Schools Books

The book Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, takes place a long time ago in a city in China. A rich man married many wives and had over one hundred children. So since he had so many children he hired a teacher. Girls never really learned how to read and write. That's why girls had to work extra hard. The girls were supposed to just learn how to cook and keep house. All girls stopped going to class accept for Ruby. Ruby wrote a poem that her teacher and her grandfather were impressed with. She wanted to go to university than get married. So when she got older her grandfather gave her a red packet. When she opened it, it was a letter from a university saying they would accept her as one of there first female students

Ruby is a fantastic student she had the best calligraphy in her class. Even when all the other girls stopped going she stayed.

Ruby really wants to learn. Shirin Yim Bridges wrote, "When the boys had finished there studies for the day, they were free to play." "But the girls had to learn how to learn about cooking and keeping house. Ruby wanted to go to university even though it was unusual for girls to do that.

Ruby is a really hard working person. She chose to go to school because if she didn't want to she didn't have to. Ruby had to work hard since she was a girl. She worked so hard she was accepted to university.

By Jesus

Our six year old daughter really likes this book. It has a great message and darling pictures.

I loved this book! Ruby is a Chinese child living in China with her very large family. As a child, she knew that she was destined to marry, like all the females in her family, but she really wanted to
go to the university. It is a childrens' book with beautiful illustrations. There is a special little twist at the end that makes the story even more endearing to the reader. We have given it as a birthday present to a few of my 5 year old daughter's classmates, as well as to her teachers for a year-end present. We highly recommend this book!

Set in turn-of-the-century China, young Ruby wants to go to school, but tradition holds that only boys get an education - hence the title, _Ruby's Wish_. The artwork is beautiful, with abundant details, but the book's strength is the story itself and the morals of the value of an education and working for what one desires. The ending is also very sweet. Particularly recommended for young girls.

My story is Ruby's Wish.It is by Shirn Yim Bridges,it was a great story.It's about a girl who loves red.Ruby is good in school.The boys had cler all she had was only the letters.She wrote a pome that said;also bad luck to be a girl,worse to born in this house were only boys are cared for. My favorite part was at the end. The book had very good illustrations. I hope you read this book.

This is a lovely version of the classic Rumpelstiltskin. I enjoyed reading it with my third graders. The illustrations are beautiful and spark the imagination. A good story demonstrates struggle and challenges the students to compare present day expectations with the past.

The pictures in this book are very nice. My 5-year old loves to hear it as a story before going to sleep. The ending of the story is also suitable for this age, since Rumpelstiltskin ends up flying out the window, instead of something more tragic happening to him.

I wanted a classic children's fairy tale story with handsome illustrations. I got just what I wanted with this book. I have a 3 1/2 year old and it is the perfect length for bedtime.

I read the book Rumpelstiltskin. It is about a poor miller's daughter who is very kind. One day the miller sees the king and says, "My daughter can spin straw into gold" The king said" get her over her right away" So when she got there the king said" if you don't spin this straw into gold by tomorrow you will die" So the miller's daughter cried and cried until a strange person comes in and says" I will spin this straw into gold for you. But you need to give me something". So she does and the next day she goes to another room and he comes again. She gives him something again. Then the next day she goes to a bigger room and he comes back and says, "you will give me your first born baby So the next day she gets married to the king. She has a baby so the man comes back and she says" if I don't find out your name in three days you can take my baby. So she sends out a servant to find out the mans name. So the servant finds out his name it is Rumpelstiltskin. Then he comes and she says" is your name Rumpelstiltskin. Then he was never heard from again.

I liked the book because it had bright detailed illustrations. I liked the picture of the king and the miller. The message is don't trust strangers because she talks to him. The theme is karma because he tricks her and then she tricks him. There is good vs. evil because Rumpelstiltskin is bad and she is good. I know this because he tricks people. The conflict of person vs. person is interesting because she is ahead and then he is. It keeps going back and froth. I think kids should read this because it will teach them to not trust strangers. There are no more versions of this story that I have read.

