Live Action Books

One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry! I am pretty certain I can recite this one by heart, having read it an unimaginable number of times to my twins, now age three. It's incredibly silly, fantastic (waffle trees anyone?) and the rhymes are super catchy and fun. The drawings are top notch, full of details. Look for the hints on each pair of pages, glimpses of what will come next in this wacky tale. Joyous and downright delicious.

I love the rhythm of the book and the pictures. I don't mind reading it over and over to the kids. The kids love it too. They can recite the whole thing, even though it's filled with nonsense words.

My first grader still enjoys this book. He follows the illustrations very well, with the sense of "what's coming next?" Littler children (much littler) are just enthralled by the book. The language is so appealing. Made up words and wonderful cadence take this boy on a berry-picking adventure with a bear over a waterfall, through strawberry fields, on the trackberry with the blackberry train, and into raspberry fair.

Simply wonderful -- we have read this many, many times.

I will not be coy. This is one of my favorite children books to read to my children. The illustrations are whimsical and invite your children to make sense of them and help tell the story. The story itself is a lovely mix of word play, and delightful imagery. We return to this one again and again. Appropriate for very young children as the just the sound of the story is delightful, up to well... I suppose adult as I'm still enjoying it.

As a new mom, I have been disappointed with some of the children's books I have come across. As a lover of literature, I find myself being very judgmental of everything I read for my son. Degen's Jamberry, however, is wonderful. Not only does my son enjoy the pictures and the rhymes, but I really enjoy reading it as well. This is what a young child's book should be: full of catchy and easy to remember rhymes and rife with terrific art work. I wish more of the books out there were like this one. Highly recommended for even the youngest of children.

Lethal Heritage, being the fourth BattleTech book I have read, is a solid introduction to the Blood of Kerensky trilogy. I recommend reading the Warrior trilogy before delving into the Blood of Kerensky, for a few choice reasons. First of all, the Warrior trilogy gives you a chance to familiarize yourself with Stackpole's writing style. In addition, the Warrior trilogy provides you with the necessary background knowledge of the Inner Sphere that you need to fully understand Lethal Heritage.

Lethal Heritage is the commencement of the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere. This action packed addition to the story of BattleTech is necessary in the continuance of the saga. The Blood of Kerensky trilogy as a whole is very important, and Stackpole thrives in the heat of battle.

Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! This is an awsome book from Stackpole. THE CLAN INVASION! this is the first book including the tech and mech superior clans.It as plenty of mech action and 1 thing there has never been before! The Inner Sphere Uniting? i recomend this book to everyone who enjoys battletech

This is the first book I have ever read that forced me to put it down every few chapters just so I could breath! This book is packed with action, heroics, tragedy... In the end I was left yearning for the next volume in the trilogy.

Stackpole did a great job for this book.One problem ; needs more a of a glossary.Like Twilight Of The Clans showing the 'Mechs, jumpships,tanks,dropships,and Areospace Fighters. But that was only a minore problem.

This is the first Battletech novel I have ever read.
It is the first in the Blood of Kerensky trilogy and also the first novel in the Enter the Clans Battletech Era, which is comprised of 7 total novels.
The book is confuzing for the newcomers in the Battletech universe. There is a lot of action happening on a lot of fronts, the chapters going back and forth but Stackpole did a good job at making the action integrate seemless. The tranzitions are not rough but a bit hard to follow.
Stackpole is definitely a great writer. The action is great, storyline is rich and intriguing, character development and descriptions are also great.

If you plan on reading Battletech books in the Clans Era [years 3049-3059] this is the book to start with and make sure you read them in order.
This is the order of the books in the Clan Era:
Lethal Heritage
Blood Legacy
Lost Destiny
Natural Selection
Asumption of Risk
Bred for War
Malicious Intent

I am a recent graduate of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and have been fortunate enough to have had the privilege to actually be a student in Francis' class. I remember when he was in the process of writing this book, "Directing the Story" and in my most humble opinion the book is nothing less than pure gold. There is nothing else out there that I know of that explains the true essence and meaning of film making, why we make films...and most importantly why we watch films. This book IS the Holy Grail of film making.

