Town Books

It is awonderful book. I loved the recipes. GREAT BOOK TO GIVE AS A GIFT.

The other day I went through my cookbooks, to see if I could weed some out, because I have too many to mention. It's hard getting rid of a cookbook, especially one with a few recipes in it that you've come to love. But I've scanned the recipes I need to keep forever into my MacBook. However, there were an even dozen I couldn't part with. These are books I turn to time and time again, even though I consider myself somewhat of a gourmet chef.

THE SUGAR MILL CARIBBEAN COOKBOOK is one of the ones I just had to keep, if only for the "Beach Breakfast" recipe right at the beginning of the book on page 4. Ms. Jinx is oh so right when she says the "spicy combination of Caribbean black beans and eggs give any morning a zingy lift-off." But, of course, you don't keep a cookbook for only one recipe, but not to worry, there is plenty more in this wonderful cookbook, like the "Lobster or Crab Eggs Benedict". Now that's a wonderful menu for a Sunday brunch and it goes perfectly with a Bloody Mary.

But please don't think this book is just about breakfast just because I chose to highlight a couple of good ones. If you want a satisfying, but not overfilling evening meal, try the "Fish with Coral Sunset Sauce" on page 122, it is simply divine. Then there is the "Pan-Seared Scallops with Tomato-Mango Salsa" on page 133, or the "Garden Patch Pasta" on page 102 and I better stop here, because I could go on and on, gushing about the wonderful recipes in this cookbook, but I think you have the picture by now. I really love this book, probably because every recipe in it is to die for.

I live in the Florida keys and foods from the islands of the caribbean are all over the islands, however, this book of recipes by far expands ones selection of choices. The recipes are well written for following instructions easily. the added info in the side bars is interesting and easily put to use with other recipes in the book. If you like food from the islands, all the islands of the caribbean, this book is a source for a quick trip to the island of your choice.
I lost my first copy to Wilma (the huricane). Had to buy another because this book is that good. But it, you'll love it! ;-)

I had been eyeing this book for quite awhile, for more than a year actually, because my husband and I were going to the BVI for our honeymoon. When we finally went on our honeymoon, through dumb luck and fate, we got a room down the road from the Sugar Mill, and we decided to go to their famous restaurant for a night out. That night out turned into one of the most fantastic, memorable dining experiences we'd ever had... The night was like something out of a fancy movie. Blown away by the food, I bought the cookbook at the gift shop after dinner. Flipping through it in the hotel, I almost couldn't wait to go home and try out some of their recipes. I ended up scribbling down drink mixes we had when we went out and about town in the BVI, so this cookbook has turned into a honeymoon food scrapbook for me.

Now, I know that back story makes me a little biased, but I have to say that even if I just bought it without going to the restaurant, I'd still think this cookbook is superb. It's so clearly written and each recipe has a little paragraph "bio" associated with it discussing either its creation, history, or interesting info on the ingredients or the tradition behind the food. That little paragraph adds to the local color and feel that resonates through this whole cookbook. You can almost taste and feel the Caribbean when you read this book. Another thing I really like is that this book will give you the recipe as it's served at their restaurant, adding to the authentic feel of the book... But the book also acknowledges that some of the ingredients easily available to them in the BVI might be hard to impossible to find on the mainland, so they give you feasible substitutions that don't hurt the taste or presentation at all. Also included are little blurbs on the various Caribbean islands, customs, or other interesting facts.

I'd say most of these recipes are what I like to call "grown-up recipes." Meaning, not all of them you'll throw together in 30 minutes, that these recipes are sophisticated, adult foods that will probably require a little planning and time, perfect for special occasions (or a nice dinner you'd like to feel like a special occasion). I know this is a big negative for some people, but for me it's nice to own a recipe book that involves some serious cooking. I own far too many cookbooks with recipes that call for throwing together various canned soups and canned vegetables, or other processed foods like Bisquick or freezer rolls, and baking it for 30 minutes, and serving. It's nice to have a recipe book that doesn't include 45 different ways to use "cream of" Campbell's soups, and talks about cooking with things like star fruit and plantains and all sorts of exotic fruits and ingredients you see at the grocery store and wonder "I wonder what you use that for?" :D This is certainly a "from scratch" cookbook, not a "30 minute meals" sort of deal.

