Readers Books

Given that this is a debut novel, the prose is remarkable, the voice unique, the insights into human behaviour and relationship profound. Mother-daughter relationships are always complicated, oft times ridden with confusing expectations, dreams of the future/reminiscences of the past, and always always the burden of aging - whether it be of youth blossoming or the prospect of death. This writer captures the emotional complexity of the relationship with great dexterity and compassion. We only hope that she continues to write yet again and again and again, many novels, many works, of which I'm sure she is entirely capable.

Any woman who has ever had a love-hate relationship with their mother will love this book. It's a beautiful and touching story about how different we see a mother's "good" intentions from when we are children to when we become adults. No matter how painful the journey, in the end we see that we all do the best that we can whether we're the mother or the daughter. It brought tears to my eyes.

Mimi never tires of telling her daughter, Silvie that she is named for the king, Elvis. She once dated the king. Mimi has big ideas and intentions, but finds herself stuck in the role of mother and housewife. This is not where she wanted to be. She loves the spotlight, dressing up in her high heels and swirling around in dresses.

Silvie is dowdy by Mimi's comparison, comfortable hiding from the spotlight. Mimi is disappointed that Silvie is not more 'out there', not more like her.

Silvie moves town to get out from under Mimi's shoes, but is driven back to her mother's side when she discovers that she has cancer. It is truly heartbreaking for Silvie to see her mother who was larger than life, slowly disintegrating before her eyes.

This is a good book about mother-daughter relationships, but it was really nothing new. It's all about people finding each other before they are separated forever.

With compassion, insight and elegance, Kathryn Stern's wonderful debut novel, "Another Song about the King," traces the tensions and fissures between a repressed but talented mother and her daughter, whose own life's experiences sadly reflect the disappointments, resentments and fears felt by her mother. Stern paints a vivid picture of Simone, whose mothering skills mirror the venomous pressures and arid emotional wasteland of her own childhood. Simone is so repressive and begruding of her daughter's right to a life that, at times, it appears that she could not be more deliberate in her emotional abuse. Silvie, in turn, at a very early age, deliberately withdraws from her mother and builds such an anguished anger and sense of disappointment with her circumstances that she refuses to call her mother any other name than Mimi.

The central conceit of the novel turns around Simone's teen-age "relationship" with Elvis Presley, a "date" whose scope is never completely determined but whose impact on the dissatisfied Simone grows and distorts her own ability to live as a functional adult. Simone's discontent is the central fact of her life. "For a long time, I liked being married, the routine, the security. But then it was the late sixties...and there I was in the suburbs, just planning a week of dinner and making them." The adult daughter, Silvie (whose own name, incidentally, is a semi-anagram of Elvis), understood "her discontent, the discontent of all women caught between the work of staying home and raising children and the larger work of the world."

Stern's masterful talent of characterization reveals itself fully through Silvie, a sensitive and inquisitive child who bears the brunt of her mother's smoldering fury. How should a child respond to a parent who insists the child develop her talents, but once expressed, elicits a competitive anger from the very adult she yearns to please? Silvie decides to withdraw, to finish in second place, to acquiesce to her mother. This tremendously affecting character pushes her sadness "down into that tight little bead no one could see, filling the space with emptiness, nothingness...I feared I lacked a self."

"Another Song" is not just about the evolving relationship between a mother and her daughter. This deeply reflective novel also treats the issues of insanity, suicide, depression, divorce, existential anguish and terminal illness. Never forgotten is the humanity of the central characters, and that compassion animates Stern's ability to make even a Simone a character about whom we care. This author, with a sure and sensitive hand, understands the quest all children, regardless of age, have to understand and forgive their parents.

Her mother's blue suede shoes always caused a problem for young Silvie. She wants a traditional, conservative mother, but ended up with Mimi - a headstrong, independant woman whose claim to fame is her dates with Elvis. Silvie believes that she has finally gotten away from her mother's indominable clutches when she moves to New York, but when Mimi is diagnosed with terminal cancer she goes home to help her die.

Through this time together, Silvie embraces her mother. She comes to learn the important elements of her family history. Through this time, Silvie gives and recieves the important elements of her mother's life, and finally comes to accept both her childhood and her future. She learns how to move beyond her mother, yet how to more fully embrace her special qualities.

The book is an excellent read for women. It gives a remarkable portrayal of the mother-daughter bond, with all of its pain and promise. Overall, highly recommended.

When I was a child, I loved this book so much I had my cousin steal it for me from my second grade teacher's collection! I love the storyline, but best of all, I love the illustrations: the soft colors and the great detail on every single page! This book is definately a must-have...

The absolute best children's book in the world. Since I lost my childhood copy, I just had to order one for my 2year old and she loves it just as much as I did. I think it's a good book to teach about behavior when parents are away.
The kitchen scene is hilarious, the bubble scene is adorable, if you don't have a copy for your kid, then get it!!!

This book was my favorite as a child. The illustrations, and the words just make you feel like your really in the story. The tales of fun and games were endless, amd I absoloutely loved the illustrations. I think out of the many books I've read I can definitely say this is the best!

This is a good book for all ages. It's a fun little book that you could read over and over again and again! This book is about two little monkeys that love their babysitter because she just talks on the phone all night. They get in to all mischief and mess the whole house in the process. They slip and slide out of the banana-covered kitchen in to the bathroom now covered in bubbles then outside to the muddy ground below the jungle gym. I think they are dirty now so they need a bath. They go take a bath and then notice the mess in the house they have to hurry to clean it before mama and papa monkey get home and then jump in to bed just in time!

The story begins with the mommy and daddy monkey getting ready for an evening out and their two little monkeys are delighted because they know that the babysitter will let them do basically anything that they like because it is her opinion that they are "the best little monkeys in the world" The little monkeys do get into mischief while their parents are away, but it all works out in the end. This story delighted my children...ages 4 and 7 and even made their big brother (12) smile when he over-heard part of it. I recomend this book for children 3 - 7.

THE BIG BURN is a fascinating and harrowing historic novel set in the midst of a forest fire that trashed Northern Idaho and Western Montana in 1910. It was a large forest fire. "How large?" you may ask. Okay--If there are 640 acres in a square mile and there were nearly three million acres affected by THE BIG BURN, then we're talking an area nearly 4700 square miles. Sonoma County, where I live, is one-third that size. If you consider the San Francisco Bay Area counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, AND Sonoma together, then you've got a sense of the scale of the destruction. For those of you on the East Coast, we're talking Long Island, plus all of New York's boroughs, and the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Columbia.

"Field Notes: In the summer of 1910, rangers who were used to working in isolation suddenly found their forests filling with strangers. With new fires breaking out daily through July and older ones stubbornly resisting control, the Forest Service's District One had no choice but to hire more and more men to fight them. By the end of the month, there were almost three thousand firefighters scattered across the district's several forests...W.B. Greeley, would later write, 'It was a case of hiring anyone we could get. We cleaned out Skid Road in Spokane and Butte. A lot of temporaries were bums and hobos. In a bad fire year, the temporary is the weakest link in the chain'...They went into the burning forests wearing the clothes they'd been recruited in, and the ones wearing street shoes or snug wool suits would regret that. They worked for twenty-five cents an hour with board, thirty if they provided their own food..."

In THE BIG BURN we do meet a few scoundrels. But the main characters here are three young people--Jarrett, a local boy who leaves his harsh dad; Seth, a southern kid in a black regiment who is trying to live up to the memory of his dead father; and Lizbeth, a young woman originally from New England, who is falling in love with the land she's found herself homesteading with her young, widowed aunt. All three cross paths before finding themselves in the midst of Hell on Earth.

Perhaps the publisher is calling this an "ages 12 and up" to spare younger children potential nightmares from the vividly drawn scenes of towering flames bearing down on our heroes. But for any kid whose tastes run to disaster and survival, mixed into a coming of age story, THE BIG BURN is a riveting read.

Jeanette Ingold has pulled out all stops in her book called The Bug Burn. In this exciting tale of Idaho's wildfires in 1910, three young adults battle the forces of nature. Seth, Jaret, and Lizbeth each fight life in their own way, and overcome personal obstacles. Seth is an African American trying to fit-in in the army. Jaret is a rebel son as he goes looking for a job in firefighting after he got fired from his railroad job. Lizbeth is a niece who is trying to convince her aunt not to sell their homestead. I like this book because it is full of action and adventure, but educational at the same time. I would give it five out of five stars because I had a fun time reading it and learned a lot from it. I can't tell you the ending, but I can give you a little sneak peek. The strong wind blows many fires together, creating a giant blaze. That blaze charges forward, burning everything in its path. Eventually it comes to a city named Wallace, and everyone has to work together to try to stop it. Do they succeed? Read the book, The Big Burn, to find out.

I think that The Big Burn was a very precice and educational book. The main carachters were Jarett, a young man wanting to fight fires with his older brother; Seth, An afircan American young man trying to show his pride for his country by joining the army; and Lizbeth, a young women trying to stay and keep her aunt from selling their home. The setting is 1910's, in Idaho and Montana. They over come some goals, and others are crushed. This all adds up untill the climax were all the flames come together and

In light of the recent wildfires in Colorado and Arizona, THE BIG BURN is an interesting book, but it would certainly be noteworthy under any circumstances. The story follows two young men and a young woman as they encounter and combat the infamously ferocious Montana wildfires of 1910. Jeanette Ingold deftly switches perspectives throughout the tale to keep the reader interested in this well-crafted historical novel.

Jarrett, the brother of a forest ranger, is on a quest to prove himself to his gruff father; Lizbeth, living with her widowed aunt, wants to preserve her adopted Western home; and Seth, a young black soldier, is dedicated to serving his country and overcoming racial prejudice. Apart and together, they transcend traditional teenage roles and attempt to save their homes from the fires that ravaged the Montana and Idaho wilderness during the summer of 1910. Some of the plot developments may seem cliché (romance blooms where you'd probably expect --- close calls end with last-second rescues, etc.), but overall the adventure is unlike any other book available. This overlooked event in US history provides a wealth of excitement for a talented writer. The parallel stories of the three protagonists allow for several viewpoints of every episode; Ingold paints a comprehensive portrait of the true historical events of the period.

Ingold intersperses the chapters with "field notes" chronicling the wildfires and wilderness firefighting from an objective standpoint. These sections are actually where she writes best and they are a testament to the thorough research that went into writing the book. Both historically accurate and dramatically engaging, THE BIG BURN is a great choice for anyone who is interested in learning about the phenomena of forest fires while also reading a great story.

--- Reviewed by Lowell Putnam

Ingold tells the reader that if you talk with anyone in Idaho or Montana for long enough, the subject of the Big Burn will come up, and the person telling you about it will expect you to know all about it. After reading Ingold's well-researched book, any reader would be able to contribute to the subject. Set in 1910, when forest rangers were new, railroads were huge, and immigrants were still flooding the country, The Big Burn tells the story of the wild fires of the northwestern United States. Ingold gives us three main characters: Jarrett, Lisbeth and Seth. These teenagers each deal with the fire in their own way, and find that there is more to fighting fires than a little water or ditch digging. The three do meet in the tale (it is plausible), and each tell their view of the events in concurrent chapters. Ingold breaks in with facts and accounts of actual events, which makes the fictitious story feel all the more real.

Ingold has done her homework, and it shows in the story. Her afterword, acknowledgements, and list of suggested reading at the end all provide valuable information. The only problem I had with the book was a bit of charaterization--the relationships between the characters felt forced and unbelievable, particularly the budding romance between Jarrett and Lisbeth. On their own, the characters were strong, interesting, and contributed to the story. But when they came in contact with the others, even the minor characters became a bit forced in the relationships in which they were observing or participating. Otherwise this is a wonderful example of great historical fiction.

This series is great. It is in a timeless, classic style and gives forward, simple & clean boyhood adventures. My son loves them.

I adored the Billy and Blaze series when I was a kid. The stories are timeless and kids of all ages can appreciate the bond between a boy and his horse. Definitely a must read for any boy or girl who loves animals.

This series of books is fantastic. My five year old loves them as much as I did.

Purchased because my 4 1/2 year old grandsons (twins) enjoyed this book very much when we had borrowed the book from the library.

While women generally ride for pleasure to feel the wind and the movement of the horse beneath, a boys ride is different in that it is the power and speed of the ride that are most dear to him in these chariots of fire, the roar of the engine, the hoofs and the noise of the wheels that inspire their thrill. Boys tend to drive either their horses or their cars to see the height of their power, and whether the beauty of black or the silver shine of white, the joy of the command lies in the skill of the rider and the knowledge of his horse, or his engine, a sight that most can appreciate, understand, and admire.

This was a gift for a boy. He loved it! Success! I love giving gifts
people love recieving. Amazon is my place to shop.
MLC

My son (age 4) after learning his letter sounds has found these books incredibly rewarding. He can read a whole book by himself! The Bob Book series is so smooth that he dosen't even realize that new concepts are being taught with each book/set. The steps are just enough for him to be challenged but still rewarding as he is able to complete each one at his own pace. We were introduced to these through his Montessori school and purchsed them for our home.

We have really enjoyed this series. My son, who just completed kindergarten, has used the series over the course of the year. The cartoons are funny, the text builds from set to set in a logical way. The box design gives kids a great feeling of accomplishment and let's them set goals -- we set up a card with stickers. My son gets one each time he reads a book in the set and when he's done with a box, he gets to go the bookstore to choose a book. The books build his confidence as a new reader and develop new skills in a more gradual and coherent way than other series I've seen, which claim they are for new readers but don't have a logical progression in the language they use. These books do.

I love these Bob books. I bought sets 1-5. My boys are still on the first box and they are cruising right through. Kindergarten and first grade. It is GREAT to find a set that introduces new word families and then reinforces them. You won't be disappointed. The drawings are so simple but my kids really do relate.

These are great learning to read books. We're working our way through the whole series.

Great learning books - my sons loves reading a Bob book every night before he goes to bed.

I purchased the set of books for my grandchildren 3 of them turned 5 this year and will start school in September. They all love them and fell so proud of themselves because they can read a whole book.

I love the BOB books and so do my kids. It gives them great confidence. I now have all 5 sets and can use them over and over again with each child.

must buy for the beginner reader!
My son is 5 and NOW can read all of the Bob books. He really loves them and we don't have to "make" him read them. I highly recommend the entire Bob Book collection.

The Bob Books series have been great for my homeschooled five year old. He has gone from just knowing his basic letter sounds to reading or attempting to read most everything he can get his hands on in about four months. These books were great for practice and building his confidence. I highly recommend the series.

A friend gave me this book to cheers me up after I had just broken up with my first serious girlfriend.

I thought given the title she was being ironic but after reading it I couldn't stop laughing.

Lent it to a friend, neved got it back!

An exellent book. One of the funniest I've read in a long time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a laugh. All of the people with who I discuss it want to borrow it, but I don't let them. This book puts the Darwin Awards to shame.

This is my favorite book. I have nearly every story in it memorized and I find myself re-reading the book again and again. It's one of those rare books that you start reading it smiling, then laughing out loud, and soon you're wiping tears from your eyes. Highly recommended.

This is the most inspirational book I've ever read. Let's face it, when you read about really fantastic people doing really fantastic things, you feel small and useless. But reading this book, you quickly begin to understand that you've never done anything nearly as bad as these people have done. If you failed your driver's test, don't feel bad - someone has failed it 46 times in a row. Basically, if you haven't burned down a neighbor's barn trying to test the gases coming out of the back end of a cow, or produced a safety film that actually causes injuries, you're doing pretty good.

I read this at a B&B in Wales; then was ecstatic to find it at Half Price Books in the States. I have lent it to many, but make strong demands for its return. You will want to make it part of your permanent collection.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it very easy to relate to the characters and loved the way Amber totally changed her perspective! The sequel is really good too! It's #38 Torn Apart

Hey everyone. I named my review "dont ya just wish" Because "the Boy Next Door" story was the kind that you wish happened to you. Or at least i did. This stroy is by far my favorite and the 2ed part "Torn Apart" is great too. The story is about a girl named Amber who moves from New York(by me) to Wyoming(my best guy friend). Its a great book because it's like Amber really finds something in a place where she thought there was nothing. When i was reading this book i couldnt put it down... So give it a try its a great book! Oh and after you read this one read "torn Apart (#38~love stories series) its the 2ed part and its great. And hey Janet Quin-Harkins, if your out there and you read this, i think that you should write some more stories about Amber and Rich! :) Ok well bye all!

This book manages to capture the spirt behind teen love as well as show exactly how difficult and uncertain life can be when your young and "in-love".

This remarkable book is sure to leave youre head in the clouds-day dreaming. Why can't I have a deliciously cute and (actually) caring guy kissing the ground I walk on, but still keeping his pride? Amber Stevens is a (I have to say) spoiled brat. Her life in NY is finaly coming together and one of the most popular guy is interested in her and they really hit it off. Then her parents spring a surprising plan to move to Wyoming to restore their family. She's sick with anger and keeps a grudge against Wyopming and everyone in it. There isn't even a movie theater in and hours range! Her dad and her agree on a deal that if Amber is still miserable in a year then she will be allowed to move back to NY. Wyoming is a completely different atmosphere from her once busy city life. Everyone's values here are so much deeper and Amber turns in her snotty spoiled city girl attitude for a sweet and funny personality she knew was always underneath everything. Then she meets rugged Rich Winter who helps her out with chores and they begin to fall in love. . . I can't begin to tell you how you will be hopping up and down in your seat with excitement over this superb book. Lookin' for a good book that you will read over and over again like I have? Yes, then this is defiantly the right book for you. Sweet Dreams. . .

AMber is petrified when she finds out that she is moving to Wyoming from New York. She has just found this wonderful guy and it is all good. But then she has to move to hickstown. She just knows she is going to have a miserable time. Her dad tell her that if she can stick it out for a year and is still unhappy then she can go back t New York. SO AMber says that she can act misetrable for a year. When she moves there she meets her next dor neighbor RIch ad falls in love. But what is she going to do when her wonderful boyfriend form new york comes to visit. WIll she pick the cowboy or the city boy. Read the book to find out what happens

This book was one of the best in the series. It had just the right amount of romance, adventure and laughs. I have read all the books in this series so far. This is one of my favorites. Two thumbs up. I enjoyed it A LOT!

I have read all of these books and I like this one the best. I like the new characters. Anybody who has read the other ones needs to read this one. The type of war that the Malloy's have with the Benson's is different with the Hatfords. Mostly because the Benson's and Malloy's like each other. They could be better friends then the Malloys and Hatfords are. I was very interested to find that Steve Benson falls for Eddie Malloy and her interested in him. Its different then the rest of them.

It wasn't my favorite in the series, but it wasn't my least favorite either. The Boys Return is worth reading because you meet a bunch of new characters. If you're going to skip a book in the series, this wouldn't be the one to skip.

