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Cimorene's parents aren't sure what to do with her. She is tall, thin, dark haired, and her personality is totally unsuitable for a princess. All of her sisters had turned out fine but Cimorene is bored out of her mind by the things princesses are supposed to do, so instead she learns everything they are not, like magic, cooking, fencing and many other strange skills. When faced with an arranged marriage, she does the only thing logical - she finds a dragon to offer her diverse services to.

This book is light and funny, playing with the stereotypes found in fairy tales and fantasy while still being a compelling tale in its own right. I recommend this to both boys and girls, as I have known people of both genders who adored the book. I would recommend this to late elementary schoolers or middle schoolers, depending on their individual reading abilities. This book would also be very cute read aloud.

I did not enjoy this book.

Why?

Because I purchased this book thinking it was YOUNG ADULT fiction.

(a) It was not young adult fiction. Look again. Young adult fiction = TEEN fition.

(b) This story seemed to be written for CHILDREN ages 6-9.

(c) It FAILED to be exciting in any way. I was bored half the time and the other half I was drifting away in my mind to escape the boringness of the book. i.e. "I wonder what book I should read after I'm finally done with this one?"
or "Hmmm I wonder how many more chapters I have to go?" or "Oh wow we have a new president!"

Anyway...

A story with a feminist as the protagonist: check.

A story that failed to be entertaining: check.

A story that made wizards out to be bad when Harry Potter fans are reading it: check.

A book that is now listed on ebay to try to get my money back from buying the whole set?

CHECK.

This is an enchanting story that once again captures the spirit of the perky princess who had no desire to be the traditional damsel-in-distress. So, what's a contemporary woman trapped by royal traditions to do? Offer herself up to the dragons in the first place.

It's a whimsical tale that gives fairytales sly winks and twists at every corner. The characters are rich, and move the story along with their quirks.

This is not just parody, either. Ms. Wrede had managed to create her own intelligent, dragon-and-knight infested tale that creates as much fairy tale as it borrows.

I enjoyed this story, and the sequels, as a young girl. Wrede creates a magical world that has a unique feel while incorporating common elements from fairytales. I've read in several times since and still enjoy it. Dealing with Dragons is very much a girl power book - almost all of the good main characters are female, Princess Cimerone rejects the staid life society thrusts upon her and charts her own course, and the King of the Dragons ends up being a female (King is just the title of the job, designating nothing about gender). It is well written, something that can certainly not be said of all fantasy novels written for this age group, and the story is fun and engaging.

An excellent book for young children that enjoy fantasy with an odd twist. Highly recommended.

this book has very nice illustrations, but there is hardly any text. my daughter likes to be read to, so this really doesn't work. i don't think it is that funny or clever.

This is one of my 18 month olds favorites - great illustrations. My husband loves it too (he is not a big reader) - he doesn't have to read it, but just describe what is going on in the pictures.

My 2 year old grandson laughed out loud when the book was read in an animated way. Delightful for me too.

From the balloon that gradually floats off toward the moon to the clock in the zookeeper's bedroom that marks the time it takes to get the animals all back into bed, there is a lot of subtle humor and fun in this book. My 2-year old can't get to sleep without it. She has learned the word "inconspicuous" in connection with the way the elephant looks before he's discovered in the bedroom. This is a special book - right up there with _Good Night Moon_.

All right, I'm giving this two stars because my kids seem to like it, but it is, in my opinion, a thoroughly one-star-or-less book.

It is incredibly lame. The pictures are simplistic and not very well-drawn, and the story is nonsensical bordering on retarded-and-troubling.

And I can handle nonsensical, in fact I think some of the best kids books recognize the sort of bizarre dream state that childhood is and use that to tell engaging narratives that dance happily past logic and convention to make kids laugh and wonder. See for instance most of the gently hallucinogenic tightrope walk over the Gulf of Madness that is the collective canon of Margaret Wise Brown. That stuff makes NO sense--COLOR KITTENS, LITTLE FUR FAMILY, and that one about the talking island--but it's all lyrical to the point of being beautiful, and it's fun.

