Town Books

I am just beginning my hobby with a metal detector. I purchased several books on treasure hunting and this is by far the best. It has a broad range of extremely useful information. By all means start with this book if you too are a beginner. Most of the other books I bought had a lot of fluff. This book has a ton of useful information and guidance.

No matter what your treasure, be it coins, bottles, or somethisg else, this book has great tips on where and how to find it. I originally bought a copy for my son and was so impressed that I bought another copy for myself.

This book has a lot of information about treasures all over the country. Tells you where to look, how to go about hunting and what equipment you need and what to do when you find your treasures.

I was looking for a book on using a metal detector. This was not it.

This book is an invaluable resource for the beginner and even the intermediate detectorist. It has filled me with new ideas of where and how to search for lost valuables and coins. The tidbits on history and archeology were most interesting.

If I could, I would thank Winonah LaDuke in person for writing such an important, informative and engaging book on the travesty that is the North American government's view of native land and those who inhabit it. The numerous tribes who make the land their home are forced to co-exist with the insensitive, selfish and literally toxic decisions made by government and corporations who dump tons upon tons of toxic pesticides in their water and on "abandoned" land. These lands are also subject to divebombings from military jets. These are illegal decibel levels that drive those within hearing range to points of mental instability, as well as potential hearing loss.

One of the most important quotes from this book that I remember (since I read this book a couple of years ago in a Native/African-American Women's Studies course) was from a Seminole leader who said, "Selling your land for a price is like selling a piece of your mother." [I paraphrase this.] I couldn't agree more. When I remember that quote, I think about all of the animals, vegetation and tribes (consisting of families and friends) who have lived off of the land of the United States, as well as Canada. How can one possibly put a price on something that can't truly be owned by anyone and is its own autonomous entity. Even if people have the illusion that they can occupy land as territory (because of treaties, as an example) does not mean that it is ever their to keep. LaDuke makes several strong examples of this in the book. We can't continue to pollute, abuse and neglect land without paying a price environmentally or in terms of human quality of life and mortaiity. I believe everyone should read this book, regardless of occupation, national origin or territorial location. We need to face the damage done before more of it goes unacknowledged. Thank you, Winonah.

Spoon-fed news by large media corps, few were aware that Winona LaDuke ran for the vice presidency under Ralph Nader in the 2000 elections. Even fewer know that she is also a Native American eco-philosopher with a critical perspective on the health and future prosperity of America. All Our Relations is particularly instructive, in that LaDuke surveys the entire American landscape (and by landscape, I am not merely referring to the political landscape), showing the deep connections that exist between local cultures, their environments, and the corporate-governmental giants that often compromise their health. Although LaDuke has specifically focused on Native American communities, the stories are engaging and instructive for Americans in general. Informative, powerful, and transformative, LaDuke here provides an antidote for our increasing alienation from the land and biota that sustain us. A must read for any conscious American.

ALL OUR RELATIONS by Indigenous Activist Winona LaDuke is a must read for everyone who cares about our earth. LaDuke presents the state of the environment focusing on several land, treaty rights and toxic exposure struggles on reservations across North America and in Hawaii. Since I met Winona when she was an economics student at Harvard, she has been at the heart of struggles and gains made by indigenous communities, always bringing a keen intellect, diligent research, unswerving commitment, and a broad vision of the whole circle to community and tribal issues.
Because I've known many of the people involved in the essential work LaDuke describes in ALL OUR RELATIONS, it was a personal pleasure to read this book and catch up with what Susannah Santos and her cousins are doing on the Columbia River, be updated on Luana Busby and Melani Trask and the Hawaiian indigenous movement and to get the inside details of the complex political fight Winona's son's father and his people are up aqainst at St. James Bay. But this book will fascinate anyone who cares about our earth, families and communities. It is one to read from end to end, then keep around to re-read again and again.
LaDuke calls the work these tribal communities do to protect their people and landbase from pollution and corporate greed, "soul-retrieval." It is work that we all need to do whatever our ethnic background, since as LaDuke's reportage on the presence of PCBs in mother's breastmilk in the Northeast attests, everyone is affected by what we are doing to the earth. Winona is a mother who has no illusions about how the choices we make as consumers affect the earth and our communities' health. What is most inpiring about LaDuke's writing and life is that she offers solutions. Each chapter not only outlines the problem, but it talks about solutions that are being implemented and suggests others that should be employed. Winona walks her talk. LaDuke has been a strong proponent of wind energy and has worked to engage major corporations like Ben & Jerry in developing wind energy projects on Indian Reservations in South Dakota. Native Harvest and White Earth Land Recovery Project have reclaimed White Earth land and developed sustainable reservation businesses that employ and train White Earth tribal members. Winona LaDuke would be a great President because she is the only public figure who has a sensible plan for economic self-sufficiency, the clarity to explain it to the American people, and the discipline and steadfastness to enact it.

