Home Books

This is the first Japanese cookbook I ever bought, and still one of my favorites. (Full disclosure: I've semiprofessionally taught Japanese cooking classes.) Shizuo Tsuji's book is the ultimate English-language Japanese cookbook of gourmet and traditional foods; this one is about what people actually eat in their homes.

The one problem recipe I've encountered in this book is the sekihan recipe - I use Tsuji's steaming method instead of this one's rice cooker method, because when you cook glutinous rice in a rice cooker it turns out a sticky greasy mess, much like his description. His process is more intensive but in that case it's worth it. The rest of the recipes in this book have been just fine for me, though. I'm impressed by both the simplicity of the directions and the breadth of coverage in less than 100 pages.

I've lived in Japan for several years and have been looking for a cookery book that could show me how to make simple everyday dishes I've enjoyed so often in Japanese homes. From Niku-jaga (a meat and potato dish) to tempura (vegetables or fish deep-fried in batter) to zoni (soup with rice cakes), not to mention sushi, all the home basics are included here. There are lots of photos showing you both the final product and key steps in preparation. The introductory section also has photos of commonly used basic ingredients such as fresh ginger and wasabi (Japanese horseradish) with tips and explanations on how to prepare and use them in dishes. A practical, well-thought out book.

This cookbook was NOT written for the US market, it is a Japanese cookbook written by the Japanese version of home and garden translated. None of the tastes are modified to the US palet. If you want REAL Japanese food, this is the book for you.

This is a great volume of *home cooking* recipes. It has great pictures to help guide you a bit and information on uncommon (in this country) ingredients. I have tried several recipes and while I don't consider them *fast cooking*...what i mean is I wouldnt necessarily start cooking them after a long days work... I don't see them as long or overly invovled.

Once you stock up on the traditional ingredients, flavorings, spices cooking this way is much easier. And much less time consuming... There are a good number of recipes that, once the intitial ingredients are purchased, are very economical (featuring eggs, rice, chicken thighs)

The feel of the book is very good. The pages are smooth and easy to wipe up if you have to, the spine is sturdy (an issue i have with non-spiral cook books) and hasnt broken on me even after two or so years of reading and using. A big plus for a cook book. Excellent quality pictures

Personally, I like more recipes for cook books...i find this book a bit thin. Even so, I think its a great addition to a collection and probably a great first japanese cook book.

My Japanese mother is now elderly and no longer able to cook my favorite dishes, so I needed a Japanese cookbook if I ever wanted to eat homestyle cooking again. This book is wonderful! This is your basic everyday cooking, not fancy restaurant foods (even though they are delicious enough for a restaurant). Recipes are very easy to follow (in addition to helpful hints in preparing them) and there are beautiful color photographs of what the final dish is to look like. I started off with the basics - two different recipes of Japanese pickles - my mother loved them! What better compliment could you ask for!

The Jesse Tree, written by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Bee Willey, is a collection of Bible stories, starting with the Creation story and ending with the story of the Three Wise Men.

But it is much more than just that. In the Introduction of the book, the author explains what a Jesse Tree is. For those who don't know (and I didn't know until I read the book), a Jesse Tree is a term given to a depiction of Jesus' family tree, a piece of art fashioned from wood, stone or stained glass. Pictures of fish, angels, clothes, etc., were used in the art, to remind viewers of the stories of the Bible. The Jesse Trees were most often found in churches. The name came from this Bible verse [Isaiah 11:1]: "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful," which foretold of the birth of Jesus. The stories of the Jesse Tree were often retold during the Advent season.

As mentioned, The Jesse Tree is a collection of Bible stories. But, the stories are told in a unique way. The first story isn't from the Bible, it's the story of a young man watching an old carpenter carve a Jesse Tree in a church. The carpenter wants to be alone to work in peace and quiet. Of course, the young boy is a distraction for him. After the carpenter explains to the boy, in the first story, what a Jesse Tree is, the rest of the stories, all of them Bible stories (except for the last one), are told by the carpenter as he works and the young boy listens - and frequently interrupts with questions and comments. It makes for entertaining, as well as thought-provoking, reading.