The categories in this book are: Sunrise Specials (breakfast foods), Snacks, Nibbles, and Island Appetizers, Carnival of Soups, Calypso Salads and Side Dishes, Pastas Under the Palms, From the Fish Pot (seafood), Birds of Paradise (poultry), Tropical Meat Waves (all other meat), Sugar Island Sweets (desserts), and Trade Wind Cocktails (an essential for summer parties as it's the drink recipes... :D). Some of my favorite recipes are curried citrus rice, christophene and sausage filled flank steak, lime cream pasta, pina colada pancakes and cake (the latter being my husband's new favorite birthday cake), lobster chowder, and conch chowder. And I have a list of "need to try" recipes from this book as long as my arm.

I love this cookbook. It's the BVI wrapped up in a 245 page book. There are only two downsides as far as I can see to this book... The first one being that it doesn't include this awesome drink recipe that we had while we were there and are just dying to have again but nobody knows how to make... And the second being that every time I cook something from it, my husband and I remember how much fun we had and how beautiful this restaurant was, and then we start missing Tortola terribly... :)

My husband and I both love to cook and we picked up this cookbook shortly before our carribean cruise to introduce ourselves to the cuisine. We haven't stopped using the book since. The recipes are easy to follow and a great selection. The ingredients are for the most part easy to find or substitute for. I've won several cook-offs with recipes from this book, the rum glazed ribs and black bottom banana pie is to die for.

Great book for any cat lover

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

The Book I am going to review is called "The Town Cats" by Lloyd Alexander, author of the Prydain chronicles. This book resembles Aesop's fables, with animals acting like men, but it does not have so many morals. This book is a collection of short tales about cats, acting in the capacity of men. It doesn't fall into any generic category; however, it is humorous, and some of the stories could be called fairy tales.
For example, one of the stories begins like this: a tailor becomes rich. He starts acting strange, trying to live up to his wealth. Yet his strange behavior does not agree with his cat, Vaska. In a strange and hilarious way, Vaska teaches his master how to act normal again. That is one of the stories with more of a moral at the end.
The book is very funny, and it is original. It has a particularly funny tale about a cat and his master, a painter. The subjects he paints are never satisfied, and they never come to sit and let him draw them. Then, the cat takes up the brush, and the subjects learn a lesson about their image of themselves.
As the author says, "Cats being more sensible than the rest of us, the idea of a set of tales demonstrating this came easily to mind. The problem wasn't finding enough examples, but keeping them to a manageable number." I think he did a good job of showing humans' greed and lack of sense, and he made it neither too short, nor too long, but just right.
Lloyd Alexander is a great author. He spun eight great tales about cats into a wonderful book. I recommend it to cat lovers, and people who like to laugh (I include myself in both categories).

Lloyd Alexander is great at putting emotions into his books. I've never laughed out loud because a book was funny until I read his books. I loved how smart the cats were.

I am a big fan of Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, and saw that he had written other books as well, so I decided to check them out. This was the first that I read, and I must say that I am looking forward to reading the rest even more now. This book is an excellent collection of short fairy tales starring feline heroes/heroines. Each story is mean to teach a lesson, as in Aesop's Fables (I am not sure why a previous reviewer said that this was not the case, as it is rather obvious from reading the book). I will give only one example, as I do not want to give too much of the book away. One story which Alexender tells is about a Cat and a fiddler. The fiddler is invited to play for the cats evening party, and enjoys it so much he promises to come back again the next week. During the week he is offered a tidy sum of money to play for a prestigious man on the same night that he was to play for the cats. The fiddler does the right thing and keeps his promise to the cats, and after a few more incidents in which he also keeps his word even though it is to his immediate disadvantage, he is rewarded by the royalty of his country for his goodness.

Mind you, it is not just simply stories with a moral either. Alexander manages to make the stories delightfully funny as well. It almost reminds me of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories (the method of telling the story, not the content), and he has some of Kipling's sense of humor as well.

This is one of those rare books that has the mark of a true fairy tale: both children and adults (those who are not too serious, mind you) are delighted by them. They are fun enough for children to enjoy and deep enough for adults to read withough feeling as if they were wasting their time on nonsense. Such a combination is becoming harder and harder to find these days, and Alexander provides us with a gem in the fading art of fairy tale telling.