Winona Laduke ran as vice president alongside Ralph Nader. It would be truly amazing if this woman had become our vice president (for many reasons). It is my hope that some day she will be our vice president (or president). Her views on the environment and its effect upon animals and people (particularly babies, children and pregnant/nursing mothers) are exactly how I feel. She expresses these views eloquently in these quotes by Lil'wat grandmother Loretta Pascal, "Where did you get your right to destroy these forests? How does your right supercede my rights? These are our forests, these are our ancestors."(p.5), by Ted Strong, "If this nation has a long way to go before all of our people are truly created equally without regard to race, religion, or national origin, it has even further to go before achieving anything that remotely resembles equal treatment for other creatures who called this land home before humans ever set foot upon it...."(p.5), and by Katsi Cook, "Why is it we must change our lives, our way of life, to accommodate the corporations, and they are allowed to continue without changing any of their behavior?"(p.12). Reading this book you will feel sorrow, and be inspired to action. Most of what was said in this book I already knew a little about, but through this book I understood the depth and complexity of all the factors. I can not recommend this book enough. She tells the truth of our world with a powerful clarity. She tells the stories of many Native American Tribes throughout North America (Canada and the United States, including a chapter on Hawaii). She ends the book with the optimism that it is possible for us to make change, but it is up to us.

To think this woman could be our Vice President today. Most people don't even know that Winona LaDuke ran for Vice President on Ralph Nader's ticket. An articulate and passionate writer, LaDuke presents an awareness of the plight of America unsurpassed by any other. She knows what's wrong. She knows what needs to be done. She knows who is doing the work, how and why. She presents her advocacy as human, heartfelt and real. I learned things about what is happening to this country that I would never have known otherwise. You certainly don't see it in the news, and you don't learn about it in school. We're in trouble, folks, and it's not too late to do something about it. With more power she could have made such a difference! But she continues to work on the issues, and it is so important that more people are aware of her work. Please, please, please read this book. It is the most important book you will read all year.

Great artwork combined with a good story makes this an all time favorite and makes Katy a hero. All of my kids (especially my boys) loved this book. There are always big smiles when I finish reading how "Katy did."

The Author Bill Peet has the gift to spark the imagination of all children. His stories are amazing. There are over 30 kids books by him and I recommend them all!The Caboose Who Got Loose (Sandpiper Books)

This is a children's book with a complete plot, in rhyming prose, like no other! It deserves to be a classic on every American boys list. Featuring a caboose that transforms above regretting her role, and then obtains her ideal. With a full double-page drawing of like say 10 workers rehabilitating a locomotive! How could it get better than that! Warning: my 2 year old Thomas-lover won't let us put him to bed without reading this book, too. 2nd Warning: the same 2-year-old is petrified of the picture of the searchlight shining on the moose on the second to last page. He makes me try to skip that page. Something about the expression of a moose in the headlights that bothers him, I suppose.

This story is about Kate the Caboose. She is in the back of a long freight train, and she hates it. She hates the smoke, the bumps, the noise, and the ride. One day, she pulls into the station. While waiting for the engine to be refitted, a lonely signal tower tells Kate how it longs to be a caboose, so it can see the world. Kate leaves the station with a new attitude about her life. When the train hits a bump, Kate's coupling breaks. Find out what happens to her in this exciting book by Bill Peet.

This is a book that is very close to my heart. As a child, I would always pick this book for my mother to read to me. I still have the book and have since introduced it to my nieces. The artwork is beautiful and the story is timeless. I highly recommend this book to anyone with children. I'll always remember the last line, "Yes indeed, oh indeed, oh indeed, Katie did".

Toogood captures the readers attention from the first sentence. In today's business world one in surrounded by dot.com innovators and this book inspires introspection for our own creative potential.

As our working lives increasingly encroach on our home lives, we've come to expect more from our jobs than a paycheck. Like Tom Peters, Granville Toogood inspires us to slough off the cynicism of Dilbert and embrace real creativity in the workplace.

