Used Books

The man was genius, and this collection of his work is one of the best I have seen yet. AMAZING!

This is a rich collection of the work of Tennyson, and those who care for his verse will derive great pleasure from it. For myself most of Tennyson's longer poems have been more skimmed and tasted by me than really chewed and digested. Tennyson lives as a poet to me primarily through one poem, 'Ulysses'. This poem to my mind perfectly embodies a certain heroic stance toward life. It does this in immortal lines. The poem tells the story of the great Ulysses returning home after having voyaged and become ' a part of all I have met' . He is now not the youth who set out in the beginning but an elderly veteran. He begins with , 'Though much is taken much abides' And so in mid-life or in late- life having come home he is not content to rest. But is an ' old man explorer' who sets out again to meet and make his destiny. ' Though much is taken much abides, and though we are not that strength, which in old days, moved earth and heaven, that which we are we are, one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'
This kind of determination not only spoke to the Victorian world, and to Tennyson's own life- situation with its great losses and difficulties, but I believe will speak to mankind for so long as we are human.

This is an excellent collection of Tennyson's poems,
very representative, very inclusive. In order to make
room for so many poems with full texts, the editor has
chosen not to include an Introduction. This, of course,
for the non-Tennyson reader or person wishing to know
more about him presents something of an obstacle. However,
a bit of rambling to one's own library, or a municipal
one, can solve that.
There is included a Chronology of important dates and
events concerning Tennyson's life. From this, a few of
the important facts seem to be: 1809--born at Somersby,
fourth son of Revd George Clayton Tennyson, Rector of
Somersby; 1816-1820--pupil at Louth Grammar School,
subsequently educated at home by his father; 1827--
publishes _Poems by Two Brothers_ with his brother
Charles, also enters Trinity College, Cambridge University;
1829--meets Arthur Henry Hallam, also a student at Trinity,
who was to become Tennyson's close friend and the fiance
of Tennyson's sister Emily, also wins the Chancellor's
Gold Medal with his prize poem "Timbuctoo", and becomes
a member of the "Apostles," a Cambridge debating society;
1830--publication of _Poems, Chiefly Lyrical_; 1831--death
of Tennyson's father, he leaves Cambridge without a
degree; 1833 (September) death of Hallam, his close
friend, from a cerebral hemorrhage while on holiday in
Vienna; 1840--beginning of almost a decade of depression
and ill health for Tennyson; 1850--marries Emily
Sellwood, appointed Poet Laureate of England; 1852--birth
of first son whom he names "Hallam"; 1883--accepts offer
of title of Baron, taking his seat in the House of
Lords in March 1884; 1892--dies on 6 October.
The poems in this anthology come from the major
publishings of Tennyson's poems. The first two:
"Timbuctoo" was published in the _Cambridge Chronicle
and Journal_ (1829) --and "The Idealist" was not
published during Tennyson's lifetime [this information

comes from the very good notes supplied by the Editor
Aidan Day at the back of the volume].
The poems included in this volume which the scholar or
general reader might wish to know are here collected
in one edition [full texts], along with many more
than these mentioned, are: The Lady of Shalott; Oenone;
The Palace of Art; The Hesperides; The Lotos-Eaters;
Morte d'Arthur; Ulysses; Locksley Hall; short poems
from _The Princess_; IN MEMORIAM, A.H.H. (1850);
MAUD (1855); Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington;
The Charge of the Light Brigade; Tithonous; Lucretius;
To E. FitzGerald; Tiresias; The Ancient Sage; Locksley
Hall Sixty Years After (1886); Demeter and Persephone;
Crossing the Bar. These poems are presented in
chronological order in the text, and the very good
Table of Contents in the front of the book tells
the poetry collection and its date from which the
poems come.
Tennyson is one of those interesting poets that take
a bit of time (at least for me) to get used to -- to
want to read, to really listen to. Having had the
experience of being required to memorize some of
Tennyson for my early academic training in school
at least got me acquainted with the more accessible,
but somewhat less deep poems. But it has taken several
years, much experience, and depressed grief over the
loss of a beloved, to bring me into synch with
the deeper poetry...or at least, being able to hear
it with deeper understanding, deeper reading.
From these poems it is hard to pick "favorites," and
that almost seems too trite a word. Maybe "meaningful"
would be more appropriate as a term. The two I would
select out would be "The Palace of Art" (1832; rev.
1842) and IN MEMORIAM, A.H.H. (1833), on the death
of his dear, beloved friend Arthur Hallam.
From "The Palace of Art," these lines resonate:
* * * * * * * * *
And with choice paintings of wise men I hung
The royal dais round.