Overall grade: A

"Never take a cat for granted!," warns the back-cover copy of this collection, and Alexander, like myself, has obviously enjoyed a long association with felines and knows whereof he speaks. I originally read this book out of the library years ago and was delighted to find it back in print. Any child (or adult) for whom Puss-in-Boots was a major hero will want to have it in his collection. Alexander's cat-heroes, from Pescaro, who dupes an unwelcome royal bureaucrat in the title story, through Witling in "The Apprentice Cat," may all be able to talk, but otherwise they clearly *think* like cats--sometimes to the detriment of the people around them. (As Mark Twain famously declared, "If man could be crossed with the cat, it would be an improvement for the man, and a comedown for the cat.") There's Margot, who helps a princess marry the man she wants; Baraka, who plays chess and teaches the sultan a valuable lesson; Quickset, who relieves his village of the tyranny of a greedy storekeeper; Vaska, who shows his human the folly of trying to imitate one's betters; Hillesum, who saves the career of the painter he lives with; and the Master of Revels, who helps the fiddler Nicholas earn the recognition that is his proper due. Laszlo Kubinyi's illustrations are as delightful as the stories (don't miss the vignette on the title page). This book will remain on my shelf till the floor falls through.

I've just finished this book, and loved it. I laughed out loud many times, and was also saddened many times.

The book is written in the first person by someone other than the central character, and the storyteller was a very kind and gentle soul. He was basically a wonderful human being, and someone I would love to have known. I actually liked him much more than Jenny Dorset.

Just one thing: I don't understand why the book jacket shows a brunette of only average looks. Obviously the artist didn't read the book - it clearly mentions, and many times, that Jenny was uncommonly beautiful, and had golden-blonde hair...

This book is a treasure to read!! Very funny, full of wit and charm. I fell in love with this book while on vacation in South Carolina and read it in a 12 hour marathon!! This book is a delight!! Thank You Mr. Phillip Lee Williams for writing such a gem of a book!!

This book is funny and I loved it.

Mr. Williams' story is filled with rollicking humor, wit, and wisdom. Vividly written, the reader is drawn into 18th century Charleston, and into the lives of two families, the Dorsets and the Symthes. Each and every character is memorable. You will laugh and cry reading this book. It has a permament place in my personal library. I loved it so much, I rushed out and bought several copies to give to friends and family. Mr. Williams deserves far more credit for his writing genius!

Williams' ambitious novel The True & Authentic History of Jenny Dorset is a refreshing medley of life in Charleston's 18th century, seasoned tastily with charming wit and intriguing characters. A truly enjoyable read, the tale is written with a sincere flare and comes alive to the reader.

More notably is the method in which Williams characterizes each member of the families involved in the story's plot - from the dueling heads, Mr. Dorset and Mr. Smythe, to Old Bob in his amusing stages of senility, and the ostentatious Jenny Dorset herself.

The reader will undoubtedly find the rich story line is highly entertaining, and written in a very lively manner. The tale is penned from the perspective of Henry Hawthorne, the Dorset's discerning and subdued family man servant. Hawthorne patiently abides by the family's somewhat eccentric and unruly lifestyle, and writes about his experiences first-hand, in memoir-like style.

Indeed, this novel is a great story-tellers' delight! The True & Authentic History of Jenny Dorset manifests very engaging humour with every flip of a page - more than once have I been in the throws of violent chuckles over it's whimsical comments and situations. It has quickly grown to be one of my favorites. I highly recommend it.

I bought this to supplement the 1961 Random House edition (balance of textual corrections and respect for the original, matches most annotations), Modern Library edition (most portable, attractive package as all ML editions, typography a tad hard on my 40-something eyes) and '80s "Gabler edition" (hotly contested, worth keeping as a collector's item as it's been largely withdrawn).

The original Shakespeare & Co. printings are out of my league, although I've seen several. Until I hit the lottery, this is the closest I'll own. A quick Google will find you first edition, first printing copies selling for up to 100k. I doubt my stimulus check is that big.

This is a textual facsimile - a photo reproduction of the original, 1000-copy first edition - copy #784, to be exact. It also reproduces the cover typography and the Shakespeare and Co. title page, with an added, Orchises title page to keep the record clear. It contains the original colophon. It doesn't contain the forward, letter from Joyce to Bennett Cerf or Judge Woolsey opinion you're probably used to seeing in American editions.

In a physical sense, it's hard to say how this is a facsimile, other than Orchises has reproduced the full size of the original. Of course, the paper and binding material are different.

Most S. & Co. editions came unbound in blue-green wrappers, and could be bound as desired. This is why you see original printings in such disparate bindings. Orchises has reproduced the color of the original wrappers, although their binding looks a little more green than the original wrappers (maybe the color has shifted on those?). In any case, it's a solid cloth binding, comparable to, say, a better-than-average library binding. Bound size given as 9.6 x 7.5 x 1.7 inches, I measure it a hair taller. I daresay it will hold up to extended use.