GOOD NIGHT, GORILLA, on the other hand...ugh...man...I really, really hate this book. Seriously. I have two young kids, and as I said, they like this for some reason and ask me to read it to them all the time.

AND IT SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. Oh wow does it suck.

First of all there are almost no words, so you can't just shift into autopilot and read the wretched thing without thinking. You've got to narrate the damn thing, and since its story is mindless and its pictures are unexciting, well, here ya go, have fun.

GOOD NIGHT, GORILLA tells the story of a zookeeper named Joe who goes around checking on the zoo animals in their cages and saying good night to them, while unbeknownst to his apparently deaf and blind or at least unbelievably distracted self, the gorilla has stolen his keys and is quietly unlocking all the other animals' cages: the elephant, the lion, the giraffe, the armadillo, whatever. Then, because animals all apparently live in bad existential faith and don't know what to do with their own freedom once they have it, they docilely and quietly follow the zookeeper into his house to fall asleep in the zookeeper's tiny bedroom.

There, the zookeeper and his wife--who is apparently also deaf and blind and in fact not even able to feel the vibrations of a full-grown elephant stomping in through their narrow door and into their bedroom--turn out the lights and say good night to one another.

Then, all the animals say "Good Night!" as well, one at a time, showing a really freaky dark side to the whole story. THEY'RE KEPT LOCKED IN CAGES, BUT THEY CAN TALK! They're as sentient and intellectual as humans--in fact far more so than the staggeringly ignorant humans in this story--and they're being kept in cages! This is...slavery!

This is not charming--this is demented.

Anyway, this alerts the zookeeper's wife who leads all the talking animals back to their cages as if this happens all the time, but the gorilla grabs the keys again and sneaks back into the house where they climb into bed between the zookeeper and his wife and fall asleep. Because that's all animals want, to be with people. Oh, if only all wild animals could be kept in cages and/or beds, how happy they would be! What the zookeeper and his wife will say when they find the giant sleeping gorilla between them in the morning, I don't know. Probably something along the lines of, "Oh, our lives are so terrible and we are so stupid, someone should write a book about us and illustrate it with mundane, unexciting, uninspired drawings."

In conclusion: do not order this book for your kids unless you have a nanny robot that is raising them for you, because if you're the one who reads to them, this book will do nothing but make you hate life and the act of reading aloud to your children. Your children will continually ask you to read this book to them because something in it may appeal to their young minds that don't know any better, you will read it, they will sense your reluctance, they will perceive that you think reading is unexciting, they will no doubt inherit that belief, will grow up illiterate (or just as bad, aliterate), will not be able to hold a good job as a result, will find themselves homeless during a low point in the economy, and will probably die of exposure beneath a bridge somewhere. That's how bad this book is.

And really, there are so many actually GOOD kids books out there, just don't take that chance. This book is a horrific chore, and if you can avoid it, do. There is no joy to be found here, no joy at all.

I read this book for the first time many years ago and it remains one of my favorites. Funny and moving. A read to please all ages!

Every year a number of new books appear for the Christmas season, seeking to show new significance to old customs, or sometimes merely to put a contemporary story in a holiday context to stimulate sales. Most of those little books disappear from memory as quickly as the year's ornaments and greenery. This book is one whose value and impact seems to grow from year to year. It can be enjoyed by kids of most ages, and it holds the interest and challenges the thinking of adults. The book is worth reading again and again--privately and out loud. The audiobook is an excellent presentation. The movie adaptation, though sharing the limits of any visual interpretation of a piece of literature, is quite faithful to the facts and spirit of the story and has a particularly poignant wrap-up. Highly recommended!