The illustrations are bright, bold and charming. They depict the many scenes from the Bible stories in the book. There are also several illustrations of both the carpenter and the young boy. A finished Jesse Tree is added at both the beginning and the end of the book.

What I Like: Everything. I especially like the way the book is set up, with an explanation of a Jesse Tree at the beginning of the book, followed by stories from the Bible. I also like the characters of the carpenter and the young boy. They develop a unique relationship as the book progresses.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review

I have several childrens advent books sitting on my shelf, all unused because we were unmotivated to complete them. Not so with The Jesse Tree. The stories are so engaging that my four kids beg me to get started with the daily reading. Even I have to force myself to stop at one and not continue the entire story in one reading! The illustrations are nice too. This book will become an heirloom in our family because we have enjoyed it so much this season, and probably for many years to come.

I purchased this book several years ago and we have used it every day during Advent since then. The underlying story line is nice but the best feature is that it presents the Old Testament stories leading up to their fulfillment in the New Testament in a very accessible and engaging manner for children. We use it in conjunction with an actual Jesse Tree and we hang an ornament that we have made ourselves after each daily story.

"Much of a story? Much of a story? The Bible wasn't written to entertain you, you know!" So says Mr. Butterfield to a young boy who wanders into a church while Mr. Butterfield is at work carving a Jesse Tree in an old door.

A Jesse Tree is a tree carved with all sorts of symbolic carvings that tell the story of Christ. A ram is carved to represent Isaac and the sacrifice that was provided for Abraham to kill instead of his son Isaac.

A sheaf of corn is carved on the Jesse Tree to symbolize God's faithfulness to Ruth.

Finally at the top of the tree is a star- God's brightest star- Christ is born.

The old man tells the story of each carving represented in an insightful and theologically sound and at the same time simple manner.

This is a terrific read aloud book for bedtime reading. There are great illustrations on every page.

This story brings so much to the holiday season. It makes a GREAT advent activity. If you begin the book on the first of December or even a day or two before, you will have gone through the Bible from the Old Testament until the birth of Jesus by the time Christmas Day arrives. There are also art activities available to do with each story presented in the book so that your child can make a Jesse Tree, too. It makes a great gift.

For those readers who have lost their Mother's or Bubba's recipes The Joan Nathen Holiday Kitchen is a Godsend. Mrs. Nathen writes more than recipes. She gives us history and why the items work for the holiday. When you are at your wits end trying to put together a holiday meal this is the cookbook you will reach for over and over again.

I liked the book so much I sent copies to all my kids so they would not be caught without the tools to put out a great Passover meal. There are several recipes just for haroset. The recipe for Homentashen is easy as is the one for rugala. You will find recipes for fish when you don't want meat. Try the challah For those readers who have lost there Mother's or Buba's recipes The Joan Nathen Holiday Kitchen is a Godsend. Mrs. Nathen writes more than recipes. She gives us history and why the items work for the Holiday. When you are at your wits end trying to put together a holiday meal this is the cookbook you will reach for over and over again.

I liked the book so much I sent copies to all my kids so they would not be caught without the tools to put out a great Passover meal. There are several recipes just for haroset. The recipe for Homentashen is easy as is the one for rugala. You will find recipes for fish when you don't want meat. Try the Challa recipe. I love this book!

This is a great cookbook, save for one detail. On the front cover is a photograph of a Shabbat table. Several items are readily identifiable, and the book contains recipes for them: a challah, a fish, hamentashen. However, there is one unidentifiable item - a "loaf" of yellow and white matter contained within some sort of green wrapping which looks more like a banana leaf than anything else, topped with three spears of asparagas. This is the mystery loaf - what is it? My friends and I began by looking up recipes with every possible ingredient, and eventually read through THE ENTIRE BOOK in a fruitless search for this unidentified food item. What is it? Please help!!!

I now own several of Ms Nathan's cookbooks, and I absolutely recommend them to all my friends and give them to family as gifts.!. All the recipes bring back so many good childhood memories. The recipes are easy to use, easy to read, and I love searching for old recipes and finding them in her book!!! thank you Ms Nathan.

Wonderful recipes, new versions of family favorites without the schmaltz.

I am sending it to my mother for Hannukah!

