Languages Books

Samarkand tells the story of Omar Khayyam and the writing of his Rubaiyaat. It crosses that biographical story with the story of an American scholar who discovers the real book later, in the midst of a journey to the Middle East.

Samarkand breaks nearly every rule that I have for myself about what kind of historical fiction I dislike. It name-drops famous people (characters sail on the Titanic. Khayyam is close to Hassan-i-Sabah and their stories intertwine, etc.). It makes historical characters modern. It indulges in fancy dress and exotic places. But still, that didn't really bother me. Perhaps that is because in the character of the student it seems Maalouf turns the camera back on himself. By giving a young, well-intentioned but ultimately callow character the role to interpret not only the past but the culture of the present, the reader is reminded that such things can not be so easily understood. Maalouf seems to remind us that their is no such thing as an omniscient narrative. And then somehow, just like that, I forgive him the rest of the devices in his book.

Samarkand is not perfect. The latter half, in particular is a little bit clunky. There is something not quite right about the structure. It may be the translation, but I am not completely sure. Still, a worthwhile read. A good use of time. (And now I have to run out and re-read the Rubaiyaat, which I will confess I did not take as seriously as I ought.)

This is the second book that I have read by Maalouf, the first being the magnificent Crusade Through Arab Eyes. I'm definitely going to keep reading in his body of work.

I only picked up the book because of FitzGerald's Rubaiyat and was happily surprised. The only two observations I would add to other reviews here are, first, that the novel was translated from French into English and so may lose some elegance and effect. Perhaps that's the origin of someone's remark, "surprisingly dry"? Second, I enjoyed the way the fictionalized characters were drawn from actual history, Medieval and modern, and how characters in the early history had thought provoking parallels in the modern story. So, I came away moved by the question of how different types of people influence history, or art, or the people around them. And the story opens a door into Persian history, including Islam, for those of us in the West who had little or no idea of it before.

So many reviewers have described in such elegant terms this book I can only concur. I read this book in 1997 in French first (As far as I know Amin Maalouf writes all his books in both Arabic and French) and then I reread it in English. The translation is excellent. Like any poetry it is very difficult to translate Omar Khayyam's.
There is a rupture between the first part and the second. I do prefer the first half but the second half's end is remarkably incredible and full of hope.
Amin Maalouf is a master of "time travel" and takes you to exotic places like 15th century southern Spain during the Reconquista with Leo Africanus or the second century Persia with The Gardens of Light or the 19th century in the Otoman empire with The Rock of Tanios

This is easily Maaloufs best work. Totally different from all other writers, Maalouf never polarises. He writes with fine balance and invokes a deep respect for every culture and creed he writes of. No one , having read this, will finish it without having a deep understanding and respect for Iran and its people, its brutal history , its identity ,which it has had very little chance in creating due to constant invasions-Turks to Mongols- or tutelege-Britain and Tsarist Russia.
Using the verses of Omar Kayyams Samarkand Manuscript and the turn of the century constitutional and democratic revolts and its failure due to British and Russian interference (what would we give for the democratic Iranian state today-free of religious and political tyranny?!) Maalouf weaves a wonderful tale of -appropriately-Arabian Nights proportions and educates the reader on all the historical upheavals desires and missed opportunities of the region. The book divides into two main parts; 11th century Persia and the life of Kayyam, and the late 19th and early 20th century Persia; a nation trying to establish itself in the world.
A deep lesson lies here, of the importance of democracy freedom and justice to all people, and how fragile it is against vested interests.
This is a truly great novel. A wonderfully unifying novel that lifts the prejudices and fears between the east and west, and misconceptions of Iran and islamic cultures.
A masterpiece in humanitarian understanding.

Other reviewers have highlighted the charm of the book, with its evocation of Khayyam, the Rubiyyat and the fabled cities of the Silk Route. I would like to point out that it holds a frightening parallel to our present times. The book was published in 1988, so Maalouf could have had no idea how closely his book would mirror the early part of the twenty first century.

The book deals partly with the confict between the hidden leader of a violent sect and powerful empire. The second part of the book deals with the citizens of a country (ironically, today's Iran) striving for democracy and freedom from the oppressive rule of theocrats, but opposed by two great world powers of the time (Britain and Russia!) who wish to maintain the status quo for their economic benefit.

