Tea Books

I liked this book so much that we got one copy for every school in the district.We even have a dusty the smoke smeller dragon puppet show to add to the fire safety educational program here.About 20.000 children hear this life saving message each year.Kent Landsberg

I bought this is as a bifthday gift for my daughter. She was having a tea party. I really liked that this was a cute story with fun illustrations as well as imparted a little bit about fire safety, a much needed topic of discussion now that my children are getting old enough.

We really like this book and helped introduce fire safety to our 4.5 & 3 year old girls. It is a bit long for my 3 year old (she didn't sit thru the whole book, but was in the room and able to talk about it afterwards). Gets the conversation going about not hiding, a family meeting place outside of the home, and not going back for treasured items Highly recommended!!

I have been a professional fire fighter for more than twenty years. I thoroughly enjoy reading this book to my kids and to school children whenever I have the chance. The book covers important fire safety topics but folds the safety curriculum into a wonderful story. I have read this story aloud a hundred times and it has always been a wonderful experience. -- If I could, I would place a copy of this book into every young child's classroom.

This book provides important fire safety messages in a way that is not frightening to small chidren. And the storybook format makes it more likely that the messages will be reinforced by the parent or family member reading to their child. Several important fire safety rules are included; don't hide in the burning building, get low and crawl to safety, get out of a burning building quickly, meet at the agreed-upon meeting place, call 911, don't go back into the burning building, etc. A delightful and important book for young children.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892145529/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
The Patisseries of Paris: Chocolatiers, Tea Salons, Ice Cream Parlors, and more
With only nine days and a FULL program for my Paris vacation I won't have time for mistakes of 'so-so' restautants and patisseries. The book seems to be very thorough and well researched, many reviews agree with other 'foodies' opinions. I have 'tagged' the 'must visits' and 'possibles' and will give you my full review after I will have come back (April 2009).
Again, very well organized, well researched and easy to follow.

This book was everything I hoped it would be - exquisite photographs, evocative of a trip I'll never take, yet seems to be lingering in my brain. Love it ... hope there'll be more, just like it.

My sister and I recently returned from 2 weeks in France. While in Paris we visited several of the recommended patisseries and totally enjoyed the wonderful offerings. We actually planned some of our sightseeing and shopping around the location of a few of these. Good idea for Paris!

I love that this book is devoted to Paris' Patisseries, chocolate shops, and tea shops. When you go to Paris, these are special treats for the eyes and taste buds. Even if you are not traveling, it's a luxury to read the description of each shop's specialty and salivate at the photos.

This book lists the vendors by Arrondissement; and there is an index by business type and alphabetical listing. There are beautiful photos and a description of each shop.

Since the book is small (pocket size), the prints are tiny, I wish they used a bolder font. Also, you have to read through the text to find out what the author liked the most about each shop. The reading is great, but if I'm in one Arrond. and trying to figure out which shop to visit, it would be great to have the special dishes highlighted under each shop, to make them easier to find. Maybe make more use of a sidebar to highlight that info?

This cocoa-dusted treasure hits that mythical sweet spot between practical, trusted travel guide and gorgeous, dreamy (if petite) coffee table book. Full of the kind of beautiful photos and evocative lyrical prose that you'll never find in any guide and jam-packed with all of the actionable, expert advice that's missing from all those exquisitely photographed gift books, this one has it all. Organized by arrondissements, you're meant to flip to the neighborhood you're visiting to find the author's recos for the best macarons, tartes or baguettes nearby. If I were visiting France soon, that's just what I'd be doing. Cramming bookmarks between the pages, grabbing a map and taking off before the sun came up. But for now, curled up on my couch in New Jersey, I'm literally reading this like a romantic novel. Cover to cover. Dreaming of Paris...