In this book, Joan Nathan manages to combine history, culture, and very good recipes. More than cooking book, Ms. Nathan offers menus for the same holidays from different Jewish backgrounds. Each recipe is complete, fully annotated and easy to follow. For cooks and/or readers looking to enlarge their knowledge of various Jewish food traditions, The Jewish Holiday Kitchen is a wonderful place to start.

JOSEPH BRODSKY, LENINGRAD: FRAGMENTS succeeds on every level. For those not familiar with Brodsky's brilliant poetry I would recommend that you spend time with WATERMARKS, his tribute to the city of Venice, before coming to this book. Once the gentle subtleties of his poetry are in mind, then spending time perusing this pictorial essay of Brodsky's face and the scenes of Leningrad (the old name for St. Petersburg is used because that was the city's Soviet name used when Brodsky lived there) will form a complete picture of this amazing expatriate. Mikhail Lemkhin addresses not only the pictorial influences on the poet, but also adds some words of wisdom. The tribute at the end of the photographs, in some of Sunsan Sonntag's most eloquent writing, is a fitting closure to this very lovely book. Highly recommended.

If an appreciation of the personal perspective of the poet can deepen the experience of his words, then Lemkhin's photographic tribute to Brodsky's beloved home belongs on our bookshelves alongside the poetry books and essays of the Nobel laureate. Except for an intimate foreword by Milosz, a moving afterword by Sontag, and brief postnotes in which Lemkhin provides background details on several of the images, the message of this book is delivered entirely through black-and-white images. The voice of those visions comes through most clearly when one imagines viewig through the eyes of the poet himself, not only in the streets and the statues, the skies and the stories of Leningrad, but in the mirror of the close-up snapshots of Brodsky himself placed throughout the collection of pictures. Even the mediocre artistic quality of some of the individual snapshots can be forgiven as the soft footsteps of the poet can be heard stepping through his own lines in the movement of these deeply personal worlds of his own home.

I greatly enjoyed the two books by Mikhail Lemkhin: "Missing Frames" and "Fragments". I am especially moved by portraits. There is something about the portraits that make them very different from most others. The pictures are not posed, but don't seem to be too candid either. I get the impression that the subject is aware of the photographer, but is not posing for him, at least not physically. It is as if the subject is exposing his/her inner soul to the camera. The photographs work, in deeply satisfying way, very well. I know I will look at them again and again.

Mikhail Lemkhin's book is a book in the fullest sense: not an album of exquisite photo studies, but a composition which transcribes a train of thought. The pages roll like clouds across the sky: Look, this is what we cherished in our lives, this is what happens to people, to stone, to memory, thanks to a little acid rain, that most noiseless rain, they call it - `time`. This is an experience of the `literature of silence`. Like a telepathic séance. The Covetous Knight's soliloquy over a chest of devaluated bank notes. Poor Knight! Over a hundred shots taken at the speed of 1/100 - in all, why that's just around a second! Someone else's story, made up mostly of the same things or signs as mine or yours, only linked in a different way to yield a personal fate. In particular, or rather, most importantly, it included a City which inspired a dream about the meaning of existence, and a Contemporary who succeeded in rendering the tonality of that meaning. But the second has passed, having absorbed almost all that could be held dear. The light wanes. The sound is off. And a question arises: Out of that which man has lost forever, is there anything that he possesses for eternity? The gaze, seasoned with peppery essence of silver, shows irony, pain, and tenderness.

Samuil Lurie, Neva Magazine (St.Petersburg, Russia)

Photography informs the poetics of Joseph Brodsky, photographer's son and himself no novice to the camera. Mikhail Lemkhin's double homage to the recently deceased poet and the city of his -- and Lemkhin's -- birth should be thought of as photography's own reply to Brodsky. Lemkhin calls his _Joseph Brodsky, Leningrad_ a photo-poem; to this one might only add that it is a particularly Brodskian photo-poem -- Brodskian not in its type of montage but in its predilection for montage, not in its sensibility but in the realities it conveys. To imitate Brodsky is to traduce Brodsky. Lemkhin understands that Brodsky's prime legacy is intellectual independence; his photography engages Brodsky's poetry rather than illustrates it, works with, rather than within, its visual counterparts of Brodsky's speech. The end-result belongs on the bookshelf as much as it does on the coffee-table.

