaching reading goes, we've had just as much success using simple books we already have as well as borrowing the many whole word easy readers from the library. I wouldn't bother spending money on more of these fancy sets.

One thing that did bother me was the advice given in the teaching guide- encouraging children to guess at words- "Look at the picture. What would make sense?" I just don't believe in teaching children to read that way. Even if the books are entertaining, I can't give a four or five star rating when the teaching guide offers that kind of advice.

I think these books are one of the best things for new readers ever. My son was intimidated by reading--he had the capacity, but wanted like so many overacheivers to be able to read immediately, and when he realized it just didn't work that way decided to give up.

Then a friend gave me a four book Brand New Reader set featuring Mouse (Mouse has remained my son's favorite BNR character). The introduction tells the parent exactly what to say, and the child has a heads up about what the story is about. The pictures make it apparent what the words will be, and yet they learn (with a gentle reminder or two) to look carefully at each word and sound it out.

I bought the BNR Orange set recently and was thrilled by what was inside. There are ten funny books (the humor is what makes these books so much fun), ten stickers and a chart to put them on once the child has read each book by him/herself. There is also an acheivement certificate for once they have accomplished reading all ten, AND a blank BNR book for them to write their own story in. My son just drew pictures on each page, and then I wrote what he wanted the words to be, and I was stunned by how clever it was, and how it seemed to fit the format of the BNR books, funny and simple. It seems that BNR is helping him not only learn to read, but to understand the concept of author as writer, illustrator as artist, and story structure (beginning, middle, end).

I can't wait to start the blue series!

(note, we are also using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." I cannot recommend this book enough, we are only on lesson 10, and already my son is sounding out words easily and rhyming. It is a brilliant program, but beware, parents, of skipping the introduction. I did so, and had to start over once I actually read it, as the techniques are different than any I've seen. For instance, silent letters in a word (such as the silent e) are at first presented smaller than the other letters, as well as not having a dot beneath them, so the child skips the sound but sees it, and is not surprised later on when it shows up in full size. I highly recommend both Brand New Reader books and 100 Easy lessons in combination, so that while the child is learning lifelong reading skills, he also has experience with the satisfaction of reading a book by himself. By the end of 100 Lesson children ought to be reading at a second grade level; I will review this book again once finished to advise whether this is true or not.)

This book is a must addition to everyone's personal library. I have never been quite sure what to do when someone I know and care about is experiencing a life crisis. Now, I have 100+ specific, useful suggestions of what I CAN do, and suggestions for what NOT to do! If you have ever asked yourself how you can help a loved one in a time of need, you must have this book handy. Thanks to the authors for sharing their personal experiences and for helping all of us be the best we can be!

This is a must read for all of us who genuinely want to help. Candice and Kathy have captured all the practical and essential ways that we can be truly useful to family and friends in their time of need. The specific, pragmatic information is interspersed with witt, humor and spiritual wisdom making it as enjoyable to read as it is valuable. Because this little gem of a book helps both the people in need of help know what to ask for and the people wanting to help know what to offer, copies should be available in hospitals, churches, schools, nursing homes, therapists' offices and in each of our homes. Thanks, Candice and Kathy!

I was fortunate to be able to read the manuscript before it was published (but now am a proud owner of the book). While reading I saw myself in every page--either as the offender (person who always said "Call me if you need anything!) or on the receiving end of some one trying to help me by saying "Call me if you need anything."

It wasn't until I read this book that I realized how unhelpful a statement like that is. Nobody is going to call me if they need anything and I would never call any one if I needed something. But, what else is there to say/do in some situations?

Well, there are 100 things to do and through Candice's book, you can learn them all. This book is straight-forward (like it's author)! A good read with a powerful message.

Having experienced my own crises, I know how important it is to have friends and family at your side in a time of need. I also know how many times others just don't come through for you. Often they just don't know what to say or do and end up saying or doing the wrong thing or nothing at all. It is of great comfort to know that someone has written a book that will help address these times of crises in a meaningful way. This book is very well written, easily read, and provides a neat list of 100 ways to help in times of need. It is a book that you can refer to again and again. It should be part of everyone's library.

I read Candice's book and loved it. So often one doesn't know how to help or what to say or do when a friend is going through a rough time.
This book is so helpful.
I highly recommend it.

I had to check since I saw this was the 19th? It doesn't seem that long ago! But she keep the series fresh. I really enjoy Nelson's books, even her new one Dancing with Werewolves.