Chapter 7, "The Four Fundamentals of Professional Fulfillment," could serve as the manifesto of a business revolution; it's alone worth the price of the book. But the book offers much more than a call to action -- it also gives practical examples from the lives of some of today's (and yesterday's) most innovative leaders: Steve Jobs, Andy Grove, Charlotte Beers, Martha Stewart, Walt Disney.

As Mr. Toogood exhorts us: "Forget the status quo. Way up and way out. Find some other way to go." This book may not take you there, but it'll get you pointed in the right direction.

This is a fun book, filled with stories well told. Unlike many, overly analytical books on creativity, The Creative Executive walks its own talk. The stories and insights kind of wash over you leaving you with not so much a process on how to be creative (although there are some "process" suggestions in the book) as an intuitive feel about your own creative potential. Very nice.

This volume, like each of Toogood's other books (Articulate Executive and Inspired Executive), is a must-read for the entrepreneur, self-employed, corporate and even the "down-sized" professional. He is a master at weaving anecdotes with common sense to create, once again, "personalized messaging". Get a new highlighter, this one is chock-full of sage counsel!

This book is a straight-talking primer for those of us who have great engineering and technical design skills but need help in our leadership and persuasive skills. We may have a vision, but too often we don't know how to articulate it. This book teaches us how in a breezy style that makes you feel as though Toogood is talking to you over a cup of coffee.

This deliciously irresistible work by Man Martin created a magical community with such finely drawn characters that you wish they were real--all of them. It is rare to find a book where every character delights--even the seamy ones. You almost expect (and certainly wish) to be able to give Earl a call when your car takes a turn for the worst, when you crave green eggs and ham, or when you suffer a bad fall. You suffer when hearts break but are amazed at the resilience of the human spirit. Sly humor or frank laughter bubbled throughout the book. I carried this book everywhere so I could sneak in just a few more minutes of reading and I longed for more when it was done. Then I went and bought extra copies to give as gifts so I would not lose my own copy. Bravo, Man Martin--the pleasure of Deepstep lingers still. How lucky we would be to live where such sweetness and humor are paired with great enduring love.

Reading the new book, Days of the Endless Corvette, was like curling up in a big ol' comfy easy chair in front of the fireplace at a cozy inn. I couldn't wait to see what happened on each subsequent page, and I felt truly connected to the cast of eccentric country characters. Man Martin's words convey sweet charm, sly humor, and fascinating philosophy. His style is unique and at times downright hilarious. More than a few times, I scared the wits out of my dogs when I broke into shrieks of spontaneous and loud laughter... You really MUST read this book!

The town I grew up in was not exactly like Man Martin's Deepstep, Georgia. For one thing, it was in Kentucky. For another, it was certainly much bigger (small as it was) than Deepstep. But it was populated with people who can best be described as "characters," in the can-you-believe-what-he/she-just-did? sense, and at times it seemed that the swirling morass of often unusually directed energy was without purpose except to keep everyone in place for all time, as though they'd been hit with cosmic hairspray.

The main characters of Days of the Endless Corvette are at the center of just such a vortex. Earl is a mechanic with an intuitive ability to repair close to anything and even wind up with parts to spare. He thinks he could harvest enough left over parts to build a Corvette from nothing. Ellen is curious, well read and thoughtful in a way that makes most of Deepstep uncomfortable. She gave up a lot to have her daughter, including Earl. They are in love, but they can't be together.

But Martin handles this with such easy grace that the story aches but does not hurt. Some might find this a bit too sentimental or easy, but that misses the larger point. True to small towns (and to most people wherever they live, I would venture), the folks who populate Days of the Endless Corvette are most all decent people who are doing the best they can. With two notable exceptions, there are no people in the book out to bring down Earl either through malice or indifference. Instead, Earl's greatest struggle is with himself: he must learn to live with disappointment.

The story's narrator is a bit of a curiosity, too, and Martin knows it, having the narrator feign outrage at one point that the reader might doubt his veracity. He is, however, at the only place in the story where the paths of Earl and Ellen consistently cross, and then only in tangent.