The book is written with great charm and makes the reader feel (s)he is there. Like a previous reviewer, I do not know enough to separate fact from fiction, but at the end of the book, one wishes with all one's heart that there IS such a book, written in Omar Khayyam's own hand, and that it is NOT at the bottom of the Atlantic.

An amazing and uplifting book.

Excellent book for any writer who wants to go from the corporate world to full-time writing.

It's packed with great information, websites, and other resources. The people who give their testimonials are real. I felt like they were encouraging me to take the next step with my writing!

Don't wait! Order this book today.

Tiffany Godfrey, www.resourcewriting.com

All in all .. Peter Bowerman has one of the few "voices" that bears a ring of truth rather than hype to me. My aversion to hype is one of the reasons I struggle with even trying copywriting for real. Your books resonate with me because he is doing it everyday.

This is as opposed to those who have done it for a thousand years and might not have to work as hard as the rest of us in this day and age. That's not to negate their success or status but getting advice from someone who has already made their fortune and can sell on name recognizability alone is very different than having someone who's risen from the trenches in the same era that new aspiring creatives are coming from.

I say creative btw because much of what Bowerman advises should (will?) work for my design aspirations as well as writing.

The market demanded this book so Bowerman put it out.

It's okay. It's mostly more of the same - it doesn't
much represent a leap from the first book so much as
it's like a 284 page appendix... useful material but much
of it would have been edited out or folded into the
first book if they were published as one volume.

Not particularly flawed - but like many business books
it's padded out with 3rd-party stories - enthusiastic
and informative vignettes from succeeding freelancers
who liked the first book and wrote in to Bowerman to
share their stories.

Major points - cold calling isn't so bad, marketing
isn't so bad if you think about it in a nice way,
professionalism matters, consistency pays off.

Fairly toothless, but inspirational. If you read the
first book and need a little more encouragement to
jump into the marketplace and do the business this
might be the push you need.

Worth reading but if you are already hustling work as
a freelancer you may find it redundant.

Ok, before I explain the title of this review, let me make an embarrassing admission. I originally picked this book up at a library instead of purchasing it. I did this because I have wasted the rough equivallent of 2 wheelbarrels full of cash on copywriting courses that turned out to be complete and utter wastes of my time, money, and remaining hair waiting to be pulled out...

If you have invested any of your own precious time searching for great advice and material on how to make a great living as a copywriter, then I'm sure you understand exaclty what I mean.

As I cracked open The Well Fed Writer: Back For Seconds, I skimmed through the book as I always do when sizing up new material, searching for relevant chapters. I must say that it took only 1 chapter of reading for me to set the book aside, whip out my notebook and furiously scratch down good advice, valuable resources to check out on the web and even 2 clever quips that I wanted to use the next time I host a teleseminar. (The comparison of common marketing practices to camoflauge was a stroke of genius)

I realize that I may be dangerously close to sounding like a gushing teenager asking for his favorite celecrities autograph, but I cannot emphasize enough how 'right on the money' this book is. Perhaps the best way to illustrate how valuable the Well Fed Writer is to your success as a freelance writer would be to show you what 3 qualities I look for in a 'good' book:

1 - Straight forward - The author must not pull any punches. Tell it like it is. Don't paint overly rosey pictures or candy coat your advice. If there are landmines to my career that must be avoided, then by all means point them out! Thankfully Peter goes above and beyond by acknowledging traits that are common to most humans that could kill your progress before you even get started. Peter seems to have a talent for painting visual pictures and images that will stick with you. I hope he doesn't mind if I use a few of his analogies with my clients!

2 - Realistic - I don't know about you, but I'm tired of having my ears tickled. Don't tell me what you think I want to hear, tell me the truth! There's enough hyped up pie in the sky books, websites and emails floating around in cyberspace... I don't need to spend money on a book that will add to it! I found this book to be a refreshing change of pace as you are constantly reminded of the fact that we live and work in the real world, so results can and will vary.

However, Peter also takes the time to show you alternative paths to success should you find that your current conditions are less than ideal. Much appreciated!

3 - Easy to read - Ok, call me petty for listing such a seemingly unimportant feature in my #3 spot, but I couldn't resist. Regardless of how good the information is, if I feel as if I am plodding my way through a college biology text book, then chances are I'm more likely to use the book as a paper-weight.

