Schools Books

Joyce Scarbrough knows all the emotional buttons to push. Reading her fast-moving tale of four teens working their ways through those difficult years, I laughed and wept. I pulled for the protagonists and railed at the villains. And I was thoroughly entertained. It even has a happy ending.

Of course, the characters are too good to be true. As a father of four who went through their teens at precisely the same time, I found myself comparing Jeanna and Mickey to Skip, Wendy, Jeff and Marty, all of whom are now productive and responsible adults in their 40's. But back then their language was vile, they all experimented with drugs and took GED tests to get out of high school early, and protested for or against whatever the cause celebre of the day was.

So True Blue Forever is fiction, which is precisely what the author claims it to be. Jeanna and Mickey are more virtuous than real life; Billy Joe funnier; Wade meaner, although through an interesting twist he undergoes a transformation before the story ends.

Read True Blue Forever for pleasure. I would rate it suitable for anybody over the age of 12, considering the times we live in.

(...)

True Blue Forever, by Joyce Sterling Scarborough.

Let me start with an unadorned statement - I loved this book.

I carried True Blue Forever to work each day and read it on the train, forfeiting my nap on the ride home to continue reading. It brought out laughter, it forced me to wipe away at my mist-filled eyes, it stirred anger, frustration and an adolescent need to pump my fist with an "in your face" sense of triumph. True Blue Forever did, as all good books hope to do - it stirred me as a human being.

Romance is a language that speaks to both the heart and mind. When it touches the soul, however one can be sure the words are pure. Three boys make a silent vow to win the heart of a magnificent young lady in the fifth grade. The story blossoms from there with two of the boys having kept contact with her throughout her life while the third, having returned from a move to another town, reaffirms his devotion by setting out to win her heart. The stage is set, one boy has grown to be an arrogant "jock", one is a comical jokester and the third, this stranger from afar, is a tried and true, steadfast depiction of manhood. Together, they create a whirlwind of interaction centered around Jeanna, a girl who is as beautiful as these three boys believe, both inside and out. The story is sure to touch your soul.

True Blue Forever is not a difficult read and that helps to make it an addicting read. I relished the story as it unfolded and was unhappy when it ended because I wanted more. The characters are not only believable, they are endearing and the love they feel for one another is heart-warming. Jeanna, although frustrating at times (from a man's perspective) with her unselfish optimism, ultimately shows herself to be a most rousing individual, as mentioned above. The three boys are all lucky for knowing her and having her as part of their lives. True Blue Forever is a strong testament of friendship and how hardships can be overcome with the help of those in life who care - even when one has stopped caring for oneself.

True Blue Forever, by Joyce Sterling Scarborough - an outstanding tale of friendship, love, romance and perseverance as well as family, trials, heartbreak and redemption. It's a feel-good book that does its job well.

Joyce Sterling-Scarbrough has given us a trip back to the bitter-sweet times of reaching out for maturity, the agony and ecstacy of the teen-years.
Her characters are solid and the plot is alluring.
A really entertaining story to read. Be sure you read it!

A friend of mine was telling me about this book they were reading and they mentioned that one of the characters drove a Boss 429. Well since they only made about 1200 of these Mustangs, I immediately became skeptical, thinking that the author was just using these rare, top of the line vehicles like they were store brand cereal. So I read the book convinced that it would reek of stale overused stereotypes in every other story. Well it turned out to be a huge girly love story like I had expected. But what I didn't expect, and don't let anyone know this(especially not the Chevy guys), but I loved it. I read it all in one night, a night that was supposed to yield a rebuilt carburetor. But my Holley carb had to wait for Jeana and Mickey and Billie Joe, and I don't regret it one bit. The story line was excellent and constantly had me wanting to read more of it. My wife must have thought I was under the car with another woman with all the lauging I was doing out in my garage, because she came out to see what was "so freakin hilarious," as she put it. Well she read it the night after I finished and absolutely LOVED it. Although she did keep asking me why there was so much grease on the pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story, not just a love story, but a lot more. This was one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I hope there is a second book on the way? I did have one problem with it however, I felt that Mickey was spending way too much time with Jeana and not enough time with his Ford. But I guess Jeana was just that one special girl we all have. And he really didn't need that much time to work on his Mustang anyway, those Fords run forever you know!