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is probably the best book ever, in my humble opinion! Believe me, it is not just a children's book whatsoever. My mother and I actually sat in the hospital an extra hour so we could finish reading it before going home! The author has quite the sense of humor, and will have you laughing along as you read this politically-incorrect book on six dysfunctional siblings who decide to be in the church's Christmas play because they were told they had "refreshments" there. It is a great gift for everyone on your list this season, and will likely become a household name. It most certainly made me feel better about my dysfunctional family! It's "political incorrectness" makes it all the more funny- you can't get this kind of sick quality humor anywhere but the 70s! I'm buying it for everyone I know!

I've directed the play for a couple of years and actually purchased several copies of this book to give away as prizes in a drawing for children attendees. This book is read in both public and private elementary schools locally leading up to Christmas. The book will evoke a catharsis of emotions: laughter, shock, sadness and tears of surprise and joy. It's also fantastic for those teaching moments on character, judging others and loving all people.

I read this book years ago...It is funny but also has
a serious side to it. I love the humor but also the
lesson in seeing the Christmas story with the eyes of
children who have been denied the right to go to church.
I bought it this time as a gift for an inmate at our County Jail.
It gave him a big smile.

Kathy in Las Vegas

This book had a completly unoriginal plot. A nuclear explosion, the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, blah blah blah. Do NOT buy this book.

I never did truly see the point of this novel, but hey, it was fun and everyone loves dinosaurs. I think it's a good project for writing, and I like the admittely contrived concept of looking at everyone's thoughts. But aside from that, why?

While the bonus installments of Animorphs are K.A. Applegate's chance to shine (a.k.a. Visser, Megamorphs #1) they can also spell disaster. And this book spells every letter. It's as though Applegate rubbed her hands and said, "Here's my chance to put in every random idea I've ever had along with ten hours of research on dinosaurs. No, make that five hours." And she does.

The adventure in the book starts with some of the Animorphs stuck in a dinosaur. Yep, that's right. Inside a dinosaur. It is as ridiculous as it sounds. From there, they venture into the land of dinosaurs trying to find one another. The dinosaurs range from huge deadly raptors who are conveniently acquired, to Stegasaurus who are being zapped by evil ant aliens.

To try to divert attention from the convenient ways all six Animorphs can come away unscratched by a massive T-Rex, Applegate puts in big crabs with about twenty eyes. Oh, and they invented broccoli. They're named Mercora. Their enemies are lots and lots of evil ants called the Nesk, which are the pitifully two dimensional race who tries and fails to be as interesting as Yeerks.

Are these elements not ridiculous enough for you? There's more. They make dinosaur sandals. They steal nuclear weapons that happen to be invented back in that time. And somehow they all survive when a massive meteor hits the world and kills everything.

Sometimes Applegate goes a step too far in the absurd (though occassionally enjoyable) ideas throughout her Animorph series. Time of the Dinosaurs goes an entire staircase. Only die hard Animorphs fans should read this. And even then, remember that this is a bonus installment not part of the main series essential to understand the plot line... thankfully.

Sorry, but this book is definately only three stars. It all starts out when Marco hears about a sunk sub and the Animmorphs go to investigate. Something goes wrong and suddenly they find themselves in preostoric times!

I don't like this book because: a)It has the whole Sario Rip thing that was already put in another book. b)When they find themselves stuck in the Creostastes(sorry, don't know how to spell it) Period, there's another alien speices. I don't like that whole thing, along with The Mutation #36, and c)How it ended was very, very predictable. I don't know about you, but I knew that the comet was going to blow them back to their own time sooner or later.

Sorry Applegate, but you couldn't give us another winner like THe Andalite Chronicles (I have a review there, too)

This book starts out with a kid seeing a submarine crashing at the bottom of the ocean. His name is Marco and he is the prankster of this group of special humans. They are Andalites,which have the power
to gather animal d.n.a. and they change into animals.Jake is the leader
then there is Cassie,Ax,and Rachel. Well they go to save the people in
the sub,While they are saving the day nuclear sub blows up and they get blown back to in time with the dinosaurs.While they are there they

encounter two alien species one friendly one not so friendly. So they create another explosion and they go home

This is a great cookbook. It shows how to make even basic things like ketchup and pancake syrup that you would normally have to buy for recipes. This is well worth the money.

Excellent. I love the philosophy behind it, and it is good, basic, comfort food worth serving your family. I don't usually buy cookbooks, but I am glad I got this one!

I believe the recipe should have been tested by more than one cook.Everybody taste are different.The true idea is there. we do need to get back to basic of real family value and cooking.

My parents got this cookbook many many years ago, and when I moved into my first apartment, they got me a copy. This is the cookbook I got to for all the recipes I actually USE- whole wheat bread, potato soup, and others. Though its written by Mennonites, and the introduction is all about the mission of the cookbook, I just plain like the recipes. I find them practical, simple and the kind of hearty, comfortable, home cooking (but HEALTHY) everyone craves. Also, the recipes rarely call for ingredients you can't get in your local grocery store.

to sum up: Practical, my go-to cookbook, and something I would recommend for everyone.

This book was bought as a replacement for one we had years ago.
It has always been a family favorite.

Advanced Water Distribution Modeling and Management is not only a complete and current reference for professionals involved in water distribution systems but also an essential textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses. In fact, what makes this book different is that it contains from basic hydraulic concepts up to the most recent researches and experiences in a comprehensive language.

Thank-You Haestad Mdthods for developing such a wonderful program. I use this book as a guide almost everyday.

This texttbook, that I recently reviewed, was for me a great experience. This is a must have book for any Civil consultant involved in hydraulics. It is both a guide to water modeling and a practical reference to water distribution operation and management. Thanks Haestad Methods.

This reference has given us an edge in satisfying client needs from the simplest capacity study to the most complex model. It has helped make our competent modelers more efficient and the up-and coming modeler function like a pro. Many common questions and problems are anticipated and clearly answered. Because the book so thoroughly covers system management issues, I believe many parts should be required reading for water resources engineers.

I wish I knew of this book's existence years ago. For too many years, I have been using several other reference books to "answer" my never ending questions and doubts on modeling and related subjects.

It even has reference on non-concontinuous flow condition. A great book with lots of "weight." The price was right, too, I received this gem free as a bonus for signing up to attend a wwebcast sponsored by Haestad.

I'm debating what book pieces seem to define Christmas for me. Oddly this is up there, maybe the story I like the most to reacquaint me with a tear or two, I never can get through it dry.
On the surface the Grinch is impossibly unlikely to undergo transformation into a better and kinder being. He's so delightfully bad, glad to stop Christmas from coming. With his lively old Max and his clumsy old sacks this fellows a far cry from the Saint Nick he represents. How fascinating that this Grinch could be used to compare/contrast with Santa Claus, an interesting thing for a teacher to try with a class....anyway just for me when I raised my children it was the 1st book I gave to a three month old 1st daughter inscribing it "mom's favorite." And my favorite part would be Cindy Lou Who, not more than two, as well as the line, "maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more." A message of peace for one.

I would think anyone would enjoy this, but I often underestimate my ability to be wrong. It's a pretty nifty piece to me.

When I was a child, I found the Dr. Seuss books a bit scary because I didn't much like abstract or surreal stuff. Fast forward many years and I have a daughter who is just learning to read so after seeing that she enjoyed a Dr. Seuss book in the doctor's office I thought I would order this book and give it a spin. This particular edition comes in a nice metallic finish green and red cover. It feels like a quality book.
After reading it to her the first night, I had to read it two more nights after that in succession. It was great fun for me too because the rhyming prose allows the reader (who may not be a great thespian) to do some role playing and added intonation. The illustrations are both unusual and vivid which helps stimulate the young reader's imagination. Finally, the essential story message which is to have a heart is a good one particularly in times such as these. Highly recommended!

the product arrived in a timely manner...and was much more elegant than i thought a "deluxe"' edition would be...i'm very pleased !!!

This was one of my favorite holiday stories when I was a child. Now I share that classic with my children, and I hope someday they will pass that along to theirs.

It's a wonderful, funny, and heartwarming story.

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!, by the incomparable Theodor Geisel - aka Dr. Seuss, is a true Christmas classic. It is a story of hope, faith, and epiphany, and of discovering the true meaning of Christmas. Who else but Seuss could tell such a story so entertainingly, in so few words, and all in rhyme?

That grumpy old Grinch thought Christmas was about presents... and food and decorations and things of that vane. But he stole everything, down to the crumbs too small for the mouses, and Christmas still came! It came joyfully, noisefully, loudy proclaimed! This made our grizzled old Grinch puzzle and puzzle until his puzzler was sore, and until he realized that Christmas was so much more. He returned all the presents and food for the feast, and then our grinny Grinch, himself, the Grinch carved the roast beast.

Only Dr. Seuss could spread the true, pure message of Christmas without any reference to religion. He communicated directly to children of all ages in his wonderfully wacky and wise rhyming, teaching us all about faith, hope, and love.

What a perfect book for this Christmas season. I introduced it this year to my 3 1/2 year old, who just loves it. As her new Christmas favorite, she requests it nightly. And I am happy to read it to her again and again.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

My daughter's probably got a couple of years before she outgrows this gem, and I'm still happy to read it every time she pulls it out. Loved it as a kid, and I love it now as a parent.

During bathtime, I can offer my 22-month old son no other book; he will *always* ask for "Dog-Go!", and has consistently done so for many months. It's a great book for learning the basics of language... and the kids love it.

We all have this book memorized. One son wanted it read out loud every day, several times a day, for many months. It's colorful, fun, silly, and has great rhymes. It also teaches color and direction (like up, down, over, etc).

Another wonderful read-aloud, but excellent for beginning readers to use as well.

*taken from my review at goodreads

One of the first books our son read all by himself. We got it fast and just the way it was described. Very pleased!

The Amazon reviews were extremely helpful in selecting this particular editon of Go Dog Go. I wanted the same edition my children (as toddlers) had enjoyed, and without the reviews I may have received an abbreviated, later version.

I love this book. The title says it all "Back to the Basics". It's very imformative. If you ever want to review the basic of how to live off the land or self sufficient this is a great book. I love all the hand crafts too.

This is a really fun book! It arrived in perfect condition, and without too much of a wait.

This book is getting us back to where we need to be when things weren't so busy and we had time to spend on the important things of our day. As I look through the book I remember things from my child hood and my grand parents. This book is filled with lots of great ideas for many different things.

I have one of the older 1980 RD's Back to Basics and I have to say it is completely worth having if you can find it. I have referred to it many times as I build up my urban homestead. It is a healthy size book for anyone interest in growing their own foods, raising chickens, building a stone wall or using a dutch oven in the fireplace (wood only). I highly recommend it for both beginners, experienced and the curious. I am interested in this 3rd edition just to see what updated information is in there-perhaps having both to bounce off would work for any focused, eager beginner like myself.

This book gives practical advice and how-to info that is and will continue to be of the utmost value in these troubled social and economic times ahead. I've listed it as a must read on my Catholic Rural Solutions Yahoo Group.

Richard of Danbury

This series is simply fabulous. All of them are wonderful studies in characterization. I used books from this series several times for just that purpose when I taught sixth grade language arts.

Moreover, it's terrific historical fiction. Fitzgerald uses several incidents which illustrate just how different 1890's lifestyles were from today, but he does so with humor. As a result, it really begins to interest kids in learning more about history. The Magic Water Closet is a prime example, as is The Taming of Britches Dotty. One illustrates the difference in living conditions; the other what behavioral expectations were for girls in that time period.

