Journals Books

I loved this book on American farm life! It is well-written, interesting and one of the best on this subject, in my opinion. I have just ordered several other of Jerry Apps books.

Jerry Apps magnificently captures the heart and soul of growing up on a small family farm in EVERY FARM TELLS A STORY. His youth was spent in rural central Wisconsin half-a-century ago, but the character of the culture he writes about was not unlike that of much of rural Middle America in those times. The book is based on his Ma's journal accounting of all the family's expenses and revenues through the years, but the anecdotes take you back to all the stories behind those numbers. Apps shares with us how all the entries were, indeed, more than just numbers - they had meaning and context in the bigger picture of what farm life was all about. In a comfortable and enjoyable style, he tells stories of family values, the hard times and good times, the honest dealings and fair play that caused most farm kids back then to grow up with integrity and a solid work ethic. EVERY FARM TELLS A STORY is a great read, but it's much more than just nostalgia. In a personal and sometimes almost poetic way, it documents a significant part of our country's historical heritage.

I really injoyed this book, laughed out loud several times. I really enjoyed all the old farm ads also. Great picture of how farming used to be.

Farm values and management can offer many lessons, especially when told through humor, as Jerry Apps demonstrates in Every Farm Tells A Story; A Tale Of Family Farm Values. Tucked into an inviting chronicle of changes in farming over the decades and resulting changes in values and methods, readers receive a fine blend of business savvy, history, and humor lending to light, easy reading.

I have just come across a book you all should read: it is called EVERY FARM TELLS A STORY, A TALE OF FAMILY FARM VALUES, by JERRY APPS. it is published by Voyageur Press and is a wonderful story about growing up on a farm near Wild Rose Wisconsin in Washara County in the north central part of the state. As most of you know, Cousin Tom Larson and I spent a number of summers on the Bergum farm north of Wheeler in Dunn County; and almost everything that Jerry Apps describes in the book is something we did with Uncle Nelmer (who Tom and I still consider the greatest man in the world) and Aunt Selma (our second mother) and Kon and Stanley on that farm: threshing, making wood, cultivating, feeding chickens, stripping cows; old fashioned crank telephones, freeshows, feed mills--everything. The book is illustrated with period advertisments. This is a brilliant nostalgic journey. It's a neat
companion to my own The Reunion. But all of you should take a trip in EVERY FARM. this is a story that speaks to those of us who have had anything to do with farm life. it's a wonderful book for all my cousins and for all of us.

Steven Fortney
Author of The Reunion.

My husband had received this book for his 50th birthday so he knew it was good. Our neighbor is enjoying it too.

Knowledgeably edited by Ronnie Sellers, Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty is an informed and thought-provoking collection of fifty writers contributing ideas, advice, observations, and instructions upon turning fifty years old. As an ideal how-to and what-to-do book informing its readers of the many fears and beliefs that might concern most fifty-year-olds, and explores why they might feel as they do and what to do to avoid or confront such barriers. Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty is very strongly recommended to all readers who have or are contemplating turning fifty-something as the ultimate guideline of staying young as an explorative and practical fifty-year-old.

This is a compilation from various authors writing on the subject of turning 50. The first contributor really lays it on the line by saying "Stop complaining" and get your act together so that you'll get through many years after 50. I appreciated that these 50 writers "provided essays on a pro-bono basis" and profits from the book will go toward non-profit organizations focused on cancer research. This is a great book to give as a gift to friends reaching this sometimes challenging milestone.

Knowledgeably edited by Ronnie Sellers, Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty is an informed and thought-provoking collection of fifty writers contributing ideas, advice, observations, and instructions upon turning fifty years old. As an ideal how-to and what-to-do book informing its readers of the many fears and beliefs that might concern most fifty-year-olds, and explores why they might feel as they do and what to do to avoid or confront such barriers. Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty is very strongly recommended to all readers who have or are contemplating turning fifty-something as the ultimate guideline of staying young as an explorative and practical fifty-year-old.

Knowledgeably edited by Ronnie Sellers, Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty is an informed and thought-provoking collection of fifty writers contributing ideas, advice, observations, and instructions upon turning fifty years old. As an ideal how-to and what-to-do book informing its readers of the many fears and beliefs that might concern most fifty-year-olds, and explores why they might feel as they do and what to do to avoid or confront such barriers. Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty is very strongly recommended to all readers who have or are contemplating turning fifty-something as the ultimate guideline of staying young as an explorative and practical fifty-year-old.