I found this book to be entertaining to read as well as informative. Please do yourself a favor and purchase this book now. I returned my copy to the library and snagged my own personal copy, because this is a book that you will want to highlight and bookmark for continous future reference. You can thank me for the strong recommendation later!

Peter Bowerman makes it seem like there`s FLCW (freelance corporate writing) work in abundance for everyone who could possibly seek to get into the game (and has a modicum of talent and is willing to work hard etc.) I love his style. I think he has some good tips. However, he skips the reality that content buyers are developing a Wal-Mart mentality and trying to get 50 articles for $2 each -- no attention to quality as long as certain keywords appear and it meets some sort of hi/lo age group. I know corporate writing is not like poetry or even essay writing. I accept that. As a struggling writer however I see the reality and that is that corporate buyers -- of writing or widgets or any commodity -- are trying to go as cheap as possible no matter what the sacrifice in quality. That`s why many website and brochures, annual reports and white papers you see today have frequent and horrifying grammatical and syntactical errors.

This book provides excellent insight into the story driven process, with immediately actionable advice. Cohn clearly describes the advantages of stories, and explains how to develop quality systems that deliver value to the user. Anyone operating in, or hoping to adopt an iterative and incremental methodology will benefit from reading this piece.

This book is one of the better collections of how-to's and practical applications I've read on Agile user stories. It mixes in just enough of the theory to understand the importance and distinctions of epics, stories, tasks, and spikes without overly focusing on them. Then, it uses real-world examples in common language to walk you through some of the messier implementations of Agile, and provides specific guidance on how to make things work in less than ideal situations. I found this book particularly helpful for me personally, as well as for one of our less experienced Scrum Master's at work.

I have seen other presentations and publications from this author and he really seems to know his stuff, plus it's really easy to read. I'm a consultant and trainer and find this to be an excellent reference. There are lots of examples and the book is very easy to read. You also don't have to be involved in Agile development to find this useful, as I also use the concepts for developing user roles and focusing on user goals as a primary function even in a Waterfall development world.

I'm pretty much allergic to any form of requirements documentation. Change control makes my skin itch, and big up front planning makes me vomit. But I also am not totally comfortable with winging it all the time. As a project manager, I need to get a sense of how big the project is, what are the pieces and parts, and how will the product be used. And I need it fast, flexible, and without much overhead. Oh yeah, don't forget I have to also be able to use it to plan iterations, drive development and testing, and report status. All without making comprehensive documentation more important than working software or processes and tools more important than individuals and interactions.

That's why I'm glad I discovered User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development by Mike Cohn. It is a short, practical explanation of how to plan, estimate, and execute an agile project with user stories. These lightweight requirements never get in the way or replace conversations with users and customers. Instead, they help you keep track of what you're going to build and serve as a reminder to talk to SME's about what they mean. You can use them to report status, to plan iterations, and to get an overview of the product's feature set.

I wholeheartedly endorse this book for all project or product managers.

As you'll read in other reviews this book does a great job of laying the foundation on how to implement XP as a development process using user stories, iterations, and other concepts used in XP.

Where the book goes a little overboard is with some drawn out stories and examples that could be cut down. In reality I think this book could almost have 1/3 less long and been a 5 star book.

Today even well trained actors balk at having to do Shakespeare. This book provides the tools necessary to bridge the daunting task of getting your mouth around the words and understanding what you are saying. Thanks to the authors for creating a book that captures their extensive knowledge and expertise in a user friendly volume.

Beyond the pronunciation dictionary, essential to every North American actor and director of Shakespeare, the book's notes on scanning Shakespeare's verse set forth briefly in ten clear pages, not extended pedantic garble, what an actor must know, since scansion may dictate pronunciation. The additional notes on dialects, accents, Latin and other foreign languages used by Shakespeare, and the observations on differences in poetic diction in each of his plays, also have great value.

This is as essential a tool for any actor performing Shakespeare as the voice, body and mind! I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about their craft.

GREAT FIND!! Any and every word Shakespeare ever wrote is in this book with the proper pronounciation. This is a "must have" for any Shakespeare actor, or for someone who wants to read Shakespeare and know exactly how to say every word. Also, the verse speaking techniques are excellent. If you are serious about Shakespeare, get this book!