Meet one of the most endearing protagonists since Huck Finn: Earl Mulvaney, the small-town Southern hero of Man Martin's debut novel. Have your box of Kleenex handy for Earl's heartbreaking obstacles as he cares for his mother, pursues his Corvette dreams, and woos his childhood sweetheart. Yet Martin's novel combines tragedy and comedy, and you will laugh out loud plenty. In short, your spouse is going to think either you're drunk or going through "the change" while you read the book, but your book club will understand. (And yes, you should read Days of the Endless Corvette with a few friends; it is a novel to share.) Earl's got to put his dreams into action among idiosyncratic small-town Southern characters you'd swear were real--they're that funny. The population of Humble County includes a mechanic who believes that cars evolved from fish and a trailer-restaurant owner who cleverly bypasses the county's alcohol and hunting restrictions. Another town resident endlessly pines for a lost love, not the wife who left him, but the dog she took with her, Digger. Whether this cast is chasing down bees or putting out various fires, the book's wise and winking narrator loves a good joke, so humor scatters down almost every page. Yet Martin's playful and innovative technique doesn't sacrifice soul, which makes this a novel for all lovers of great Southern literature.

Days of the Endless Corvette is in part about bringing a hero from boyhood to manhood, but along the way, it touches on everything from Schrodinger's cat to Civil War treasure. The novel is also about lovingly sharing stories, of the meaningful transformation storytelling brings. One of the characters tells his son, "If you love what you do, every day is like a vacation." Reading the book, you will know that you are in good hands, that the author loves what he does, and that you and he are taking a wondrous ride together.

Forrest Gump meets Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance with a southern twang. OK, you literatis probably wonder what I mean by this. The protagonist is awkward, introverted but talented mechanically, and he lives in a world of ideas to replace the human element that he finds so stressful. His star-crossed love object broke his heart (and mine) when she marries a dumb jock because of pregnancy, while the protagonist is still working on second base. The references to southern living are refreshing in that they don't depend on bigotry or center around food.
This was a captivating story and an enjoyable summer read, notwithstanding that it was the author's first novel, which for other persons has sometimes resulted in a product only a mother could love. This first novel has appeal to all, and indicates the author has a good future.

I have to echo all the other five star reviews here, added by Soloways or not. This is a well-written, engaging, moving story of a child's life growing up in Chicago. I read it in one gulp.

I read Divison Street Princess and loved every page. SOloway writes wonderfully, and evokes a certain America magically, she has created a very important memoir.

I feel the book is so important in Americana culture and Jewish-Americana cultural archives, that the book should eventually be entered onto an online Internet site, free of charge, so that readers in the future, and I mean the FUTURE, like 500 years from now, can also read this moving memoir! Also, this would make a great movie in the Barry Levinson vein of Hollywoodiana. The murder of the little girl and the arrest of the murderer would make a fantastic 1950s Chicago movie story, with Soloway's memoir bookending the movie on both sides.

Author Elaine Soloway remembers Chicago in the 'forties as the best of times and the worst of times. Now in her sixties, she presents an unvarnished, microscopically precise yet warm and loving account of growing up in a supportive Jewish family above her family owned mom and pop grocery story in Chicago's Humboldt Park.

The author remembers/reconstructs every detail--how her parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and neighbors spoke, dressed, worried, loved, and argued--as the world of their Jewish enclave was dissolved by the drip, drip, drip of postwar mobility. She notes, "Television, suburban backyards, and supermarkets were draining our close-knit block of its friendliness, its familiarity."

Soloway's excellently written account will bring back the past for those of us who shared the same time and place. For those who did not, it will serve as a valued lesson on how we got from Chicago in the 'forties to the Chicago of today and what we gained and at what cost.

--Lowell Streiker
author of The Old Neighborhood: Memories of a Chicago Childhood--1942 to 1952.

The book brought back so many memories from the old neichborhood. It is a good book for all ages.

I was drawn into this wonderful book by the details of daily life in 1942 as seen, in the first pages, through the eyes of a four-year-old child. And I stayed with delight to absorb that little girl's increasingly acute awareness of family, friends, neighbors, and the urban neighborhood itself, as she grew into her early teens. The way in which the reader comes to know and ultimately care deeply about the parents, Min and Irv Shapiro, and the future of the family is especially satisfying. While the time and the place are unique, I believe that everyone of any age will find something familiar in this lovely memoir.

G-Town's Finest is absolutely the greatest gangster book that i have ever read. It has a story line and a plot that will knock you off your feet. The ending is unreal and unexpected. It kept me interested and wanting to read more. I couldn't put this book down for nothing. It only took me 9 hours to finish it and I cried at the end. I recommend this book to all readers!
Keep up the wonderful work CeDee and I will support all that you do.
Thank you for the wonderful entertainment that I received from reading G-Town's Finest!

