Home and Family Books

This recording is so fun! It has sound effects and different voices for each character. It makes it seem like you are watching a movie in your mind. I think kids would really enjoy this version, I sure did!

This is a review mainly of the unabridged recording of "The Bad Beginning" read by Tim Curry, with an interview of Lemony Snicket by Leonard C. Marcus. And the song "Scream and Run Away preformed by the Gothic Archies. This is also a review of the hardback book .

Initial listening of this book brought horror and disgust (which in this case means repugnance.) Determined to finish the story despite the author's constant warnings, I must say that I became enamored of his style.

There are several pluses to listening to the recording. The pace of the recording helps keep you going when you would have set the book aside. The absence of the books illustrations by Bret Helquist allowed you to imagine a more sinister Count Olaf and a cuter, yet with a tad of tomboy, Violet. Now the significant plus is the unmistakable voice of Tim Curry of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Oscar" (1991 as Dr. Poole) fame. His interpretation of the voices gave just as much panache to the characters as Lemony's writing.

Not in the book, but as additions to the recording are two significant items that help with the understanding of the story, where it came from and where it is going. First is an interview with the author. It covers many of the standard questions asked in an interview; the answers and the communication style is some what unique and a little over the top. Also there is a recording of a song that Mr. Snicket says is played by the Baudelaire memorial orchestra; I have since found that it was realy preformed by the Gothic Archies, written by Gay and Loud.

I do not want to give away the plot however I can tell you that at one point they are forced to eat "boiled chicken, boiled, potatoes and `blanched'- here means `boiled'- string beans"

I downloaded this book from Audible. My sons and I listened to it in the car and finished the whole thing in one day. When we went on errands, they even asked if they could stay in the car and listen while I did what I had to do.

We loved it!! It was silly, educational, and entertaining all at once, with suspense thrown in. The boys' favorite character is Sunny, while I rather like Violet.

Especially engaging was the multicast recording. We have since missed this in the subsequent Lemony Snicket audiobooks.

I want to warn those who have seen the SOUE film: Expect something different in the books. The film combined three books, and not very well. The books have much more substance.

My daughter loves reading and reads everything, including small print on cereal boxes, so recently I had to deal with an issue of trying to help her go through the ocean of books and find the best ones.
This book is so far the best guide I found, very well organized - by age group, genre and subject; it includes short synopsys for each book, notes to parents and further reading recommendations. I am glad I found it and I would recommend it to every parent - whether their kids love the books or love to hate them.

When I first saw this book, I just knew I would love it. I am a HUGE reader, and there's no way I hate to read. But I liked this book anyway. You will find 125 books in here, which will appeal to reluctant readers. I've read several of the books featured in this book, and I've thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. There are several parts to the book: books for 5-8 years old, books for 7-10 years old, books for 8-12 years old, and books for ages 10 and up. Each book featured has a picture, an exerpt from the book, a summery of the book, reasons why the book would appeal to reluctant readers, who might like it, types of illustrations, and so much more. There are even more reccomended books in the back. This is truly a fantastic resource, whethere you hate to read or not.

My 10 year old daughter "thinks" she hates to read. She has read several of the suggested books & has loved them. Her school requires her to read so many books, of her choice, every grading period. Before receiving this book, she would start reading a book & then stop saying that the book was boring. This is a must-get for any child who "thinks" they hate to read

As background material for this book, the reader is referred to "The Scientist in the Crib" (Dr. Gopnik, et al; Perrenial, 2001). It offers a fresh and detailed evaluation of the language acquisition process by infants. At about 6 months of age, a critical change seems to occur. The specific pronunciation patterns of the language(s) heard begin to be retained in a very focused manner. Also see "The Monday Tape" (The Snow Water Corporation) at Akilo.com for more insight into this process. This audio tape, one of a series, provides multilingual speech patterns for infants. These tapes are available exclusively through Amazon.com (not available in stores). It appears that they should help an infant (birth to age 2) gain good pronunciation skills for many widely used languages.

I recently read this book during my pregnancy, having read other books like, "What to expect when you're expecting", and the Mayo Clinic Guide, and this was the best book out of all of the books I have read. I found it well-organized, concise, easy to understand, and extremely informative. I highly recommend it to any expectant mother or father!

