Signs Books

The characters are very interesting and the writer takes a lot of time building them so you can get a good sense of who each of them are. But, in my opinion, I find the author takes too much time building to the point the book moved slow for me. I am just at the last few chapters and I just can't bring myself to finish the book when it SHOULD be that I can't wait to finish. I will finish and I am looking forward to hearing the ending but it just hasn't left me dying to find out what happens. EDIT.....................................................................I have now finished the book and I didn't care for the ending at all. It really didn't make a lot of sense to me. There are so many loose ends that were never tied up in the ending. This "Battle Ultimo" buisness the writer kept talking about through the whole book had absolutely NOTHING to do with anything which I found highly annoying. Based on the ending, I am changing my star rating from 3 stars down to a 2 star even though Amazon won't officially let me change my original star rating. This writer has great potential. Perhaps with her next book, she will take the time to make sure her ending wraps up more of the loose ends and not leave it scattered all over the place like I found this book to be. Would I recommend this book? Maybe. Would I read another book from this author? Yes, I think for a first attempt, she did a fairly good job.

Great read. This is an impressive work, especially for a first time author. Moves fast, keeps the reader engaged and is 'Michael Crichton' like. I highly recommend this book for those that like science thrillers.

I do not read too many books thinking I am too busy to get involved in a book so I read the paper and magazines. This book caught my eye, then my attention and then all of me where I couldn't set it down. When I did have to set it down, the short chapters and interesting characters made it easy to pick back up and get right back into it. I like it when you can't predict the end or who all the good and bad people are and keeps you on the edge until the end. This does great work in intertwining history, the Bible, religions, government, medical, corporations, and the media to take you on an adventurous journey and leaves you thinking at the end.

This taut suspense novel brings together the worlds of medicine, boradcasting and religion - and behind the suspenseful plot, gives the reader plenty to think about in terms of the cynical world we live in. The pharmaceutical industry, the FDA, politicians, network programming executives, the Vatican - everybody gets a full-palmed "bitch slap" (to use the character Spider's colorful phrase) from the author. But beneath all the engaging cross currents lies a recognition that faith - when it's pure and unsullied - will win out.

A somewhat creative and original plot gets lost with the "jumping" between characters and multiple subplots which don't connect as well as they probably should. At times I found the characters very uninteresting and I simply didn't care about them. Incredibly dissapointing and unsuspensful ending.

I am so glad I picked this up. I'm a fool for creative marketing, and this book is very endearing. The story of Burma-Shave and their roadside advertising is timeless. I am under 40, never drove past a Burma-Shave sign in my life, and it was still a terrific book to read. A fascinating look at an ingenious American success story. And a laugh or two on every page!

The second half the book is a catalog of all (most) of the Burma-Shave slogans used, chronicled by year.

We've had this book for a few years and I recently ordered another as a gift for a friend in our age group (seniors). I think this book includes ALL the Burma-Shave messages, including many which were rejected by the company, some of which are funny. Anyone over 60 will remember these ubiquitous signs all over the country; we always looked forward to reading them while riding with our folks! Younger readers with an interest in America's less-serious ("folk") culture will probably enjoy it, too.

This book brings back wonderful memories of my childhood travelling to Missouri to see my grandparents. Great to know these sayings have been preserved!

A short and decently written account of the Burma Shave phenomenon that had me, as a child from the 1940's, searching along the northwestern two-lane road sides for those pithy and succinct phrases which always ended in "Burma Shave". They never failed to delight and I carried several sayings with me well into adulthood. This book brings back the delight and gives a nicely written history of what it was all about.

This was purchased as a gift for my Dad and he loves it.

We have an autistic child and she is a very visual learner. Signing has encouraged her to understand more of what we are saying and she has even started to sign many things herself. Great book to help encourage such behaviour!

This little book is handy to learn the most basic of signs.
It is simple to understand, and I used it to help teach mentaly impaired folks to communicate with our new deaf family member. It is not a conversational teacher, but as said, good and easy to learn the alphabet, colors, numbers, & simple questions. The pictures are clear, but scattered accross the pages.

This book, while small, is packed full of everyday, useful phrases in ASL! The colorful photos make the motions clear and easy to replicate. The format also entices children to explore the book and ask questions! I recommend this book for any beginner who would like to pick up a few useful signs! They should turn this into a small series!

This is not a comprehensive textbook on sign language, but then again, it doesn't purport to be. What more can a person expect in 48 pages?

The subject matter is conveniently araged in categories, such as colors, sports, faily relatives, and emotions. When a sign bears some relation with the item being signed, the author makes certain that the reader notices the relationship.

The book is replete with colorful cartoons and color photographs of children performing signs. However, I wish that the layout artist had read the Dartnell Advertising Handbook, which states that no more than 5 elements should be included on a page. The titles, text blocks, photographs, and cartoons are superimposed on each other and scattered helter-skelter. I agree with the anonymous reviewer of July 5, 2003.

