People Books

A WONDERFULLY TOLD CAT-TAIL! THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE LOVELY AND APPROPRIATE TO THE PLAYFUL THEME OF THE BOOK.

This is a fantastic story. It sparks children and adults (I'm 53!) the imagination and creativity that will help make the world a more beautiful place. I hence started to write my own children's stories. Amy Tan is my inspiration, and I hope she becomes yours.

I am the mother of 2 boys and have little knowledge of "girl" books. I bought this book for 2 little girls ages 4 and 5. The parents of each girl said their daughters were thrilled with the book and asked that it be read to them twice the day the book arrived. I bought the book because I love Amy Tan's novels and assumed that a child's book would be just as engaging. Amy Tan's story and the beautiful illustrations did not let me down.

The most exquisitely illustrated book I've ever owned! A fun, fictitious way to describe how white siamese kittens get their colors.
It's a bit long for a bed time story, but really fun! Kids ages 8 or 9 and up may be able to read it themselves, but the beginners may have a hard time.

I've read Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club" and "Kitchen God's Wife" and had no idea that she's a wonderful children's author as well. I learned about this book from watching the same titled PBS series. The series is cute for kids, but the book is a wonderful story, rich in history and beautifully illustrated. Tan is a gifted writer that children and adults can appreciate.

A great classic that each child should have in her library.

I've been searching for this book since the birth of my first child. It was my all time favorite book. My mother read it to me night and day. Upon my learning to read, I remember taking this book to bed with me during nap time and reading it over and over again. I never grew tired of seeing how children in other countries lived. This book went every where I went. I'm estatic this book has been reprinted and I can share it with my children.

In typical Dr. Suess fashion (LeSieg is backwards for Geisel...Dr.Suess' real last name) this book carries the poetic rhyme that kids love. It tells the story of how homes are different everywhere, but how "they're all alike when a friend asks you in." The pictures are bright and interesting. Young children will be filled with curiosity with the amusing pictures of homes in far away lands.

I read this book to a group of first graders and they hung on every word. None had ever heard the book before. It truly is delightful! It is a shame that this fabulous book is no longer in print. I got my copy nearly 30 years ago. It is still my favorite!

This book is amazing. I found it at a thrift store for .25 and put it away for the birth of my first child. I am an American living overseas, so for my son to see all the different cultures familiar and unfamiliar, it great. He is 18 months old and just wants to look at the pictures and hear me read it over and over and over again. I never tire of reading it either.

I have been "hunting" for this book for years! I loved it as a child, going all those different places, and now am anxious to share it with my nieces! Thank you for allowing us to do some "traveling" together!! Ronda

Dolores Cannon's work is absolutely incredible and her comittment to finding "lost information" and sharing it world wide is of such great benefit for all of us... especially at this particular time in our evolution. The information that is shared with her is astounding and of such high integrity. Only recommended for serious seekers... be prepared to have your awareness greatly expanded.

Absolutely Excellent!!

Delores Cannon, yet again, brings forth Important and Urgent Information for the Times that we are in!!! This Information will help to finally Awaken the Readers to Understand What Is!!!!

If You Have Read The Prophecies Of Nostradamus From The Same Author,You Wil, After Reading These Books(1-2-3) Understand Better The Sections Concerning The Upgrade Of Consciousnes Of The Population Of Earth.
Xcellent Reading.

In order to bring world peace it is essential to spread these knowledge to the masses as fast as possible

Wow, is all I can say. If you love The Course in Miracles, Conversations with God, Disappearance of the Universe, The Power of Now or the Way of Mastery, The Convoluted Universe Vol 1 and 2 are mind blowing. Her specialty is as a record keeper for our time of all of the mysteries in life and she has record kept quite nicely through her regression therapy with thousand of individuals over a 20 year span. So if you have questions about dimensions, life after death, the reason of the pyriamads, how to awaken, the life of Jesus, and so much more you will be joy-filled to find this woman's books. Here lies the records on our earth for you to yet discover. And what a joy it is. The dedication and the wisdom obtained by her devoted work is simply amazing, and if placed in the hands of everyone who lived here on this earth not being enlightened would be impossible. Thank you Dolores for your committment to this work. Your books have helped me fill in all the missing pieces my mind has desired to know.