Long Live Midnight Louie! As a cat love (I have five) I really enjoy the books with cats in them.

I've read this series since it started and still enjoy every one of them. The story stays fresh and entertaining even as the core cast of characters stays the same. That takes talent! I can't wait for the next book to come out!

I love the Midnight Louie series and wish she would get them out more often! Of course, I am a "cat lover" and I just love Louie's personality - a little bit arrogant!

If you have not read any of the Midnight Louie Books by author Carole Nelson Douglas, you are missing out on an entertaining, and incredible series. Louie is a crime solving master along with his partner and self proclaimed long loast daughter Louise.. He takes care of a cast of characters that always seem to find trouble in their hometown of Las Vegas. There is mystery,magic,intrigue,sex and love. One is held spellbound by the mysteries that unfold as told by the master crime solver of all time, Mr. Midnight Louie. Here's the best part...Louie has black fur and four legs and he can out-think and out-smart any human on this planet. This is witty,clever and heartwarming for any cat lover who loves mysteries as well as anyone looking for some clever twists and turns to keep them guessing about "Who Done It."

Louie; I don't know what I'd do without you...keep on rocking!!

Premise: This the 19th book in the Midnight Louie Mystery series. This volume brings into play the Red Hat Sisterhood - an organization for women over 50 that encourages freedom, fun, and that life is not lost once that benchmark is reached. For PR wiz Temple Barr, this gig should have been a piece of cake - that is until murder enters the scene and Electra Lark, Temple's fun loving landlady is the prime suspect.

Review: For those of you still screaming from the cliff hanger in book 18, you will still be screaming. Aside from some very subtle hints, we still don't know what exactly has happened to Max after the piece of sabotage at the Neon Nightmare club. But there is still plenty going on to keep our minds occupied and away from the happenings with Mr. Max Kinsela. Things continue to heat up between Temple and Matt. Lines have been drawn and crossed! We get info on Electra Lark's past and even get to meet her ex (or is he?). Louie has his own problems, as now that Electra has been fingered for possible murder, it wrecks his plans to get the crew of stray cats (and his Mom) taken in and fed by the neighbors. His daughter (though never proven and he will never admit it), Midnight Louise, harps on him about needing to find out what has happened to Max Kinsela and is not happy Louie's attentions are being split to the Red Hat Murders at hand. And let's not forget Lieutenant Molina, who makes a late but definite flashy entrance as she too continues on her own Max hunt and gets bit as she once more crosses the line of the law. Carole Nelson Douglas once more takes us an a fun ride of all that is Las Vegas and sets us up nicely for what else is soon to come.

This is a book to read or to taste. Open to any page and find a practical suggestion to help you live a more peaceful life. Susyn has identified the core barrier that prevents so many Americans from acknowledging happiness. Read one "How To Do It" and feel Susyn's understanding and support. With peace and happiness you can accomplish anything.

This book showed up in my life just after visiting the Ann Frank Memorial in Boise, Id. I wanted to "be the change I want to see in the world" and I wondered how I could "become peace". The next day this book came into my life. I have been following its daily instructions and friends are starting to comment(in a good way) about the changes they see in me. This book offers simple exercises to help one focus on small changes to promote peace in oneself and, thus, the world. I highly recommend this 52 week program.

Susyn Reeve's "Choose Peace and Happiness" has changed my life. This is a book you actually use, on a daily basis, focusing on one theme per week. By week's end, you own that lesson, it has become part of your being. This is Ms. Reeve's genius. She doesn't just tell you how to find peace and happiness, she guides the reader through the process in an exciting, enjoyable and meaingful way. My life began changing almost immediately, and the changes have been profound. My health has radically improved, my career has taken a new and rewarding path, and my relationships are more meaningful. And yet, with all this change, it has been gentle, easy, and no one else's world has been disrupted as a result.

This is a book I will be giving to many people this Christmas. I can't think of a more important gift to give people than the opportunity to achieve peace and happiness.

This is an amazing book. The author takes you through an easy- read daily guide. The concept is simple. You read the thought of the day and let it sink in during your daily chores. Pretty soon it comes back and hit you. She's right!!!

This book is all about making your life better through the choices your make. It has changed mine and I have become a firm believer in Reeve's philosophy.

I highly recommend the book to anyone who is looking for change. CP&H is empowering! Don't miss the author's website either (www.susynreeve.com), lot's of good stuff there too!