If you are serious about becoming a great story teller...BUY THIS BOOK! I cannot even begin to express to whom ever is reading this review how important it will be for your career if you have any interest in the entertainment industry. It has changed my life, and I know it will for anyone else out there too.

Francis was one of the best teachers I have ever had, and now having recently purchased and read the book it was like being in his storyboarding class all over again. I jokingly now envy everyone else out in the world today because they now have access to all of the golden knowledge that I had to go to film school in Hollywood to acquire.

I hope to become a director one day, and if I ever win an Oscar or any other great success I will know why...thank you Mr. Francis Glebas! =)
-Scott

Highly recommended. This book conveys a great wealth of storytelling experience, naturally conveyed through well-designed visual examples. For writers, it complements for the more structural books on screenwriting (Syd Field's, Dave Trottier's) with its how-to approach. For directors, its visual approach touches on nearly every subject ranging from mise-en-scene to blocking.

A must-read.

Disney story artist Francis Glebas has put together a great book on the process of cinematic storytelling.

Directing the Story touches on composition, pacing and many dramatic techniques designed to creating more emotional connections in stories.

This book goes well with Nancy Bieman's Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts for quality story instruction, but whereas her book also focuses on character design and other aspects of animation, Directing the Story looks solely at storytelling, and not necessarily for animation.

What really sets Glebas' book apart is that it includes a fully boarded out story (an adaptation of 1001 Arabian Nights) that incorporates the methods he's teaching.

There are a couple sticking points with me. One is the writing style. There are plenty of spots throughout the book where I found myself glossing over text because it was so dense. Also even though this book seems to focus on cinematic storytelling in general, animation is where this type of storytelling is most common and people interested in this book are most likely interested in animation. It would have been nice to see a bit more focus on animation and traditional storyboarding to really top things off.

But all things told, Directing the Story has a great look on storytelling. One that other books don't have.

Directing the Story by Francis Glebas is simply amazing. This book cover in great detail the structural setup of how story boards work. It explains with examples and personal history how to story board, what to look for in story boards and how to achieve a great layout. This book is a MUST have for anyone who wants a career in the movie/animation/illustration industry. It's all about story telling explained clearly and effectively.

This book describes and explains the process of storytelling and directing for narrative films intelligently and entertainingly. This is a process that I've seen done intuitively by professionals, and for the first time I see it actually put on paper in a way that can be digested by new students of directing without them having to start from zero and wonder if they are on the right path. I highly recommend it for anyone, who is serious about making narrative film his profession.

Another one of our family favorites from the series. We especially like the humor in Snow Glory and the story of the Kittens. We have nearly all the Henry & Mudge stories. This one is on our top 5 list.

These are such wonderful books about a boy named Henry and the frienship that he shares with his big 180 pound dog Mudge. Nice Illustrations and easy to understand stories. They are great books and my 9 year old nephew loved these when he was in second grade. I bought some of these for him when he was 7. Now my son Ramon who is 7 loves them too.

In Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble you'll see how kids sometimes don't listen to their parents even when they want to. When Henry doesn't listen to his mother's advice about the Morning Glory will he able to fix the problems it causes? Find out why listening to your parents is important when you read this book. If you are the kind of kid who doesn't listen to your mom then this is the book for you. Check out other books in the Henry and Mudge series like Henry and Mudge and the Best Test.

my son needed to read by himself. his teacher told me to get him the henry and mudge books. he really likes to read these

This book is great!!! I think one of your children would give it 5 stars. The kittens are very cute.

I love this author. This is just one of his many wonderful books. He has a way of using few words but communicating so much story. I think, The Puddle, by McPhail is my favorite.

Like the other reviewer, I laughed out loud when we read this book. The depiction of the father is hilarious.

I really wish, however, that we had a larger hardcover version of this story because the illustrations are fantastic.

This book I really enjoyed, it really sparked my interest. I hope that many people read this book and enjoy it, like I did.

This appealing little book is an early effort by prolific author/illustrator David McPhail. Although the colors seem somewhat muddied (I have a copy published much earlier than the one available from Amazon.com), and McPhail's illustrations perhaps not his best, there is an unmistakable "McPhail look" to the bodies and faces that he draws. The book has a great opening: A young boy in bed hears a giant "OOOOOO" outside his window, the `0's floating through the dark sky like a train of fluorescent cheerios. He looks out his window to discover its source: "It was a bear [the sentence continues on the next page] with a toothache.