An intriguing read for teens--and perhaps their parents--about pre-Revolution Boston. Sixteen-year-old Rachel Winslow takes on the ghostly guise of her great-aunt Regina Silsby to fight the British acts of tyranny. She tricks British soldiers, frees prisoners, and confounds a certain spoiled redcoat captain, leaving Boston believing that Regina's spirit truly haunts the city. In the mean time, while she tromps around as the ghost of her great-aunt, Rachel wonders what the truth is about the real Regina Silsby. Was Regina a witch, as the gossips say--or a devoted Christian? Did she practice things darker than the organ in King's Chapel, or was she simply pouring out her soul to God through music as she mourned her dead fiance? Rachel investigates and discovers that all the superstitions of the townspeople are for nothing. Regina Silsby was a godly young woman who died a tragic death. Rachel sees the damage to a person's reputation that idle gossip about the supernatural can do, and she rejects the untruthful stories. However, Rachel is left with another problem--a spoiled British captain is determined to make the so-called ghost pay for humiliating him....

Regina Silsby's Secret War is a young adult novel that greatly impressed me as a reader and reviewer. With its realistic language and situations, this book is one I highly recommend. Rachel's reliance on God's guidance before making the important decisions she had to make was inspiring. Mr. Brodeur brings the pre-Revolutionary time period to life in this novel, and I also highly recommend its sequel, Regina Silsby's Phantom Militia, which continues Rachel's story further. She brings along a companion ghost from the grave in the sequel, adding to the excitement and danger. I also personally think these two novels would make a great movie that would be a wholesome choice for teens.

The Old English or King's English or English or whatever it is, the style of the language, was great fun to read at the beginning. Then, you get to know the setting, Boston in the 1700s. Neat details about daily life in that time keep your interest. For example, Rachel (the protagonist) is outside in the cold doing laundry in a tub or fetching firewood.

Then you get to know all the characters. There are great characters. Rachel and her family are the good guys. There is a British soldier who moves into their house. Him and his troops are the bad guys. There's townsfolk, a cemetary, horses, ships, a ghost, knife throwing... all kinds of cool stuff to make a great adventure!

Then, at the end, the adventure unfolds. Like great historical fiction does, the story is intertwined with real life events; the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution.

I must say I was a bit worried that this book would be a snooze fest since it is "Christian Fiction for Young Readers". Boy, was I surprised! It is simply a great adventure story with fun on EVERY page.

[...]

This book is a must-read and must-have for any reader's collection. It is set in the Boston Tea Party-period, and Rachel Winslow is the very likable heroine who has a clever plan of disguising herself as a ghost...but I will not give it all away, you must read the book for yourself.

The writing is so elaborate, you feel as if you were really there in the story, thanks to the vivid expressions, imager, and vocabulary.

You will really enjoy this book if buy it, so get your copy today!

I recently read "Regina Silsby's Secret War" as a primer to reading it with my 10 year old daughter and got hooked!! The vocabulary is rich, the pace is fast, and the entire story is extremely believable and engaging. My 10 year old daughter is now reading it and is thrilled with the antics and courage of Rachel, the main character. She's also excited about how well the plot ties in with her recent history lessons about the Boston Tea Party, Stamp Act, Quartering Act and the other Intolerable Acts. Kudos to Thomas Broduer for an extremely well written book that's fun to read for kids and adults!

Anyone who grew up struggling to make ends meet should read this book. Many of the stories had me transported back to my childhood in Lorain Ohio, in my own working class history. Great read.

Very well written I would recommend it to anyone interested in the expericences of working class females.

Edited by the working-class lesbian feminist author and activist, Michelle Tea, "Without a Net" powerfully documents the diverse lives of women living in poverty. While this inclusive multi-narrative text dramatically testifies to the strength of low-income women in the United States, it fails, however, to provide any real collective strategy for female resistance to capitalist exploitation. Nevertheless, I applaud this book for holding the mainstream feminist movement accountable for its classism and insisting, once-and-for-all, that economic justice is integral to women's liberation.

This is absolutely one of my favorite books- I've recommended it to everyone and so far no one's been disappointed, regardless of their gender or class background. Amazing book- raw and powerful, an inspiring collection of work. Many of the stories can be really painful or difficult to read, but altogether the collection leave a bold and positive impression of strength and beauty in unexpected (or overlooked) places. It's also a great introduction to a lot of kick-ass female writers that you might not be familiar with.