For there was Milton like a seraph strong,
Beside him Shakespeare bland and mild;
And there the world-worn Dante grasp'd his song,
And somewhat grimly smiled.

And there the Ionian father of the rest;
A million wrinkles carved his skin;
A hundred winters snow'd upon his breast,
From cheek and throat and chin.
......
And thro' the topmost Oriels' coloured flame
Two godlike faces gazed below;
Plato the wise, and large-brow'd Verulam,
The first of those who know.

-- Arthur Lord Tennyson.
* * * * * * * *

This little book is a good and inexpensive introduction to Tennyson, who was every Victorian lady's favorite. From a purely technical level, he was absolutely ingenious, perhaps the best poet of Victorian times. His poems were also easy to remember and recite aloud. For example, "The Lady of Shalott." Give this poem a try and you'll see what I mean.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

By the way, this Penguin book has the COMPLETE text of "In Memoriam." The Everyman's edition does not.

One of the most poetic and moving stories I've ever read. Great portrayal of characters and of a people and life style probably gone forever.

This book, the story of a Basque immigrant seen through the eyes of his journalist and politician sons, would have been compelling reading when it was first penned in 1957.

What makes it even more interesting fifty-five years later is the combination of the universal (the immigrant experience) with specific, the Basque sheepherder who came to Nevada in the early twentieth century and returned to his homeland for a visit mid-century. The world described here, at least in Nevada and I suspect, the Basque part of France, is rapidly fading.

A luminous tribute to a father.

This is an absolutely outstanding book about the true story of an immigrant. It conveys the various emotions and experiences of one who left his native country for a new land. Anyone who's a first-generation immigrant or knows a family member that was will be especially able to relate with the people profiled in this book.

As a aside, this book reminds me somewhat of the underlying theme in many of William Saroyan's books, namely his struggle with his dual identity - "am I an American or an Armenian".

Wonderful look at a Basque sheepherder's life in Nevada and his return to the family homeland after nearly 50 years away. Laxalt doesn't pile on the sentiment but makes this a clear-eyed, sharp look at a life that is unimaginable today, and sadly so.

"This was the way it was with him. In this first moment of homecoming, all the years in between meant nothing. The day he had left, he was a young man and his sisters were young and his brothers alive, and this was the next day, and he and his sisters were old, and all his brothers were dead, and the forty-seven years in between had not happened. He had left home one day, yesterday, and come home today, and the change was too much for him to bear."

This was a moving story of a Nevada sheepherder returning to his home in the Pyrenees of France after 47 years.

Easy to read and full of descriptive prose, Robert Laxalt combines in this story the poetry of place with the passion of lost family and friends.

As long as you aren't trying to buy an obscure make or model car, this will be a very helpful tool in picking out your new (to you) car. It was very helpful for me in deciding to shop for Honda Accords.

As a spoiler, I will go ahead and tell you the gist of the reviews - something we all already knew - your best bet is to buy a Honda or a Toyota (or any of its variants). Happy hunting!

Once again they created and easy to use book. I've consulted this book since 1973 when ever I was about to buy a new or used car.

This guide tells you everything you need to know about the used/pre-owned buying process, though you might be surprised at the results of many popular cars. It has a side by side comparison of the certified-pre-owned programs, warning signs when looking at a car, etc.

Overall an excellent guide for purchasing used cars. My only complaint are the hard-to-visually-scan graphics they use for rating reliability history and crash test results. A reference should be easier to scan without having to constantly refer back to a legend that is buried somewhere in the front of the book.

Consumer Reports provides a vital function in today's uber-materialist culture. They report objectively about the many products we purchase. In so doing they cut through all of the hype, distortion, and outright lies of the marketers, ad-men, and other assorted hucksters who bombard us constantly.

This guide is a powerful tool for helping both the new and experienced car buyer with the difficult task of sorting out the lemons from the cream puffs. It provides detailed information on each car and then summarizes the best used car buys and the worst used car buys -- for those with limited attention spans like me.