Eleven year old Jeana Russell recites a poem written from the heart at a fifth grade honors program. Three boys in the audience fall hopelessly in love with the pretty redhead, each one of them vowing that one day she will be their girl.

True Blue Forever follows the teenage years of these four friends, Jeanna, Mickey, Wade and Billy Joe, as they journey through their teenage years in the late 1970s.

Jeanna must deal with the different expectations each boy has of her, while maintaining the one relationship she sees as 'true blue'.

Although this book deals with the lives and loves of teenagers, it is plainly written for adults, and is truly addictive reading. True Blue Forever is well written, full of emotion, humor and heartache.

I am really looking forward to reading more from this author.

I am a teacher and I use this book to teach point of view, voice, and character studies, as well as visual clues and class bias. It can be enjoyed as a visually stimulating illustrated book for younger children and as a enjoyable and interesting learning exercise for older children. I enjoy and value this book!

As many teachers and parents have outlined in their reviews of Voices in the Park, Anthony Brown has handed us a remarkable gift. A colleague and I found a single copy of Voices in the Park at a local bookstore where we literally good-naturedly bickered over who would get to buy the book and use it first in her classroom (I won!). I can think of no better book to begin to introduce the concept of voice/point of view to students. I used this book as I began a unit on point of view with my students in Reader's Workshop (3rd grade) and was amazed at the symbolism and subtle nuances they discovered as they explored Voices in the Park for weeks. Even a few weeks into our exploration, my students were still shouting with joy every time they noticed how the illustrations accompanied a shift in mood within the text. Voices in the Park deserves far more stars than are available to give it here. It is a treasured part of my classroom collection. I highly recommend it.

Anthony Browne is the author and illustrator of more than 20 children's books such as Gorilla, Willy's Pictures, Into the Forest and Silly Billy. He has won numerous awards for his work including, the highest international honor for illustration the Hans Christian Anderson Award, the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and the Kurt Maschler Award three times. Browne has once again gone above and behind with his beautiful illustration that tell a story all on their own in Voices in the Park.
Browne has written and illustrated another fabulous book involving monkeys. This intriguing story is told from the perspective of four monkey characters: a bossy woman, a sad man, a lonely boy, and a young girl. All the characters visit the same park and describe their visits completely different. Browne uses different styles of text to represent each character in the story. He also uses different color hues to help express the characters outlook on life. The illustrations have very intricate details, every time it is read a viewer notices something in the pictures that they didn't notice before.
I highly recommend this book for all parents and teachers. Every time I read this book, teachers and children alike fall in love with the very detailed illustrations and interesting story line. The children all respond by pointing out the new images they see in each picture. It is a book that never gets old and gets the children thinking about how everyone can see the same things in a different light.

This is a great book, with very clever pictures throughout. It left my 3rd grade class with much to discuss. They asked to borrow this book for quite some time. I think the only way to improve this book would have been to make the characters human instead of animals.

I found this book when I was getting my teaching certification, and wanted to teach a 4th grade class on "Voice" or point of view. It was the basis for a great lesson! I think this could be appropriate for students in 3rd grade up to a basic high school English class. The same event (a trip to the park) is told by 4 distinctly different characters who all encounter each other in the park. So the story is told 4 times, once by each character. Everything from the word choice, font style, and beautiful illustrations relates the "voice" or point of view of each person. It is not only highly instructuve, it is a visual treat and intriguing. I have read the story many times, and each time the students see something that I missed. I love this book and share it with all my teacher friends and librarians.

I purchased this book for a class on Leadership, and while it might not have been a book I would have selected, it does have some interesting, real-life examples of situations while explaining some basic leadership skills.

The two greatest strengths of Michael A. Roberto's book are its honesty and clarity. He admits that most people are uncomfortable with conflict and that many well-intentioned leaders shut down dissent. He's also honest about how likely it is that things will go wrong along the way, at least temporarily. Fortunately, he's also very clear about steps you can take to guide conflict in a productive direction, and why this matters. Roberto analyzes several well-known examples of bad decision making and shows how the absence of dissent or institutional mechanisms that insulated decision makers from essential - though not necessarily positive - information created serious problems. The list is long and chilling: President John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vietnam, NASA and the Columbia shuttle explosion. His discussions will give you a powerful desire to review your organization's decision-making processes and, more generally, its culture. As Roberto himself readily admits, his techniques are not cure-alls, nor easy, but they will lead to improvements. We recommend this book to managers with decision-making responsibilities and to anyone who is committed to improving organizational functioning.

Michael Roberto provides a book that can help not only managers, but employees at all levels. Yes-men and Yes-women not only promote (self-promote), and perpetuate their self-interests and its negative effects by what they say, but also by what they *don't* say. This is often as much as or more detrimental. Most of of us have witnessed this no matter where we work, no matter how big or small our organization is.

The 1986 NASA Space Shuttle disaster noted in this book was a prime example. Several investigations and studies examined the thought and decision-making process that caused this debacle. What led to this unnecessary and horrific tragedy? The decision-making process (along with its machismo). This calamity was one-hundred percent avoidable. Launching the Challenger in the first place is considered a criminal act by many.

Roberto uses variety in this exploration and in-depth study of the decision-making process. Appropriate coverage of MLB General Managers is also examined. Sport GMs have to make difficult decisions based upon current market value and and the collective needs, yet also assess what the potential in the near, mid, and long-term future will be. Other critical
examples cited are decision made by politicians. These individuals make decisions that affect the lives and death, of up to hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions, of people. Author Roberto's classic example was LBJ, and how he stifled and belittled those who dissented and raised questions to his disastrous and failed policies in South East Asia in the 1960s.

There are four parts in this book with nine chapters.


Assumptions:

We all make them. No matter who we are, or what situation we're in, we make assumptions. There is an old saying: "assumptions are the mother of all f-ups." Our assumptions need to be tested and checked by others. In today's world - organizations - make many of the major decisions: collective decision making. Providing the proper quality of environment (local to larger corporate culture and management style) that leads to *how* these decisions are made is the focus.

Roberto lists the five myths of decision-making, which are followed up by the "truths" about how decisions are made. Appropriate dissent and debate is needed and critical in today's rapidly changing environment. People who will ultimately make the decision need to ask themselves: "how honest are folks being with me?" Especially when debating, negotiating, and attempting to build a consensus for making the best decision and executing it.

This is one of the many reasons this book can help employees,
team-leaders, project managers, lower, mid, and upper level managers. Those who participate, question, and seek the best solutions get kicked upstairs. Yes-men don't get kicked upstairs, and for good reason.

Those with control should leave their egos at home and focus not necessarily on the "what" but the "how." This books will be helpful and provide results if one wants it to.

Years ago, George Reedy wrote a book, The Imperial Presidency, about his association with President Lyndon Johnson. As I read that book, I was reminded of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Emperor's New Clothes." Recently, as I read Michael Roberto's book, I was again reminded of Anderson's tale as well as Reedy's book. Emperors, presidents, CEOs, etc. who discourage, indeed punish dissent deny themselves access to information, perspectives, opinions, and suggestions which they may need when making difficult decisions. As a result, they as well as those for whom they are responsible are vulnerable to the consequences of bad decisions which can include making no decision whatsoever.

I forget the source but I once learned of a group discussion during which a CEO turned to one of his executives and observed, "You agree completely with me. One of us is useless." (Sounds like Jack Welch.) According to Roberto, the most effective leaders are those who "cultivate constructive conflict so as to enhance the level of critical and divergent thinking, while simultaneously building consensus so as to facilitate the timely and efficient implementation of the choices that they make." Roberto goes on to assert that "effective leaders can and should spend time `deciding how to decide.' In short, creating high-quality decision-making processes necessitates a good deal of forethought."

Roberto carefully organizes his material within four Parts. In Chapters 1 and 2, he provides "a conceptual framework for thinking about how to diagnose, evaluate, and improve strategic decision-making processes. Then in Chapters 3-5, Roberto focuses on the task of managing conflict (e.g. factors that can inhibit candid dialogue and debate). Next, in Chapters 6-8, he concentrates on how managers can "create consensus within their organizations without compromising the level of divergent and creative thinking." In Part IV (Chapter 9), Roberto shares his thoughts about how this book's philosophy of leadership and decision-making differs from conventional views held by many managers. "Specifically, I distinguish between two different approaches to `taking charge' when confronted with a difficult decision." He devotes an entire chapter to differentiating between the two approaches.

Throughout Roberto's lively narrative, there is a strong recurring theme: "leaders must strive for a delicate balance of assertiveness and restraint." One challenge is to be able to do either effectively. Another, greater challenge is to know when each approach should be taken. In this context, Roberto has much of value to say about great leaders as great teachers: "They prepare to decide just as teachers prepare to teach. They have a plan, but they adapt as the decision-making process unfolds. Great leaders do not have all the answers, but they remain firmly in control of the process through which their organizations discover the best answers to the toughest problems."

One final observation of my own. It would be a serious mistake to assume that Roberto wrote this book primarily for senior-level executives. All organizations (regardless of size or nature) urgently need effective leadership in all areas and at all levels. They need people who can make the right decisions, notably when the given problems are especially serious. For these and other reasons, I highly recommend this book to individuals who must make informed and correct decisions about almost any business situation as well as to others who must collaborate on them.

As Roberto well realizes, there are specific reasons why Dante reserves the last (and worst) ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserve their neutrality. Some decisions require courage, others require judgment, still others must be made quickly and often with insufficient information. How and why are great leaders able to make such decisions, either alone or in consultation with others? In essence, that is what Roberto's book is really all about.

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out Jason Jennings' THINK BIG, Act Small, Michael Hammer's The Agenda and Robert Mittelstaedt's Will Your Next Mistake Be Fatal?

Boy, if I had a buck for every time I heard that from someone sheltering the boss at the top from the truth, I'd be a lot wealthier than I am now. "Yes" is what flunkies always tell the boss. "No" is what they often need to hear. "No, this project isn't going to pan out." "No, we can't achieve that goal, no matter how much money we throw at it." "No, it isn't going well at all." Problem is, who is going to bell the cat, as the Aesop fable asks.

The book "Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer" discusses behavior of leaders who realize that getting to the truth is more important that getting what they want to hear. And there are plentiful examples from real life situations that show us the tragedies that unfold when this isn't the case (The Challenger disaster for one.)

HOW a question is framed can result in getting answers, not fluff or outright obfuscation. The author lists five good alternatives:

1. Instead of "Why"--"Help me to understand why you believe"
2. Instead of "Why not" "Why not pursue other options"
3. Instead of "What if" "What if we found this assumption to be false"
4. Instead of "What would you do" "What would you do if you were in my shoes"
5. Instead of "What makes that optimal" "You must have good reason for thinking it's an optimal solution. I'd like to hear them."

There's a lot more in this book, but this is a modestly-looking book that packs a huge punch. If you seen projects flame down millions of dollars while the bad news is squelched, if you were a top manager who found out too late that something was heading south when you were told time and again it was heading north, you should read this. Excellent book, and really essential to any manager's reading list.

I use this book as part of my 100th day of school celebration. It helps my k students to have empathy for the elderly. We also discuss what they may look like when they are 100. Wonderful illustrations - typical Mem Fox style - perfect! Love it!

I discovered this book when my roommate told me it was one of her favorite children's book. Both my roommate and I are currently pursuing our Master's Degree in Elementary Education and are always looking for great books for our future classrooms. She informed me that this book is one she had to have immediately after reading it! Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is a young boy who lives next door to an "old people's home" and he describes each of the elderly people he has become friends with. His favorite is Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper because she has four names just like he does. When Wilford overhears family members discussing the sadness of Miss Nancy losing her memory he sets out to find out what a memory is by asking all his elderly friends. He takes all the things he thinks are a memory and gives them to Miss Nancy. She begins to reminisce about the memories that the items remind her of and she is so happy that Wilford has given her back her memory. This book is incredibly sweet and will have you "awwwww"ing on each and every page. The illustrations are hilarious and depict abstract pictures of the elderly people and Wilford. As a 21 year old I found the book touching and think that children of any age will also be able to relate to it. It is a wonderful book to read to children who have grandparents or family members who have Alzheimer's and can make a little sense about the aspect of losing a memory. This book will most definitely be in my classroom no matter what grade I teach. I would recommend this book to anyone of any age!
-Andrea W.

This book was a favorite of mine when I was young and now I love reading it to my girls. It is so sweet and wonderfully illustrated. My absolute favorite from the spectacular body of work of Mem Fox.

This is a beautiful story. It's perfect for reading to children who have grandparents with major memory loss. The illustrations by Julie Vivas are equally beautiful.

All I can say is I have had this book for many years and it is one of my FAVORITE children's books. Cutely written and the message is wonderful.

I love this book, it has to be my favorite book of all time. Abby is the new girl in town and she moved her from Long Island with her mom and twin sis, Anna.

Anyways Abby is made to write a bio about her life for English. I seriously think this is the best one out of the Portrait Collection. Abby is so down to earth, humorous, and down right honest it's hard not to like her.

There are painful siturations in the book such as the details of her father's death, and the way she and her family handled it. It was with such honestly, you felt for Abby really bad espeically if you lost someone you truly and honestly love.

The hightlights of the book were whenever her family decided to go to Florida for Winter Break, and they althrough started out in seperate ways, but ended up retelling their favorite holiday stories, and creating new ways to celebrate the holidays together as a new family.

If you haven't read this book you should have. You will not be dissappointed. The way the book was written you find it hard not to like Abby especially after all the tragic situration her and her family had to endure, makes her a winner in all levels.

This book was so sad, it went into alot of detail about Abby's dad's death and how her mum never really gets over it (well, thats my impression) and how and how she went through everything. You really start to feel bad for Abby in the end! Read it if you like serious books, but not if you dont!

This book is the best, since Abby's the best baby-sitter! I really miss her in the new series, Friends Forever! I wish that there was a real person like Abby, so I could meet her! Please write some more regular BSC books, Ann, I really miss Abby!

Abby is, without question, my favorite member of the BSC series. (Yes, folks, the BSC has a following of ALL ages). Abby is smart, funny, wonderfully clever and gifted with natural expression. She's great! I like the way she tells her story in a tone of unflinching honesty and the part about the deep bond she and her dad have is classic. I also loved the way Abby's twin, Anna used musical terms to name the chapters of her version of their lives together. The sisters balance one another well. Abby is a very distinct personality and she is sorely missed in the new series. I wish Ann M. Martin would bring her back. Abby rocks!

The book has some parts which are funny and sad. Abby tells us how she was born and how she lived on Long Island.

wow how in the world do i start! well i read this book in 3 days. each day i came home when out on the porch and started reading for about 3 to 4 hours!

its about this girl alice her mom dies when she was young and she has a older brother lester.this was the first book i read and now i have read about 5 or 6 alice books now.alice goes through friendship trouble and other stuff too.its a really good book for girls.i also read the boys start the war by:pyills too.i read that in 3 days too.both of these books are amazing!naylor is my favorite author!in boys start the war there is pranks that the boys do to the girls then the girls do something and get them back and its filled w/ laughter!GET IT! if this review helped please click yes under my review
thanks!i reccommend it!cya later!have fun reading!

This book was free with a purchase of my Leopard Build-a-Bear when I was nine or ten. I loved it! I settled down with my misbehaving leopard plush and read the book through. It has to deal with all the fun of being a third grader--embarrassing moments galore, laughs, and mistakes! Hopefully readers connect with Alice as they learn about her bluffs through this school year. I would recommend it to anyone seven through eleven. If your twelve year old isn't too 'old' for this, then they probably will chuckle as they remember the mistakes that they made advancing towards grade four.

--Willow, aged 11

My daughter has read this book over and over again- she loves it!

You could say that Alice McKinley (not to be confused with Alice MacLeod) has a bit of a cult following at my current place of employ. So maybe it was just a matter of time before I too got sucked in.

A word on the series before I start the review: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor began the Alice series with "The Agonies of Alice" in 1985. In that book Alice is 11 and starting sixth grade. She has just moved and started at a new school. Since then, Naylor has been writing a new Alice book approximately every year which certain librarians have pointed out has strong addictive qualities. Until about 2002, the books ran linearly. Then Naylor did something different, she wrote three prequel novels talking about Alice as a third, fourth, and fifth grader weaving in stories that Alice had previously reflected on in other books in the series. "Starting With Alice" is the first of these prequels (followed by "Alice in Blunderland" and "Lovingly Alice"). I like to read linearly whenever possible so, after reading "The Agony of Alice" and finding out about these prequels I decided to read the series straight through in terms of Alice's age instead of publication date (the series is supposed to end when Alice turns 18 and is already well-grounded in the Young Adult genre at this point).

Now that that's settled, let's talk about the actual book.