A Journey By Chance
Sally John
Harvest House, 2008
ISBN: 978-0736920919
Reviewed by Rita Goatley for ReviewYourBook.com, 12/08
5 stars
Christian fiction...
This is the first of book in The Other Way Home series. This story is about faith, love, and heartbreak-healing.

Valley Oaks is a small town in 1947. Of course, in a small town every knows what everyone else is doing. Dr Gina Philips arrives in Valley Oaks from Southern California for a cousin's wedding and plans with her mother to stay 4 weeks. Plans change when you fall in love. Brady Olafsson fights his feelings for Gina, but God has plans for these two.
I loved this book

This is an amazing book and series! You feel like you know the characters and get a chance to enjoy and learn from them. Worth the time to read them all! Sally John is a great writer who brings a level a depth to her books. Need some encouragement too? These are the books for you!

You will experience all this as you read this 2-in-1 love story. The "Journey By Chance" refers to what happens in our lives while we are are still making plans. A daughter contemplates her future which has taken surprising twists. Her mother looks to the past in redefining her marriage and future. The plot is intriguing. The portrayal of human nature is accurate. The spiritual insight is profound. The humor is adorable. To the author: I like the way you think!

This was my very first Fiction Christian book I've ever read and I enjoyed it immensely. I'm half way through the second book in the series and I'm a new Sally John fan!

Another wonderful book from Sally D. John. Good characater development, story lines and positive Christian content. I had a hard time putting the book down once I started reading it! I can't wait to read the next book in this series due out this summer.

Lynn's experiences were meaningful because they mimicked the relationship that I had with my mother and others that I visited at the nursing facility where mom was a resident for a number of years. Lynn is a remarkable individual. Working with Alzheimer patients requires a lot of compassion. Some of Lynn's experiences led me to tears and others had me laughing out loud. Her patients were lucky to have her because she understood that inside those trapped bodies were living spirits that needed love, attention, and a voice to communicate their needs. One of Lynn's most powerful passages comes when she speaks about their "human responses to misguided abuses of their personal power."

Also the references and data points should proved to be helpful, particularly for new caregivers of Alzheimer patients.

This book was selected by our bookclub and we had the pleasure of having the author meet with us to discuss the book, In the bookclub every woman had direct experience with a parent or parents with dementia/alzheimer's. We have all read about the devestation of these diseases, the way your loved one melts away, lost in some other time or place.

Lynn Scott's book gives hope. She offers us a new look at these aging individuals, she shows us how aspects of their essential selves remain. She offers us methods and techniques for staying in touch with these wandering minds. Singing old familiar songs, coloring, a photo album of life "before the fall", simple accessible tools for giving and receiving joy and love from those we think we are losing bit by bit, day by day. She shows us how these sufferers still seek and offer love and affection, humor and insight, opportunities to be their best selves and opportunities for us to be better daughters, sons, spouses and caretakers to our dementia-altered family members and friends.

I recommend this book as requried reading for anyone working with or living with patients suffering from dementia and alzheimer's. I think it would be a heartwarming read for anyone seeking silver linings.

This book weaves together the author's journey working with people with Alzheimer's disease, and her journey of resolution with her long-deceased mother, who had dementia in her final years. It is a personal memoir, tender, funny, surprising, and redemptive.

This book consists of short vignettes about Ms. Scott's relationships with Alzheimer clients, primarily while working as an activities director at a facility she calls "Homeport." Her ability to bring out the personalities of her clients through singing, sharing, and laughter really helped me to feel a connection with people who have lived rich, full lives, and who continue to have much to give us despite their memory issues. They are often perceived by most of us as just shells of what they once were, and people who require too much effort to get to know and love. But Ms. Scott has no such prejudices, and is rewarded for it, particularly in finding peace about her own mother's dementia. I am inspired.

A Joyful Encounter... is a tender glimpse into a fragile world where we might find ourselves later in life. Lynn Scott's poetic narrative leaves me with a new understanding of the human spirit reaching out to heal present relationships--and those we thought we'd lost forever. It is truly a beautiful book.