I am proud to say that I know Susyn Reeve and I can tell you that she not only wrote this book, she lives it. "Choose Peace & Happiness" is one of those very rare books whose title is so perfect, it not only sums up the book, it is a kind of mantra that you can repeat when you feel yourself slipping into old patterns of negativity, a title that helps you take the book with you into your life. And you are going to want to do that! This is a life-changing book, all you need to do is read it and use it the way it was meant to be used and watch your life change for the better. Buy it! There is absolutely no reason to not choose "Choose Peace & Happiness," unless you want to keep choosing anger and unhappiness!?

Clifford is a wonderful children's character. Before Clifford was a Big Red Dog, he was a small red puppy. This is a good book for 3-100. It is about a big red dog that went to live with a girl named Emily Elizabeth who raised him and showed Clifford how to have a big heart. I think this book is wonderful for kids while learning to read.


I loved this book when I was 3 years old and I still love it and now I am 12. I just think that it is a fun book to read because it feels like you are with Clifford when he goes on his adventures. My favorite book of the ones that Bridwell has written is definitely Clifford's Schoolhouse. I just love the pictures and the flaps to the book. It comes in hard cover and paperback.


I really hope that my book review helped. I hope that you will buy this book for your child. I promise you they will like it for years to come.

- Vic Wharton

This book has achieved suprisingly long-lived popularity among my two kids, who are now ages 6 and 4. They've enjoyed this book on and off for years. While other books will get some attention and then are dropped, this is one they seem to keep coming back to.

Though it's only 10 pages, there's a lot here: shapes, colors, numbers, letter and basic nursery rhymes. The kids love the tactical fun of the lift-a-flap discoveries, and that's a good way for them to learn.

This is an excellent board book for the all those little children who love Clifford the Big Red Dog. Clifford stands out on the front of the book. I highly recommend this book.

My 22 month old really likes this book and it is fun and educational. A good learning tool!

Highly recommend it....my son loves opening the flaps and having me read them. Clifford books are great!

Excellent translation. Red Pine has insight that relates to the layperson as well as the scholar or pupil.

Red Pine's translation of the Diamond Sutra, is, in my opinion, the best out there. Though A.F. Price's version is still a classic, and better in terms of flow, Pine's edition expresses clearly the difficult teachings of emptiness, many of which are missed in more eloquent versions. Even more impressive is the vast array of sources that Pine uses to make four hundred pages of commentary on it, a commentary which should clarify this difficult teaching for most students.

Mahayana Buddhism has provided some of the most profound texts for cutting right to the core. The Diamond Sutra even cuts through Buddhist beliefs. In this sutra, the Buddha shows even his most important teachings to be provisional. This and the Heart Sutra are the two most chanted sutras in Zen. In this book, The Diamond Sutra is presented in an unsurpassed English translation. I have read others and this is the clearest, rendered with simplicity and poetic cadence. The Sutra itself is only twenty-seven pages, and is given right at the beginning of this 471-page book. In the East, no one would think of reading a sacred text without commentaries from prominent teachers. Here, thanks to Red Pine, we too can be guided by the likes of Hui-neng, Asanga, Fu-hsi, Seng-chao, and others. So, the Sutra is here broken down chapter by chapter and line by line with commentaries, and textual notes which carefully explain the content of the sutra. What is going to be important for the reader is that the commentaries are not dry, dull stuff; they are meaningful, rich with insight, even absorbing. In other words, they not only make accessible the scholarship necessary to understand the text, but they are worthy of meditation, which is how I use the book, a section each morning. I don't think you'll find a more helpful book on the Diamond Sutra.

This text is very wise indeed. A great book for those seeking the way of non-attachment. Are you suffering? Then get this book. Don't have the money? Then why suffer? You are complete.

I checked this book out through the library first. But it is one of those books that is so good I just had to get my own copy. You'll love the way Mr. Pine brings together the best quotes on specific passages in this Sutra. It is tremendous. Readers who enjoy this book will also thrive with author Vernon Howard.

A beautiful bible. The text is a reasonable size making it easy and enjoyable to read. I have received many favourable comments from friends eager to know where I bought it. The content of the book, of course, is what is really most important. A truly Spirit inspired and life changing book.

This fits in my purse and my husband always has his in his back pocket.