In typical McPhail fashion, the unusual and the impossible become the ordinary. This is a large part of the book's humor and excitement: "I invited him in [next page] and examined his teeth." The boy's efforts to extract the hurting tooth results in much bearish behavior, and that spells minor disasters in the small house (e.g., the bear eats all the food; a lamp is broken). The boy's father gets involved, but only briefly:

"'What happened to the lamp?' he asked.
`It fell on the floor,' I answered.
`Oh,' he said, and he went back to bed."

McPhail wisely makes this a private relationship between bear and boy only; there are no adults to negotiate or help. In this way, the little boy acts like a much bigger boy, and kids will appreciate this touch. The low-tech, crosshatched illustrations also add to the book's intimacy. There's a successful resolution (it archetypal pre-dentist fashion, the bear's tooth is tied to a rope...), and "The Bear's Toothache" concludes in the same unassuming manner in which it began. A fun book for small fry, although it appears that (in my older edition) the color reproduction doesn't quite meet the usual high standards of Greenwillow Publishing. Still, highly recommended!

I read to children weekly at Border's Bookstore and they love this book! It is so much fun to read and the children really get involved in the dilemma the boy has: trying to repair the bear's toothache. The portrayal of Dad is hilarious and all too familiar to parents. It is a delightful book your child will not soon forget!

My son, who doesn't read (age 11) read one of these books from the school library and then asked me to get him the rest in the series. I saw my son get ready for bed and then say: "I'm just going to read for a while before going to bed" WOW

He got done with both of the books we ordered, in the same week. This is the kid who can't see any reason to read, except the instructions on the video games! Somehow the subject matter is interesting to him!

After reading Shredderman 1 & 2 my 9 year old granddaughter just had to have 3 and 4. It's a great series on honesty, doing the right thing, bullying and creativity.

I found this book a good read. I highly recommend this to 8-10 year olds who like realistic adventure mysteries. I recommend this book because it is funny, thrilling, and suspenseful. I only gave it four stars because personally, I think it isn't the best in the Shredderman series. I like it because it's about a average kid, Nolan Byrd, who becomes a bully busting super hero, Shredderman! Nolan meets his all time favorite TV star, The Gecko, from "The Gecko and Sticky". Nolan even finds The Gecko's missing lizard, Sticky. When he was updating his Shredderman site about "The Mole" ,a crazed paparazzi who was caught in the act of setting off a fire sprinkler, he found Sticky who jumped out of his backpack onto his computer. He said to Sticky "I'm going to get this guy in big trouble!" Shredderman had just given his identity away to a gecko! I thought that part was really funny!! It even said that the lizard started grinning! I thing this book has a lot of good lessons. A couple of examples are "What goes around comes around" and "Having friends is good". These are just 2 of the many morals or lessons Shredderman shows.

Shredderman #3 Meet the Gecko
Shredderman #3 Meet the Gecko is about this kid named Nolan Byrd getting to go meet the gecko, his favorite T.V. superhero whose real name is Chase Morton. When before he goes he finds out his enemy Alvin "Bubba" Bixby the bully is going to meet the gecko or Chase Morton. Find out the adventures he goes through.
Overall I'd give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it's a great book for kids of all ages who like to read chapter books. It's very adventurous. I highly recommend this book.

We absolutely loved these books. My son is almost 10 and we read them togehter, Although these are very easy reading for my son's age, we read them together because we enjoy them more that way. We both laugh out loud and really got into the stories. Often we ended up missing the absolute, latest possible bedtime curfew because we just HAD to read on! We would be very interested in other book by this author -- although it seems that her others are geared toward girl readers.

As a mother of five, writer, and farm wife I spend most of my time taking care of others instead of myself. We have all heard how important it is to love thy self first in order to be able to love others, but often find it hard to take the time to really do it. Dr. Burgess' book is a step-by-step manual to help you discover and understand the legacy you will leave mingled with rich writing and a beautiful legacy of herself and her family. Thank you, Dr. Burgess for sharing your story with the rest of us so that we may be able to better create our own!