I read the book Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express.

This book is exciting and filled with suspense. The story begins on a girl's family farm that is flooding, near a train trestle that has been destroyed. The girl, Kate Shelley, tries to save two rail workers who have fallen into the river. She realizes that the midnight train with 200 people on board will be coming and that it will fall off the bridge too unless it is warned.

I learned some interesting facts. Kate used a lantern to light her way in the storm. When she finally reached the station, a telegraph was used to warn the train. The storm was so bad Kate's lantern blew out and 40 miles of telegraph lines went out.

I would recommend this book for three reasons. This is a true story about a courageous girl who lived in the 1800's. The story is exciting and filled with danger. It shows that one person can make a difference.

Kate Shelly and the Midnight Express is an amazing book.

I read Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express for my April book report. I enjoyed this book because it was so exciting and filled with suspense. The story begins on a girl's family farm that is flooding, near a train trestle that has been destroyed. The girl, Kate Shelley, tries to stop a train from falling off the wrecked trestle. This is a true story about a courageous girl who lived in the 1800's. This story is filled with suspense and danger. This is an amazing book.

The pictures went along very well with the story. That was a good idea to make the book because it is good to write stories about the past, living in the country and saving people. The book was very good, a little hard, but it was a good story. I understood it very well. My teacher was talking about it. She said it was before WW1.

This book is a "must have" for your child's collection! Not only is this heroic account a wonderful piece of history, but it is also a very good lesson on the power of prayer. I read it to my 1st-3rd grade Bible class along with scriptures on prayer. My students' attention didn't waver for a moment while I read this book to them.

In the story, Kate's mother at first begs her not to attempt to rescue those in a train wreck. Rather than disobey her mother, 15-year-old Kate reasons with her and obtains her permission to go. Her widowed mother promises that their family will be praying for her. Kate then risks her life to save many others. When a tree in the flood waters is just about to collide with the bridge Kate is on, she prays and it is suddenly pulled under the water. Do you suppose Kate succeeds in her mission to save over 200 people? Read this book. You won't be sorry!

This is a wonderful story about a real-life girl whose personal heroism stopped a train from wrecking on a collapsed bridge. This story was profiled on PBS's "Reading Rainbow" program, hosted by Levar Burton. Actor Brian Dennehy narrated the version on PBS. Kate Shelley was a young girl who lived in a small Iowa farmhouse. Near the house, a railroad line crossed a stream called Honey Creek. One night, there was a terrible storm. Kate and her family heard an engine moving on the line to check the bridge -- but then the bridge collapsed, the engine went down, and the Midnight Express was coming! Kate had to make it to the nearest station, but that was across another bridge.... You will have to read the book to find out the rest for yourself. You and your children will love this book!!

Katie Brown Celebrates has over 100 tasty recipes that make your mouth water with anticipation. With an introduction from the author, this wonderful book has month-by-month recipes, though they could be used any time of the year. With an innovative and delightful 6 page picture index at the back, I have to tell you, this book has tempted my taste buds and inspired my own creative party-hosting abilities. There are countless, vibrant and beautiful photographs, with each recipe photo showing you exactly what you're version should look like.

Some recipe titles include:
Parmesan Soup with Swiss Chard-Stuffed Dumplings
Gorgonzola-Stuffed Potatoes
White Bean-Lamb Stew
Herbed Feta Puffs
Pizza Stick Roll-Ups
Green Garden Soup
Lemon-Rhubarb Trifle
Moroccan Braised Chicken
Apple Brownies
Pear Salad With Jicama Radish, and Celery
.....And MUCH, MUCH MORE!

With unique and creative party planning and menu ideas, many of which I have never seen before, you are sure to find everything you will need to delight even the most discerning of guests.
I very highly recommend this book!

(10 out of 10 Diamonds) - Absolutely LOVED it!!


© 2008-2009 Bobbie Crawford-McCoy (Book Reviews By Bobbie).
All rights reserved.

Here is the Cadillac of cookbooks; it even smells good! The beautifully colored glossy pages are divided into the twelve months of the year with plans for a celebration party that includes invitations and decorations to recipes for appetizers through desserts. Easy craft projects are clever. Recipes are easy to follow. Mix and match menus ideas are in the back, along with a color index. It's a can't miss entertainer's tool.