It has a soft dark blue cover with the Celtic cross and other designs "embossed" on the front. The spine has the same embossed look but with the "Holy Bible", the ESV Seal, "English Standard Version", and "Crossway" on it. The back is plain with only "True Tone Series" and the ISBN number on the lower right hand corner in very small letters. The cover is a soft leather and will gather small scratches dull out a bit when used. It does not take away from the beauty of it though but gives it a nice "worn in" look.

The words are in a very small font with the words of Christ in red. So if you don't mind the small font, it could work for you. This bible contains footnotes, a "Weights & Measures" page and a condensed Concordance. The outside pages are silver in color which fades after much use. (But don't they all?) Pages are good enough to hightlight passages and it won't seriously bleed through.

About the ESV:
This version is wonderful. I really liked the NASB but this ESV "version" is the closest to it. (Being that the NASB is the closest to the original Hebrew & Greek, ESV is the closest to the NASB but in a more "flowy" manner that doesn't "water" the Word down like the NIV does. Some of my friends and I like to joke that the NASB is the "Yoda" version. The sentences are not as nicely structured because of the almost "literal" translation of it. The ESV fixes that.) Plus the ESV version is endorsed by J.I. Packard, R.C. Sproul, A. Mohler, W. Grudem, etc.

My church has switched to the ESV and this bible is perfect because I can easily carry it with me. Not to thick, not too long, and not too big, but it isn't too small either. The look of it is nice as a gift, which is how I got mine. At some bible stores, they will have them emboss your name on it if you wish.

I was very pleased with the design and quality of this product. The cover is soft and durable. The binding top-notch. I highly recommend this product.

I love the size and the color. Of course, God's Word is life-changing and that alone is worth more than can be explained. I like the version and how it stays true to the original meaning.

I ordered this Bible for my sister's birthday. She loves it! We just started using the ESV Bible at our church for services. It is a great translation! One thing both my sister & I noticed right away about this Bible is that even though it is smaller than a standard large size Bible, the font used in the text makes it VERY easy to read. The cover is also very nicely made.

If you're looking for an intelligent, well thought out and organized guide to using tarot cards, this is the best I've ever found. It is not, strictly speaking, a traditional, Waite-deck, 'fortune-telling' approach. Originally published under the title, 'Choice Centered Tarot', this allows one to use the tarot as a guide to reflection, choice-making and everyday living. It can be used for creative projects and busting out of mental ruts. It is also easy to read, use and understand, and it's fun.

This is an older edition of the book now known as "Everyday Tarot", but since this is what I have, this is the review you get ;)

I read tarot on the side, but not that often. Still, I have enough experience to have more than the basics down, and I really liked the angle this particular author took. The book is very much a psychological approach to Tarot, with a strong emphasis on what the individual symbols mean to each reader and querent. Rather than being dogmatic about what each card means or doesn't mean, Fairfield encourages the reader to really think about the symbolism, even to the point of thinking very carefully about the colors in a deck before purchasing it. She advocates an approach to tarot that has a lot of preparation rooted in personalization rather than superstition.

I also like her comparison of divination to sitting in a hot air balloon. You can see a lot more than just the immediate surroundings, and get a much better perspective on what's going on. It's a very open-ended approach, one that allows a lot more freedom of personal interpretation and perception.

The meanings she gives for the individual cards are her own, admittedly, but she gives a lot of detail-and the preceding information provides the context within which she reads. Her section on designing and using spreads is also valuable.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's an incredibly useful tool for Tarot readers of any experience level, and would be a definite help in creating a more thoughtful, conscious approach to reading, rather than just going by whatever the book says.

I've been reading for over 30 years, and this is *still* my absolute favorite tarot book. I like the different approach she takes to it, addressing symbolism and numerology, rather than just the meanings of the cards. I'm thinking about starting to teach classes and, if people can still get it, this is the book I'll use.

"The only limit to the ways the Tarot can be used is your own imagination. Each life event, each emotional interaction, each inner awareness, presents us with an opportunity to understand ourselves and our Universe better. Every new problem or question is a challenge; with each challenge we discover new ways of using the Tarot." - From the book

Author Gail Fairfield advocates a choice-centered approach to Tarot, which encourages Tarot readers and querents ("readees" as she calls them) to use the cards for making better life decisions. In her book Everyday Tarot, Fairfield explains the structure of a Tarot deck, the development of number (such as "Two-ness"), the four suits, designing a layout (card spread) and more.