I could not recommend this guide more highly. It is an essential part of the decision making process of used car buyers.

These old fashioned, clever illustrations and rich, bold colors took me back to when the circus was more intimate and it's characters were bizarre beyond belief!

It's the stuff you only see in "Ripleys" these days, so we tend to forget how exciting and exotic it was when the circus came to town!

Bravo Carlyn, for reminding us that the circus is so much more than just bright lights, clowns and cotton candy!!!

This book is high on my list for adults as well as children. As they always say before the show..."There's something for everyone under the big top!"

Many books offer circus insights, but this WHO PUT THE BI N THE BALLYHOO is different: it uses the author's background in graphic design and advertising and pairs this with her interest in vintage circus advertisements to provide a colorful blend of full-page artistic posters describing circus acts with commentary on each circus legend. Kids will find it a colorful, fun survey of the circus atmosphere of yesterday.

Step right up and see the best children's book ever to captivate the minds and hearts of adults!

That is how the ballyhoo barker in Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo? might attract readers to this brilliant and colorful poster book by Carlyn Beccia.

While this book is presented as an alphabet book for grades 1-5, it is just as attractive and enjoyable as an adult's coffee table book. Beccia's posters represent the last 200 years of circus legends, along with humorous rhymes and fascinating historical information. It all made me forget that this is an alphabet book! It is more like a museum on the printed page. The collection of posters inside is a good introduction to circus history for anyone. My grandfather and father excitedly waited for the circus trains to come to town in eastern Ohio in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They met the train with their friends and helped set up the tents and care for the elephants, earning free tickets to the shows. Today, reading Beccia's book, I see part of what they experienced--and it is priceless.

This book contains so much intriguing material that I want to visit the circus museums in the United States and read the related Web sites. The content will likely move children in the same direction and increase their reading interests. Its posters and text describe the Strongman, the Bearded Lady, the Siamese Twins, Patty's Dancing Pigs, flea circuses, boxing kangaroos, tigers, elephants, parades, and acrobats that hang by their hair. It even shows The Flying Wallendas, whom I have seen on TV.

Carlyn Beccia is a talented children's book illustrator that stretched her talent to provide this entertaining volume. In it, she has included material from P.T. Barnum, four historical books about circus histories, an A & E Television Network special called Histories Mysteries: Circus Freaks and Sideshows, and The Dime Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Armchair Interviews says: Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo? is a priceless treat for readers of all ages and a collection that will become a classic to hand down through the generations.

A joy for ALL ages. The witty prose and amazing illustrations really pull the reader into the circus fantasy world. My nephews can't get enough of it!! I read that this is the author/illustrator's first book and I look forward to her next release! Simply delightful.

Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo? Beccia. Carlyn Beccia that is, put the "B" into Ballyhoo. Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo? brings back days of old when the only game in town entertainment wise was the circus. This is her first book and she is an award winning illustrator to boot. She has a wicked web site that is interactive laced with games and activities. So get your popcorn and retrograde yourself in time for Carlyn's Big Top extravaganza.
See also If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss)

My third grade granddaughter is finding the series to be of historical significance and, at least, bearable. At eight years of age, she knew only a smattering about slavery and its impact on families. She knew a little about the Underground Railroad, but learned what it really was. Thse little books make the era seem more real to her. Addy's Surprise brings together some realities of African Americans growing up just after the Civil War in foreign territory, the heartache of separation, learning how to cope, the hope of tomorrow, the reality that not all white people supported slavery and the fact that "freedom" had its problems. It has a positive,though realistic, ending. The reader is left wanting more. The Looking back and Looking forward features keep the reader engaged. My granddaughter cannot wait to see if her prediction that the family will be united comes true.

The book I am reviewing is "Addy's Surprise," written by Connie Porter. I think this book deserves five stars because it was the best book I ever read. This book is about a girl named Addy who escaped from slavery in 1864. She's living in an apartment above a dress shop that her mother works in. Before Christmas Addy sees a red scarf in a store window that she wants to get her mom for Christmas. To earn money, Addy delivers dresses from her mother's store and keeps the tips. When Addy gets home from school one day, she sees the jar full of money her mother and her have been saving to buy a lamp. Here mother really needs the lamp to sew clothes. Addy decides to put all her tip money in the jar. Then one day, a woman with a young girl walk into the shop and the woman gave back a beautiful dress that Addy's mother worked so hard on to make and says that it was too small, so Addy's mother took it back. The next day, when Addy was in the shop and her mother was in there apartment, Addy sees a long piece of red trimming that she could make into a scarf. Addy worked all that day to make the trimming a scarf. On Christmas Addy's mother gave her the beautiful dress and Addy gave her the scarf she made. They wore their new clothes to church and after church when all the kids were watching a shadow play Addy saw a familiar shadow peeking through the door. Read the book to see who Addy's "surprise" is!