My parents divorced when I was 7 years old. My mother had primary custody. She was the first in her family to get a college education, even though she had to go back to night-school to finish her degree due to my arrival on the scene. Dad had a master's degree in social work, never a big money-making field. So, during my early years, we were fairly poor and I spent a whole lot of time with many different babysitters while Mom labored in the white-collar world to move us up from working class to middle class.

I don't have many memories of my poor years. When I was 6 or 7, I do remember pretending a porcelain cat bought at a yard sale with my grandmother was actually a Barbie doll, because we couldn't afford a real Barbie at the time. But I was young and didn't really figure out that money was at all tight until middle school. Then the typical image-conscious BS became part of my existence. I always worked to make extra for school clothes, so I could keep up appearances. I had to have the "right" Levis. The "right" WBLM t-shirt. The L.L. Bean tote bag purse. I couldn't look like one of those Salvation Army rejects. Thrift stores were not cool where I came from, possibly because the racks were filled with redneck cast-offs. Kids can be so stupid.

This book gave me a couple of "Aha!" moments, particularly when the contributors wrote about fish-out-of-water feelings when functioning within different social castes. Though I grew up working and then middle class, I went to a very upper class college. There were definitely times when I felt like I was "passing," as some authors put it. My upbringing remained a part of me, but not as some deep-seated shame. I felt power from my roots. It was nice to read about other women who also felt working class pride, pride in their survival skills and values.

I could also relate to the sense of loss of those who felt somewhere in between their class of origin and their current economic class. You can't really go home again, after a certain point. Yet, you never feel like you fully belong where you are either. You have to create a place for yourself. And that's what a lot of these women write about: finding their place.

My mom gave me the compilation of the 3 books and I enjoy reading them to myself and to my fiance'. The stories are real and I have the same temperment so it is like an autobiography of the Life I hope to have, You must read Marriage 911 and Still lickin' the spoon also fun and you actually learn something while laughing. I did.

This book is wonderful! I have read it 5 times and have purchased 10 or more copies and given them to friends! They all loved it and have been blessing others with the book as well. This book made me laugh and cry at times. It encouraged me. It let me know that others make the same mistakes I do. It was scary to think that there are 2 of us in the world that get ourselves into such zany situations! This is a must read for parents! Thank you for sharing your life with us. A Devoted Fan.

Becky and Ruthie began right. This is the book that started the whole WORM phenomena. This book was so much fun and so inspiring that at times I use it when teaching Adult Bible classes. The cat in the cooler is one of my favorite parts. Thanks Becky. Thanks Ruthie.

I would love to meet Becky and the rest of her family!! This was the first book I read by her. I was hooked. I always can't wait til her next book comes available. She is great, she must be the best friend, a woman could ever have. She is not afraid to be herself. If you want a great comedy with inspiration, too, Becky Freeman books are a must for your collection. A friend of mine got me hooked and I got others hooked as well on her books.

I met this book when it was sandwiched between half a dozen others, all of which a friend had loaned to me. I read it last and almost died laughing! Mrs. Freeman is genuine as well as humorous, which keeps the book from being just a running comedy; she really touches home with certain issues that I can relate to. I have, God willing, most of my life ahead of me and I love to hear stories from people who have "been there, done that" as this lady has. Thank you so much, Mrs. Freeman!

I came across this calendar some years ago and have enjoyed it ever since. In a stressful world this calendar provides me with peace and calm. The pictures are beautiful, colorful and filled with charm. The teatime delicacies accompanying the table settings add to the joy and deliciousness of this calendar. The informative text completes this perfect calendar. Tea anyone?

Teapots are fascinating - so frivolous, yet so necessary - to
hold the most wonderful beverage invented.
Teapot Calendars are the next best thing to having the real
item in your hands. The layouts of the calendars are absolutely
wonderful, they make you feel as if you are a part of the entire
tea ceremony and make you wish the world had more interest in the
art of teamaking instead of warmaking.
The selection of teapots and their different styles, colours
and patterns make you realise that humans can see every different
facet of life. The photography is exhilarating and brings to mind nature's masterpiece of colour ranges.
Thank you to Joni Miller and the Production Team behind these
calendars. I look forward to my calender every year!
more

If you are teapot collector, this is the calendar for you; for the last 4 years, I have purchased the teapot calendar. I enjoy the history associated with each teapot, as well as some of the tidbits for tea pleasure.