An excellent book for both Tarot beginners and experienced readers, Everyday Tarot provides an overview of the Major and Minor Arcana. According to Fairfield, every card is neutral in value, i.e. neither good nor bad in and of itself. However, the meaning of the card can be stretched along the entire spectrum of positive or negative. She likens cards to rain: rain is neutral, but too much can cause a disastrous flood and too little can cause a drought. Determining whether a card is to be interpreted positively or negatively depends largely on a querent's personality, question, and spread position.

Regarding reversals, Fairfield doesn't feel that the basic card meaning is affected, although the way an individual experiences the concept may change quite a bit. Upright cards indicate that an individual is experiencing the concept in a public, clear, objective or obvious way. Reversals, however, indicate that an individual is experiencing the concept in a more subtle, private, subjective, internal way.

For each suit and card, the author provides General/Neutral meanings as well as Positive, Negative, Upright, and reversed.

Arguable the most intriguing part of Everyday Tarot is the development of number throughout the Minor Arcana. Fairfield groups all the Minors in sets of three, except the 10's and Kings. These groups describe four different cycles-each having a particular level. She explains that every triad contains THIS, THAT, and THE OTHER. THIS refers to something new that is established, THAT challenges, confronts, changes or expands THIS and THE OTHER resolves and integrates the interaction between THIS and THAT. For example, Aces start the first cycle of three (the conceptual level) and are THIS, while Two-ness solidifies or confirms the direction of the Ace (THAT). Three-ness (THE OTHER) then unifies the aggressive energy of the One/Ace with the stabilizing energy of the Two. (The way she explains these groupings and cycles are easier than it sounds.)

The 10's are described as "hesitating" and aren't included in the triads or cycles. The Kings represent a completion point, and thus are outside of the triads as well.

Everyday Tarot also includes information on the reading process, choosing a Tarot deck based on symbols, ways to use the cards, and expanding your reading skills.

Personally, I found a lot of new, helpful information in this book. For example, I hadn't considered numerical values all that much when performing Tarot readings, but Fairfield's methods are so sensible and accessible, that I've started employing her system. I am also enjoying exploring reversals as internalized versions of cards as opposed to interpreting them merely as blocks, hindrances, or opposites of upright meanings. Everyday Tarot has also provided me additional insight regarding the suit of Wands. Fairfield considers Wands the suit of "Self", representing personal growth, awareness, and personal direction. It's the suit asking, "Who am I and where am I going?"

I've highlighted my copy of Everyday Tarot to death, and refer to it often. Overall, it's probably the best Tarot book that I've read thus far. Fairfield writes in the engaging style of a fellow reader as opposed to some high-minded "expert" pontificating in brittle prose. Her explanations are clear, her organization is tight, and her methods are empowering to both the reader and the querent. At 153 pages, it's not a huge book, but it's packed with immediately useful information and new ways of looking at-and using-the Tarot.

Gail Fairfield's "Choice Centered Tarot" is one of my top 5 tarot books. Rather than a lot of superstitious fatalism, Fairfield offers us a worldview that embraces taking personal responsibility for our choices in the present moment in order to CREATE our futures. The tarot is presented as a tool for gaining insights into those choices so we can be more informed and conscious. The section on choosing a deck based on how certain facets of humanity are depicted in the card images is very helpful and thought-provoking. The section on designing your own layouts is deeply empowering! When I first read "Choice Centered Tarot" in the 1980s, it made a huge impact on my tarot work AND on my personal philosophy of life. It still does. Get it and use it!!!

It can be difficult to find a fairy tale collection that manages to hit on a wider spectrum of stories, rather than the hish-hash collections of everything that everyone has memorized or the collections that go out of the way to find the most unknown and unusual. This has both, from the familiar to the distinctly different, and told in a classic Victorian voice. There is a story for everyone here, romantic, macabre, and even funny, and from a variety of countries and cultures. It's a good, basic show of different types of stories, and each one is memorable! Defintely a must-have for the fairy tale collector!

I originally heard about the Red Fairy Book in the Annotated Hobbit, it was listed as one of J.R.R. Tolkiens influance's.
Anyways I found it and started to read it, and I must say it is the best fairy tale book I own. It's much more lush and interesting than Grimms, though Grimm is great, this book is so far my favorite.
Quite possibly the best fairy tale book ever written.