There is no better timepiece than a child, or two, or four. Parents-to-be understand, intellectually, that time passes and your children grow before your eyes but Laura Pratt captures that whirlwind passage, writing with unflinching honesty and passion each little snapshot from her life as a mother. She uses lush description to perfectly capture, preserve, and report each touching vignette that she shares and the result is a book on motherhood that is by turns hilarious, insightful, and unrepentently sentimental. Highly recommended.

This is a book with something for every parent. Ms. Pratt shares stories that all parents can identify with, from the mad rush to the hospital (only to be told that you're still pregnant--go home), to the adventures of sorting legos and planning your life around your new addition(s).

A great gift for any expectant or experienced mom!

Laura Pratt has quite a way with words--and she clearly loves her role as Mother. The author lets us get a glimpse into the "ordinary" world of mothering 4 children. Her descriptions of everything from the discomforts of pregnancy to a mother's mixed emotions on sending her eldest child to school for the first time will make any mother laugh, cry, and most of all, *appreciate* that someone has put into words so beautifully the way we often feel but can't always articulate. The writing is intelligent and honest; sentimental without being sappy. Highly recommended for any loving mother.

I just love Ms. Pratt's style. This book will have you laughing and crying and nodding in agreement. And it's not just for moms--even my husband could relate to the chapter where Ms. Pratt describes a "real life hopped on pop". I'm planning to buy this book for all my favorite parents.

I just thought this was a fantastic book. I really saw my own life unfolding before my eyes as I turned the pages. The author, Laura Pratt, does a fantastic job of capturing the joys and sorrows of motherhood. And her words made me realize, more than anything else before, just how "fleeting" the "years" are.
Joanne

"Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun" by Frank "Foo" Fujita, with Stanley L. Falk. Subtitled: "The Secret Prison Dairy of Frank "Foo" Fujita". University of North Texas Press, 1993.

This is an interesting book on many different levels. First, it is the story of a World War II Prisoner Of War. But not just any POW: Frank "Foo" Fujita was a Japanese-American, perhaps the only Japanese-American who was held as a POW in Japan. And, on the third level, "Foo" was a Texan and a member of the Texas National Guard. His unit was called up, to be sent to the south Pacific, and, after the sneak attack, on Pearl Harbor, they were diverted to Australia. The 2nd Battalion, 131st field Artillery was assigned to the defense of the Dutch island of Java, where they were overrun by the Japanese. Most of us have forgotten the American units that were part of the ABDA, American, British, Dutch and Australian forces in this theater, with, perhaps the major exception being the cruiser, the U.S. S. Houston. (See, for example, pages 345-346, where a contemporary "bird-colonel" does not believe that Fujita's unit was never in the Pacific.)

To make the story even more interesting, Sergeant Fujita was an accomplished sketch artist, and he includes contemporary drawings of himself and of the Japanese mistreating POWs. So, on this level, he has enhanced his story visually. His entire diary was in a code of his own fabrication. His diary and his drawings were hidden in a wall of a building in his POW camp; the diary and drawings were recovered after the war. This recovered material makes this book a primary source for the history of Japanese-held POWs.

Excellent primary source supported by explanatory notes supplied by Stanley L. Falk.

Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun is the true and riveting account of Frank "Foo" Fujita's experiences of being a Japanese American combat soldier who was captured by the Japanese during the Pacific campaign of World War II during the defense of Java in early 1942. Based on his secret prison diary, we are provided a "window in time" regarding the daily life and experiences of a prisoner of war which vividly recounts the privations of the POWs and the living conditions in Japan. The text is illustrated with drawings, maps and photographs. What is surprising is the humor that was to be found -- even in the midst of the most severe circumstances. Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun is a unique contribution to the annals of World War II literature and highly recommended for academic, community, and personal library collections.

I met Foo in a restaurant in Abilene, TX, sitting in a booth next to him and two other gentlemen. His book was to be released the next day. My wife, after evedropping on their conversation, introduced her and myself. Foo sold us a copy of the book....and autographed it for us. This was several years ago. We have learned he has since died. He was very warm and personable with us. His story is facinating. (His reason for being in Abilene was that there was to be some sort of POW reunion the next day.)