The thing I didn't like about Elijah of Buxton is that I was having trouble with the slang... I understand that it added kind of a uniqeness to the book, but what's the use if you can't even READ the book? So that was a little bit bothersome. And also, there's not as much dialogue, (which for my prefrance, I enjoy lots of dialogue) and Elijah sometimes rambles a little bit throughout the book, which can sometimes get boring and endless.
I had to read this book for book club, and I ended up just skimming it, because I just really didn't like it... This is only my opinion. The one good thing about the book though, is that it's religious, and sends a very positive message to stay strong in tough times.

Christopher Paul Curtis is one of my favorite adolescent authors. I read Bub, Not Buddy to my 8th graders every year (Great Depression) and The Watson's Go To Birmingham: 1963 (during a Civil Rights Movement unit). This school year I discovered Elijah of Buxton and read it to my students during my unit on American Slavery. None of my students had read the book and we were all on the edge of our seats together. This book has great voice and I especially enjoyed the dialect. My students and I throughly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it to students to read, parents to read to their kids and teachers to read to their students! I cannot say enough good things about this book.

Like Christopher Paul Curtis' other books, Elijah of Buxton is full of emotions from laughter to tears. It is a touch of history with a surprise ending. I loved the adventure, the suspense, the humor, and the characters. As an educator I highly recommend this book for adults and older children to enjoy.

*Elijah of Buxton* is an exciting historical fiction book about a boy named
Elijah who is the first child born free in Buxton. It is about the Preacher
who doesn't care for anyone in Buxton and who lies about everything. He
tells Elijah that one type of snake is outrageously dangerous and when his
mom plays a trick on him he finds that they are harmless. He still trusts
the Preacher so he goes to a carnival in a neighboring white town. The
preacher takes a boy in slavery from the white town and brings him to
Buxton. Then a single wife in Buxton finds out that her husband has died so
she gives her wood cutter Mr Leroy the money she was saving to buy her
husband out of slavery so he can buy his family out of slavery. Mr Leroy
gives the preacher his money because everybody still trusts him and because
he has contacts to buy people out of slavery. Elijah goes away from Buxton
and comes back with a slaves baby he found. The book ends with many
questions and is open to lots of predictions and questions.

Elijah of Buxton captured my interest on the first page. It is emotional,
dramatic and leaves you wondering at the end of each chapter. If you are
going to read a historical fiction book start with this one. I would
definitely recommend this book to 4th grade and up.

This is one of the most amazing historical-fiction books that I have ever read! How the author mixes in survival, action, and comedy into the theme is absolutely wonderful. What adds to this already fantastic book is that it touches on how most free slaves in Buxton would never go back to America. That just shows how bad things were. One of the many shocking things is when Mr. Leroy back-hands Elijah to the ground. It was so fast and unexpected. Personally, I find it unsurprising when Mr. Leroy's money is stolen. Also, the fact that Elijah uses chunking stones to fish and defend himself from a vicious dog is very unique to me. The only thing that I did not like was the ending, that is it. There is a lesson to be learned from this story: with persaverence and an iron will you can make it happen. The climax of the book is when Mr. Leroy's money is stolen. The most exciting part is when Elijah and Mr. Leroy go after the thief. That is one more thing people will never forget about Elijah, along with being the first freeborn in Buxton and throwing up on Mr. Frederick Douglas as a baby. This book also shows how much different Canada and the U.S. were back then, and maybe even today.

We've had this book for a long time and we still bring it out every now and then.
I think we enjoy the nostalgia of reading a favorite book together and we still
like seeing Marvin's adventures in the city and trying to remember where the
emu and the cat are. It took us years actually to find the emu on the subway.

This is an awesome book. I used it with fourth graders to teach the organization trait in the 6 traits writing. The kids loved the story and suggested we write a spin off of the book. They did an awesome job and made their stories into books and illustrated them. Highly recommend it to get students motivated to write.