I READ RUMPELSTILSKIN BY PAUL O. ZELINGSKY.
THERE ARE THREE CHARACTERS ONE IS THE KING ANOTHER IS RUMPELSTILSKIN AND THE LAST ONE IS THE MILLERS DAUGHTER. THE MILLER SAID TO THE KING MY DAGHTER CAN TURN STRAW INTO GOLD.
I DID LIKE THE BOOK BECAUSE OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS. I LIKED THE ILLLUSTRATIONS BECAUSE HOW THEY MADE STRAW INTO GOLD IT WAS COOL. THE CHARACTERS WERE NOT GOOD BECAUSE THE KING THREATENED THE MILLERS DAUGHTER AND RUMPELSKILSKIN SAID I WILL SPIN STRAW INTO GOLD IF YOU GIVE ME SOMETHING. THE CONFLICT IS PERSON VS PERSON BECAUSE RUMPELSTILSKIN TRICKS THE MILLERS DAUGHTER. THERE ARE NOT ANYMORE VERSIONS OF RUMPELSTILSKIN,
THE BOOK WAS EASY FOR ME. IT COULD EVEN BE FOR MORE THAN THIRD GRADERS. THE THEME IS DON'T TELL LIES BECAUSE THEY CAN CATCH UP WITH YOU. PEOPLE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK SO THEY WILL KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS BACK THEN.

I first read this book many years ago when I was a young girl and I adored it. The story is very captivating and most of the time I could barely put the book down. A couple of years ago I lost the book and have always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to read it again. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery stories.

I really liked this book, because it had alot of adventure!It also was very hard to guess what was going to happen next. I thought it was really great that Alyssa got over her fears that quickly.

I thought the best part of the book was when Alyssa finally had to talk in order to save her grandfather's life. And then she kept have flashbacks of when she was on her father's boat. I also liked the part where Alyssa and Dylan finally bond together, ever since before their parents death.

The character were amazing. Alyssa was one that had been through so much, and was mute, but she over came it. I also liked Ty because he became friend with Alyssa even though she was mute. I thought that the climax was really interesting because I would have never thought that Alyssa would of gotten over her muteness, especially to save her grandfather.

This is an excellent novel. I don't usually real teenage type novels anymore but from a surface judgement I can see how wonderfully Sherry Garland writes. The text reads like flowing water, so appropriate for the hurricane and sea themes she explores. It's also a rather unique story about a 13 year old girl who was struck mute after the fateful day her father was lost at sea. I would highly recommend this novel.

Silent Storm is about a mute girl who is 13 who lives with her grandfather after her parents died in a hurricane. It tells about the struggles she has with trying to communicate with other people and the challenges she has in life. At the end she has to remember what happened to her mother and father so she can begin to speak again to save her grandfather's life as he has given up hope. It was a very heart warming story just like Sherry Garland's other books. I give it two thumbs way up.

This is the fisrt time that I read this book and is't a very good book, I m on the last chapter and so far I love it. Sherry Garland did a great job on this book! I love the way she had Alyssa not talking and her plot!

This was my first Magic Tree house book and I was really impressed. The story was well-done, and the concept of the tree house time machine reminded me of when I was a kid with a tree house in the woods with books strewn across its floor. In a way, many of us did or do have a tree house time machine to carry us away on wings of imagination, and I guess that's one of the reasons why these books are so popular. Osborne is a skillful writer, and I liked that she was realistic about the medieval culture that the siblings visited while still remaining a children's fantasy. Many young adult books set in medieval times shy away from the fact that civilization smelled horrible in those days and life was lived unhygienically by today's standards. A modern person entering the culture would be shocked by the smell, and most time-travel books ignore this, even the adult ones. But it adds to the suspension of disbelief that in this story, Jack and Annie notice such things.
I also learned things about Shakespeare and his era from this book, even though I've taken classes on the Bard in both highschool and college. Osborne includes facts in an unpatronizing way that really supplements the story. The extra facts listed in the back of the book are a great added bonus, and I'd be willing to bet that most kids read and remember them as well as the story.
I'll be ordering more of these great books next time my kid brings home the old Scholastic form for sure!