I knew "Foo" (he died last year) and many of the other men (my father among them) who were taken prisoner with him. This is an excellent book about a little known page in American history. Although, in many ways, Foo's captivity was atypical of the treatment most of the "Lost Battalion" received, it is a fascinating, well written book which shouldn't be missed by anyone interested in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

Having known Foo since High School days and later being a sister-in-law, I read the original dairy and saw the pictures he drew of the atrocities experienced there in prison. This book is an excellent account of the way it was. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a factual story of what it was like to be in a POW Camp in Japan during World War II.

"Goodnight Moon" is a long-standing family tradition for us and while searching for a new copy for my soon-to-be-born grandchild, I stumbled upon this journal. What a fabulous companion to the book and also a wonderful diary for the new baby. My daughter was in tears when she got it and called me immediately to say how wonderful it was. She had been looking at a "Goodnight Moon theme for the baby's room and had no idea this existed. She started filling things in immediately! I highly recommend this for all new mom's.

I gave this journal a 4 stars because of the two minor problems: (1) The photo corners are worthless. They are not strong enough to hold anything. We end up using glue instead. (2) The size of the book is too small. One of the pages is for us to attach a birth certificate, but the birth certificate is a couple of inches bigger than the page. Otherwise, the book is fun to fill out, and look at occassionally.

I bought this baby journal as a gift for my friend's baby shower. It was a hit! EVERYONE loved it. The journal is beautiful and high quality. I wish it was around when my kids were born! It also makes a great gift when paired with the Goodnight Moon Book--every baby's favorite.

This baby journal is ideal for a busy new mom like me who wants to keep a record of my baby's "firsts" and physical development with minimal effort. It has a nice combination of fill in the info pages, plus blank pages for photos or your own special thoughts and memories if you're so inclined. Every page is beautifully illustrated in the Goodnight Moon theme, but it's not too busy or cutsie. I also like the compact size of the journal -- it's only about 8"x7", not an oversized binder like some other journals. I can keep it handy on my desk or bookshelf. My only criticism would be the photo corners included. They aren't strong enough to hold my birth announcement and photos in place, so I purchased my own corners. This is a sweet journal that I would highly recommend for new moms or as a shower gift. The pretty pastel color scheme (green, yellow, blue & pink) works for a boy or girl.

When I had my first child,I was given several baby journals as shower gifts. I wasn't completely satisfied with any of them; some devoted too many pages to family background; some were too 'touchy/feely' for my taste; much of the artwork was too cutesy for me; and many baby journals have artwork which involves images (photos/art) of babies. I wanted a journal into which I could insert photos of MY baby, not be bombarded by images of other people's babies. I ended up cutting and pasting parts from all of the journals into a photo album in order to put together my first child's album. I discovered the "Goodnight Moon Baby Journal" when looking for a journal for my second child. It has artwork from the book, which is clearly child-oriented, but not sickeningly sweet, the colors are muted pastels of green, blue, yellow and pink, and there is not one picture of someone else's baby. I have used almost every page from this journal and think it is the best baby journal available. Besides, every child reads and loves "Goodnight Moon", so your child can become nostalgic looking at the illustrations in the journal as well as the mementos you insert. Finally, it even comes with adhesive tabs for inserting photos, which is a nice touch.

I purchased this journal as a gift for my daughter who is traveling to Japan in March. The design is beautifully Asian with a very handmade, aged look to it. It was a real bargain for the price, and she loved it.

This is a great journal for several reasons. You should know that I really like journals that lie flat on a table. I'm left-handed, and a lot of journals (particularly ones that are spiral bound) are uncomfortable to write in. This one lies flat, and I love to write in it.

Also, the paper is great quality, and the painting on the front is absolutely beautiful. This journal is an absolute bargain, and I highly recommend it.

I just received this journal yesterday - Simply beautiful! This is my third journal, and probably the nicest of the three. Great inspirational hard cover, and softly lined pages. Very sturdy to travel and take with you places, and enough pages to last a while to fill. I 100% DEFINITELY recommend this journal for anyone who loves to write and store their thoughts and memories for a later date.

It's sometimes difficult to know until you hold a journal in your hands if its quality is worthy of your thoughts. Curious about this series of blank books, I located one in a Border's store so I could examine it closely, and was sold (though I actually bought several of various styles through Amazon due to the greatly reduced price and wide selection).
Just wanted to reassure any curious journal-keepers that this is a very nice book for having paper binding. The surfaces of the front and back plates are silky smooth, taut and very pretty. The spine, being sewn with strings, is tight, yet allows the book to lay completely flat when open. The pages inside are very smooth, practically non-porous grain, and of a medium weight, thick enough for fine-tip pen-and-ink, but too thin for any other medium of drawing or writing element. I'm usually a fan of leather-bound journals because they're sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing to me, but as paper-bound journals go, these are among the nicest I've seen.