Love your calendar - but I really loved the 2005 Debby DuBay Limoges Tea Pot photographed in Feb 2005. Can you please get her to include another one of her lovelies?

As always the 2006 Teapot Calendar is simply a delight. The photos are so detailed and sumptuous that you feel as if you are sitting down at that exact table for tea. It brings back all the wonderful memories of having tea parties as a child, but oh! so much more elegantly! Not only are teapots featured, but tea cups, and tea cakes or cookies that would appropriately be served with that particular type of tea or pot. Each month has a little limerick or ditty about tea and also a few lines about the particular pot being pictured, or the company who made the teapot, or some other fascinating fact about tea. I have been purchasing this calendar for the last six years and I have never been disappointed! If you love teapots, the art of taking tea, or anything to do with tea, you will be absolutely entranced with this calendar.

Excellent cookbook with easy to follow recipes, accompanied by wonderful, funny anecdotes!

'Food That Really Schnmecks' and 'More Food That Really Schmecks' are both wonderful books. Story books with recipes. I received Edna Staebler's 'Food that Really Schmecks' as a gift from my Grandmother. It's very special to me not only because of whom it's from but because my entire family uses these recipes - they're handed down from generation to generation. I'm from Kitchener - the same area as Edna - she and her recipes are very popular there and I am now 'spreading' them in the US.

Edna's recipes are so easy to follow and prepare and the food really does "schmeck"! Wonderful books from a very friendly, wonderful woman. I wish she had time to publish more "schmeck's". These books are worth buying.

Written by award-winning journalist Edna Staebler, Food that Really Schmecks: Mennonite Country Cooking is the commemorative edition of a classic cookbook originally published in 1968, now featuring a new foreword by award-winning author Wayson Choy and a new introduction by food writer Rose Murray. Interspersed with Staebler's true stories and anecdotes about cooking, Mennonites, her own family, and daily life in the Waterloo region, recipes in Food That Really Schmecks range from Crusty Chicken Potpie to Beet and Red Cabbage Salad to Porridge Bread, Maple Custard, Emanuel's Dandelion Wine, and much more. A mouth-watering medley of country home cooking recipes that pass the test of time with flying colors.

If I could only have 2 or 3 cookbooks, this would be one of them. I have been using this and "More Food that Really Schmecks" for years. The recipes are easy, interesting and taste great! There's a no-nonsense, comforting quality to them. The short stories add interest. I have over 400 cookbooks and keep going back to this favorite.

I'm not a big cook, but this is one cookbook that I have added to my library. Edna Staebler, now 97 years of age, was a native of the Waterloo region of Ontario, which is really the heart of Canada's German community, and is where many Mennonites and Amish settled. Although she worked as a journalist for some time, she eventually put together this cookbook based on recipies that she had gathered primarily from fiends and family. Many of the recipies are Mennonite or influenced by Mennonite and German cooking. This book also consists of a number of anecdotes, so not only is it a great cookbook, but an entertaining read as well.

Part encyclopedic, part anecdotal, The Green Tea User's Manual has something for everyone. The author writes from personal experience at both ends of the spectrum, which makes for a fascinating way to read a wealth of information. Anyone who enjoys green tea (or black, for that matter) will thoroughly enjoy this little gem.

I love this little book! Green tea is all the rage, and I keep seeing articles on its health benefits. But it's also a bit of mystery - how to brew it, how to buy it, even what it is (as opposed to black tea). This small but mighty guide explains those mysteries one by one. There's a lot packed in here. The author is an expert - a "tea sommelier" (who knew such a thing existed?). But her tone is unpretentious, encouraging, charming and fun. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in exploring green tea but doesn't really know where to start.