This is Katie Brown's fifth book, newly released from Hachette Books. This latest book is all about celebration.

" After all, the art of celebration is what makes life fun - it is what creates tradition and memories."

Brown provides us with the tools and ideas to make our own celebrations and memories. There are monthly ideas including graduations, birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and many more. Each month is introduced by an anecdote from Brown's life. There are decorations, favours, table settings and of course recipes for every occasion.
There are some great quick ideas - try using different colours and widths of duct tape to give a picnic table a new tablecloth. There are more involved ideas to create elegant tableaus as well.

What I enjoyed most were the recipes. There are some basics that are sure to become family traditions - Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast Roll Ups has been tried and enjoyed in my kitchen. And some new twists on old standbys - Whole Grain Potato Salad, Apple Brownies. As well, there are some recipes that are completely new that I cannot wait to try - Parmesan Soup with Swiss Chard Dumplings is on my list. But my sweet tooth rules - there are some totally decadent desserts featured that had my mouth watering.

The entire book is filled with glossy, colour photographs detailing everything. There is also a section with the recipes broken down into categories - soups, main, desserts etc. Brown has also combined the recipes into new occasions - garden lunch, candlelight dinner and more.

This is a great book to follow or use as inspiration as you create your own celebrations.

Do you love to entertain but need some fresh ideas? Are you afraid to entertain because you think it's too difficult? If you answered yes to either of those questions, Katie Brown Celebrates: Simple and Spectacular Parties All Year Round is for you.

In this book, Katie Brown gives you recipes, and ideas for decorating and favors for a party a month. She covers everything from a Spicy Graduation Celebration to A Birthday Valentine to Holiday Brunch. At the back of the book she has included Mix and Match Menus (using the included recipes) to create even more celebrations. There's also a great picture index in the back.

One of the things I love about this book is that the dishes and decorations don't look professionally made - they look like something that can be duplicated easily. As an example, I've included the picture of the Wafer Cake she made for a Kids' Day party. The cake is made from a mix and the frosting is from a tub. All you have to do is create the decorations.

I tried out the recipe for Herbed Feta Puffs (from The Welcome Wagon) and they are simple and delicious. I have to admit to "sampling" quite a bit of the filling as I made these.

from the glossy full page pictures, to the simple yet elegant recipes. Katie Brown gives us a dinner party to host for every month. Each month has a specific theme which she carries through the recipes and table decorations and setting. Three projects are given for the table layout for each month, and these are all so simple and inexpensive that even I could do them - and that is saying a lot. I do not craft.

The book is very beautiful, I will make sure to keep it out of the kitchen when I am using the recipes though, mine tend to get encrusted in all sorts of unidentifiable substances.

One of the really great things about this book is that the dinners were actually prepared and eaten by Katie and her guests. The pictures of them enjoying the food are fun and natural. (I especially love that Katie is not made-up to within an inch of her life, but is photographed in her natural state - freckles and all.)

I could not, of course, do a review of a cookbook without trying one of the recipes. So, today I made the Honey-spiced almonds to eat on our salad for dinner. The instructions were clear and simple. The ingredients I had on hand. The finished product absolutely delicious.

This was a great book for my 8 yr old daughter. We were looking for books for her to read completely independently that would hold her interest, and this series was just right. Cute illustrations, and it's nice that both Keeker and her horse Plum have fun personalities.

I've read a lot of children's horse fiction, including a lot of classics. Keeker is as good as any of them - funny and full of insight about how ponies think and what makes them tick. This book was wonderful for helping my daughter appreciate that when her pony did something naughty it was nothing personal, and it has also been an avid reading favorite. I love the contrast between pony-mad Keeker, who thinks of nothing but how much she wants a pony of her very own, and Plum, who rarely thinks about little girls "and certainly doesn't want one." The illustrations are delightful, and the conclusion, where Keeker and Plum are starting to form a partnership, is lovely.

The series has seven titles, and each one is delightful. It is an excellent choice for a child just beginning chapter books, especially because of the rich illustrations that break up the text.