I never can quite pick a favorite American Girls character, but I think Addy's Christmas Story is my favorite of those. I think the selflessness she shows (as does her friend Sarah) throughout the story is a wonderful example of Christian love in action.

This is another in the American Girls series about Addy Walker, a ten-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1864. With Christmas coming up, Addy spots the perfect gift for her mother, a bright red scarf. However, when their church puts out a plea for money for those arriving from slavery with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Addy and her mother decide that their money should go to those less fortunate. In this book Addy learns a lesson on giving and receiving, and hope.

The final chapter is a look at Christmas for African-American children in the America of 1864. This is another great Addy book, with a great lesson and a moving story. My daughter loves this book, and yours will too.

Addy, an escaped slave, lives during hard times with her escaped mother. She wants Christmas to be happy. Will Christmas be a disappointment? Will they find Sam and Poppa, who were sold before Addy and her mother escaped, or Addy's baby sister, whom they had to leave behind? Get the questions answered in this beautiful tale of hope in hard times.

Tom Arma's Animal Time is my son's all time favorite book. It has adorable photographs of babies in different animal costumes. My 19 months old especially loves the pictures of the elephant and skunk. He makes elephant sounds and swings his arm and plugs his nose when I turn the page to the skunk. I can not express enough how much fun we have had with this book!

Tom Arma's Animal Time is my son's all time favorite book. It has adorable photographs of babies in different animal costumes. He (19 months old) loves the picture of the elephant and skunk. He makes elephant sounds and plugs his nose when I turn the page to the skunk. I can not express enough how much fun we have had with this book!

This book once again showcases Tom Arma's talents as a photographer. The animals are not animals a kid would see or hear about every day so it's a great learning tool. Our daughter loves the babies and marvels at the costumes! :)

I am a first time mother of a one year old and I cannot say enough about these books. I purchased two of them from a school book sale when my daughter was 4 months and she loved them. Since then, I have purchased more at each book sale and this morning am searching on Amazon for the rest of the series. My daughter cannot get enough of the cute babies and silly rhymes. She is walking now and most of the time has a Tom Arma book in her hand. I have even started buying extras to give to my friends when they have babies. I usually don't write reviews but wanted to give KUDOS and my thanks to Tom Arma. If you are considering buying these books, don't even give it a second thought...just buy. Your baby/toddler will love them!!!

We have all ten of the Arma books - they are all VERY well read! The pictures of the babies are wonderful, but when you add in the costumes, it makes for a double pleasure. Also, the rhymes that go with each scenario are just right for a toddler's attention span. The complete set has become my standard baby shower gift!

I feel like I could start any review for a Diane Stanley biography like this: ________ is the perfect introduction for any child interested in learning about ___________! That said...

Bard of Avon is an excellent introduction to the biography of William Shakespeare. It gives you basic facts without getting too involved in theory. My favorite new fact is a list of words Shakespeare invented by writing them into his plays. In addition to "eyeball," which I already knew, he also made up: majestic, countless, hint, hurry, reliance, leapfrog, gust, excellent, and gloomy. Awesome! Diane Stanley hits it out of the park every time, truly. I'm a huge fan.

Stanley does a masterful job of bringing Shakespeare to life in this short biography. Full of wit, the workings of the theater and a few of the details behind some of Shakespeare's more popular works, older children will greatly enjoy this book. A must-have for homeschoolers beginning a study of the Bard of Avon!