I had never heard of this book before my son received it as a gift. He was about 9 months old and would insist that we read it again and again. He is now 4.5 and still likes it. And his little brother has enjoyed it just as much. The illustrations are fantastic and its fun to search for Marvin on every page. I highly recommend this book. I also love the language - it uses fantastic, descriptive words. My soon was 2 and used the words mesmorized and exhilarating because he learned them from this book.

My preschoolers love this book, not just because of the vivid illustrations that go with an easy-to-follow text - they love locating the hidden ostrich, police officers, and black cat tucked into nearly every single page. Check out the clouds...they look like fish, dinosaurs! Can you find Santa Claus hidden in Yankee Stadium's crowd of thousands?

I confess - my husband and I love finding the hidden pictures, too. Its also our favorite birthday gift for my kids friends. Get the book and scan the illustrations closely! Fun!

My three-year-old son enjoys this book so much because it lends itself to active participation. It is fun for him to spot Marvin, the escaped ape, in various settings ranging from a subway train to a ballgame to a ledge on a building. He also enjoys finding the two policemen who look for Marvin as he moves from locale to locale. I don't mind re-reading this book because of the clever illustrations and appealing New York City backdrops. And after reading the book for the first time, we have make a joke of finding Marvin--I say "Where's Marvin?" and he'll jokingly point to other animals or objects. His enjoyment of this book won't last forever, but it's been providing amusement for a few weeks now.

I enjoyed reading this and passed it on to my kids who are visiting the Loire Valley this summer and living with a family there. Proper etiquette is always noticed, and a general knowledge of fine wines can only add to their experience.

Highly recommended! The audio format is a great idea! It makes learning very easy and the information is all relevant. This is one lesson that is interesting and easily finished.

This was my first wine book, and it is still the best beginner's reference. It covers everything you need to get started. The real benefit, however, is the audio format. You actually get to hear the narrator (who is fantastic!) pronounce the names of the various grape varieties, wines and terms. This is a huge benefit and something that cannot be replicated in the written word.

A good etiquette book should sit on every professional's bookshelf alongside "how to win friends" and "7 habits." I purchased this book along with Essential Etiquette Fundamentals, Vol. 1: Dining Etiquette and The Etiquette Edge: The Unspoken Rules for Business Success to cover all the bases. These books do an excellent job covering the important etiquette skills often overlooked in today's environment. Although often underappreciated, exhibiting proper etiquette signals to others (especially your boss and clients) that you are well educated, care about detail, and have respect for others. I highly recommend these books for anyone new to the business world or for those of us who may need to brush up on the basics.

Although drinking good wine isn't difficult, learning about wine can be. Once on a winery tour a vintner explained that there are 15,000 different choices that can be made from grape to bottle. Sometimes picking out a wine can seem daunting. Food Scholar's Wine Selection & Etiquette does a superior job of teaching those of us who would like to learn more without the information being overkill.

While there are more comprehensive books out there on Wine, I really like this book because it excels at being written for the average person. The book is divided into logical sections. I also like that the effect of climates in a region on the grape are covered. This is an easy way to tell what kind of wine you are getting just by looking at where the grape was grown.

This book will enhance your knowledge as well as your ability to pick out wines that you and your guests may enjoy. I would highly recommend this book to those who want to learn about wine, as this book does an excellent job of giving a basic education about many of the wines of the world.

DiAnn Mills and I both did some work over at River Oak Publishing and as authors do, traded books. I opened it up one evening to give it a quick read and the next thing I knew it was 2 am. I read it straight through. She's a masterful author who keeps you hanging on every word. My heart really went out to the lady in this story. I can hardly wait to read "Leather and Lace."

Terry
[..]

The characters in DiAnn Mills's novel, "Footsteps," are vivid, and the storyline if emotionally gripping. The inspirational theme in this book is woven in nicely and brings to light the true source of forgiveness and patience as a distraught mother learns to trust God during a most difficult time.

Wanda E. Brunstetter, author
www.wandabrunstetter.com

Debra Patterson is the failed trophy wife. Her high-rising husband lawyer, whose mental and physical abuse have driven her to vodka and orange-juice pick-me-ups, steals her two children and disappears. With the support of her Christian friends, her new-found faith, and a devout heart surgeon who comes into her life, she struggles to locate her missing children, a task made more difficult after her husband turns up dead. "Footsteps" is a fine story whose well-paced suspense will compel you to read to the end.