Has anyone ever played mean tricks on you? This book, The Boys Return, is a story about four Malloy sisters, nine Benson brothers, and four Hartford brothers. The Hartford brothers have just returned from their vacation and they brought their friends, the nine Bensons along with them. The Hartford brothers had missed their neighbors, Malloy sisters, because they hadn't seen them for so long since they were on a vacation. The Hartford brothers, Malloy sisters, and Benson brothers are all young teenagers. The Hartford brothers, and Bensons do mean tricks to the Malloy sisters by sneaking into their house and making all of these haunted noises, and the Malloy sisters think that their house is haunted when it is not.
The Malloy sisters play tricks on the Hartford brothers by telling them that there is hungry cougar that escaped. Meanwhile everyone in town has heard that there's a hungry cougar, but they also think that the Malloy sisters and everyone in town are lying. The Malloy sisters, Hartford brothers, and the nine Bensons later find out that there really is a hungry cougar in town. The teens take a break from their tricks and join forces to catch the cougar.
Guess who gets stuck with the scariest job? This is definitely something that everyone will remember. That day there was a scary noise in the Malloy sister's garage. What could it be? The Malloy sisters call up the Hartford brothers, and the Bensons to come and help them find out who is in their garage. Do you think that is the cougar? When they arrived to the Malloy's house guess who goes in the dark garage to see who's there? Not only do the Hartford brothers, Malloy sisters, and the Benson's try to catch the cougar, but one of the Hartford brothers and one of the Malloy sisters secretly fall in love.
In my opinion, I think this book is a really fantastic book. When I started reading this book, I didn't want to stop reading it. In addition, I recommend this book to those people who falls in love in a secret way because you might don't want your parents to know that you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, and don't want to tell your little brother or little sister since they might tell on you so you might as well keep it secret. I seriously recommend that you read this book! The reason why I like this book is because it makes me feel like I am in the book. This book is funny, sad, and tricky. But most of all the book makes you feel happy!

Has anyone ever played mean tricks on you? This book, The Boys Return, is a story about four Malloy sisters, nine Benson brothers, and four Hartford brothers. The Hartford brothers have just returned from their vacation and they brought their friends, the nine Bensons along with them. The Hartford brothers had missed their neighbors, Malloy sisters, because they hadn't seen them for so long since they were on a vacation. The Hartford brothers, Malloy sisters, and Benson brothers are all young teenagers. The Hartford brothers, and Bensons do mean tricks to the Malloy sisters by sneaking into their house and making all of these haunted noises, and the Malloy sisters think that their house is haunted when it is not.
The Malloy sisters play tricks on the Hartford brothers by telling them that there is hungry cougar that escaped. Meanwhile everyone in town has heard that there's a hungry cougar, but they also think that the Malloy sisters and everyone in town are lying. The Malloy sisters, Hartford brothers, and the nine Bensons later find out that there really is a hungry cougar in town. The teens take a break from their tricks and join forces to catch the cougar.
Guess who gets stuck with the scariest job? This is definitely something that everyone will remember. That day there was a scary noise in the Malloy sister's garage. What could it be? The Malloy sisters call up the Hartford brothers, and the Bensons to come and help them find out who is in their garage. Do you think that is the cougar? When they arrived to the Malloy's house guess who goes in the dark garage to see who's there? Not only do the Hartford brothers, Malloy sisters, and the Benson's try to catch the cougar, but one of the Hartford brothers and one of the Malloy sisters secretly fall in love.
In my opinion, I think this book is a really fantastic book. When I started reading this book, I didn't want to stop reading it. In addition, I recommend this book to those people who falls in love in a secret way because you might don't want your parents to know that you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, and don't want to tell your little brother or little sister since they might tell on you so you might as well keep it secret. I seriously recommend that you read this book! The reason why I like this book is because it makes me feel like I am in the book. This book is funny, sad, and tricky. But most of all the book makes you feel happy!

My daughter has been working on reading for almost a year. Many readers bog down with boring story lines that are geared around specific words, often making little sense. We both love these readers because they are funny, colorful, and have one sentence on each page making it less overwhelming to read. The whole point of learning to read should be geared around this low pressure approach. LOVE THEM and highly recommend them to anyone with kids. My younger kids stick around to hear the stories!

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

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

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

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

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