In addition to giving the slight tingle of pleasure that comes from knowing you're reading the text as originally sold at 12, Rue de l'Odeon, this edition is much more comfortable on my eyes than the others. I like the typeface used by original printer Maurice Darantiere for readability, but haven't gotten a definitive answer as to what it is - does anyone know? Somehow, it just feels right.

Orchises says the paper is 50-pound, ph-balanced (aka acid-free) paper, and that seems about right. It's really good paper, with a slight, almost visually undetectable textured finish that feels good to the fingers. Excellent paper-to-ink contrast. I can, and will, read this all day.

For the average reader, there's no earthly reason to spend this amount on a novel, and the ML edition will be both more convenient and, with its front material, more informative. For someone who rereads Ulysses for pleasure, it's a joy. The 1922 text has been analyzed to death, and is not without errors (2,000? 3,000? 5,000? the number gets larger each time it's mentioned). It was perhaps inevitable in a book with no clear reference manuscript - even the extant manuscripts were to some degree created by Joyce after the fact for sale. Part of one manuscript was burned by the angry husband of a typist, who found its content objectionable. An appreciable percentage of the text was written as corrections on the original proofs.

Hence the charming apology from Sylvia Beach reproduced in this facsimile: "The publisher asks the reader's indulgence for typographical errors unavoidable in the exceptional circumstances. S.B."

But each effort to correct the errors added more errors, as well as layers of contention. See the well-documented battle over the Gabler edition. Or the disastrous 1998 "Reader's edition" by Danis Rose. The original is as good as any for reading, and if you care enough to buy a facsimile, you will have other editions for comparison anyway.

For scholarly use, this isn't the best edition, since most standard annotations match the Random House or Modern Library editions. Unless you're beyond Ulysses 101 and want to compare editions.

This is one of three first-edition facsimiles that have been published. I can't speak to the others, but I can recommend this one. Kudos to Orchises, and I hope they keep it in print. Or not, so my copy will become a minor-league collector's item.

Ulysses has become an obsession and and a world in and of itself for its partisans, of whom I am one. The Ulysses obsession is much like the Higher Criticism surrounding the Sherlock Holmes canon. Many people find it bizarre, and I can hardly disagree. If, like me, you've got the bug, I don't have to explain it to you. This is an edition for you.

If you don't, I paraphrase Louis Armstrong: "If you have to ask, you'll never know."

James Joyce's Ulysses closely parallels the events of Homer's The Odyssey, but this journey is far more surreal than Homer could have ever dreamt. The story is set in one day, and mostly follows the principal character Leopold Bloom going through the day.
Ulysses does not follow typical conventions of literature, and therein lies its beauty and its freedom. The text is littered with puns and seemingly nonsensical and comical language, one of the highlights being the section written as a play in which all manner of chaos takes place. This text may at first appear to be senseless but perseverence will reward those who would spend time examining its language, which is often made up of multiple words, each constituent part of which relates to a wider topic. This is, in a sense, a scholalry text, as it is so much more than a story, and you need to have the willingness to at least attempt to understand the broader referential context, much of which I am also working on. If that seems like too much hard work, then I doubt Ulysses would provide much enjoyment to you, although that's not to say it can't be read without additional knowledge. It does help to know some of the things going on in Joyce's mind and the history/culture of his beloved Ireland.
The version being reviewed here is by Orchises Press, which is a fantastic reproduction of the very first edition of Ulysses printed by Shakespeare and Company. The binding is quite tight and the print quality superb. There is also plenty of space for literary scholars to scribble notes. As it is a sturdy edition, this is built to last. There is no introduction to the text or any essays, and some may prefer this. For first time readers, it can be better to read the text without any preconceptions, just like people who would have read it when it was first published. The cloth cover on this edition, as others have commented, appears a little greener than the original, but most surviving originals have aged to appear exactly like this anyway. As it so closely resembles a vintage copy, it is a very exciting prospect to read Ulysses in the same way its principal adoptors did in the early 1920s. As it is not a vintage copy, you do not need to worry about being ever so careful. Of course, it is still expensive and it is best to treat it with care, but if you had a 1922 copy, you would probably keep it in a cabinet, trying not to disturb its delicate state. For owners of the original who would love to read their vintage copy, but too afraid to, this may be a great solution. Ordering this from the UK from Amazon, it took about three weeks to arrive here from the US, and it was a really terrific moment when it arrived, removing the clingfilm and starting reading it. It is, as a side note, quite a shame that UK readers do not favour hardback editions of books. It is quite difficult to buy new editions of classic books on hardback, unless of course, you turn to the second hand market. It is just a shame that the UK does not seem to appreciate premeire hardback editions of classic texts. oh well...
In many ways the Orchises Press version suits both collectors and serious readers. Of course, it is more expensive than the paperback version, and recommended only to real enthusiasts. For me, this is a definitive edition because literary essays, introductions and annotations mean very little to me, as I like to derive my own impressions by reading and do my own research on specific things. As an MA Comparative Literature student interested in Joyce, I feel this edition can be used for serious research without the supplementary scholarly material because it leaves you free to have just the text and your impressions.
If this edition proves too dear, I believe the Modern Library (or was it Everyman's Luibrary) have an edition currently in print and should be available to order from most retail bookstores. I saw a copy in my local Borders for £13.99, and if you are considering getting a decent hardback edition, perhaps you could go for that edition, as the Modern Library has an excellent range of titles and deserves to be supported.