Besides the beautiful picture on the cover, these hand-stitched versions are the easiest I've found to write in because they actually lay flat so you can write! They don't seem fragile just because the binding is visible, and it's very unique looking. The pages are very yellow-ish, which I don't mind, but if you only like pure white, you may want to know. Wide spaced lines. They don't have quite as many pages as some other traditionally bound blank journals at comparable prices. But I think they are beautiful for a special blank book you may want for something.

This journal is well made and beautiful to look at. The lining is well spaced. It is an item I am proud to keep on my bedside table.

I am so excited it is at Amazon!

Now that I see all the others I wonder if I should stay with this and buy more and have a congruent shelf? If I have many exciting "flavors" next to each other it make attract unwelcome attention.

Great brand and the hand stitching mat be the thing to look for.

It's sometimes difficult to know until you hold a journal in your hands if its quality is worthy of your thoughts. Curious about this series of blank books, I located one in a Border's store so I could examine it closely, and was sold (though I actually bought several of various styles through Amazon due to the greatly reduced price and wide selection).

Just wanted to reassure any curious journal-keepers that this is a very nice book for having paper binding. The surfaces of the front and back plates are silky smooth, taut and very pretty. The spine, being sewn with strings, is tight, yet allows the book to lay completely flat when open. The pages inside are very smooth, practically non-porous grain, and of a medium weight, thick enough for fine-tip pen-and-ink, but too thin for any other medium of drawing or writing element. I'm usually a fan of leather-bound journals because they're sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing to me, but as paper-bound journals go, these are among the nicest I've seen.

This is the first journal I've gotten from this series so I wasn't too sure what I was getting. But I'm delighted with the book. It's slightly larger than the usual journals. Although it doesn't double back on itself like spiral-bound books, the hand-stitching does allow you to open it up wider than regular hardbacks, so you don't have to crimp your handwriting as you near the crease.

It's sometimes difficult to know until you hold a journal in your hands if its quality is worthy of your thoughts. Curious about this series of blank books, I located one in a Border's store so I could examine it closely, and was sold (though I actually bought several of various styles through Amazon due to the greatly reduced price and wide selection).

Just wanted to reassure any curious journal-keepers that this is a very nice book for having paper binding. The surfaces of the front and back plates are silky smooth, taut and very pretty. The spine, being sewn with strings, is tight, yet allows the book to lay completely flat when open. The pages inside are very smooth, practically non-porous grain, and of a medium weight, thick enough for fine-tip pen-and-ink, but too thin for any other medium of drawing or writing element. I'm usually a fan of leather-bound journals because they're sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing to me, but as paper-bound journals go, these are among the nicest I've seen.

It's a great help to have when you really like Harry Potter! I have been using it for awile, and I love it! I recommend to all fans!

Just a reminder to those who are planning to buy this book... this book is somewhat like a notebook. I personally like to stick things on it. THIS IS NOT A STORYBOOK MIND YOU!!! If you like to write, this can be a journal for you or a diary.

this hp journal is so cool.but i must say the the hogwarts journal is much better.i write my deepest secrets in this book.abt my travels beacuse a train is on it.i dont travel much though but its so cool to have a book to write in .its better than a small note book or a lock dairy which most people use for dairy the point is that this journal is a journal which has been decorated with yr favorit book and charaters pictures and stuff.it ould have benn cooler if it had a pen or pencil attached witha bitof string or a rubber too.but u must buy this.buy the whole set and start acollectin

Just a reminder to those who are planning to buy this book... this book is somewhat like a notebook. I personally like to stick things on it. THIS IS NOT A STORYBOOK MIND YOU! If you like to write, this can be a journal for you or a diary.

I Soooo loved this book. It took me 1 day to finish it, just because It was so good. I couldn't put it down. Read it if you like Harry Potter. Even if you feel kinda out of it because of it's lengthy looks, It really won't take you that long to finish, and you'll end up lovin it in the end. Go Potter!!

I'll admit (and, probably, commit) the tediousness of many reviewers. Sanctimonious and certain, they often slash and burn their way across a landscape that they know only as outsiders. But now and then you find someone who understands a topic deeply, has experience in it, and a sharp and humane eye, all while being amusing. I'd place John Heilpern in this category if his work didn't do so itself.