I bought Lang's Red Fairy book on a lark, expecting it to be just another re-collection of Grimms' tales and various English and French fairy tales that I had already been exposed to. I expected it would be nice, light bedtime reading and little else. When I saw that the first tale was the Twelve Dancing Princesses, I settled in for a rehash of a tale I've know since childhood.

Was I ever surprised! The Twelve Dancing Princesses was related in a manner I had never read before, the end result being a much more engaging storyline. The hero and his bride were given names, personalities, and a depth that is missing from practically every other fairy tale collection I own. The result is a story that is short enough to be read to a child at bedtime, but lush, engaging, and interesting enough to grip even the most jaded folktale enthusiast. Just a small list of the differences in the Twelve Dancing Princesses story from the "traditional" versions I already owned:

1. The hero seeking the elusive answer is not an old, jaded soldier, but a young, thoughtful peasant boy.

2. The princes who fail to find the answer do not have their heads cut off by the murderous king (a plot device which made no sense, because it discouraged questors who might gain the answer, not to mention that the kingly fathers would likely object to this treatment of their sons), but rather "disappear" completely - a development that is carefully explained in the story.

3. The princesses come to accept the loss of their nightly amusements and relish a chance to grow up, put away childish things, and become queens.

4. The princess who marries the questor marries him out of love and acceptance, and the marriage is a joyous one, not a form of humiliation and punishment of the 'proud' princess.

Each of the stories is this way - old, familiar, completely recognizable, and yet totally new and compelling. I cannot recommend this collection highly enough, and once I finish the Red book, I will happily move to the next colors in the rainbow.

As Tolkien's enthusiastic, I read The Red Fairy Book because I wanted to know about Tolkien's early influences.
Andrew Lang's books were the first books that Tolkien ever read, he owned The Red Fairy Book and even after long time he remembered it fondly.
If you are searching for Tolkien in this book you will not be disappointed. You will find there the source for the name of Pippin for instance, you will find in the stories grains of ideas and themes that later found themselves in LOTR.

But you will find there more than just LOTR references. You will find great stories, some of them a little naive for the cynical reader, but all of them interesting. Even if you are adult, this book will conquer you completely. This is a book for all the members of the family. You will love it and your children will love it. Some of the stories are suitable for very small children to read to them before bedtime.

If you are searching for so called "sophisticated" books, this book is not for you. It contained simple stories, some of them with moral and it is lacking complex motives and emotions, after all, it is fairy tales.

When I was in third grade, my school had the Red, Blue, and Yellow Faerie books, and as I was an avid reader I read all 3 of them. The one I continued to check-out and reread over and over again however was The Red Fairy Book. I have fond memories of many hours spent turning the pages of this book, and admittedly, it could be that I am looking back thru rose colored spectacles, it made such an impression on me that I am now collecting the whole fairy book series.

I was dubious about buying this book, but I decided to go ahead and get it since I'm familiar with the author. I knew it wasn't something I would like myself, but figured my boyfriend would so it wouldn't be a waste.
After I got it I flipped through a few pages before my giving it to my boyfriend. Well why did I do that! I was hooked from the very first page.
This is really and truly one of the best books I've ever read.
It tells the story of Bumpy Johnson, the gangster who ran Harlem after fighting it out with the Mafia in the thirties. I had seen the movie Hoodlum, so I knew Bumpy was a colorful character, but the movie didn't tell the half of it. This books tells Bumpy's early life, how he turned to a life of crime, and the principles he had while in the life. He wasn't like the thugs they have out here now. He was tougher than any alive, for one. But also, as tough as he was (and he was tough!) he still was a good man in a lot of ways. That's why he was so loved.
The book tells about Bumpy's childhood in Charleston, his arrival in Harlem in 1919, and how he got started as a gangster. We also learn about a lot of the other colorful characters he ran with like Bub Hewlett and Madame Queen who were also portrayed in the movie Hoodlum, and also what eventually happened to them.
It also tells about Bumpy's time in prison, and how he raised so much hell there the wardens were trying to figure out how to get him the heck out of prison. Can you imagine that?
The book also tells about other Harlem characters who've never been written about. Like Dickie Wells, who was a gigilo who romanced white movie stars and got rich doing so, and then spent all his money uptown in Harlem, treating black women to a good time. He was a gigilo who never took a dime from a black woman but bilked white ones for all they had.
And the book also talks about Red Dillard Morrison, who was almost (but only almost) as colorful as Bumpy.
And the book gives an interesting history of Harlem that I never knew, and how the black people had to hire people like Bub Hewlett and Bumpy Johnson (they called them the Harlem Bad Men) to protect them from the whites who would come up from Hells Kitchen and try to break black heads. Bub really put a stop to that!
There's also great stories about Bill Bojangles Robinson, Lena Horne and others. And I didn't know that Bumpy was godfather to Sydney Poitier's oldest daughter. But with all that, Bumpy was still a bad man, and a colorful one that you can't help taking a liking too. He didn't smoke or curse around women he didn't know, but he would still shoot or cut a man in a minute.
Like another reviewer already said, the book reads like a novel, and a really good one. Even though it's more than 200 pages I flew through it and then was mad when I was finished because it was so good I didn't want to stop reading it.
I can't say enough about this book. Like I already said, it's one of the best I've ever read. I really, really, really recommend it to everyone!