One more concern: many of the signs involve signing the initial letter. The book purports to deal with ASL, but this factor makes it look suspiciously like Signed English.

For both adults and toddlers, this is a very user-friendly "keep it simple, keep it fun" introduction to American Sign Language. When my four-year-old grandson's speaking ability was damaged after an accident over two years ago, all members of my nuclear family acquired from Amazon several copies of this book in order to become familiar with basic statements and with the sign alphabet.

Thanks to a lot of therapy and special education, his speaking ability is very much improved now and will probably be close to fully restored by the time he enters Kindergarten. Nevertheless, we always know where our copies are in the event we need to ready ourselves to communicate to hearing impaired persons.

A wonderful peek into the past. This book shows that "merry olde England" was not so merry after all, especially when The Black Death, bubonic plague, swept through London in 1665. Honest but not overpowering in its depiction of the tradgedy, with adventure and a little romance; honest too in its hints of the bawdiness of the times. A believable and likable heroine, a page-turning climax, a great read.

At the sign of the sugared plum is a touching story and is the best book I've ever read! The story-line is of Hannah and her older sister Sarah struggling through difficult times as the plague threatens them in every chapter. Bringing the scene alive is exatly what Mary Hooper acheives, you can imagine the sights and smells of London, the church bells ringing constantly declaring more deaths as the sisters parish becomes infected.Also the fear stricken into Hannah as she discovers more and more blood, red crosses on doors and the dreaded words: God have mercy on us! This is also a very educational book telling you about the scenes of London, the symtoms of the plague such as the buboes and tokens that apper on the body. Everything seems so real as they travel through the disease stricken land-the pits piled high to the brim with corpses and the smell of preventives everywhere! I don't think Hannah will have any more time to worry about her bright red hair or freckles! This is a must read book!!!!!

At the sign of the sugared plum is just plan BRILLIANT!!! I would recomend it to Anyone and I advise Anyone to read it.
Mary Hooper creates the scene of london so well that you can imagen that your there in the terribl time of the Plauge.
Please, please, PLEASE read this book because I assure you that you're love it!

For Hannah, going to London for the first time and living there with her sister Sarah is the most wonderful adventure she has ever had in her happy but rather sheltered life. Sarah owns and runs a sweet shop, The Sugared Plum, and Hannah has come to help her make the candies and sweetmeats sold in the shop.

Even before Hannah arrives at the Sugared Plum, she receives warnings that all is not well in the great city, warnings that she chooses to ignore. Even after she finds the shop and is reunited with her sister, Hannah chooses to brush off the disturbing remarks that her sister makes about the possibility of a plague spreading through the city. Hannah insists that there are only a few cases of the illness in the more distant slums, and she is determined to stay in London and become a city lady.

However, this state of affairs does not last, and Hannah and Sarah watch and listen with fear and horror as the plague begins its terrifyingly rapid spread through the city. In this time of great misery and suffering, Hannah discovers a good deal about herself and others, about the cruelty and compassion that can lie in the hearts of both friends and strangers. Somehow, Hannah and her sister have to survive this terrible calamity and escape the monster that threatens both their lives.

Beautifully written, gripping and able to transport us into a London of 1665 complete with its sounds, smells and people, AT THE SIGN OF THE SUGARED PLUM is a book I highly recommend.

--- (...)

Despite the work of art that is this book's cover, At the Sign of the Sugared Plum is a simple book. The plot is somewhat-suspenseful, but rather boring all the same. The middle is anti-climatic, and the end is a bit of a let down.

However, Hooper does manage to create believable characters/settings and recreates the Plague with such vividness that it's unsettling. In fact, I'm being a bit of a snob. This is a good book-I'm jut not a historical fiction fan, which, indeed, gives me no right to criticize this book. If you like historical fiction, this is a wonderful book.

Hooper writes very well, if simply. I guess my main qualm is that this is not a book you can read twenty or more times (which is what I like to do!). I've read it once, mostly enjoyed it, and I will at least check out the sequel. My point? History fans-go for it!

The layout of the book is really good - pages of the animal with a child doing the sign and the word on the opposing page, followed with all the pictures only on the back page. Animals seem to work especially well, and my son love's this book.

My children have had a blast looking at these books! They are great, with real life babies to relate to. Fun reading for anytime!!

Every night we would read and practice our signs. By the time she was one year old, she could sign the signs from this book. Ok, her signs were not perfect but I knew what she was talking about. Learning signs has really helped with her communicating with us. I am so glad she learned the signs. Now, at 2 years old, she talks and uses the signs to help us understand.