You don't want to miss FOOTSTEPS by Mills. She is wonderfully talented at making a story flow. The suspense made me turn each page until I was caught up in the story; I couldn't put the book down!

DiAnn Mills' Footsteps gives the reader a close look at the downward spiral of a woman caught in tragedy. Debra Patterson's two children are abducted by their father, Michael, and all three disappear into thin air. And so begins the heartbroken mother's descent into despair, loneliness, and self-pity. Slipping into alcoholism, Debra struggles to deal with her shattering losses, while at the same time trying to shut out the quiet voice of God.

After alcohol fails to fill the void in her life, Debra turns to service, giving her time and energy to helping other children in need. However, at last forced to come face-to-face with her own needs, she turns to God and responds to His persistent call.

Although her new relationship with God gives her a fresh lease on life, Debra's problems are not over -- her children are still missing, along with her husband, Michael, who she struggles to forgive.

Footsteps takes the reader into the heart of the struggle, through the desperate first hours of searching, to the long, protracted efforts of first the FBI and, finally, a private investigator. Debra Patterson must rely on God and rebuild her trust in man if she is ever to see her lost children again.

Footsteps by DiAnn Mills will make you hold your children just a little tighter at bedtime. Highly recommended!

Craig Hart (...)

I bought this little book for my children to use as a nightly tribute to our gracious Mother Earth and it was all I expected and wanted it to be. The children love the pictures and the message contained exemplifies our beliefs and concerns. I would recommend this book to any family, no matter what their spiritual tradition.

The title speaks for itself. A beautiful native american for a child. Great read. Would certainly order again from Amazon.com.

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message (Reading Rainbow Book)
This is a beautiful and inspiring way to help children become more aware of our interconnectedness with the elements of nature. It is a lesson in appreciation and awareness of the environment.
The illustrations are moving, if not as childlike as those often found in books for young children.

My 29 month old loves this book. We read it over and over. What I love most about the construction of the book is that is has a sewn binding--no dangerous staples! He loves the art work and in one day has memorized most of the text. It's simple, to the point, and thorough. A perfect book for any child. NOW he wants to do the "Mother Earth" puzzle. He identifies different types of food, spirits animals, and "thunder beings." I recommend this book for all ages, boy and girl.

A wonderful way to share thankfulness at your Thankgiving table. We read it in class before Thanksgiving and again as grace at our family celebration. It is an affirmation of what our family treasures: the earth, the animals, the rain, and the sunshine. Thank you, Chief Jake Swamp, for making this available to children and adults!

Pig-tailed Lulu is a little girl who shares her life with her parents, grandma, baby brother, older sister, and three pets. The up-beat, matter-of-fact text gives an overview of her life, and the bright close-ups of people's faces makes this book compelling for a young child. Very cute.

I agreed with all the reviews. This is my 18 month old's favorite by far. It is the first book she picks up in the morning for us to read together and the last book before she goes to bed.

In this book we get to meet Lulu's family. My 19 mo-old daughter loves to point out the mama and papa and look at Lulu's pets. With the sweet drawings and simple story, it is a frequent request.

My almost 2 year old daughter loves this book (and the other Lulu books ) so much that we now have to call her "NuNu" (close sister to Lulu) and braid her hair just like Lulu's.
These books rock. I love that the characters are multi-racial as well. Lulu's family looks much like ours ! (except that her Mama is cuter)

This is my six month old daughter's most favorite picture book. The introduction to Lulu's family members appeals to her love for bright colors and to her need for limited text. The "Lulu likes snack time at grandma's house" page tickles her fancy. I give this book my top rating and recommendation.

This is an interesting book where the author relates his own life experience and all that he goes through growing up in a mixed Latino-Anglo Family. Through his life the author illustrates and analyzes important issues for Latinos living in the United States.

Kevin Johnson is the son of a Mexican American mother and an Anglo father. While his mom always denied her Mexican heritage and chose not to teach her kids Spanish, his dad always encouraged him to take pride on his Mexican background. Kevin Johnson's parents divorced when he was a young child and he grew up experiencing the socio economic differences between the middle class and the people on welfare. Through his experiences he narrates how he struggled developing his racial identity and how that affected his life.