This is a great baby book (and I'm not just biased because I'm one of the baby models in it!). There are plenty of helpful facts and ideas, as well as a lot of useful how-to.

The BFG is the Big Friendly Giant whose values get him in a heap of trouble among bigger and not-so-friendly giants. My kids LOVE this story that we originally borrowed from the library. When I saw amazon's great price, I had to buy 2. One for us and one to gift away. Roald Dahl is at his best here and as a teacher, I enjoyed pondering the potential geography lesson applications from this story. No matter why you buy it the book is loaded with teachable moments and lots of heart.

I gave this to my 7 year old grandson so he could listen to it before we went to a children's theater to see The Big Friendly Giant. He loved listening to the 4 hours of story, and because he knew the story and all the characters, the play really came alive for him. The actual book is above his reading level, so the tape was a good way for him to hear the story.

This CD is great! The reader does an awesome job with the voices of different characters. The book is wonderful. The two are combined, here, for great entertainment.

I also made several recipes from the cookbook within the first week, and my entire family was impressed with the results. The food was easy to prepare and turned out tasting fantastic. The fact that it's healthy is a great bonus. In fact, it tastes too good to be healthy.

I just bought this book a few days ago, and I've already prepared several recipes. They were terrific! The recipes are easy to follow, and most do not contain expensive or hard to find ingredients. Each recipe also includes a nutritional breakdown of calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber and protein. This book is a must have for health conscious cooks!

I have too many cookbooks! This one is the one I go to most often. Nearly all of the recipes are so tasty and easy! The cornflake breading isn't so great, but otherwise, ingredients are easy to come by! Lot's of pictures make this book even nicer. One of my favorites is the Turkey Marsala.

What a delight to read! Though the stories are from "everyday" parents, the book is professionally edited and produced. I appreciated and could relate to many of the stories. There is a good mix of humor, from rolling-on-the-floor-laughing to smiling-and-nodding-my-head. The stories have a nice variety of themes and are about many ages of children, not just the little ones. I bought one for myself and several more to give as gifts to parents, grandparents and parents-to-be!

This book should be in every family library! The stories are short and funny -- so parents can get a quick fix of laughter while they go about their busy day. I've given copies to friends and family as gifts.

These stories were all funny, believable and entertaining. They helped take my mind off the world situaion and focus a little more on enjoying my kids. It was a relief to read a parenting book that doesn't make me feel guilty for whatever I'm not doing in a certain way or lectures me or repeats conversations that no real child and adult would ever have. These were real kids and real parents, in real situations, and I laughed out loud.

After reading Gerda Weissmann Klein's classic All But My Life, I couldn't wait to dig into A Boring Evening at Home. It came as no surprise that this collection of stories is equally as moving and inspiring, and each memory uniquely shares Klein's reflections and thoughts on her life post-Holocaust. In this uplifting work, Klein's words bring appreciation to even the smallest things in life, whether it be a loaf of bread or a simple evening spent at home with the family.

The third book written by Gerda Weissman Klein, A Boring Evening At Home, chronicles her life in America after the Holocaust. Her first book, All But My Life, is the classic story of her survival during World War II. The Hours After: Letters of Love and Longing in War's Aftermath is her own love story with Kurt Klein, a German born American soldier who liberated her from a concentration camp.

This book, a collection of vignettes, delves into the complex and contrasting emotions Klein experiences at different points throughout her life as a result of her Holocaust survival. At times she feels guilt about her survival, yet Klein is gifted with the ability to find beauty and delight in simple daily activities such as buying bread, and celebrating New Years' Eve.

Family weaves her stories together; she speaks of ones lost and also found after the war. She reminisces about her childhood in Poland and the family that did not survive. Klein's relationship with her uncle, her last living relative and a man with a flair for life, makes a particularly amusing narrative.

Despite huge tragedy in her life, Gerda Weissman Klein took hope and inspiration from being able to lead a normal life. It is an uplifting story of life after a dark period in history, and a woman who bore no resentment, but learned to appreciate even A Boring Evening At Home. I recommend this book for everyone; it has a universal message that is uplifting and will make you take an extra moment to appreciate the small joys of everyday life and family.

Gerda Klein has the ability to put together stories that pull fromher historic past, yet identify with everyone who reads them. In a collection of very well written stories, Klein reminds readers what the important things in life are: love, family, honesty, loyalty, and friendship. This book can be read and enjouyed by people of all ages.