My daughter is now 12 months old and she has been enjoying her Baby Signs books from the very beginning. When she was young she just enjoyed looking at the faces but now she selects them for story time and looks at them on her own - even making the signs as she reads the book to herself. These books definitely helped her pick up the signs and the pictures help her to link both the work and the object. Fabulous!

Checked out this book for my 1 year old son and he loved the real pictures of kids and animals. However, I was disappointed because the signs are NOT American Sign Language signs. We ended up looking at the pictures in this book, while doing the ASL we already knew. I would recommend the baby sign books by Kim Votry and Curt Waller instead as they use real ASL.

This is a good book, easy to read, and full of useful information, if somewhat light on treatment

Didn't like it. Didn't find it usefull. Tried to use it in neurology, wasn't too helpful. May be solely for neuro people or something. Same book size as my Park's cardiology, so fits nicely on my shelf. Other than that, useless.

The format (signs & symptoms approach) of this text should be helpful for those who need to know where to start with a case. Text is brief and to the point. The long ddx lists would be great, except that they are in alphabetical order, rather than listing by frequency of occurrence or some similar relevant quality. It is the only decent, recently published pediatric neurology text of its size that I'm aware of, so is a good choice for those needing a quick review. With improved proofreading/editing, I would rate it more highly.

I just love medical texts that take the "Signs and Symptoms Approach." That's how real medicine works. This book is no exception--while not a comprehensive reference by any means, it is very helpful in diagnosing childhood neurological conditions. That's why I recommend it for office use. For something more comprehensive, check MD Consult online or visit your nearest medical library. For something truly useful for your office, buy this book.

This is a very good book. The signs and symptoms approach makes this book quite easy to read. No, it is not a comprehensive text of child neurology. But, yes, it is an extremely valuable resource for residents rotating through child neuro.

This Signed English Dictionary is great for people who are just learning sign. Pictures are clear and the book is alphabetized like a regular dictionary so words are easily found.

My son is currently nine and is nonverbal. Further, the chances that he will become verbal are very slim indeed. When I purchased this book, it was recommended by his speech teacher. I first thought it was a book teaching me "A, B, C" etc. In fact, signed English allows you to speak in words instead of letters. My son will never get letters but he certainly relates to words. This book has a basic vocabluary but still is quite thick. The number of words is amazing and very useful. We use the book daily and my son's vocabulary has increased dramatically since we began using it. I have read the other reviews stating the alphabetizing is a problem but I can't think of a more practical way to organize such a book. Regardless, this is the book for those wanting to speak to a nonverbal person. Additionally, our son is developmentally delayed but he still is able to communicate with us thanks to this book. Those of you with nonverbal children will think you've discovered gold if you haven't been able to communicate in the past.

Obviously, by the title of this book, you are aware that this is Signed English and not American Sign Language (ASL). What you may not be aware of though is that deaf adults do not use Signed English. If you are learning for a child, this is an awesome book! It is filled to the hilt with clear illustrations and well worth the asking price.

But if you've decided to learn the real *language* of Sign, DON'T get this book. Again, deaf adults don't use it. Many signs are similar, but MANY are not used at all in ASL. This is strictly an English-based book -- not something a serious student who wants to speak with adults in Sign would use.

It all depends on why you're learning and who you're planning on conversing with. Children in elementary school? Get this book. You won't be disappointed. Anyone else? Click on the back arrow key and continue your search. That's just this deafie's opinion. :v)

My son is currently nine and is nonverbal. Further, the chances that he will become verbal are very slim indeed. When I purchased this book, it was recommended by his speech teacher. I first thought it was a book teaching me "A, B, C" etc. In fact, signed English allows you to speak in words instead of letters. My son will never get letters but he certainly relates to words. This book has a basic vocabluary but still is quite thick. The number of words is amazing and very useful. We use the book daily and my son's vocabulary has increased dramatically since we began using it. I have read the other reviews stating the alphabetizing is a problem but I can't think of a more practical way to organize such a book. Regardless, this is the book for those wanting to speak to a nonverbal person. Additionally, our son is developmentally delayed but he still is able to communicate with us thanks to this book. Those of you with nonverbal children will think you've discovered gold if you haven't been able to communicate in the past.

I own several different books on sign language. This is worth the money. I am learning sign because I like it, my friend has 2 deaf children, I am a sub- teacher for a Para for a boy who is non-verbal, I am teaching my children for homeschool, and I want to be able to witness to deaf people. This is in ABC order and seems easier to use than the other books I have that are not. But I am hearing and this is probably why I like it better. I am looking for my friend the signs for the names of all the states.

The book is good and many times right on, but i noticed that there are days missing. May 21 and 22 are nowhere to be found. There are also days that overlap. Nov 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 are listed in both Scorpio and Sagittarius. I skimmed over some other pages and could not find an explanation for this meaning it was some kind of error, an error that is a big deal to people born on those days, especially may 21 and 22 because apparently they don't exist.