Theater critic for the New York Observer, Heilpern is passionate about the topic, has seen his own plays produced, and has an unusually keep wit. Although his latest book is a biography of the British playwright, John Osborne, I came across How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?, which came out in 1999, in a used book store. I'll confess to never having read Heilpern's work before - it was the title that got me, as I'm not the world's largest Mamet fan, at least in the non-fiction of his that I've read of late. And it's fairly unusual for someone in the theatrical community to take on a contemporary icon.

But take him on Heilpern did, as well as writers at the New York Times, American anglophilia, Disney Land (the new name for Broadway), and other topics. At the same time, he's anything but mean-spirited. Many of his pieces put praise where he thinks it's due and tries to analyze what is good and bad about productions. Many of his observations run from the droll to the uproariously funny. And where else can you get a delightful transcript of a lunch between Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson.

If you've any regard for theater, or for intelligent criticism of any sort, you should be tickled with this book. Now I'll have to get hold of a copy of his Osborne biography.

I read this book, found some of the most entertaining, informative and lively criticism I've ever encountered, and came to this page to see what others were saying about it. Reading the slams by Booklist and Kirkus made me wonder if I'd completely misunderstood "How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?" But then I read the raves from Salon and Tony Kushner and other readers, and wondered who the heck is reviewing for Booklist and Kirkus. Booklist calls it "daily journalism," but then the NY Observer apparently is a weekly. It's amusing that Kirkus ends its review recommending a trip to the theater--if their writer got out more, he or she might notice on a theater marquee that it's NOEL Coward, not NOL. (Sorry, my keyboard can't make the little double dots to go with the correct spelling.) A howler like that basically nolifies the rest of the review. You won't be seeing the collected works of either of these critics appearing in bookstores anytime soon.

John Heilpern is without question the best critic of his generation, and his reviews in the weekly "New York Observer" can't be beat! Make plans to buy this collection from the most important living theater critic and England's best export since Archie Leach!

John Heilpern is without question the best critic of his generation, and his reviews in the weekly "New York Observer" can't be beat! Make plans to buy this collection from the most important living theater critic and England's best export since Archie Leach!

At last, readers beyond the subscription list of the New York Observer have the opportunity to read one of the most gifted--and funniest--writers around. As it happens, this book is a collection of his writing on theater (save for the non-theatrical, though rivetingly dramatic, account of Heilpern's struggle with a murderous roommate named Jack the Cat), but this work is a delight for anyone who appreciates finely tuned yet uproarious humor, a handsome prose style and a sensibility that is at once erudite, entertaining and inviting. How good is John Heilpern's "How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?" anyway? Peerless.

Kristine O'Connell George's poetry is beautiful as these poems lead her observations of a mother hummingbird making a nest, laying her eggs, then the eggs hatching and the young moving out. The illustrations are lovely realistic sketches that capture each stage of the hummingbirds' development. This makes a nice Mother's Day gift. I also bought a copy for a special aunt who loves nature.

If you or I were to find a tiny hummingbird nest in our backyard, we would handle such a discovery in any variety of ways. Some people would probably set up a camera and create a 24-hr live feed to their website. Others would ignore the nest or, worse still, actively remove it due to some odd hummingbird-based-delusion that the creatures were pests. When author Kristine O'Connell George found her nest, she came up with a particularly original way of marking the event. She kept a steady journal and, when all was said and done, she turned that journal into poetry. And she turned that poetry into a book. And that book was illustrated by the all-too-accomplished Barry Moser. And as a result, children's librarians everywhere have the honor of carrying "Hummingbird Nest" on their shelves, ready to be taken out by any inquisitive child with a yen for tiny birdies. Neither you nor I might go this route, but then neither you nor I would have such a fine title to our name. Such is life.

There are 26 poems in this book, all told. At the beginning a single small bird launches itself at a family eating on their patio. It appears that the creature has claimed this area as its own and immediately sets about building a nest in a potted tree. After a short amount of time two eggs appear in the nest. The family carefully checks up on them when the mama bird is away. The chicks hatch and are fed by their mother. Then they grow over the course of 18-26 days. At the end of that time, one of the babies flies away without the family ever saying goodbye. The second bird has some false starts before it finally figures out how to fly, and (after a snack from mama) fly it does. From that time on, hummingbirds sip nectar from the family's feeder and the author says to herself in the Author's Note, "Were any of the fledglings that turned up at our feeder later that spring our hummingbirds? I like to think they were".