There is also one final lesson which can be learned from Fitzgerald's books. For all that Tom is a swindler and junior size con artist, he is also a character who chooses his own path and is unswayed by peer pressure. Tom is an outsider, in a sense, set apart from the other kids in town by his self-styled great brain. Similarly gifted children often downplay their talents in order to be accepted by other children. Tom's example is that of a child who does not feel the need to represent himself as less than he is. He has confidence in himself and in his abilities and feels no need to sell himself short in order to make friends. Children can definitely learn from this.

Although most of the characters are male, I loved the series myself and have never had a female student who did not connect with J.D. and T.D. By all means, please introduce these books to your children (and please, please, publishers, keep them in print!)

In the book The Great Brain written by John D. Fitzgerld was awesome! The book takes place in Adenville, Utah. There are some main characters this book, Tom (T.D) who is known as the great brain, Swyen (S, D) who is the eldest and acts mature, John (J, D) who is the youngest and is always up to something, Abie who is a store owner, and Mr. Standish who is the new school house teacher who everyone hates. Tom, John, and Swyen's father ordered a water closet, which is a bathroom, and they let people see it if they paid one cent. They made forty cents total. When Swyen got the measles, John was jells because he had never gotten sick first and then got to rub it in his brothers face. So one day John decided he wanted to get sick. John went over to his friend Howard who has had the mumps. So he decided to sneak into his house and started breathing in Howard's sick breath, and what do you know, John got sick. Abie had fainted once, twice, Abie died from malnutrition. They had a funeral for him that very day. Mr. Standish was the new school house teacher. Mr. Standish had paddled Tom for not being a tattletale, and Tom swore he would get back to Mr. Standish. So anways Swyen had gone to a Cathloic school in Salt Lake City so Swyen was gone and it was now just Tom and John. Andy their friend had stepped on a rusty nail and had not been able to return back to school. He ended up getting a prosthetic leg.

I learned that you should not lie for any purpose. Like when Tom found a way to get rid of Mr. Standish and when Tom's father asked if he had known anything to know about it and Tom never spoke a word intill his mamma made him tell. I also learned in this book that helping people is good. Like when Tom helped Basil get out of a fight, or when Tom helped Andy play baseball.

I recommend this book to someone who likes smart kids and funny stories. Like the time John wanted to get sick and he got the mumps. Why I think that the book is funny because it is all about fun and making life worth living.

The is a wonderfully, great, terrific book! They need to re-release the Great Brain movie from 1978 starring little Jimmy Osmond! Also, if I may suggest, try reading the Adventures With Boys book series-- Just as good!!!;)

The Great Brain is one of the best all time books for boys ever written. In my humble opinion of course. The prose is engaging capturing the attention. The stories are exciting and compelling. The chapters are just the right length. And it has all the elements that young boys love from Cowboys and Indians to cops and robbers. What more could you ask for?

But of course, looking back on my childhood as I place this book on the shelf for my own little boy, I realize that the moral lessons this book taught so covertly were lessons that stayed with me: tolerance for other cultures and religions, compassion for those less fortunate, love of family. These are foundational values and the Great Brain teaches them. And the thing is, as a young person, you don't realize you're getting a lesson, you just know you like the story.

This book is a wonderful protrait of 19th century rural America, but people should be aware that it was written at a time when there was much more freedom of speech than we have today. Topics in the book include suicide, religious intolerance and fear of immigrants. There is a scene where the boys go skinny dipping and also one story concerns John mating his dog, so this book probably should not be brought to a public elementary school for fear it might offend someone. Also there are no African-Americans in the book, and while the book does portray Jews, Moromons, Protestants and Catholics coexisting, there are no Muslims in this book, so it is not very politically correct. Also the "I" word is used casually and no mention is made of the plight of native Americans, except to say that they are the only non-immigrants in America. Women are displayed in subservient roles, always cooking, cleaning and taking care of the sick, although all the boys are portrayed as having chores. [...]