Alice, her father, and her older brother have just moved into a new house. Alice's first friend on the block is Donald Sheavers, her weird neighbor. Along the way, Alice makes other, less weird, friends. And also attracts some unwanted attention from one of the street patrol girls. It's not always easy being Alice. I can't say much more about the story without revealing everything. This book is more about Alice's day-to-day life as she tries to fit in and make friends than about any huge event.

Alice narrates in the first person. As a result, the novel is conversational and pretty mellow. Alice is a cool girl, even though she doesn't think so, and her narration is endearing. Naylor strikes the perfect balance here. Alice's voice is consistent with her debut novel, but she does sound younger--without being annonyingly young.

Alice also demonstrates that, although she's only eight, it's never to early to develop a strong character. In the novel Alice makes new friends and stands up to bullies among her other wonderfully positive characteristics. I don't know that children read books about children in search of role models, but if they do "Starting With Alice" definitely offers up a good one.

In terms of when to read this book, I think it would work either way. I enjoyed reading it already knowing about Donald Sheavers and an unfortunate poem written to the milkman. But readers could definitely read this without knowing anything about Alice and enjoy it just as much.

For me, this was definitly the best book i have read in the alice series so far! VERY and i mean VERY few books make me laugh out loud, but this one did--on nearly every page! i engulfed this wonderful tale of an 8-year old girl and her adventures through the move from chicago to takoma park, Maryland, and how she has to start 3rd grade at a brand new school. i read this in one day! i would sit in my room reading this book, and every few minutes or so, i would laugh so hard i cried. And my parents were wondering what all that racket was about....

I love Amelia's notebook's especially this one because it is actually how girl's think when they move to a new place.

This is an excellent example of journal writing. It shows how a journal truly looks. Some students may get distracted though.

Amelia's Notebook is a great book. It is about a nine-year-old girl named Amelia. Her mother gave Amelia a notebook to record her thoughts in. In this notebook, Amelia writes all sorts of things like: her family (especially her older sister, Cleo), her friends, and Amelia draws pictures in her notebook. When her family has to move, Amelia writes about her trip and leaving her best friend. I recommend this book to girls ages 9-12. I hope you read it!

when i was in third grade my teacher read my class this book and i thought it was going to be one of those boring books they usually read. well actually, it was really cool! my sister is kind of like cleo and i am like amelia. it was real funny and i really want to own that book you peoplez should read it.

This is my all time favorite Amelia book. I especially like her doodles of cafeteria food in her new school and her dumb sister Chloe and her nice friend, Nadia. This is the best book. I've read it again and again. I recommend it to anyone who likes to laugh. Some other diarys which are good are THE DIARY OF A SLAVE GIRL, RUBY JO, THE DIARY OF PATIENCE WHIPPLE, and one boy diary called THE JOURNAL OF LEROY JONES.

Every Asterix rules, doesn't matter which one, it rules!
These things are hilarious, has anyone ever read the French version?

Wonderful. what more can I say. You got to have it.

Thanks to the magic potion of the resident druid, Getafix, Asterix and Obelix triumphantly defend the borders of their village against Caesar's legions, to the legions' great dismay ("I hate those Gauls"). My personal favorite is "Asterix and Cleopatra" where they travel to Egypt to help Getafix's buddy Edifis win an architectural contest between Ceasar and Cleopatra. Oh, and the Sphinx's nose? Obelix did that.

In this graphic novel series there is great storytelling, superb drawing, awful puns, wonderful sound effects (yes, really), and sneakily, insidiously, while you're laughing, you're learning.

Asterix and Obelix are Immortal!!

Miss them and you miss some of the more pleasant, happy moments in your life!

Asterix lives in the Gaulish part of the Roman Empire. Doesn't he? Not quite, his village resists the Romans thanks to a magic potion. The Romans want some of this potion for themselves...

"Asterix the Gaul" was the first Asterix comic, published in 1961. Rene Goscinny made the words and Albert Udzero did the pictures. It's a pretty good way to start the series though the sequel "Asterix and the Golden Sickle" (1962) sets up the vibe the other comics enjoy.

Never fails to delight. Enjoyable reading. Mayhem in an antique shop is no match for the feline with more than the usual amount of whiskers.

With the third installement in The Cat Who...series this is by far the funniest.