THIS BOOK INDEED WAS THE FIRST BOOK THAT MADE ME SHEAD A TEAR OF 2 OR 3..... BUT MY POINT IS THAT THIS BOOK WAS OFF THE WALL. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN AT ALL..... I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE IN THE URBAN FICTIONS GENRE.... PLEASE GO GET IT G-TOWN'S FINEST BOY I TELL YOU

...... PLEASE GO GET IT

... GOT ME ALL SPEECHLESS AND SH*T

G TOWN'S FINEST IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS YOU COULD EVER READ. I RECOMMEND IT TO ALL. IT WILL DEFINTALY CAPUTURE YOUR ATTENTION FROM BEGINING TO THE END FLAT OUT.THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ! ANYONE FROM THE HOOD OR OTHERS WILL FEEL THIS BOOK TILL THE VERY END.IF U LIKED COLDEST WINTER EVER,B MORE CAREFUL,TRU TO THE GAME,AND ALL THE OTHER FAST PACE BOOKS THEN YOU WILL LOVE G TOWN'S FINEST.

I really enjoyed the book. I couldn't put the book down.
I want to know where is G-Town Finest's money at???. MAYBE
this could be the next part II.

I have never been the type of person to read, but a friend of mine convinced me to read this book, and I did, and I loved it! Put it this way, I started the book on my lunch break from work. I took the rest of the day off just so I could go home and finish reading it. I needed to know what was going to happen next. The thing I liked the most was everything that I expected to happen, DIDN'T happen. It's not one of those books where you can predict the ending just by reading a few chapters. I don't want to go into any detail because I don't want to tell you too much, so I'll just end this by saying that the book is excellent, and you will enjoy it! I hope this review is helpful.

Olivia Kidney is a first-rate kid in a first-rate book. Everyone feels lonely from time to time but Olivia's got it bad. Her father's job is working as a superintendent for apartment buildings. The problem is he's not very good at fixing things. So they're always moving. And since her mom left, things are especially hard.

Now they've moved to another new place. At her new school, Olivia hasn't made any friends AND she has to go see the school psychiatrist. It couldn't get worse, right? Wrong? When Olivia comes home, she can't find her key. Luckily a neighbor lets her into the building. But she still can't get into her apartment and that's when all the trouble really starts.

The author, Ellen Potter has done an excellent job in creating a wild ride through Olivia's adventure. The characters are fun, funny and bit freaky too. At first, I was a bit trepidacious as Olivia started adventuring from apartment to apartment. But she always landed on her feet, so I felt more comfortable as I suspended belief while Olivia met one character odder than the next. Finally all is well as - with a splash and a buzz - the story is brought full circle with a thoroughly wonderful and satisfying ending.

Olivia Kidney is an exciting book that I would recommend to kids of all ages.
Olivia Kidney is a girl that is constantly moving from apartment to apartment
because of her dad's job as a superintendent at the apartment. She meets this
woman in her apartment that has glass floors and walls, and she can see through
above, beside and below into the other rooms. Then Olivia goes to Master Clive
and he tells her a story. The story is about these ships hearing a beautiful sound.
They follow it and it turns out that its really a trap that lizards set up to kill the
people on the ship and steal all of there money. Olivia, ends up on the island of
lizards and finds the shell. Do the lizards kill her or not?
The setting in this book are very interesting. There are a lot of different
places she goes to. The first one is her new apartment. It has twenty-three floors
and she lives on the fourteenth floor. Everyone is annoyed with her because she is
too loud. The second place is Master Clive's house. She lives in a wooden, kind of
tree house thing. Its really dirty. Last but not least she ends up on the Beach. The
lizards are in charge of the beach.
This is for sure one of the funnest books I have ever read.

I thought this book was really cool and interesting because of all the scenes and problems she had faced. I thought the glass apartment was awesome i even read this book for my book repost for school and made a diarama of the glass apartment.!!! i recommened this book to any adventure lover.

Olivia Kidney


If you lost your apartment keys would you search all over for them? You probably would.
Well it all started one day when this girl named Olivia kidney lost her apartment keys at school. She had just moved into a new apartment and a new school, so as you would expect she didn't know her way around. As she was looking for her keys she ran into many strange things such as talking lizards, a rainforest apartment, ghosts that only she could see, and even an apartment made entirely of glass!!
Olivia Kidney is a shy and open girl, she is ready for anything coming her way as she is looking for her apartment keys she has to face almost death. My favorite character in this book is Olivia. She is an intelligent little girl who is on a mission and nothing can get in the way.
I would defiantly recommend this book to girls. I would also recommend this book to someone who likes adventurous, dramatic, and funny books.