Johnson says that Latinos in the United States are a diverse group in terms of race, country of origin, time living in the country, language, and immigration status. According to Johnson, some Latinos may be able to choose an identity, but finding and becoming comfortable with the racial identity is a difficult task that members of a racial minority face. They can risk rejection for refusing to assimilate and trying to benefit from affirmative action. Johnson says that the United States is a much racially mixed nation today than it was in the past, and as immigration and intermarriage increase so will the diversity in the population.

As a Latina, it was interesting for me to read this book because I was able to relate myself in some of the experiences and incidents that the author recounts. I consider that the book is an inspiring story for Latinos and people of other ethnic groups living in the United States that shows that although it may be hard at times to fit into the social dynamics of the United States, there are plenty of opportunities. With effort and self-determination individuals can find their own social accommodation without having to deny their own cultural background.

: I loved Johnson's book and his story. I found myself saying to myself, "that happened to me too". I would say "yeah, that's totally true" and "he's right on". This book was like a breath of fresh air for me. It was a way for me to look at myself and really think about how I viewed myself. There are many sections in the book that I read and thought "that's exactly what I would have written too". Johnson put his heart into this book and put his emotions and thoughts on the table for all to read and enjoy and learn from. I think that anyone could learn a new perspective by reading the book. Anyone from a mixed heritage background could read it feel relief in that there are others in the world that have had similar experiences to that of their own. My mother is Mexican and my father is white and I could wholly relate to the author's experience. I have a white last name and always felt stuck in between the two worlds. I think that the author portrayed this feeling very well. The book gave me newfound respect for anyone who enters the legal profession. They definitely have to work very to get to where they want to be in life. Bravo to Mr. Johnson.

When I saw the title, I knew I had to check out the book for myself. Since I am a bicultural person (of Venezuelan and Polish descent) I could relate to his struggle. A lot of people doubt you based on physical characteristics, surname and mannerisms when you come from a bicultural background. The situation was the same for Mr. Johnson, a lawyer of English and Mexican background. His last name, light complexion and elementary knowledge of Spanish hindered him in integrating into Mexican culture, while his non-Caucasian features separated him from his Anglo contemporaries. He wrote sensitively about his experiences and enlightened us about his process of self-discovery (finally marrying a Mexicana, having children with her, giving them Spanish names, etc). I reccomend this book to anyone who wants an education on the bicultural experience or has been through that process themselves. I can't tell you how many times, to this day, people still deny me my Latin roots because I don't look like the caricatures they have in their heads about how all Hispanics/Latinos are supposed to look (Dark skin, black hair, black eyes), and I don't have a Spanish last name because I was raised by my mom (Martinez, Morales, Rodriguez, etc). We have to get over our assumptions about people if we want the walls to come down in our thinking. It is the only way toward liberation.

I had to read this book for a perspectives on race and ethnicity class, contrasting it with a book of a similar theme. I won't mention the other title out of respect for that author but this book was by far much more humbly introspective than the other book. Even though I am an Asian American, I was able to see the similarities between the Latino American experience and the Asian American one, and that the issues a person of a minority background experiences are to an extent universal and maddening. I am really glad I had the opportunity to read this book because it showed me that a biography that covered deep-seated social issues could be written and presented with humility and dignity. The other book, though honest too, had such an arrogance about it that I could not stand to read it. I would recommend this book to anyone regardless of their background.

This is the story of a mother who dearly wanted to assimilate but couldn't - and her son, who could have but finally wouldn't. It is the story of a man of mixed White-Latino heritage engulfed in self-doubt about his place in a society obsessed with race. It is the story of a prominent young lawyer and college professor who can never fully enjoy his success because someone always pops up to accuse him of being a "box checker," a counterfeit Latino for affirmative action purposes.

Contradictions run wild in Kevin Johnson's autobiographical account of growing up racially mixed and emotionally mixed up. On one page, he rightly laments racial pigeonholing. On the next, he paints a painfully detailed picture of someone's racial history and physical features. The book is replete with mixed heritage characters who "identify" publicly with the racial tradition of one parent over that of another.