Once again Gloria shares her wit and wisdom to encourage us to find our very best. We are fortunate that she shares her knowledge and creativity and caring in the written word, so that we all may benefit.

Gloria Burgess writes from the heart and pierces your soul in the process. She speaks to that part of you that you want to nurture. Or revive. Her stories are her own, but as she tells them you can feel your stories being stirred in you. And all those stories--hers and yours--feed you and your courage to meet the world a little more honestly, a little more powerfully.

Gloria Burgess' latest book, Dare to Wear Your Soul on the Outside, is expressly written for our times. She begins by telling us her father's moving personal story, and we all become empowered.

Gloria's father's experience is a testament to what so many of us know somewhere deeply inside: the power of our minds to create our dreams. Step by step, Gloria carries forward her father's inspiration by helping us discover our own visions and dreams and by giving us abundant ways to manifest them.

Throughout the book, she reminds us that by following our dreams, we achieve not only what is right for ourselves, but what is right for the world. If you work with the book, it will work on you

Lynda Klau PHD
Life Unlimited:The Center for Human Possibility
[...]

"Nothing happens...unless frist a dream." Carl Sandburg

"...holding yourself in high regard, knowing that you are an important and significant jewel in the crown of creation." I have fallen in love with myself all over again and can love those around me with fierce intensity. I read chapter six daily, it reminds me to be swept away by the wonderful feeling of love, love for myself and those around me.

I didn't want to do the activities when I read the book the first time, so I am taking my time now and re-reading the book and doing the activities. As I complete each chapter I feel as though I learn a bit more about myself and how I can better serve those I come in contact with on a daily basis. I must admit it took me a long time to get through the chapter on love, I kept re-reading it. I'd begin a new chapter and then go back and re-read love. Because I loved it so much.

How refreshing...finally a book that touches on the true nature of nurturing the soul...personally and universally. I recommend this book to all who seek to be free of the chains that daily life places around us. This book provides a way to stay in the center of the storm, rather than being tossed about with everyone else.

LIVE AND LET SHOP is the first book of the Spy Goddess series. In this first book, Rachel Buchanan, age 15, is arrested for stealing a car. Her punishment was to be sent to a place where juvenile delinquents go, Blackthorn Academy. Mr. Kim, the school's headmaster, disappears and Rachel makes it her mission to find him. While she tries to unravel the mystery behind his disappearance, she discovers Blackthorn Academy's real purpose. It's a great, great book.

My daughter is in love with this series. She's currently reading the second book. She says she can't get enough.

This book was soo great! I could really relate to Rachel! Stayed up soo long just to finish it! Now I am getting the 2nd!

5 starz!!!!

I read this in practically one sitting. I LOVED it! The main character, Rachel Buchanan,is a spunky, rebellious, 15 year old with a big imagination. I think any teen would like reading this book.
I can't wait to read the sequel.
My recommendations (both by Francine Pascal):
* Fearless series
* Fearless FBI series

From the title and summary of this book I was expecting a girl power, slightly unrealistic "teen-ish" book; it was quite the opposite. Although the story line is entertaining I find the parallel universe, evil-out-to-get-the-world villain out of place.

Spy Goddess is entertain but it is not a really believable book. I found it to be a let down because the storyline could not seem to decide between girl power teen fluff, and action packed superhero wannabee novel. The story constantly rotates back and forth between the two.

This novel would be most entertaining to the preteen (10-12) girls crowd, but is a definite no-way for the boys.

I picked up this book in paperback because I was intigued by the title. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It was a story that just kept me turning the pages and I got mad when I had to stop reading because of homework.

Rachel Buchanan is a really interesting character. At first you're not sure if you're going to like her. But she changes over the course of the book. She figures things out and she's brave and not afraid of life like she is at the beginning.

She get's sent off to the Boarding School, Blackthorn Academy, and at first she doesn't want to be there. But the way the author describes the school you get so caught up in the mystery of the place that you know Rachel is going to uncover the mystery. And the characters in the first book are awesome and I can't wait to read more about them.

I'm buying the next book right away and I recommened this for anyone who likes a fast paced fun adventure story.