With his new assignment in junktown, learning all about antiques and the dealers that come with it Qwill stumbbles onto what looks like another odd murder mystery. Once his mustache starts twiching and his partners, KoKo and Yum, start their usual shenanigans Qwill knows for sure he is right. The only thing left for him to do is to figure out which of the colorful characters of junktown could be the culprit.
With even more colorful, fun and way out there characters this book will definitely leave you wanting more and more of Qwill and his furry gang of friends. Next on the list is The Cat Who Saw Red.

Always great listening to a Braun mystery narrated by the talented George Guidall.

In the 3rd book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran (aka "Qwill"), is working on assignment in the features department as a newsman for the Daily Fluxion. Returning to writing for a paper after an absence of several years, he has gotten his life back together and sobered up. In the previous book, he had been assigned to writing a weekly magazine style insert titled "Gracious Abodes" that focused on the world of interior design. Having survived that assignment, Qwill is back writing features, and is excited about the prospect of winning a prize in the Fluxion's annual writing contest. He hears about a nearby town called Junktown from a cabbie, and decides to write a piece about what he assumes is a crime-ridden area. Instead, he finds that Junktown is a hotbed of antique dealers, and he quickly finds a room to rent in the town while writing a story about antiques. He learns that the tenant who occupied his room previously had died in a suspicious manner, and Qwill begins to investigate the curious characters in Junktown. Qwill meets Iris Cobb in this installment, starting a lengthy friendship that will last long into future books set in Moose County.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. More of Qwill's background is explained, and it was interesting to revisit how Qwill met Mrs. Cobb, and her son, Dennis who later renovates the apple barn he lives in. For those that have not read the series, I do recommend reading the first several first. Many others can be intermixed, but this book offers good insight to some of the characters that show up later in the series. This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

In the 3rd book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran (aka "Qwill"), is working on assignment in the features department as a newsman for the Daily Fluxion. Returning to writing for a paper after an absence of several years, he has gotten his life back together and sobered up. In the previous book, he had been assigned to writing a weekly magazine style insert titled "Gracious Abodes" that focused on the world of interior design. Having survived that assignment, Qwill is back writing features, and is excited about the prospect of winning a prize in the Fluxion's annual writing contest. He hears about a nearby town called Junktown from a cabbie, and decides to write a piece about what he assumes is a crime-ridden area. Instead, he finds that Junktown is a hotbed of antique dealers, and he quickly finds a room to rent in the town while writing a story about antiques. He learns that the tenant who occupied his room previously had died in a suspicious manner, and Qwill begins to investigate the curious characters in Junktown. Qwill meets Iris Cobb in this installment, starting a lengthy friendship that will last long into future books set in Moose County.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. More of Qwill's background is explained, and it was interesting to revisit how Qwill met Mrs. Cobb, and her son, Dennis who later renovates the apple barn he lives in. For those that have not read the series, I do recommend reading the first several first. Many others can be intermixed, but this book offers good insight to some of the characters that show up later in the series. This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

this is nice to have. it hasn't become a favorite yet, but some of the pictures are really beautiful. the idea of passing our family history is wonderful and this is a great aid to jump start teaching your children their ancestry.

This book is by far the best Bible story book we have found. I have been a children's minister for 20 years and have reviewed many books and this one tops them all. The stories are biblically accurate and incredibly easy to understand. We have bought this for every family/friend that has had a baby for the last 5 years and will continue to do so because it is so wonderful.

One day my 15 year old son told me that he didn't know the stories in the Bible. I got to thinking...I knew bits and pieces of all the main stories, but I didn't really think I could repeat them to my son. I was embarassed, so I went right to Amazon to find a book that explained the Bible in a fun, understanding, interesting way. I also wanted something that hadn't been "modernized". I didn't want to read that God is our Mother, or words like "humankind". I wanted a good old-fashioned, biblically true book. This one exceded my expectations!! I am halfway done and have learned so much! I read it to my son, and he enjoys it. I have not been able to put it down, so my son is not as far as me. I can't believe how much I DID'NT know. I would highly recommend this for anyone. Even if you are very familiar with the Bible, it's a great refresher.

This book has been great for family read aloud time. The story like format is very easy to read and understand.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I love this book!! My kids (7,4) and I read a passage every morning after breakfast. The stories are easily understood by my kids. They are short and capturing. Sometimes my kids will ask questions regarding our reading. I enjoy this special time with my children. Most of all it is coming from the Bible!!