To conclude, Joyce had an extraordinary imagination and wonderful command of the English language. He is a master of the English language and this is one of his most captivating work. Personally I prefer Finnegans Wake because if you persevere with it, past the first 100 pages, you find some side-splittingly humourous puns. In any case, I will leave my fondness for Finnegans Wake for another review. For now, grab a copy of Ulysses and enter the bizarre world of Joyce where the ordinary mundane things become surreal adventures, and language becomes so unfamiliar that it begins to start making sense again.

The best edition of what's considered by many the apotheosis of English fiction. As mentioned in the front matter, "this book reproduces, as closely as offset printing will allow, Roger Lathbury's copy of the first edition of Ulysses published by Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company in Paris in 1922. Broken type, signature numbers, and the colophon have been left as printed." Editorial slip-ups are therefore obviously included, adding a quaint historical nuance.

The perfect gift for any fan of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, this edition is elegant, a pleasure to hold and read, and ideal for anyone new to and wishing to appreciate Ulysses. (Most mass market editions, while well edited, are otherwise cheap products.)

Two outstanding aids for appreciating Ulysses are Wings of Art: Joseph Campbell on James Joyce, and Stuart Gilbert's James Joyce's Ulysses.

The three previous reviews are right on: to my mind (and I confess that I am not unique in this) Ulysses is the greatest novel in world literature. It is unrivalled in style (who could rival it?) or in character. And who is not moved by the pathos and humor of the book, the sorrows and triumphs of L Boom? This lovely edition befits the novel itself. You may want to read and re-read and take notes in "corrected" editions. This is the one to stare at lovingly, longingly.

Let's not mince words: Ulysses is one of the highest achievements of literary modernism. But it is also a book that must be read again and again (and again) if it is to be understood and enjoyed. Why buy a pulpy and cheaply made edition that falls to pieces on the second read? The Orchises edition, as a physical artefact, is not only aesthetically worthy of the text it presents (including the generous white space framing the text itself)--it also has the durability and weight you'd normally expect from a Bible.

Other reviewers have detailed how this book is a faithful facsimile of the 1922 editions. The only other thing I would add is that this is the edition whose colour scheme Joyce himself oversaw: The white text and blue background of the cover symbolise the pentelic marble of Greece and the greenblue of the Mediterranean respectively (which are also the colours of the Greek flag).

I thoroughly recommend this beautiful book for anyone who is serious about Ulysses.

If a silly picture of a gust of wind blowing down Main Street doesn't do anything for you, you've never read "Yo, Sacramento!" It should remind you that Augusta is the capital of Maine. The whole book is a marvelous mix of funny mnemonic cartoons with interesting facts about the states and capitals. My eight year old daughter loves this book and its companion, "Yo, Millard Filmore!"; she memorized the Presidents in a few minutes and the states/capitals in a couple days. And although I hate to admit that I couldn't remember them from my school days, the books helped me learn them too. (I don't know about the "never forget" part, but it does stick with you, and it's easy to pick back up.) When we showed these books to my family, my niece (the daughter of a social studies teacher) even told me she thought it was too easy; it must be cheating somehow to learn them this way!