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

Mary Pope Osborne has found a way to make it enjoyable for young people to read. There is a series of her books which will keep the student spell bound for the next chapter book.

Stage Fright on a Summer Night happened in England, which is where I live. Jack and Annie got to see Shakespeare, which I like alot. They did one of my favorite shows, which is Midsummer Night's Dream. I really liked this book alot because it was the 15th one I read this summer. Magic Tree House books are great because they teach you about all different places, people and things. They are great adventures!

My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

I could write the same review for every "Magic Tree House" book. We were introduced to the series when my oldest son was 5, and just starting to read. We got the #1 book (the Dinosaur one) on audio when he was learning to read independently. Then he started to read the book along with the audio. Now, at 7, he is bound and determined to read every book in the series, in order, of course. He just finished this one. The words are fairly simple, so the series is great for kids ready to tackle chapter books - they won't get frustrated by having too many words they cannot sound out. They are all ten chaper books, with a little larger type and good line/paragraph spacing, making it easy for kids to keep their place. They all tell a little slice of history in a very interesting way. Everyone in the family learns something everytime.

Lisa Yee's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, introduced readers to a prodigy who is forced to take part in a summer volleyball team. Yee followed that book up with Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, which retells that summer from Stanford's point of view.

Stanford would much rather play basketball than study, so he's super upset when he has to go to summer school instead of basketball camp. He also doesn't want to be tutored by Millicent, but he relishes the opportunity to make her look silly when she pretends that SHE is the one being tutored.

I've known many real-life Stanfords, kids who have struggled with school and excelled in sports. I want to give this book to all of them, even if they are grown up now. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time will hopefully encourage readers to see the value in both education and athletics. With realistic situations and winning humor, Stanford's story will appeal to reluctant readers and avid readers alike.

Eager for more Stanford? Make sure to pick up the other books in the trilogy - Millicent Min, Girl Genius was the first book and So Totally Emily Ebers wraps things up. Yee's written three slam dunks in a row!

I did not enjoy Stanford and Emily's books as much as I did Millicent's but Millicent's is one of the best books I've ever read. These are easier reads than Millicent which is on an adult level. Very creative to tell the same story from 3 points of view. Will definately buy all her books.

My 12 year-old granddaughter would rather play basketball than read, however, this book captured her attention and she claimed it as the best book she has ever read! She laughed as she read it until tears ran down her face and said she could relate to the issues of the characters.

This book is awsome! I have read this series in order (Millicent Min, Girl Genius, Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time, and So Totally Emily Ebers.) I have to say, this book is the best in the series. When carrying this book around school, I have gotten a lot of comments about it from my classmates: (girls) "Is that the sequel to Millicent Min?!! I loved that book! You have to lend it to me!" and then boys: "*gasp* I saw a review for that in 'Sports Illustrated!' I want to read that this summer!" Finally, a book besides Harry Potter that both girls and boys like!

It's the last day of sixth grade, and Stanford Wong can't wait to get out of school and go to Alan Scott's Basketball Camp, the best camp any basketball player could dream of. This is going to be the summer of his life...

...well, that is until he receives his grade for English class: a big fat F.

An F means that basketball camp is over. Stanford needs to go to summer school instead. Not only that, Stanford will be tutored by the annoying genius Millicent Min.

What else can go wrong?

Lots more! Stanford's parents are not getting along, and his grandma recently moved into a nursing home where she's miserable. On top of all that, Stanford obviously cannot let his friends and the girl he likes, Emily Ebers, know that he flunked big time! This is certainly not going to be the best summer of his life.

Or is it?

Lisa Yee is not only a funny lady, but she has done something quite original: she's written three novels (that's not the original part), and each one of them tells the story from the point of view of a character that eventually shows up in her other books: Millicent Min, Girl Genius; So Totally Emily Ebers; and STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME.