The book has the feel of realism to it, helped along by Moser's accurate artistic renderings. The poetry, for its part, is a kind of friendly free verse. All scientifically accurate. All tiny odes to greater hummingbird-dom. I was particularly fond of a poem entitled, "Spiders, Beware!" that cautions all arachnids that the hummingbirds are around and ready to steal their webbing. These poems are rather innocent and don't go in for witty metaphors or particularly original imagery. They're just gentle little pieces that contain words like, "this rainy evening / your quiet wings / smoothly pressed / as you patiently sit / gentle captain / of your cobweb ship". There's even a small hummingbird-ish haiku at the end (though for a superior hum-haiku, check out the one in Jack Prelutsky's, "If Not For the Cat"). At the end of the book is the Author's Note that tells the true story, some quick facts about hummingbirds, and a very nice bibliography of hummingbird resources for old and young readers.

It's really Barry Moser's art that lifts this little book from obscurity, though. If you haven't perused Moser's stunning, "In the Beginning" (with words by Virginia Hamilton) then I'm afraid you've a large gap in the creation-myth department of your brain. Moser's watercolors here are wonderful. In the picture where the hummingbird dive-bombs the family, we see an older woman dropping her breakfast spoon, a coffee cup already turned on its side, and a hand covering her face in what is unmistakably the beginning of a laugh. Moser's dog is mournful and his cat full of the languid grace of the species. There are changes in perspective, in distance, and in view. In this way, Moser creates what otherwise could have been a deathly dull series of illustrations.

Come to think of it, this whole enterprise could easily (in the hands of the less adept) have ended up as some kind of boring practice in nature poetry. Instead it captures a fascinating subject, those winged little paradoxes of the avian world, and displays for us all the wonder that she, the author, experienced once. There won't be a child in the world who doesn't yearn for a hummingbird nest of their own after paging through this light little book. Seriously consider pairing it with the equally lovely and aforementioned, "If Not For the Cat", for a detailed examination of the natural world through verse. A small but strong work.

As a reading specialist I regularly review new children's books. As soon as I saw this one, I thought of my mom. She's a sharp-minded 87-year-old who loves poetry, art and hummingbirds. She gives the artistry, both words and watercolors, of this book an easy five stars.

This book is a tender treasure of hummingbird experiences through the wide-open eyes of a family entranced and the pen of a noted writer clearly in love with her subject.

Written as delightful poems, the story contains many teachable moments following "Anna" through the birth process, portraying the teetering and testing of the young ones' wings, proceeding on to the inevitable empty nest. It was hard to hold back tears as the wonder-filled story touches on the universal, relating to many cycles in our own lives.

The delicate watercolor drawings are beautiful in their own right, yet support and enhance the story in seemingly perfect harmony.

I heartily recommend this book to hummingbird lovers and children of all ages, who, caught up in the flow of the story, will absorb many hummingbird facts before they even know it.

Beth Kingsley Hawkins
Co-Editor, The Hummingbird Connection
www.hummingbird.org

One warm, February morning a tiny hummingbird began building a nest in a ficus tree on the patio of George's home in Claremont , California . For the next two months George kept a "hummingbird journal" of the daily happenings. "I still marvel," she writes, "over the surprising range of emotions one small bird and her family evoked: awe, worry about possible dangers, and laughter when the baby birds teetered on the edge of the nest for their daily flight practice."

George has expertly taken those emotions and woven them into this delightful collection of poems. In "Visitor" we are introduced to the small mother. She is nothing more than a "spark, a glint, / a glimpse of pixie tidbit." In the next poem, however, we see her bravado and determination in action. She becomes a "feathered missile streaking by," ordering the humans off her patio, out of her territory.

Soon two eggs are visible in the "cobweb ship" of a nest. Once hatched, the nestlings, "raisin black / an wrinkled," settle in. In "Flight Practice," George does a superb job at allowing the reader to visualize the drama taking place: "Four curled up feet grip / the top of the nest. / Two tiny motors / rev up for the wing test."

Moser is in top form here. His realistic, incredibly detailed watercolor paintings are small jewels in themselves.

The poems and illustrations combine wonderfully to allow readers the opportunity to vicariously witness nature up-close.

Highly Recommended.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff