Town Books

Ms. Dieffenbacher depicts Herkimer County life beautifully throughout her photographs and text. This is a great read, even if you aren't from New York.

The wonderful photographs in this book put a human face on the history of uptate New York. A delightful read.

This book was awsome. I love Dale Hollow lake and it was cool to try a find all the things that are in this book while I was there. Great book I recommend it for all!

This book was really interesting and gave a good, well-rounded view of Dale Hollow Lake. The authors' passion on the subject is easily contagious after reading the book. Experiencing Dale Hollow is the best way to get the true feel, but if you can't be there, then reading this book is the next best thing!

The paperback History of Woolwich, Maine is available from The Woolwich Historical Society, P.O. Box 98, Woolwich, Maine 04579. This book is 355 pages with dozens of photographs. Historical facts and resident memoirs make this a great read.

This interesting and well-researched history of a small Maine town was written by members of the Woolwich Historical Society and is still available for purchase from them.

This fantastic book is almost impossible to put down. It follows the tale of the Bank from initial studies, through the invited international competition, design development, bidding, and construction. The challenges of building the "most expensive building ever built" in the middle of South-East Asia involved manufacturing and engineering feats usually reserved for aerospace of military efforts. The book really describes how the design concept responded to the realities of the program and the construction procedures and how Foster's office and others staged the monumental task of getting the building completed. Everyone involved claimed that it was the project they had been training for their entire career.

Possibly the greatest work of art by the famous British Architect Sir Norman Foster, this review takes you step by step through the entire process of design, planning, and construction. At it's time the most expensive building on earth, Williams' book is a tour-de-force and should be a must read for every budding young architect. Seek it out and buy one now if you can (I bought 5 copies to give to my friends)

This is a delightful book for all ages. The illustrations are fun and creative and the text is also memorable. My two-year old daughter and my 74-year old mother both enjoy it.

Hot City is one of those picture books that jumps right off the coffee table and gets under your skin. The funny, jazzy, spontaneous, and easy-to-follow text is perfectly illuminated with the bright, lively, syncopated, and imaginative illustrations. The plot is simple enough: a sister and her younger brother finding things to do on a very hot summer day in the city. The dialog moves us through their activities: spying on the 'blah-blah' ladies (that must be universal - how kids feel about their mothers' company and their endless prattle); eating snow cones ("we lick fast, but not fast enough"); and escaping into a cool library. While plopped "down in a big old chair, smooth and cool, like a throne" sister (now Princess) escapes on the back of a unicorn and thwarts a pirate-robber before her brother - riding in on a T.Rex - calls her back to the reality of the library and they depart for home. It's a story that honors where books can take us and would be a great read-aloud to younger children during a library storytime hour.

Wow! Tanya,Artie,and Mirriam; it was really GREAT finding this
review on: WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW,written by your mother,who is
really an amazing lady. Reading this, made me very happy! Thank
you kind lady,I shall always treasure this moment.I am still in
there punching! By the way, my Editor on the Hot Dog Man was a
lady named: Miriam Chaikin. Bless her heart!Thanks again.

It was early Winter in 1979. Tanya, Artie, Miriam and I were on their very first train ride. We were off to Birmingham , Alabama and Lake Charles, La.
Lorenzo Lynch, "The Hot Dog Man", helped me out with the children. He read the book: The Hot Dog Man" to my children, while rocking one of them to sleep in his lap. It was that moment
I saw a genuine greater interest in my daughter's eyes, to read at the age of 4. 4.11 months old, not only was she reading The Hot Dog Man but many other other books, similar and above. Tested by a Duke University program, she was identified as reading on genius level for her age.
Our family's first experience , reading : The Hot Dog Man by Lorenzo Lynch. Mr Lynch personally signed the copy of his book: The Hot Dog Man. My children remembers the train experience, Mr Lynch and "The Hot Dog Man".

This book is such a great reminder of what caring & working together can accomplish. A must read for children ages 3-10!!!!

Just released in July, The House in the Middle of Town, was written by a favorite children's author, Crystal Bowman. The book is built on the foundation of Mark 13:31 where Jesus teaches that we should love our neighbors as ourselves.

Spun from a classic nursery rhyme, the story is told in two-two-one rhyming stanzas. In a house in the middle of town lives a grandma who cannot care for her home. She's alone, old and tired. One day several members of the community come to help. Kids and parents alike work together to fix, clean, paint and rake. They mend the fences and mow the lawn. They even plant flowers and enjoy some lemonade. At end of the story they all take pride in the work they've done. The house in the middle of town becomes a welcoming place where the neighbors come together, out of service and love.

The illustrations by Joy Allen are sketchy, but saturated with color. The characters are friendly and represent several ethnicities.

What I Like: The lesson! This is a wonderful book teaching children the importance of serving others and working together in the community. I also like the author's note at the front of the book. There she emphasizes the point of the book and encourages parents to include their children in activities that can "put joy in a heart and smile on a face, and make someone glad to know Jesus' grace."

What I Dislike: There is nothing that I dislike, however, I wish the illustrations were a little more "finished" or contained more detail.

Overall Rating: Very Good

Additional Info: This book is wonderful for early readers because of the rhyming text, but select words are written in a curly-cue font that may be difficult for young children to decifer.

Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review (CCBReview*dot*blogspot*dot*com)

Steve Watkins has a wry sense of humor and a fantastic voice to share his observations. Through alter egos as varied as an anthropomorphic dog and a conflicted lawyer, he introduces a world of characters who will soon join the pantheon inhabited by Opus, Huey and Calvin. Great job!

Until recently, I resisted comic strips because I felt that I was past the appropiate age to read them. A friend of mine, who is a fan of Housebroken, suggested that I give this book a try. You know what? I really enjoyed it. After reading the book, I make an effort to read this comic strip daily. I would like to thank the author for getting me back into comic strips.

At the turn of the century many Americans viewed New York as a crime-ridden city of the poor: Angela lake explores how savvy marketing turned it into a destination point in How New York Became American, 1890-1924. Primary sources both print and visual survey the extent of New York perceptions, from its development of skyscrapers and business areas to the changing idea of New York as a power place. From architectural changes to branding efforts, How New York Became American follows more than the evolution of a city: it surveys how city images are created, changed, and promoted.

How New York Became American, 1890-1924 was originally Angela M. Blake's doctoral dissertation, which is very much in evidence when you consider that there are sixty-five pages devoted to reference notes and sources.

Blake refers to herself as an interdisciplinary and cultural historian and as she mentions in her Essay on Primary Sources that appears at the back of her book, cultural historians ask questions about meaning, not just about when, where and how. Consequently, in writing her dissertation she was obliged to consult many sources that offered a diverse range of perceptions and interpretations. In How New York Became American, 1890-1924, Blake analyzes and presents her findings that were derived from map collections, postcards, stereographs, guidebooks, municipal archives and the Smithsonian Institution's museums.

On the whole, Blake's methodology focuses on an examination of various images and arguments of different interest groups that were employed to make New York City "knowable" to their constituents and consumers. The objective of these interest groups, as she states, was "to stabilize the city's image as a verifiable and worthwhile `American' place. It should be borne in mind that the period studied was one in which New York had an appalling reputation as a city wherein it was perceived as being dangerous, dirty, and downright un-American-something that certainly would keep tourists away rather than attracting them.

Blake's thesis revolves around the investigation of the power and cultural "importance of representations of Americanness during a period-from `closing' of the American frontier to the closing of the nation's doors to most immigrants." It was an era when the establishment of what and who was American became of prime importance in order to create national markets, set national boundaries, construct an industrial workplace, launch America power in Europe, and come to terms with the diverse population and electorate.

The book divides itself into six chapters preceded by a general introduction. These chapters expose such topics as reforming New York's image in the 1890s; tourism as it related to New York during this era; architecture, Americanism and a "New" New York 1900-1919; New York as not being America, where we learn about immigrants and tourists in New York after World War I and finally an analysis of brand New York and the making of Midtown in the 1920s.

In essence, these chapters explore the connections between public images, politics, business, immigration, national identity, and urban tourism. Moreover, considerable ink is devoted to the different perceptions of New York offered by the social reformers, tourism promoters and businessmen in the 1890s and 1920s. These perceptions, as we learn, played an extremely important role in the first generation of New York's skyscrapers that had a great deal to do with creating a national identity implanted in a unique American landscape.

How New York Became American, 1890-1924 is a testament to Blake's impressive writing and research skills offering the reader a comprehensive study of an era in which the roots of New York City as we know it today were firmly planted. And while the book was initially a doctoral dissertation, it nevertheless should appeal not only to the academic but also to casual readers interested in learning more about the development of major North American cities.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

This CD was so fun. I liked it because it had farm equipment and road construction on it. I didn't like the recycleing place at first because I thought Lowley Worms car was going to get crushed. When I found out that that wouldn't happen I liked it. I also liked the Bakery. I like the rodeo and that they sing songs about each place. There is a sawmill and clock tower where a bunny comes up. There are lots of places to visit. This is a great CD.

Milo Wimmer age 4

I first read Scarry's 'What to People Do All Day' (1967) in 3rd Grade more than 20 years ago. That classic book - long out of print - has been rewritten into this new version. I bought one for my nephew recently and has since become his personal favourite.

In a funny, entertaining style, this book describes the workings of a modern town in meticulous detail, complete with the wonderfully detailed illustrations which Scarry is famous for. The explainations of how things work are especially well done. Simple enough that kids can understand and detailed enough not to leave important facts out - a great combination. The only drawback is the price which is a tad steep but worth it for the hours of reading (and rereading) it provides.