Of the three titles, I have only read this one, but I'm sure that readers of the other two books will enjoy reading this novel to find out what Stanford thinks about girls, parents, friends, and basketball. And they'll also find out Stanford's biggest secret: when he gets nervous HE KNITS!

The back of the book contains a section with an interview with the author, a recipe for Stanford's grandma's Won Tons, and much more.

Reviewed by: Christian C.

I have memories of a wonderful book which I took out of my elementary school library in the late 60's. After some research I discovered it was The Sugar Mouse Cake! Although it is out of print, I was able to track down a copy in a Washington State library and they were kind enough to bring it out of storage for me to enjoy. I drove down from BC Canada and it was worth the trip. It was just as good as I remember , especially the great illustrations. It would be great if it were republished, but the story can still be found and enjoyed through the libraries.

This was also my favorite book as a child. The pictures of the cake contest enchanted me! The only bad part about this book is where it says, "The queen was very fat. She loved to eat more than anything else in the world." So I just skip taht part when I read it to my son.

I loved this book as a child and read it so many times that I could recite most of it from memory! "...and when he said 'Hold,' Tina held perfectly still." This book has all the components so many books are missing today: a believable hero, Tom, who is jeered at by the other kitchen staff for his dream of being the King's chef but never doubts himself; Tina, the charming heroine who must be rescued but is brave, resourceful and doesn't lose her head; and the Queen, the silly, dramatic "villain", whose attack of hysterics is treated with tea and toast and an early bedtime. The pictures are perfect, soft and friendly but exciting enough to suit this wonderful story, which will delight children of any generation. Sadly, it is out of print....

This was by far my sister and my absolute favorite children's book. I remember my school librarian reading it to my class in First grade. I checked that book out every time it was available. I would love, love, love to have a copy for myself and to read to my 4 children. Please, reprint this book. It was/is such a loved story!!

As a bookseller, this is one of two books I truly regret selling. I read it several times before it left my shelves - I have a special love for children's books, and this is one of those that has a special magic. It is cheerful, innocent, and imaginative - my favorite of any title by Gene Zion. It stands next to "Jellybeans for Breakfast" and the "Miss Suzy" books in its mastery of child-like fantasy and clever word-play, and like these titles, is terribly hard to get a hold of! The next copy I come across (and I am crossing my fingers that I do!) I guess I will have to keep!

This one was on of my favourite book in this series!Its about:Amy's dad finally comes to visit heartland.Amy doesn't want to meet him but Lou does.Well Amy and her dad get along together suprisingly well while Lou keeps a distance from her father because she doesnt want to admit that she is scared of horses because of his accident.I love the way Amy and her father get along together in this book.You mus DEFINETLEY read this one!

The Heartland stories are good, but the titles are very weird. I mean, "Thicker than Water?" What does that have to do with horses? "One day You'll Know?" "Breaking Free?" "Love is A Gift?"
No offense or anything, but these titles should change or something.

Could you imagine getting frightened and abused horses to trust again?

If you enjoy horses than Heartland Thicker Than Water is a book for you. It's a kind of novel that you never want to put down. This book is about a girl named, Amy, a 15 year old horse trainer who tries to get frightened, and abused horses to trust again. She is a very kind, concerned, yet confused person. She and her family live on a horse farm in the hills of Virginia. There are a lot of conflicts in this novel, but the most important one is that Amy's dad, Tim, whom she hasn't seen in 12 years, is coming to Heartland. She feels that he should just stay out of her life, because she is still angry at him when he abandoned her and her family. Her sister Lou feels totally different. She feels that Amy and she need to give him a chance.

I found this novel wonderful, and amazing. I liked it so much because I feel that Lauren Brooke did an awesome job of describing the way the characters were thinking, it was almost as though I was in their heads. I also enjoyed it because it had so much suspense that I couldn't wait to turn the page. You could almost see Amy's mind and heart fighting between loving and hating her dad.

Put this on your wish list right now.
Heartland just gets better and better!!!!!!!!

well, ms. namesshouldchange, if u read the books more throughly, maybe youll understand wat the titles r saying. for one day youll know: 'one day youll know when good times r here.' love is a gift: 'love is a gift- and it heals us all.' u should read them more better. well anyways, this is a super book. amy and lou's father comes and visits them. can horses bring amy and her dad 2gether? READ THIS BOOK!!!! I TOTALLY RECOMEND THIS BOOK AND THIS SERIES!!!! :)

I was kinda suprised, I loved the ending but there are some things I was anticipating that never happened. I was waiting for Tal and Milla to start a romance, if you really read you'll notice that they really like each other and through the series go from hating each other to loving each other in a quiet unspoken way, they just never come out and admit it. The one thing that irritated me about this book was the freeing of the Spiritshadows, I thought that was a great twist and Andras and Odris were becoming good friends to Tal and Milla and then it is over for them. But this is still a great book and altogether a great series, I own all the books!

Tal and Milla have gone their separate ways. Milla is leading a battle inside the Castle. And Tal is trapped in the Hall of Nightmares by his nemesis, the shadowmaster who has declared himself to be the Most Violet, Sushin. Fashnek has trapped Adras, Tal's Spiritshadow, in a shadow bottle, and now Tal must face his fears in the Hall of Nightmares. He attempts what only a few have accomplished, controlling the Sunstones in the globe to make them open. He sighs, and Fashnek begins the nightmare machine. Meanwhile, Milla continues the Icecarl invasion of the Castle with a young Crone, Malen, Tal's witty Uncle Ebbit, an Icecarl Wilder, Jarek, and a few more, including Crow and the Freelies. Together they will embark on a quest that none of them will ever, ever forget.

I liked the part where Malen, Crow, Adras, Odris, and, of course, Tal, fight Sharrakor in Aenir, inside Old Khamsoul. The ending was a little sad, but the reader feels Tal's triumph. This entire series had its ups and downs, but I'd recommend the Seventh Tower Series to about anyone who would listen. It started out a little weaker than I had expected, but it finished better than many other stories that I have read. I hope you enjoy the series (or did enjoy it)!

THis will end up being a hodgepodge review of the entire series becuase each book blends into the other. The characters were strong and well portatryed, and the cultures were fairly believeable.

Thiss book is also perfectly fine without any 'romanctic' element. it doesn't need one. It's expected, but unnecesary, and probably would have mucked up the plot a bit.

I also enjoyed the many sides to the war. With the Icecarl, rebels and steadfast Chosens, Garth Nix pulls it off well, whereas other authors just might have made it confusing.

But i have one question? shoun't the seventh tower hae seven books? i searched for weeks at my local library before realizing, no there is no seventh book.

Every cloud has a silver lining, but how am i supposed to reach the silver? It's so high...
-qoute taken from a book of qoutes i recently found

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Tal and Milla do not form a romance at any point in this series. In fact, I think the story is stronger for it.

It is often too easy to become distracted by the element of romance, to the point where whoever the main character is interested in becomes merely important as a love element. It is of course possible to have a story where there is romance that is very strengthening to the story and to the characterizations of both parties. That is often very important. But this tale breaks from the love-interest assumption, just as it breaks from many other genre assumptions.

Instead, both Tal and Milla experience a different kind of melding of souls. There is of course the joining of their shadows to the Storm Shepards Andras and Odris, and through this they feel a strange spiritual connection. But deeper than this is the sharing of societies that occurs between Tal and Milla. They each become an avatar of their society, yet also an outcast, while also absorbing qualities of each other's societies. They were then separated and pushed through more change, so that when they meet again, they are even more able to recognize the change in each other.

This kind sharing and learning is long overdue in the Dark World, and it is an experience that transcends gender; a romance in this situation would actually weaken the story, since then it would be more about the personal sharing that this boy and girl experience. Rather, the strength, indeed the whole point of this sharing, is that His People and Her People are being shared. The sharing has nothing to do with being a boy or girl, but with being a Person.

This also occurs, to a much lesser degree, with Tal and Crow, and with Milla and Malen. These secondary sharings, though, are more about Tal and Milla recognizing and dealing with other aspects of their own societies, demonstrated by the presence Crow and Malen; through these associations, both Tal and Milla must acknowledge and come to terms with a previously-assumed superiority that is not entirely appropriate, and with shame of personal failure (by the rules of their own societies), though it was a failure that has opened the door to growth, and so was vital to the health of the entire society.

Tal and Milla have gone their separate ways. Milla is leading a battle inside the Castle. And Tal is trapped in the Hall of Nightmares by his nemesis, the shadowmaster who has declared himself to be the Most Violet, Sushin. Fashnek has trapped Adras, Tal's Spiritshadow, in a shadow bottle, and now Tal must face his fears in the Hall of Nightmares. He attempts what only a few have accomplished, controlling the Sunstones in the globe to make them open. He sighs, and Fashnek begins the nightmare machine. Meanwhile, Milla continues the Icecarl invasion of the Castle with a young Crone, Malen, Tal's witty Uncle Ebbit, an Icecarl Wilder, Jarek, and a few more, including Crow and the Freelies. Together they will embark on a quest that none of them will ever, ever forget.

I liked the part where Malen, Crow, Adras, Odris, and, of course, Tal, fight Sharrakor in Aenir, inside Old Khamsoul. The ending was a little sad, but the reader feels Tal's triumph. This entire series had its ups and downs, but I'd recommend the Seventh Tower Series to about anyone who would listen. It started out a little weaker than I had expected, but it finished better than many other stories that I have read. I hope you enjoy the series (or did enjoy it)!

Got it for our 12-yr. old daughter's birthday. She loves it! She's a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes. This was her 5th book!

Is it possible that just 20 years ago that Calvin and Hobbes - - one of the finest comics strips ever created - - was fresh and poignant every day in the paper?

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us," says Calvin, looking at the chain-sawn stump of a tree, in 'Weirdos from Another Planet' by Bill Watterson. The demise of Calvin and Hobbes is reason enough not to contact Earthlings.

Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau is sometimes still incisive, with the same brilliance in political observations as when it was new and Richard Nixon was newly president. But brilliance is boring after 40 years of repetition. Doonesbury is dated. Nixon is long disgraced, dead and gone.

Calvin remains relevant, because like Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' he dealt with the universal human condition - - - as it applies to small boys and to the grown men they become without ever losing their small-boy outlook on olife.

"Do you believe our destinies are shaped by the stars?" Calvin asks Hobbes.

Ever the logical one, Hobbes replies, "Nah."

Calvin counters with words as relevant today as in 1988, because, "Life's a lot more fun when you're not responsible for your actions."

How do we greet strangers? Calvin went to Mars and, after mugging for the Viking Lander "to blow some circuits at NASA" he met a live Martian. Hobbes thought the Martian must be as scared of them as they are of the Martian. Like many of us when meeting a foreign culture, Calvin explains, "We're just ordinary Earthlings, not weirdos from another plsanet, like HE is."

Doonesbury was similarly brilliant in portraying Nixon as a weirdo; but, Nixon nostalgia remains firmly Nixon. "Weirdos from another planet" is sadly reminiscent of the usual reaction to the current resident of the White House, and most likely The-President-to-Be.

Calvin's Dad isn't all that slow either, as when he sets him up in the first three panels of one daily strip by asking, "Hey, Calvin! Guess what time it is!"

"Why? What time is it?

"It's a very special time!

"Oh boy, oh boy! What time is it?

"Do you really want to know?

"Yes, Yes! Tell me! Tell me! Quick! Please! Yes!

"IT'S YOUR BATHTIME! OH BOY!!

Gettting Calin into a bath is about the same agony as pilling a cat. In the final panel, a dejected Calvin is up to his nose in sudsy water and commenting, "You know how old people always write to Dear Abby, complaining that their kids never write,call or visit? Those letters really crack me up."

Calvin had his own four-panel approach to homework, "When I grow up, I want to be an inventor. First I will invent a time machine. Then I'll come back to yesterday, and take myself to tomorrow, and skip this dumb assignment."

Personally, for me, it was lima beans. Any time lima beans appeared, it was lima beans or no desert. Calvin and his Mom had more imagination; Calvin looked at his bowl of soup and horrified, "Hey! What's this stuff in my soup? Yeccch! Is this rice? It had better NOT be!"

His Mom was very worried, "Rice? Let me see!"

Calvin was insistent, "Look! These little white things! See, there's rice in my soup. I hate rice!"

His Mom looked closely and explained, "I didn't put any rice in. These are maggots."

Calvin was delighted, explaining, "Gosh, wait till I tell everyone at school what WE had for dinner.".

His Dad lamented, "Another lovely meal at home with my family. I wish my job required more travel."

Evolution? As Calvin explains, "Just think, Earth was a cloud of dust 4.5 billion years ago . . . 3 billion years ago, the first bacteria appeared, then came sea life, dinosaurs, birds, mammals, and finally, a million uears ago, man. Now, in 1988, there's me. The acme of evolutuion."

Hobbes, rolling his eyes, responds, "Oh, PLEASE."

Even Richard Feynman can't come up with better answers. Trudeau is always wordy, as Watterson was at times. But the genius of Watterson was the ability to draw a 14-panel Sunday strip showing Calvin filling a water balloon and sneaking up on Hobbes . . . . panel after panel. Only one dialoguie panel was needed, when Hobbes drily explains, just before he was otherwise to be doused, "As if life isn't short enough."

It ends with a thoroughly frustrated Calvin resting beside Hobbes.

This is the Master.

Calvin and Hobbes has always been a great read. This was the first one in book form that I read and thoroughly enjoyed.

The book has many good strips and quite a lot of Sunday strips as well. The aliens show up towards the end and there is a good many strips on that series where he explores the Martian surface and rightly is told by Hobbes that if one is not potty trained would you invite them to your home? So of course after damaging Earth, men need not expect a welcome from the Martians or anyone else.

There is a lot of wisdom and good humour in the book. The opening splash page itself is attractive about why intelligent life hasn't contacted us - with a picture of deforestation.

Other favourites are of course being a tiger, or the tiger's welcome to the kid coming home from school, Dad's approval ratings in the election, the family outing, room service for the ill kid, etc.

The parents are delightfully tolerant of the crazy nutty Calvin. The family outing to the woods is a riot. Calvin wonders what kind of vacation is it if he has to be with his parents, LOLz. Even Calvin's vulnerability is explored when he panics after breaking Dad's binoculars.

This book is cute as hell - and especially a great gift to pretty young girls who thank me endless for making their day. You won't ever be disappointed, probably not with any Calvin & Hobbes collection - they are a gem, a treasure, a laugh riot, a piece of modern art and culture.

Beware of Captain Spiff, the T-Rex, the paleontologist, the incredible comic strip from the best graphic art has to offer.

I am a Calvin and Hobbes fan. And this book did not dissapoint me.

I love all Calvin and Hobbes books, but this collection has a few of my favorites that never cease to make me laugh out loud, including:

"The Disembodied Hand That Strangled People" (I snicker just writing it)

The trip to Mars ("We're going in the wagon?" "Of course! What did YOU want to do? Flap your arms?" "I guess I hadn't thought about that part."
"Obviously."

Nothing mattered anymore, my grades went down, i didn't care about life, i wanted to die. so i attempted suicide, my wrist is scarred and mutated, everyone said i was insane. then i heard from the family circle magazine about this book, and i swear this has helped me, and i'm so glad that not everyone thinks depressed teens are insane or stupid. and i'm glad there are people like lisa hurka covington that are talking to teens how valuable life is, and helping them sort out their problems.

This book combines compassion and empowerment with accurate information.

The author, a cousin of singer Curt Cobain, wrote this book to help make sense of her cousin's suicide. It is readable, knowledgeable and thorough. It helps adolescents understand what they might be feeling when they are depressed. It discusses how to interrupt the downward spiral and find a way out. The book covers both social and biological aspects of depression.

I felt that the author had a good intuitive grasp for how an adolescent might feel when he was in the depths of a depression. She reflects back the sense of isolation and hopelessness so that a depressed person feels understood. She provides information on how to get help when you don't feel that anyone out there is trustworthy.

She empowers teens by providing good information about the causes of depression and well as the treatments. For those who want more detailed information, she provides a resource list. I especially liked her section on how to stay healthy once you have recovered from the initial depression.

I have recommended this book to several teens. They felt that it made sense and was helpful

This tome is organized extremely well; one can start at the beginning or jump directly into any chapter. The background information is helpful and lucid for parents and the stories from the teens themselves tells it like it is but at the same time gives hope and tells of "the light at the end of the tunnel" for depressed teens, that things do get better. Highly recommended!

In When Nothing Matters Anymore, Bev Cobain offers a teen-friendly reference guide to adolescent depression, complete with self-help suggestions, counseling resources, and case studies of teens who sought help for their illness and now lead "normal" adolescent lives. Cobain is a credentialed author: a certified registered nurse, a mental health professional, and a recipient of the National Mental Health Association's Green Ribbon Award for efforts on behalf of teen depression awareness; however, the book reads like Cliff's Notes of a more comprehensive text - as if Cobain simply compiled the bullet-point lists, sidebars, and quick-reference statistics from an American Psychiatric Association web listing for teen depression. When Nothing Matters Anymore relies little on Cobain's personal observations and extensive experience, and too much on peppy, inspirational messages from its case study teens.

The book is structured in two parts: What's Wrong? and Getting Help and Staying Well. What's Wrong? is primarily diagnostic, providing a checklist for the reader to determine whether he or she is depressed, explaining the varieties and causes of depression, and outlining the correlations between depression and chronic illness, sexual abuse, sexual identity, drug use and addiction, eating disorders, and "perceived differences" from peers. Getting Help and Staying Well highlights treatment options, suggests ways to seek help from family or trusted adults, and lists self-help activities for readers undergoing treatment. Both sections include "Survival Tips" that a health professional might suggest to any teen: Get Exercise, Have Fun, Eat Good Food, etc. There are some practical suggestions, like journaling and creating mood charts, and there is a chapter dedicated to the important topic of teen suicide, but the book as a whole rarely digs below the surface of the illness and underestimates its audience's desire (and perhaps ability?) to understand depression more fully.

One aspect of the book that seems borderline inappropriate is Cobain's ad nauseam referencing of her cousin Kurt, the popular lead singer of grunge band Nirvana, whose suicide shocked the MTV youth culture in 1994. Perhaps this approach is an effective way of securing "street cred" amongst teen readers, but this hook feels opportunistic at times, particularly in "A Letter to Kurt Cobain," a three-page, sappy, metaphor-heavy eulogy in which Cobain rues that Kurt's handlers wouldn't give her the access that could have prevented his suicide. I understand the intent is to show the readers that she cared for someone they cared about and saw the beauty of his music and the tragedy of his death as they did, but to a non-teen reader, it rings hollow. Had Cobain been close with Kurt, a reader might not bawk at this inclusion, but she mentions that she did not know Kurt "personally," a fact that makes the multiple, casual mentions feel like name-dropping.

For the last year or so I had a few questions for myself. Why am I here? Whats my pourpose in life? Cant I just be dead? Dang do I wish I could give my life for some one else. This is really good book for any teen...

Not only is the author a good writer, it has a lot of good examples of other peoples life situations so you can auctly say "wow someone can really relate to my struggle".
Anyways, again its a good book and if you have any questions about it my hotmail address is [...]