I wish that more things in life came with a nice, compact, informative manual. :-) I recommend this book to those just beginning their adventure into green teas and also for those who enjoy green tea but don't really know much about finer greens. It starts out by covering the absolute basics like what tea is, how to appreciate it, potential health benefits, brewing basics, etc. I really liked her descriptions of how to brew in a cup/mug, teapot and guywan. Also, she's spot on with infusion baskets. Tea balls or clamp spoons are terrible and she doesn't mind saying so! She then moves on to explore some of the world's most enjoyed green teas from "Gen Mai Cha" to "Yin Hao". She does an excellent job of explaining what to look for in each tea, how to brew them and infuses her personal experiences to further broaden understanding. And, not one to leave it at that, she also talks about tea bags, what to do with spent leaves and liquor, using tea as dye and tosses in some green tea recipes that sound fantastic. I put this book on the shelf right alongside the classic "Tea Companion" by Pettigrew and "The Book of Green Tea" by Rosen. Happy tea drinking!

This little book on green tea is written by an experienced, well, maybe professional I should have said, tea drinker and pratitioner in the US. You will get lots of information on this little book. It will turn you into a *knowledgeable* tea drinker overnight.
Helen gives a brief survey on the popular and finer green teas as well as on tea preparations and teawares... It would be a great pleasure to read. However, I wish she would make the description more elaborate. For example, if she could give a more detailed description on the Dragon Well, High Mountain (Dong Ding--Cold Summit) OOlong, Bi Luo Chun, ...the finer teas, then a greater pleasure to read.
Also you can find many useful and trustworthy resources from which you order quality teas. I highly recommend this book to any tea lovers as well as anyone who wants to give it a shot to tea!

Good, practical advice. Helen even lists green tea by brand name and tells you how to brew each one differently so that each tea's finest qualities are brought out. Read this book and you will be a "green tea expert" in no time.

Simlpy a great sports book

A First Hand Brooklyn Dodger history book, with a sense of humor, an informed point of view with a B/Q attitude...Bravo!!!

Unlike other books in this genre, does not romanticize the Brooklyn Dodgers nor mythologizes Jackie Robinson's contributions to baseball. This is an honest, well-written insider's account of baseball in the fifties and sixties.

This is a Gem, Funny First Hand history plus Harold Parrott knows how to write.

I am finally startung to understand why baseball has the "problems" it has. As Mr Parrott says these "Lords" truly are "little boys with big wallets"

Enjoy

This book was thouroughly enjoyable. I enjoyed the insights
and the annecdotes. Good sports reading-

My grandson is totally in love with Miss Spider Books. He carries them around with him all the time. When his dad tells him to get a book to read at bedtime (or anytime) he ALWAYS gets one of his Miss Spider Books. He loves this one even more because the three book come in a case with a handle so it's easier for him to carry them around, where they slide and fall out of his little hands.

These are great books. I've bought them as gifts for several friends' kids. The pictures are colorful and beautifully drawn, the language is clever, and I keep noticing new little details every time I read them to my daughter.

I love every Little Miss Spider book for the wonderful stories, but especially the illustrations. David Kirk's angles and perspectives on each page combined with unique color saturate your visual senses. His use of "camera angles" and points of view are fantastic. He is one of the inspirations I use when I draw.

I was originally given Miss Spider's ABCs as a gift when my daughter was born. I LOVE it. Even when she was an infant she seemed to be captivated by the brightly colored illustrations. Now at 6 months she reaches for the pictures and always gives a big smile at the ending "suprise!" I then bought Miss Spider's Tea Party (board book edition), and she really seems to love the rhymes. I am now here buying Miss Spider's New Car and wishing I had just bought the set (for only like $2 more!) to begin with. These books are great for even babies, but I know she will enjoy them as she grows older and can understand them better as well.

Even after almost three years, I still love to read and re-read these books to my girls. David Kirk's artwork is rich and deeply textured and the words (particularly in Miss Spider's ABCs) are unusual, roll of the tongue, and, in my experience, pique children's interest -- I particularly love introducing my girls to "hummingbirds hide inside irises" and "jumping june bugs kiss katydids" His books are where poetry meets art for the under five set. Added plus: I get a break from chanting "Brown, Bear"! For this alone I am grateful.