This incredibly thorough and efficient book is essential to any person who wishes to study or truly appreciate Shakespeare. I've been an actor and a student of English literature for many years, but I did not have the access to or admiration for classical works that I have gained since using Younts' and Scheeders' text.
The poetry is better this way! You need to know how to say it if you want to perform it! Actors, Directors, and Lovers of Shakespeare, GET THIS BOOK!!!

Since my book is older, it was a used version, the hints are for older things. It does have some helpful tools, but lots of the annoyances, I already knew about.

This book is written in a very easy to understand language. The hints are pratical and should help everyone in some way. Microsoft will not tell you much of how to make your operating system work the way YOU want it to. Steve Bass takes care of that. It is a valuable resource for anyone who has a PC, novice or experienced. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about computers and I even learned a few new tricks.

I am still pretty much a neophite where computers are concerned, so I bought this book hoping that it could get me out of the "messes" I'm always getting into. It really DOES help! Thank you!!! Steve Bass, I'm now searching for other books you have written.

This is the first computer book I actually said down and read, cover to cover. It holds your interest, and each tip gets you excited for the one to follow. I call it my AHA book. All the time you read it, you go "Aha! That's the problem!" or "Aha! That's how to get rid of that!". Can't recommend it highly enough.

I've read many computer books, and I have to say this is one of the most informative. More important, Steve provides hundreds of tips to overcome the small (and large) problems of Windows. It's nice to konw that even a well-known computer columnist experiences the same frustrations we ordinary users do. Happily, he willing to share the solutions he's found.

In my first reading, I discovered the answers to at least 7 windows annoyances I've encountered.

And instead of including a cost-raising CD, the publisher has made 100 utility programs available online, a better solution that including them on a quickly outdated disk.

A useful, and often amusing book.

You need it!

It's been 15 years since I first encountered this book - part of a vocabulary challenge in the sixth grade. I still remember most of the stories, and I must have infuriated my parents using each word incessantly as I learned it. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I love this book.This book is one of the best books ever.The reason why I gave this book five stars because its funny and senstive. My favorite word was laxcity.Laxcity means that you dont even care about whats gioing on.I think that this book is good for all ages. I hope that you read this fantastic book.

This animated book gives children a new way to learn the definitions of words. It was highly recomended to me, and I loved it!

I use this book with my third grade students. We read a story per week. Many of their parents tell me it becomes a topic of conversation each week as the child teaches Mom and Dad a new word. It is fantastic.

This book is one of the best books I had ever read in my life.I would recommend this book to every one because its funny and great.

I would highly recommend this workbook to any parent who wants to get a head start with their toddler before entering formal pre-k or kindergarden as well as recommend this book to homeschooling families. The pre-k material out there can be very expensive and for a little over $10 this book takes the cake.

I have a 2.5 year old who I plan to homeschool and although some of the material this a little difficult for him now, there is still so much that is just perfect for his age. He loves it and thinks its really fun, especially when he sees how proud of him I am.

There are 303 pages of actual material divided into 9 sections (excluding the "extras" at the end). ABC's, 123's, Phonics, Vocabulary, Shapes/Colors, Sorting/Matching, My World, Science, Fun & Games. I can't fully explain to you how beautiful every page is with the large letters & beautiful graphics. The book is very creative and also allows for your child to be creative with many sections for them to draw or write things about themselves.

My only complaint is that it's not spiral bound. Someone suggested binding the book for $5 at your local copy shop and I would agree. I don't want to tear all the pages out because it would be great to review it through-out the year. However, this does provide the option for you to tear out and photo-copy for multiple children or uses.

I like how the book incorporates all three learning styles in almost every activity (auditory, visual & tactile kinesthetic). The parent reads, the child looks and points/draws. This is a book, unless your child reads, that you will have to sit down with and work through. Also every activity seems to have more than one subject being taught. For example, you circle the letter A with a purple color. Your child has to listen, follow instructions, draw a circle, find the letter A and the color purple. I like the multi-tasking learning---really helps to teach a lot in a short time especially with short attention spans.

Overall, this is one amazing workbook of material for an incredible price. A great resource for every family with small children & would make a great gift.

My child in kindergarten should be much farther along with her ABCs and 123s. It's my fault. What a clear difference between how advanced my older child was at the age of 5 because of the amount of time that I spent reading to him and practicing letters and numbers. Guiltily, I admit that by my third child for whatever reason my approach to working on numbers and letters in advance of school had become a bit too lax.