This book was the hit of the baby shower this book was given at. ALL of the young mothers had forgotten about this book that they had loved themselves as children - so when the gift box with this book was opened...there was so many ooooo's and ahhhhhhhh's that went up from the room for this modern classic. The book was passed around and everyone had to look at it for just it's nostalgia alone. So many gals left the baby shower saying they were stopping on their way home to pick the book up to share with their own babies. Did I mention the honored mommy-to-be LOVED her gift? Can't go wrong with this book for young ones, no matter their age :)

Teddy bears and kids go together like peanut butter and jelly. This classic children's story sticks well together,and the kids are sure to be stuck too.
This little bear is a bit shy. He is almost childlike going through the various motions of his adventure. Being of a child's view point is a huge plus with young children. He is faced with obstacles a toddler may have to deal with.

I can't begin to count the number of times we have read this book since finally purchasing it for Christmas. My son loved Corduroy and loves this one just as much. It's a book that I enjoy as well, so I don't mind reading it over and over.

Lisa's bear Corduroy gets lost in the laundromat. Lisa looks for him but the manager must close up for the night. Then Corduroy goes on his adventures. It's a very good picture book for children 3-6.

In this installment of Corduroy's adventures with Lisa, we see that some time has passed since she first brought him home from the department store. She's taller, wearing her hair a little straighter, and her mom looks like she had a makeover, too. Corduroy, however, is wearing the same green overalls he did in the first book and has managed to keep both buttons on this time. Early on in the book, however, Corduroy decides he needs a pocket, and in the search for one gets separated from Lisa and her mom while they are in the laundromat. They leave without him, setting him up for a meeting with a friendly stranger who washes his overalls for him, as well as encounters with such laundromat staples as powder detergent and pushcarts.

As in the first book, Lisa comes back for him the next day, and once again her needle and thread come to the rescue.

This book and "Corduroy" are the only two Corduroy books my daughter and I have read. I wonder if there are others, and what kind of sartorial splendor Corduroy will be arrayed in next if the trend continued!

Mr. Teton has written a novel well worth reading. He is an excellent storyteller, compelling you to pick it up and read it straight through. And therein lies the hook. If one is compelled to read it as a story, the reader ends up being forced to think about a much bigger picture than he may have expected. Appearing Live at the Final Test, taken simply as a well-told narrative, is very satisfying. But as a cautionary tale it is worth so much more. Do yourself a favor-buy it, read it, think about it, and let it soak in. Then wrap your mind around the path we are all on and decide which direction you believe we should take.

APPEARING LIVE AT THE FINAL TEST is a real eye-opener. This compelling book, which I read, practically non-stop in two sittings is at once subtle and snappy. It's cinematic in both vision and effect, --clearly written by a filmmaker, -- and reading it can only be compared to the discovery of a new way of experiencing time and vision. Irrationally, I kept comparing it to my first scuba diving experience, my first adventures in Central Asia, my first trip to a vinyard....Not a book for the fait-hearted armchair traveller perhaps; this apocalytic work of art rarely looses sight of the small and lovely details that make us human.

Never before has a story moved me with such force to face the unknowns of our existence. The story takes the reader through a gamut of emotions...from the depths of utter lonliness and dispair to the heights of the transforming powers of love and hope. The story is a call to action and promises to transform those who choose to listen.

this is a book that will open your eyes as soon as you let it. read the book.

as a teen in america i am able to see the importance of this book on a large scale, any age, sex, or color will grow from reading. this work was written for the world's benifit

John Teton has the intelligence and matching literary skills to blend the world of astrophysics and hip street smarts into a compelling, imaginative and provocative cautionary tale of humanity peering into the abyss. Throughout this dark scenario of nuclear holocaust are potent and pithy shreds of hope and enlightenment as expressed by his main protagonists. No sentimentalist here; however, Mr. Teton somehow manages to engrave enough warmth and heart-to-heart in a cold, heartless setting by threading a splendid(if not hilarious) sense of humor throughout the story. Like all good cautionary works, there are equal amounts of tension and resolution: the final effect is that we as individuals might just be capable of tipping this all too precarious scale...one way or the other. In other words, Mr. Teton serves us a stimulating literary plate of hope and hopelessness and through his substantial character development we learn that with enough imagination, energy and positive thinking we may just pass the final test after all.