I bought this book for my four year old daughter who loves it and my 6 year son loves it too. It is a nice wholesome story. Moral of the story is to treat people the way you want to be treated, or animals in this story. I The illustrations are really nice and the story was engaging enough for my six year old and kept the attention of my four year old who is just starting to sit through shorter chapter books.

This is a cute book! My daughter is [...] and in the second grade though she reads on a 5th grade level. So, it was a little easy for her, but would be great for first time readers. As a mom, I really liked this book because of the main character, Keeker. She is a cute, silly little girl who loves spending time with her pony (just like my daughter!). Many kids books for this age group involve subborn little girls who challenge authority, whine, and say hateful things. So, it's nice for a change to have a cute fun book that my daughter and I can both agree on. I love the whole series and look forward to the release of the new one in Spring 07!

We were looking for some beginning chapter-books that were reasonably intelligent, nonviolent, not filled with weird messages, unpleasant behavior, violence or issue-oriented anxieties... The "Keeker" series was perfect, about a bright-eyed, sometimes silly eight-year-old girl nicknamed Keeker who lives on a farm with her parents and various animals, including a mischievous Shetland pony named Plum.

In the first book, we meet Keeker and her new pony, Plum, who is kind of cantankerous. The story revolves around that eternal pet/human question: who is training whom? Nice, simple, direct prose and clean-lined artwork that is very precise and deceptively "simple" looking... All in all, a fine first book in a promising, enjoyable series. (ReadThatAgain!)

Simply said, AWESOME!!! Ken's writing, his pictures, and his passion for telling the stories of the gardeners and their gardens is inspirational. If you have enjoyed his earlier work or are reading for the first time, you will not be disappointed.

Do you have a NEED to garden, an instinct that simply can't be denied? Do you gain a joy, a tranquility from gardening? And do you long to know of others who share this need and love?
Finally, do you love Ken Druse's other wonderful, wildly beautiful books on same?
"The Passion For Gardening" combines all in a typically (for Druse) gorgeous volume, plus it introduces others for whom gardening is not simply a matter of "plant material" being "installed" by some local garden center. You meet people for whom gardening, in all its aspects(from the Giverney-like selection and placement of the plants to the mundane and often satisfying acts of weeding and soil improvement) is almost a genetic imperative. You meet others for whom gardening is the thing that makes all right with the world.
Even in the dead of Winter, this book is better than three therapy groups or five bottles of pills. It is one you will hold onto till the pages are tattered. It is what that urge to garden is all about.

This book is about people who find gardening as essential as breathing. A passion, for sure, perhaps even fanatical. I know a lot of gardeners who fit into this category and I wouldn't hesitate to include myself as well. Druse's books are always a treat and this one is no exception. He writes about his own garden in New Jersey and how he has developed it since 1995 and his future plans for it. He also profiles ten other gardeners and the spectacular gardens that they have created. Most of these gardens are filled with native plants, trees and shrubs and tropical plants (you won't any flower gardens here). They are all beautiful and the photographs are spectacular, the book is truly a visual feast. He also includes sections with practical advice on transplanting, incorporating water into the garden and garden photography. Perfect for the winter gardener needing their creative juices fired back up before next spring.

Ken Druse is an amazingly gifted writer, photographer and gardener. I would not know what title to give him first. Passion is indeed a word that fits all these talents. In a world were all kinds of technical information is easy to be had, Ken Druse's book goes beyond the world of coffee tables and how to's. This book imbodies what is our gut instincts & passions, It is about responding to our intuition and letting loose with the child within.

The photographs in Druse's books are lessons on their own. I am always tempted to create some new tapestry after looking at them. The photo esay at the end of the book that depicts his own garden through the seasons and the swirling motion of a rain induced flood are my favorite. It is usually from memory that we see our gardens in the clothes of a former season. These images are not only beautifully composed but are great lessons from a seasoned gardener.

I read many a garden book, my sagging bookcases speak to that.Ken's are ones that I often and joyfully return to.

I enjoyed this book more than any "plant" book I have read in years. It is so well written and accompanied with beautiful pictures, I know that I will enjoy revisiting the book many times as I plan my new garden. No matter your garden style, there is something to be found within these pages that will inspire you.