Now my youngest is in kindergarten and she's not recognizing her letters and numbers as well as she should be. So I needed an organized, fun way to get back to helping my child quickly level up to at least where she should be by now. The Brain Quest Workbook: Pre-K after just a week has made a difference! I'm not saying that it will work as fast for the audience (Pre-K) intended, but this edition was just the support that my child needed to help her "catch up" on some much needed basics.

There are tons of exercises and games in almost every area: ABCs, 123s, phonics, shapes, colors, analyzing, memorization and much more. And it's all presented in a format that makes what was once seemingly challenging to her in class easy.

Highly recommended. Don't wait if your child is Pre-K. Get her started. Lesson learned.

My[...] grandson was very excited with this book! He especially liked the letter games, and pictures, and coloring. His coloring is a work in progress, but it gets children of this age to interact with others (either grandparents, parents or other children). The book is very large....so large it could easily take an average child weeks to "finish" it, assuming you can get one to focus that long. Comes complete with a certificate of completion, stickers to show the child has completed each set of games, etc.
Very interesting, instructional and fun book for kids to be intereactive and learn from the experience. Highly recommended...to me this book seems like it would be great for home schooling.

This book is very interesting and intuitive. The illustrations are nice and clear making it attractive for children. The books starts with letters and numbers helping the kids recognize them. What I liked about the letters and numbers sections is the part where the kids get to trace the dotted letters. The letters to be traced are big and clear and that makes the kid job a lot easier.
The book continues with Phonics, Vocabulary, Shapes and Colors, Sorting and matching, My world, Science and Fun & Games. All these sections are full of examples matching letters and words to familiar items they see in their day to day activities.
The kids will love the Fun and games section when they will be able to color the illustrations and find various items through labyrinths.
Each section is colored differently, making it easier to pick it up where you left it.
I think the book is a nice addition to any parent library. I will definitely try the other levels of the Brain Quest Workbooks.

I thought this would be an excellent book for my 4-year-old. He likes to do "homework" when his older brother does his. This book has been perfect for him.

Packed with hundreds of pages, the age appropriateness of the tasks is right on track for a preschooler. My son just turned 4 this month and has only been in school since August and has been easily able to complete the pages.

Although the book goes from easy to more challenging lessons, I've let my son pick the page he wants to complete. We haven't had any problems with certain sections being too difficult for him.

One of the aspects I like most about this book is repetition. There are several pages of like work in each section. This allows the children to practice concepts more than once, thus reinforcing them. It is also a great self-esteem booster for the child to confidently finish a page. My son also likes to review the work he's done and explain to others what he did.

Overall a great book and I'm giving it 5-stars because we've been using this for almost three weeks and my son still hasn't become bored with it yet. I'm going to be ordering the other books in the series to save for him as he ages. Well done Brain Quest!

"Karen Wiesner's ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING is undoubtedly the single most important resource for anyone-author, editor, publisher-with an interest in the future of publishing. I can't recommend it enough."
--Brian A. Hopkins, Bram Stoker Award-winning Author

"Wiesner's book, first published in 1999, remains one of the best sources of information and advice on getting your book published by a royalty-paying e-publisher."
--eBookNet Undiscovered Gem

"If you want to be published by an e-publisher, or are wondering if maybe the "e-" route is the way to go, this book is for you. In this updated version of her landmark reference text, Ms. Wiesner outlines everything an author needs to know about the e-publishing industry in her first section, starting with the differences between vanity, subsidy, and traditional publishers, then discussing the technology used for ebooks, advantages and disadvantages to e-publishing, and common misconceptions about e-publishing along with the facts to set people straight. The major bulk of the book, however, is an alphabetical listing of all non-subsidy, royalty-paying e-publishers, along with interviews from the editors and publishers about what types of books they want to buy. There is also a section at the end of the book about how to use the Internet to promote your book after you've sold it. If you read the book on a computer with an active web browser, it contains hotlinks to all of the publishers, organizations, and resources listed in the text. Using the power of HTML links in this way is a good thing."
--Science Fiction Romance Newsletter

This is an excellent resource properly subtitled as "The Definitive Guide." As a print publisher of sixteen years, I wanted to learn about electronic publishing and spent hours on the Internet wading through the various, and often conflicting, information. I purchased a copy of "Weave Your Web" by Karen Wiesner and after reading it decided that I had to have her book on Electronic Publishing. Everything you could possibly want to know is covered in this book. I especially like the way she details the 22 common myths of e-publishing and gives her opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of publishing in this manner. Once I read this book, I no longer felt like a novice and am slowly converting some of my print titles into e-books. If you purchase this book, you will save much time and frustration. Although we have different viewpoints on subsidy publishing and the role it plays with all publishing firms, if I could, I would give this book a rating of ten.