The author's extensive experience makes this an outstanding resource that provides the guided direction needed to give traumatized children the opportunity to find relief from the terrors of their traumas. A must for all mental health professionals who work with traumatized children. Readers in general will find the more than 90 drawings by children from violent homes both fascinating and poignant. Author presents the use of art therapy with clarity and simplicity,so that therapists can immediately learn the use of this tool in their work with children who have been abused.

This text offers a solid framework for working with children who have been exposed to violence and who need to ventilate their concerns in a safe and supportive environment. With clinical skill and masterful teaching, Cathy Malchiodi provides an instructive manual that offers clear and informative information on how drawings can be used to help children overcome their negative life experiences. A significant contribution to the mental health field.

This book offers extensive knowledge of both the children's perspectives of their home life and shelter life. Working with this population is trying at best, one never knows if the mother is going back; because of this children learn to cope in ways that are mostly nonverbal. They've learned to stay quiet for the sake of family. Cathy Malchiodi explores this silence; in ways that, only art and other expressive therapies can offer. This book offers insight for new and experienced therapist who are working with this population.

I am a personal friend of the author Lisa Lipkin is not only a great story teller, she haswritten a wonderful book that shows us how we too can learn to spin a great yarn, and more importantly, why we should. Storytelling for Lisa is a mission to bring families closer together and at the same time fuel their creative imaginations. Now, whenever my children ask me to tell them a story I use some of Lisa's fun and easy suggestions to help them make up their own. For instance, when we are sitting around the dinner table I ask them to pretend they are a fork and ask them what it is like to be a fork. They love it. It really gets them thinking or as Lisa would say, "strenghthens their imaginative muscle".

In addition, Bringing the Story Home is chock-full of anecdotal information, references from other sources as well as stories from her personal experiences performing in workshops across the country. I highly recommend this book to parents who want to strengthen their familial bond and inspire their children's creativity.

This book is an easy, entertaining read and a reminder of the profound importance of family members TALKING to each other. Storytelling, and storymaking, allow kids and parents to express real feelings to one another and grapple with difficult issues all while PLAYING a game! In addition, she gives you lots of stories and story starters; this was lots of fun to read.

I'm not a parent but I do work with kids. I'm pretty sure that if you try this book, you'll like it. I've already purchased two copies for friends of mine with children!

I bought this book while on vacation with my three young children. In the moments of tiredness or boredom, when my children usually start to fight with each other, I quickly tried some of the simple activities described in the book. To my amazement, the children loved every minute of it, turning what would have been exasperating times for all of us, into wonderful, giggle filled vacation memories. I needed no crayons, no gagdets, no batteries. We had blue sky, each other and our imaginations.

This book is a wonderfully entertaining read, with exquisite excerpts from many sources, and tons of ideas on how to uncover our inner creativity through the age old craft of storytelling.

This book is indeed a trip back to Haworth. Once you are there you can't forget it and this only strengthens my
memories of this home and town on the Yorkshire Moors. Each family member is giving a short biography. Portraits of family members are shown. The pictures of the parsonage and the area surrounding it are beautiful. I've collected many Bronte books and I would say that this ranks with the best of them.

I just happened to find this book on our library shelf. I intend to purchase it as a gift this coming Christmas for my niece. What a lovely and heartbreaking and informative look into the lives of, especially, three young ladies (Charlotte, Emily, Anne Bronte) and the legacy they created within such a short lifetime...Charlotte dead at 38, Emily at age 30, and Anne at 29. The beautifully presented book contains so many intimate looks into the lives of the family...into the lives of the girls who gave us "Jane Eyre," "Wuthering Heights," and "Agnes Grey." The family seems to have been rife with talent and Ann Dinsdale lovingly and informatively creates a picture of lives cut short but legacies which continue 150 years after each left this earth. With this book as background, reading or rereading each of the girls' novels will be all the more a rewarding experience.

This is a beautifully photographed and well written book. The text has chapers on each family member as well as an overall history of the family.
I found it very interesting to read and felt it gave a good comprehensive look at the family and the times in which they lived without being too weighty or long and the photographs interspersed with the text add just the right touch. Recommended for all Bronte fans.