This is a great book. The author is an eloquent writer and intuitively and astrologically tunes into the birth signs and numerology in a unique but insightful way. I have kept this book and refer to it when I meet someone that I want to understand but am having some difficulty relating to. Good work - I loved the writing style.

This book astrologically chronicles the journey of the soul in a way that encompasses the attributes and challenges of us all regardless of what sign we happen to be. The book shows that we are influenced by a some or all of the signs and further validates the interconnectedness of the universe. The book is a major star on my bookshelf!

Authors have been trying to marry occult traditions--in this case, astrology to numerology--for years. Currently, no one has ever come to a consensus on "who rules who".

Before I came upon Joyce's book, I was trained to believe that Aries ruled the number 1, Libra ruled the number 2, Leo ruled 3, and so on (Taurus=4; Gemini=5; Cancer=6; Neptune=7; Capricorn=8; Uranus=9. Check the numerical rulerships in the IDIOTs guide to Numerology). Joyce, on the other hand, has her own system of planetary-numerical rulerships, some of which I highly disagree with. For example, The Sun rules "Aggressive" 1, the Moon rules "Gentle, Cooperative" 2...and, here's one, Mars rules "Humanitarian" 9. If you don't agree with Joyce's rulership of numbers, you will then quickly dismiss most of her birthday descriptions, which takes up the remainder of her book. Lately, I've been getting more illuminating results by blending her original description, with the description that agrees with my rulership. For example, for May 27, I'd first read Gemini 9 (2+7, ruled by Mercury [Gemini]/Mars [9, the author's rulership] then I read Gemini 5 ruled by Mercury [Gemini]/Mercury [5, my rulership]). Try it, if you have the book on hand.

Also, I need to point out her general descriptions of the signs and their environments are not geared to beginners looking for "textbook", industry-accepted explanations. In her introductory chapters, the author has admitted to largely intuited them, producing somewhat thought provoking, but highly personal views of the signs. (Her metaphysical logic is generally sound and engaging, which is why I didn't give this book 1 star, but her brief descriptions of birthday natives are generally useless in supporting her general findings.)

All in all, you may purchase this book for an original "take" on astrology and numerology, and to explore one author's unique marriage of two occult traditions. If, however, you disagree with her rulerships or her intuitions regarding the astrological signs, I suggest you find another book on the subject.

I have to admit that this book is pretty right-on-the-target. It has a rather unusual spritual approach which is lacking in many other like type books. The author explains to each subject the benefits of having the "spirit taking lead" rather than the ego, for instance. My own personal day of birth explaination was astonishingly accurate. A native of December 5, when ego leads, I could (and was) be likened to a chameleon-type who could appear in many different guises due to my versatility which ultimately made me spread myself "too thin". When spirit took the lead, however, I became a much more beneficial person in society: someone who has a genuine concern for others spiritual growth: a much more selfless person in general. The ego self was more like a shallow "Oliver Twist"-type!!

This book creates. It changes lives. After reading this, it is as if the murkey glasses that you saw life with have been exchanged for the Truth, life giving vision. It is well written and pulls at something deep inside of you to live up to God's standards of life.

Couldn't put this book down. The wisdom and insight was perfect for me right now

This book was really good in the way the author explained who we are in Christ. God wants us to live victoriously,and this book explains some good ways to start to do so. This guy Kris seems really cool, REALLY REAL TOO, WHICH IS A PLUS FOR TODAY.

Kris Vallotton's transparency is encouraging to people just starting out on this road. I highly recommend this as an easy, good read for any interested in "doing" rather than just "believing" that Jesus meant what he said about His bride here on earth.

This book is good for people who've never had any exposure to this material. I found it pretty superficial. Furthermore, Kris shared mostly anecdotal stories, and in spite of the title, it doesn't provide any practical help on how to be more spiritual. It simply recounts Kris' supernatural experiences. The author also includes extensive quotes from the Bible - he could have just given the reference and the reader could look it up on his own. This book doesn't show much original thought. I was pretty disappointed with it.

I got this book to help me with making an iconic tattoo and I couldn't be more satisfied. Every page offers great new information.

Reasonably priced, comprehensive, well illustrated, well organized. As an artist, I bought this for reference in designing meaningful tattoos for clients, and couldn't be more pleased. Not only does it list just about any symbolic image you'd think to put on your body (or your art in general), it's also a convenient size for dropping into your messenger bag or backpack without adding too much weight or bulk.

This and the Herders are both really good. I use several different books to receive a better, full view of related topics.

I found this book to be an indispensable companion while reading the works of Campbell and Jung. Extremely interesting and very thorough.

Being since it is a book of symbols I was hoping for there to be pictures of the symbols, but there is only a few on the pages. Lots of information in the book, just not what I expected.