"...Wiesner provides an honest portrait of the state of e-publishing as we know it (so far), giving us the skinny on standard formats, copyright protection, and distribution... After opening arguments about the pros and cons of electronic publishing, the book turns into the e-publishing equivalent of Literary Market Place with 125 pages dedicated to listings of e-publishers, including web site addresses, contact information, submission guidelines, payment terms and distribution methods. The section on book promotion contains low-cost promotional ideas worthy of perusal by both electronic and traditional authors, such as Internet interviews, live chats, exchanging banner ads, issuing on-line press releases, organizing contests and special events, e-serials, promotional bookmarks; and other ideas so unique the chapter could potentially be worth its weight in gold... If you're thinking seriously about learning more about e-publishing, most of the legwork is done for you here."

--The Writer Magazine

Great book & well worth the money. Christopher not only explains how, but why. I now see movies in a different light which helps in understanding why certain movies appeal to the masses and most importantly, why others don't. If you have a story in your head, this book will explain how to coax it out for all to enjoy. It's been a tremendous help in guiding my stories from imagination to page.

The name Keane might not jump out at you as "major Hollywood screenwriter" but after reading over the first few sections of this book it is obvious that he knows what he is writing about. Honest and straight forward, this book takes you from stage one (you have an idea) all the way through the proper way to write your script to how to sell it (stubborness is the key!). The best part is that the author has one of his complete screenplays at the end of the book. It comes with annotations and is a big help for a visual learner like myself.

I highly recommend this book. It has helped write the Different Flags screenplay. Eugenia RenskoffDifferent Flags

So far the best and complete guide for screenplay that I've read. Very useful for those who wants to start writing a screenplay. I recommend it.

This books is very well written and has loads of information for the beginning screen writer such as myself. The author takes a chronological step by step approach as to how to get started and the proper format for a screenplay. The only thing I'm sort of ad odds with is that the author doesn't say much as to how in the world you get an agent to just read your script, let alone representing you. He sort of glosses over that problem and a real problem it is. I personally have been sending out query letters since February of this year and have received only "polite" rejection form letters or no responses at all. I've even sent out "follow up" queries and still no responses. I assume that agents need postage stamps, they've obviously kept the ones that I've included for return postage, or that in order to get ANYTHING read and actually produced, you have to know someone personally in the business. Don't quit your day jobs and think that you're going to sell a story. It's next impossible, as I've unfortunately realized. You would assume that it's not really that difficult given all the "schlock" that IS produced. Case in point: an independent film maker made a film this last year about zombies attacking a small town and it cost him about $30,000 to make. He released it and it made over $35,000,000 in one weekend! Out grossing the three main stream releases put together! Go figure. Never the less, this book is a good fundamental but just don't depend on it too much as gospel. Keep writing, keep looking for an agent but also keep/find a regular job in the meantime.

Owen clearly has a problem. Kevin Henkes doesn't shy away from letting us know, through the illustrations, that his problem is a buttinsky neighbor.

Unfortunately, Owen's parents listen to their neighbor and keep taking her dubious advice about his blanket. Of course, Owen really *can't* bring his blanket to school - but his parents finally stop thinking of Mrs. Tweezers' view of things and come up with a bright idea - they turn Fuzzy into handkerchiefs! Perfect solution and everybody's happy.

Great ending, and I do love Owen's passive resistance to his parent's obsession.

We give children's books as presents for new babies. This is a special book that will be reserved for our daughter at the event (if) of her first child.

Absolutely love all the Kevin Henkes books we have, This is especially cute because we have a boy who loves his blankie. I know a lot of little girls who love Lilly...but I would definitely recommend this and Chester's Way for the boys!

for a child of any age that has a favorite blanket (blankey)
a plot a young child can follow and relate to.

I read Owen. I would recommend this book. The reason I would recommend it is because it was funny and it made me crack me up. In the book Owen, Owen and Fuzzy were playing captain plunger. They looked silly. This helped me convince me that it was a grate book.