I have to say, however, I prefer the Millard Filmore book to the Sacramento one, primarily because 'Millard' is designed as a series -- an element from each picture is carried into the next in order to reinforce the historical sequence. This not only teaches the sequence, but it helped me with the actual memorization -- I know I haven't left any presidents out. 'Sacramento' is a group of unconnected pictures, which may connect the capitals to their states -- and generally link the states with their geographic region, but doesn't guarantee you have all the states. ("Oops! I only counted 47! Which ones did I leave out?") If I could wish for anything besides additional titles in this series, it would be that 'Sacramento' could be rewritten to link the states together from east to west or alphabetically or even in order of admission to the union, so you end up with all 50 states in your brain.

I bought this for my 3-1/2 year-old son, who has an interest in the United States (thanks to "The Scrambled States Of America"). He really enjoys this book! I must say that I've picked up quite a bit of information myself.

Yo, Sacramento! is a humorous incentive to learn the capitals for every state. The word pictures which aid memory recall are sure to prompt hearty laughter. The fast-paced writing style is an added bonus. One can laugh, learn facts, and have state capitals memorized in under 30 minutes!

I teach school and used the illustrations and catchy phrases to help students learn the states and capitals. It really works! have older students and they need to learn countries and capitals. I would love to see Will Cleveland & Mike Alvarez team up again and write a book to help us memorize these (but maybe not in 20 minutes)!

This book really helps a child or an adult to memorize states and capitals within 20 minutes. I have never come across any program so precise. My kids really enjoy learning with the picture and word association method used in the book. This book should be used in all schools around the world.

I must say that I truly enjoyed this book! I read it all in one day, which is what I do when I enjoy a good book.
Steven's brother, Mike, was in my class at school. And although some of the short stories don't connect with me, many of them do.
The things that struck me the most were his vivid descriptions which brought back so many memories. I've been gone from Aberdeen for over 28 years, yet when I read the story about the "Nat" I could actually see it and hear the sounds. I hadn't thought of the "Posse" or Alcho Chumley for many many years. It brought back memories of school days and certain teachers. It brought back memories of "Aberdeen Days," fireworks, the boat dock, spring hollow, the library, the "Sweet Shop," the movie theater, the library, hula hoops, marbles, and the Neeley Honey Company. It brought back my childhood in a wonderful way. I would recommend this book! Thanks Steven for writing it!

Aberdeen Stories is a wonderful book about children growing up on a farm in rural Idaho. Steven Stoker's writing style is akin to Archibald Rutledge's. When reading the stories you feel as if you are sitting on a front porch listening to the author talk of his boy hood. While delightfully funny, Steven's serious side and his deep feelings of family unity and love are very apparent.
A must for everyone who enjoys reading about a simpler life in rural America.

You watch the news and about all you hear is bad news. Turn off the T.V. and read this book and enjoy the daily activities of a boy growing up in small town America. It's the best book I've read in a very long time. Return to a time when a mop was instantly transformed into a hero's horse. A box was the rocket ship that would take you to another galaxy. A boy saw the world through his eyes and now that he's a man he has put his memories to paper. THANK GOODNESS because we all need this type book!

A very interesting book.Good clean fun for all ages.

Usually, I'm not much for a lot of nostalgia, but when I heard about this book I just had to check it out. Why? It is about my home town and written by a classmate of mine. However, I've shared it with friends and found that regardless of when they went to school or where they grew up, in small or larger towns, they share the same stories. With the horror of this week of 9/11/01, reading this was wrapping myself in the warmth of a comforting quilt of wonderful memories of growing up. Thanks, Steve! Move over Garrison Keillor!

Beautiful story! My daughter loves it! This book is a classic that every child must hear. I have to read it over and over again to my three-year-old daughter. She loves the story and the names of the ducks.

This tiny mosquito scared everybody in the jungle because the animals have an alarm system. One animal runs one way and another the opposite way and this bird chirps and this rabbit hops and so on and so on. The animals do this to show that there is danger ahead. This works, but this time it was a false alarm. In all the commotion a baby owl falls out of a tree and dies. Now the owl will not make the sun come up.

That was someone trying to comment on Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears.

I have always loved the English version of Make Way for Ducklings. Now, as a student of Spanish and a teacher of children's Spanish classes, I greatly appreciate this translation.

This is a classic written by Robert McClosky in the 1940's, but is timeless like all classics. The duck parents are flying over Boston looking for a place to hatch their eggs and raise their ducklings. This version is all in Spanish, but I found out after ordering this book that there is a bilingual version also. It is a really long book to begin with so it would be interesting to see the bilingual version.

A fabulous book and fantastically well translated by Osvaldo Blanco. Having read many books translated from English to Spanish, I feel that Sr. Blanco's translations are among the best and true to the original work.

A soft story, simply told, accentuated with watercolor illustrations, and perfectly sized for bedtime at 7.5 x 7.5. The opening scene is the rooftop of an apartment building with bedsheets hanging on the line, potted plants scattered around, and a setting of table and chairs at which sits a little girl, reading, and a contented cat. That night when her siblings and parents go to bed, the little girl is wide awake. When a soft breeze blows through her window, she gathers her pillow and blankets, goes up to the roof, and pushes two chairs together to make a bed. Her mother hears her get up, and follows close behind. When the little girl falls asleep in her rooftop bed, the mother brings up a cup of coffee and sits by her daughter, enjoying the moment in the presence of the full moon. There are many delightful details to look at in the illustrations, inviting the reader to revisit this book again and again.

This is a gentle, sweet bedtime story--with some of the most beautiful illustrations I've ever seen in a children's book. Also, the book is exactly the right lenght for my three year old daughter. She adores this book--as do I.

On some nights it's hard to sleep with family around - and a sleepless city girl decides to get away from her noisy family member to curl up alone under the skies in her own rooftop urban version of a backyard camping trip in AT NIGHT. Urban kids will find it an excellent, satisfying account of how to appreciate nature and solitude even in the big city.

Bean, Jonathan. At Night. Illus. by author. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.

A young child can't sleep one night so she follows a soft breeze up to the roof of her apartment building and tries to sleep there. This simple plot is beautifully imagined in lovely watercolor illustrations that capture ordinary scenes and imbue them with a quiet and serene aura. In a series of poignant images the parents put their children to bed, the father carries a baby while another child holds her mother's hand and is pulled along running, and then they stand together in a bedroom doorway, the mother has her arms wrapped around the dad's waist, as they whisper, "Good night, happy dreams!" to the little girl. Although her room is dark and quiet, the little girl lies in her bed with her eyes wide open "listening to her family sleep" until a breeze stirs the curtains in her room, "blowing over the windowsill, it sank to the floor, drifted over her feet". Brown, orange and blue colors infuse these contemplative scenes with warmth and an old fashioned feel. Simple black lines outline color drenched figures and convey remarkably affecting expressions. A double spread near the end of the book shows the little girl resting peacefully in her makeshift bed that she has created from two chairs and a pile of bedding with her black cat sitting atop her comforter; her mother sits on the bed holding a steaming cup and gazing at the moon. The attractive colorful and detailed cover that shows the little girl and her mother on the roof against a tranquil early evening skyline -the mother is hanging laundry and the little girl is watering plants- hints robustly of the visual treats within. This small format book in which the illustrations take center stage is a little gem that is perfect for sharing with a preschool child at bedtime.

This book is one of the best examples of a story that has the child's eye. The engaging story that ends up on a roof top will be a mirror for children who live in an urban setting. For children who live outside of the city limits, Bean has created a welcome and refreshing introduction to the glorious aspects of being a city dweller. Mutliple readings will enable children to see new details and make fresh connections by viewing the flawless illustrations. This book will make a rich addition to any child's library. Highly recommended for school and classroom libraries!

Cornell University's Dr. Kira performs extensive scientific research on how humans use bathroom facilities, and discovers our current designs and practices are WRONG. For example, our sinks are much too low and our toilet seats are too high. Urinals are designed to splash on us(!), and women's restrooms would be much more useful if they still had female-friendly urinals (which they did until the 70's). Dr. Kira provides many new designs that solve the problems we tolerate out of ignorance. How could so much detailed research and beneficial new designs be overlooked? An Amazing book that is totally relevant today (humans are still the same, and so are toilets). It should NOT be out of print

If you are human and have ever had the need to use a bathroom for any reason, you would find something of interest in this book. Every use and function of the bathroom structure has been considered. Some of the findings in this book might appear crude but it reveils much of the stuff we have been sitting on for years to be just one step above a hole in the ground. Bodily hygene before the invention of the bathroom to modern ideas of what a bathroom is and how our society regards such matters are researched in detail. This book is fun & informative. Hours of leg numbing reading.

Kiba's book on bathrooms is one of them best studies of human needs and how to accommodate them that has been written in recent years. He begins with a look into how bodies actually work, not what people assume. He delves into basic of people's feelings about their body processes. He studies the design of plumbing fixtures and proposes changes that would reduce "spray" and improve sanitation. Plumbing for private homes and public facilities are both addressed. For anyone involved in the design and manufacture of fixtures, architecture or engineering of sanitary facilities, sales, or installation of sanitary waste facilities this book is a must read.

Believe it or not, this book is one of the more seminal works of the second half of the twentieth century. Why it is out of print (and it is VERY hard to find, because no one will part with their copy) is a complete mystery. This very substantial book (hundreds of pages, large format, hundreds of photos) is the absolute definitive work on bathroom design. In awe-inspiring detail, Alexander Kira analyzes bathroom functions versus bathroom fixtures. Imagine, if you will, hundreds of pictures showing people showering and urinating in front of calibrated background grids. The book is at once scholarly, on target, and hysterically funny. It will forever change the way you think of the simple toilet. If you ever see a copy in a used bookstore...grab it

This unique book is the only scientific analysis of bathrooms and their functions that I have ever been able to find. The author has had a major influence on, or actually helped write, the building standards that most modern bathrooms are built in accordance with. Nevertheless, the book concludes that the bathroom is an essentially mis-designed space in virtually all North American homes. The very fixtures such as sinks, bathtubs and toilets are poorly designed, and need to be completely rethought. This book is essential for those interested in designing objects for human use, the architecture of bathrooms, and the psychology of the continued use of poor standards. One caveat is that the book contains graphic depictions of people urinating and defecating, in order to present ground data for use in fixture design.

Finally, it should be noted that the author is rumored to be hard at work on a revised 3rd edition, which will hopefully see print sometime in the next few years

This beautifully written reminiscence of growing up in Brooklyn captures neighborhood life in the 20s in Brooklyn and goes beyond, containing all the elements of childhood dormant in our minds and inherent in our experiences growing up in cities around America. Life was simpler --Bernice Carton brings the beauty of that life vividly to the page and helps us reenter a world that is well worth recapturing.

Bernice Carton's Beyond The Brooklyn Bridge gives today's reader a slice-of-life look at growing up in another, more simple era. From the street games kids played to the medicinal remedies we no longer use to parental guidance of a kind we no longer experience, Bridge takes the reader on a journey back in time. Written in a thoughtful, evocative style, Carton's book is a delight to any reader - no matter where they grew up. I recommend it highly to the young and not-so-young alike. Carton's fictionalized account of growing up on a specific block, on a specific street in a much-loved part of America is a treat for the imagination. It's a book that makes you comfortable - like cookies and warm milk.

I am a Californian who has lived in Brooklyn Heights since 1991. Beyond the Brooklyn Bridge is a delightful story about a Brooklyn that was here long before I arrived. The characters in the book are the kind of kids with whom I would love to have played. The Mothers are to sort of lovely people one would like to have gotten to know. I recommend the book for those who are new to New York and to people all of the country who would like a view of Brooklyn past.

Reading her book made me feel I knew her. Certainly, she took me by the hand and led me down Memory Lane and it was fun all the way. I haven't heard anyone say "Holy Cow" for long time. I loved the part about the empty lot because a house burnt down. The kids on my block in New Kensington Pennsylvania had an empty lot, too. There, we had roast "mickies", too. We didn't call them that, but we loved eating them. Cindery black though they were, and usually raw in the middle. Open streetcars. Penny Candy. I had to laugh out loud when I read about ice cream plopping out on the sidewalk to "Good-bye, Charlie!" It's been a long time since I heard that, and "Hot diggety dog!" I was surprised to learn that Brooklyn kids used the same expressions that we did in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, where I grew up in the 1920's. I guess I didn't expect the use of language to be the same everywhere. This book gave me so much pleasure!

Entranced by this wonderful compendium of nostalgic reminiscences - written in a lively, irresistible style - I have given the book as a gift on every occasion that calls for one. Without fail, recipients tell me that not only did they thoroughly enjoy the trip down memory lane, but, in turn, "lent" the book to friends and relatives, who, in turn, have "lent" it to others... In each case I receive lengthy letters, e-mails or telephone calls of thanks from people wishing to add their own personal memories to Bernice Carton's remarkable store of nostalgia...This includes readers in locations as disparate as Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Canada, Australia, England and France. Not just Brooklyn! (I have recently learned through the grapevine that this book now even numbers among the possessions of exiled Prince Michael of Rumania himself, a gentleman whose presence graces the pages of this work)!...What a wonderful springboard for hours of delightful conversation! It has proven itself to be the gift of the century... Everyone tells me they are eagerly awaiting the sequel - tales of Ms. Carton's adolescence in Brooklyn...