At first this approach left me frustrated (maybe I yearned for transcendence). But soon I realized that Johnson could hardly tell his story otherwise: the contradictions are not his but society's. Such is the sad - indeed the surreal - state of America's racial politics.

However sad and surreal race relations indeed may be, books like Johnson's represent a breakthrough of sorts for diversity and understanding. For most of our nation's history, dispossessed individuals were truly silenced - either by poverty or outright discrimination. As society began to allow different voices to emerge, pure outsiders got most of the attention. Now people like Johnson, who inhabits what the book jacket calls "the borderlands between racial identities," are receiving the call to tell their stories.

Before I run on any longer, I should reveal some modest secrets of my own. Johnson and I attended the same high school in Southern California. In college, in the late 1970s, we shared two different apartments on Berkeley's Haste Street, a student ghetto just south of the University of California campus. We remained friends as he progressed through the legal profession to his current position as associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the University of California, Davis.

Johnson was born in 1958, the first child of a White father and a Mexican American mother. His parents divorced when he was young, and he grew up hopscotching from the barrio's poverty to the relative affluence of the beach cities near Los Angeles. Johnson's mother, a staunch assimilationist, neither taught him Spanish nor encouraged pride in his Latin roots. When she remarried, she attached herself yet another Anglo.

Following the advice of his politically savvy father, the adolescent Johnson began to ponder his Mexican American background. He began taking Spanish in high school. He continued in college. Meanwhile Berkeley introduced him - as it did us all - to heretofore unimagined diversity. Yet, to me, my roommate seemed most comfortable while slam dancing to the Dead Kennedys at the San Francisco punk club Mabuhay Gardens. White like me, I would have told anyone who bothered to ask about his racial identity (though I knew, of course, about his mother's background). Tellingly, no one raised the question.

My analysis at the time partly reflected my own lack of maturity and perception, but there's little doubt that Harvard Law School forced my friend unequivocally out of his Latino closet. Like other Harvard law students from modest economic and social backgrounds, he wondered whether he really deserved his place in the elite institution. Had the admissions committee let him in just because he'd checked the Latino box on the application? Even after he made law review, he could never convince himself.

During a tussle over affirmative action on the virtually all-white law review, Johnson took a firm pro-diversity stance. From that point on, he became increasingly outspoken about his Mexican American heritage - both personally and professionally. Though it might have been easier to blend in as white, he opted for a more rewarding, if rockier, bicultural path.

His chapter about Harvard, which opens the book, should be required reading for any undergraduate contemplating the LSAT. This isn't the first time someone has slammed Harvard Law, and it won't be the last, but Johnson's account makes the experience seem outright hellish for anyone with the slightest non-conformist streak. Pranks (probably innocuous to your average Yale man) resound with new meaning when aimed at a sensitive outsider. For his defense of affirmative action, Johnson earned a citation in a spoof yearbook as author of a volume entitled, "I Hate Whites." Nearly two decades later, the barb still stings.

After law school, Johnson plunged into pro bono work on behalf of Latin American immigrants and married a woman of Mexican American descent. Virginia helped him grow more comfortable with his identity, and together they try to provide a foundation of Mexican culture for their three children.

Policy discussions generally take a backseat in Johnson's autobiographical account. When they appear, they're grounded in personal experience - like his analysis of the "box checker" dilemma. The question is simple: what constitutes a member of an underprivileged group for the purposes of affirmative action? The answer is complex, if not insoluble. Under pressure to admit or hire individuals from certain groups, many institutions and businesses are keen to count anyone vaguely entitled to membership. Predictably, this has sparked a debate among civil rights activists over who qualifies to check the box. Individuals of mixed racial heritage, like Johnson, come under special scrutiny. The phenomenon is captured by the book's title, "How Did You Get to Be a Mexican?" A senior professor asked Johnson that very question during an interview for a position on a law faculty.

Johnson's book offers a partial answer, but no response will prove satisfactory as long as our society remains obsessed with race. Indeed, we can only put racism behind us when we no longer care about the answer.

* Bill Hinchberger is the editor of the BrazilMax website.