Olivia Kidney is a great book about a girl that needs a friend. She has a good imagination and is a very good listener. She is able in just an ordinary everyday apartment house to use her skills and find herself in her own amazing adventures. She is like a good friend I would have if I knew her in real life! Check it out!

Maya, age 8

Our family enjoys this simple little (short) book with a play on words. Wonderful illustrations, good for 2-5 year olds.

We have several of Karma Wilson's books and this one is one of her best. My 6 1/2 year old son isn't a reader and it is tough to find books that he enjoys, but he loves this book. We take turns acting out different sections and doing funny voices for the different characters. My 2 year old daughter asks for it too and I find myself reading it over and over to them. My favorite part is that I enjoy reading it over and over again. It is very cute and very fun!

My nephew has several of the "Bear" books but for his 4th birthday I thought I would try something different. He loved this one! It got big laughs the first time through but I knew it was a hit when the next day after having it read to him many times he started pretending he was on a "Cattle Drive!"

Delightful experience for child and adult reader. The illustrations add to the fun.

Our family loves this book, about two crazy cows who steal farmer's keys and drive off to town. The illustrations are great, and we love the rhyming-it makes it so easy for my 3 year old daughter to "read" along with me when she sees the pictures. I bought extra copies to give to friends.

this story teaches kids that they have the power to create their own beauty and bring it to their lives. the girl in this book walk around her house and sees some not very nice things, including some not so nice graffiti on a door, and the reader gets a sense of her unease. then she goes to school and her teacher teaches the class the word beautiful, which is described as something, when you have it, that makes your heart happy. so she goes around the neighbourhood asking people what is beautiful to them, and various responses are given. finally the little girl goes back to the graffiti and erases it, making a bit of beauty come into her own world. after that it ends on a sweet note with her mother. i think this a good book to read to a child to teach them that they have the power to make a positive change in the world, and that for every cloudy day there is an optimistic sun hiding unseen that is capable of showing itself to those who look for it.

The story, Something Beautiful, is a wonderful springboard for discussion about how to make sense of a complex world. Big issues are tackled in this book. Gorgeous illustrations and engaging text frame examples of crime, poverty, homelessness, urban living, social structures within families and friendships, and clearly, recognizing the power in oneself to choose a positive perspective of one's life. The engaging illustrations focus on characters' expressions and different micro-settings within the larger picture of an urban neighborhood. All the characters share what they feel is beautiful in their lives to an inquisitive, little girl. My favorite part is when the little girl asks her mother about what is beautiful. Her mother responds, "You, of course!" The author follows the story with a personal experience with her own mother. This is a MUST read aloud for all children. The book will enable you to have a rich, memorable discussion about what is beautiful in a world filled with bad news. You will not be disappointed with this beautiful story!

I love the illustrations in Something Beautiful because it shows how the girl feels. My favorite part is when she goes looking for something beautiful. Then she finds out that she is beautiful. The illustrations are bright and colorful.

I think Something Beautiful was excellent because of Chris Soenpiet's illustrations. I think they were wonderful, marvelous, and interesting. My favorite part was when the little girl found out she was something beautiful. I give this book 5 stars because of the way Chris drew the pictures. I recommend this book to kids of all ages. He made me feel like I was right in the little girl's neighborhood.

Sharon Dennis Wyeth's 1998 book "Something Beautiful" was inspired by her own memories of growing up in a place which was, perhaps, not as beautiful as she would have liked. We follow an unnamed little girl through her neighborhood as she looks for something beautiful as a teacher has instructed her to do. What we see is litter, broken windows, scary graffiti, homeless people, and more. But the little girl manages to find out from everyone she asks what they find beautiful around them. She is variously given the examples of a fish sandwich, a jump rope, some apples at a fruit market, and even a smooth, heavy stone a neighbor carries for good luck. The best and most beautiful example, though, comes from the little girl's mother--and her reply ends the book on a lovely note.

Chris Soentpiet's watercolor illustrations are nothing short of remarkable. They are nearly photographic in their detail and lifelike aspect, and they give a visual rhythm to the text. He is to be commended for his ability to combine both an unflinching look at a downtrodden neighborhood and examples of how we all can find beauty everyday, if we look hard enough.