Our family has recently discovered the wonderful Peter Vennema/Diane Stanley biographies. They are vivid, engaging, and thorough, yet short enough for younger readers to sit through (my daughters are 4 and 6). Bard of Avon and Good Queen Bess are our favorites so far, and they go very well together since neither Shakespeare nor Queen Elizabeth would have been the same without the other. Unlike other histories or biographies for children, this book makes a destinction between what we know about Shakespeare's life and times and what are only guesses. It is nice for children to see that the study of history is not just memorizing facts and dates, but piecing together clues in the context of what is known about a time period. As a former high school English teacher, I wish that I had had this book when I was teaching Shakespeare plays because it would have been a wonderful introduction.

This author was new to us and we will be looking for her from now on. The pictures are sooo wonderful they transport you. The information is well done and clear, yet not watered done. This is someone that REALLY understands writing books for children that adults can enjoy using as teachers or parents. I recently bought alot of books on Shakespeare, for use in the school room this year and we have found 4 authors that made the grade on this subject! This is a keeper!

Stanley is a masterful writer/illustrator when it comes to creating longer picturebook biographies (with heavier text). Her bios on da Vinci, Cleopatra and Shakespeare are fabulous. It amazes me that she has not won a Caldecott Honor yet! I can't wait to see her bio about Michelangelo!

But this book is really fun, especially for the car obsessed. Four different colors of bears race around a crazy race track, going "over" and "under", "around" and "behind" and playing dirty tricks on each other in rhyme. Not a cloying book like many others in the series. A favorite for ages 3 to 4.

My 23 month old is really into cars. He wants to read this book over and over and over. It is really cute and teaches 5 colors and five car "sounds", along with up, down, around, and through. I think it's hilarious when the "big mean green car" plays a dirty trick and my son says "OH NO!". It also teaches the lesson of persitence and patience. Very fun book!

This is such a cute book, both for toddlers but also for new readers. It rhymes thoughout the book and basically, is the story of the tortoise and the hare but with racecars. It's really, really cute, rhymes well, and makes learning to read quite the fun time. Highly recommend!

Our 23-month-old toddler really loves this book. If you have a child who loves cars, get this book! It's really charming, humorous and fun for the parent, too.

My nephew has this book almost memorized, he enjoys the story so much. The race cars are illustrated in bright colors making learning fun. The excitement builds throughout the book, and the story teaches a message about persistence. I would recommend this book for any public or private library.

This line of books helps with the life lessons you try to impart to your kids.

My son automatically LOVES anything Berenstain Bears, but this book was a bit old for him (not to mention girly)

This is such a great book. It shows little kids that no matter what there is always good in people. Even if they don't show it right away.

This book tells the story of sister bear when she meets a young cub that recently arrived to town. This new cub is a little annoying, and at first it makes sister sad.
But she finally realizes that with self confidence, she can be herself, and have good times with her real friends.
My 4 year old loves it.

When a new hip cub moves into town everyone is amazed by her. They start dressing like her, acting like her etc etc. Sister is the only one who is not in the "in-crowed" what is she to do?

This book teachs kids that you don't need to dress a certain way or act a certain way just to be liked.

I'm such a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears series and with books like this one it's no surprise why.

The story finds brother bear as falling behind in school because of an illness that keeps him at home. Instead of keeping up with his assignments he stays busy playing with his toys and watching tv. So when it's time to go back to school brother is clueless about his studies and fails a quiz.

What's great about this book is that brother tries to skip school and avoid his parents but when he does come clean his parents aren't irate like he thought they would but instead they help him to catch back up. I personally thought this was a good lesson for both kids and parents because school can be hard but facing it and having understand parents can help kids excel in school instead of becoming overwhelmed by it.

good book shows important to just be honest with parents and to do make up homework and not put it off. otherwise just get into a deeper mess.

I read this particular book among others from the Berenstain series over and over again to my children when they were small. These books were beautifully illustrated and a real pleasure to look at , as well as to read.
If I remember rightly Papa Berenstain was always a bit of a schlump and it was Mama who pulled the chesnuts out of the fire usually.
But they were a loving family a caring family and that message came across in a beautiful way.

I like this book too. I read it when I was six and learning English when my parents came here from Kinshasa in the Congo. I learned that school and grades are very important in America and we should do our best to be our best. Luckily I got into a great college (Princeton) and all because this book made me work very hard. I hope to make much money one day.

I think the book of "Trouble At School," is really good. It tells kids how school should be more important then anything else in your life. I tells how important grades are to your parents and how important they should be to you. I really liked this book,and I think that little kids should read this book. I really like how Jan and Stan write there books.