This book is GREAT!. I love the way Bumpy Johnson's story is told from his wife's point of view without the book being all about her. Ms. Quinones-Miller is such an excellent writer that you forget while reading it that it is a non-fiction book. I read this book from the moment I got it until I finnished and I was not dissapointed at all. I suggest this book to anybody who loves BIOGRAPHIES AND URBAN FICTION. It is the best!!!

I really loved this Book.. After spending years searching for any information on Bumpy Johnson, I was excited to find that this book would be published. When I recieved my copy I read it in two days, and was very happy to learn about the "Real Bumpy Johnson". He was some man... The movie couldn't get it right, but this book certainly has... Congratulations to the author on a job well done...

Thank You Mrs. Johnson for sharing this true to heart story about Bumpy Johnson with alot of history intertwined. I looked at American Gangster and Hollywood have it all wrong. From reading this book about Bumpy's life, I feel that he helped pave the way and made Harlem what it is to this day, and his legend still lives thru Harlem. This story was told from his childhood years until his last days. I felt I truly knew Bumpy Johnson when I read the book, but while reading, I wished I had not only knew Mr. Johnson, but I wished only for a glimpse of The Harlem Godfather. This book is told thru his wife's voice, and it was no fairy tale, but it was told from the heart of a woman who loved him the most. I not only learned about Bumpy, but I learned about others such as Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles", Lucky Luciano, Flash Walker (who Frank Lucas so wanted his life to be) and Billie Holiday. I was the most amazed at how a young little boy from the south that came to Harlem and took over. I also have to give Bumpy his credit whatever he went thru or did, he still loved his people and did his time like a true man and snitching wasn't even in his vocabulary.

Thanks Mrs. Mayme Johnson and Karen E. Quinones from setting the record straight for all of America. Thanks for educating me on a part of American History of Bumpy Johnson, and telling me a story that I will will always know who the real Bumpy Johnson really was from his start until that last tear from my eyes to the end of the book!! Bumpy Johnson, Harlem's and America's True Gangster R.I.P. !!

Imagine sitting around on the living room floor in your grandmother's house, listening carefully as your grandmother recaps your family history. That is the feeling I got while reading Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson by Mayme Johnson and Karen E Quinones Miller.

Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was already making a name for himself. His parents, worrying about his safety, send him to live with his older sister, Mabel, in Harlem. This was the beginning of a new sheriff in town, and he meant business.

If loyalty is what you wanted; Bumpy was the man to find. Anything happening in Harlem had to be approved by him as well, and he never ever backed downed. Especially when he knew he was right. Though his main business was numbers running and protection, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, on a drug trafficking charge. Something he did not see coming, for all of Harlem knew the type of man he was.

Mayme Johnson wanted to set the record straight about the type of man, her husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, was. The type of people he kept company with and how he dealt with those who thought they could bring him down. At 93 years-old her memories of the things which took place, from the time Bumpy was young all the way up until the day of his death, was impressive. Though she met Bumpy in 1948, he along with his true friends shared the events of his earlier days with her, as well as things that took place when she was not there.

Mayme Johnson and Karen E Quinones Miller cleared up a lot of falsified information in Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. Sometimes they flipped back and forth within the timeline, but it was not hard to keep up with. The main thing I had a concern about was the lack of proper editing. There were numerous errors of all sorts. The binding was also an issue for me. I found it hard to hold the book comfortably. All and all I still recommend Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson to anyone wanting to know the truth about the real American gangster.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub