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This is my favourite Jeeves & Wooster story yet. The story had me laughing out loud; a bit annoying for my wife trying to work nearby. This is a great story and a handsomely bound, affordable book from Overlook.

This has to be among the best of Wodehouse. As so many other reviewers have remarked, the novel has a fluid feel to it; total and complete chaos. Starting with an ominous phone call from Aunt Dahlia, Bertie jumps from bowl to bowl constantly in the soup.

I loved the quotes from this book, on things being gruntled and what not. The characters are also amazing. Sir Watkyn Bassett, the treacly Madeleine, with Spode running after Bertie wanting to break his bones, the dog Bartholomew (this was perhaps one place where I almost laughed out loud) which terrorizes Bertie and Jeeves when (I think) they have to take shelter on top of the cupboard-Bertie goes to great lengths introducing this terrier. The moment is when they throw a candle at Bartholomew and it eats it.

The cow creamer plays no small part in the plot. It is a hideous silver jug that uncle Tom collects. Aunt Dahlia wants Bertie to 'sneer' at it by saying that its modern dutch, which might lower its value, apparently.

There is also Stephanie Byng and stinker Pinker who constantly trips over things. And constable dobbs, Aunt Dahlia herself, and Gussie Fink Nottle. There couldn't have been a more ridiculous set of characters than here.

This,and perhaps some of the Pig books (Pigs have wings, and Summer Lightning come readily to mind). I wish the world were as nice as that depicted by Wodehouse.

Believe it or not, I am 74 years old and had never read
about the trials and tribulations Jeeves put up with
Bertie Wooster. I have never laughed so much in my life.
I am now going to get my hands on every word P.G. Wodehouse
ever wrote. I truly would have loved to meet the man.

The Code of the Woosters, by the inimitable P. G. Wodehouse, is a fun and enjoyable romp with Bertie Wooster and his Man Jeeves. This novel features numerous plotlines, including but not limited to, the battle over a cow creamer, a lost notebook, romantic entanglements, the theft of a policeman's helmet, a potential jail sentence for Bertie, a dictator, and more romantic entanglements. Each plotline is brought to a conclusion by the brilliance of "Plum" the excellent English humorist. The book is full of hilarious one liners and brilliant wit. Amazingly, this novel was first published in 1938, yet it is still full of timely situations.

This novel of classic comedy introduces us to Totleigh Towers and its owner, Sir Watkin Bassett. Several memorable mainstay characters are in this book including Gussie Fink-Nottle, Aunt Dahlia, Madeline Bassett, and Stiffy Bing. Any journey taken with Wooster and Jeeves is time well spent. This classic series endures because the characters are wonderful and memorable. A 5 star fun-filled romp.

An early critic of P.G. Wodehouse complained that his second book was identical to his first, only the character names had changed. In response, Wodehouse resolved to continue writing identical stories, but to keep his character names the same. And so, The Code of the Woosters is nearly identical to all other Jeeves and Wooster novels; Bertie gets into a sticky situation, inadvertently makes things worse, and is ultimately rescued by Jeeves. Could any one of them possibly be any good if they are all so unoriginal? Yes. In fact, they are all excellent. How? Wodehouse was a genius; reading any one of his books will prove it to you. His characters are unforgettable. His narrative is brilliant. Above all, his books are hilarious, and The Code of the Woosters is one of his finest.

Betram (Bertie) Wooster, a lazy, bumbling (but well meaning!) gentleman living in Britain during the early 1900's, is pressured by his aunt Dahlia to steal a cow-shaped milk creamer from Sir Watkyn Bassett, a magistrate who once fined Bertie five `quid' for `pinching' a policeman's helmet. The task is made complicated by the presence of Roderick Spode, the amateur dictator who founded `the black shorts' and who is a friend of Sir Watkyn; Spode is watching Bertie like a hawk and threatens to break his neck if he sees Bertie so much as glance at the cow-creamer. Things go downhill when Gussie Fink-Nottle (a newt fancying friend of Bertie's) suffers a snag with his engagement to Madeline Basset (a dreamy girl who holds opinions like `the stars are God's daisy chain,' and who thinks that Bertie is madly in love with her). Bertie rushes to patch things up between them, but nearly becomes engaged to Madeline himself. In the end, only Jeeves, Bertie's brilliant, (almost) all-knowing manservant, can guide Bertie out of these troubled waters.

If you aren't familiar with P.G. Wodehouse's dynamic duo, you owe it to yourself to read this book. I guarantee you won't be able to stop laughing. Nearly every line is comical. The narration itself (the story is told by Bertie) is positively hilarious. And so, I give The Code of the Woosters the highest marks I can!

"Cotillion" was actually the first Georgette Heyer book I have ever read. I'd heard of Heyer through word-of-mouth and even in other novels (like Bridget Jones's Diary), but just never seemed to get around to reading one of Heyer's novels. I am so happy that I did. It's basically as if I've "discovered" Heyer and now I'm eager to get my hands on every single novel that I can. I've read a lot of regency-inspired romances over the years and I have to say, that when it comes to realistic, this book is the closest I've ever come. The dialogue is full of phrases and slang (like, "it's all the crack") and the mannerisms of the characters feel real and authentic. Occasionally, I couldn't help but think that Freddie was gay. Sorry, but it just kept popping up in my head every time he commented on someone's hat or shawl... -but I let it go. One thing I was surprised about was the actual lack of overt romance. Rather, it was subdued and subtle throughout the book. I really loved this book. Read it. If you don't like regency romance novels, don't read it. But then, I'm not sure why you'd be on this page in the first place if you didn't.

This is my first Georgette Heyer novel. I had a hard time getting into it. The first quarter of the book is rather slow and dull. However, once into the story, I found it very quirky and fun. I did not find it to be a romance though. Freddy and Kitty don't have much spark. And although I realize that this was not the intent of the author, I kept waiting for Freddy to come out of the closet. At the very least he is a metrosexual. I like my heroes a little less interested in female clothing and style.

But if I look past the idea of this book as a romance, I enjoyed it. The banter is great. The characters are hilarious. I would definitely recommend it.

This is classic (and therefore brilliant) Heyer. Not your usual Regency fare in terms of hero & heroine, but that's what makes it so unique and sweet. The cast of characters is full, but doesn't detract from the main plot; rather it helps the two along their sometimes bumbling way.
If you're looking for a keeper, this one is worth the money.

If you loved Friday's Child (my very favorite Heyer book) you'll love Cotillion.

Most Heyer books feature heros who need to grow. In Cotillion, a classic comedy of manners, our innocent heroine (madly in love with a romantic, dashing figure as the book begins) learns to appreciate the real worth of a very average man.

Sweet, gentle humor-- a book that gets better with every read.

Kitty Charing's guardian, the crotchety Mathew Penicuik, has promised that she shall inherit his fortune if she agrees to marry one of his great nephews. Kitty, however, wants none of them. What she does want is a trip to London, a place that she's never been. So she arranges a hoax engagement with great nephew Freddy giving her a good excuse to go to town to meet his family. Once in London she becomes a woman of fashion and gets entangled in all sorts of scrapes and misadventures.

Overall, Cotillion is pleasant historical fiction that while rather loosely plotted is carried along by the strength of a charming cast of characters. These include: the half witted but affectionate Lord Dolphington, foppish Freddy who has immaculate taste on everything from waistcoats to drapes, and the darkly handsome Jack, a notorious gambler and ladies' man.

The story starts with Kitty dealing with multiple marriage proposals and matters of the heart. However, during the entire middle section of the novel her romantic future is put on hold as she plays cupid for others. I felt as though this took too much focus away from Kitty as a heroine. She pales a bit in comparison to the far more interesting couples and situations around her. I got the impression of her as a kind hearted ingénue, but not much more than that.

Also I felt that Kitty and Jack's past and present relationship was rather poorly defined. We are made to understand that they had some kind of involvement in the past, but the exact nature of it eludes us. Was it a simple school girl crush as Kitty insists? Or was it something deeper than that as Jack seems to believe? This is a problem when Heyer attempts a love-triangle conflict at the stories' climax. Because we do not know whether Kitty really feels anything for Jack at all, there is a definite lack of tension, romantic or otherwise.

In the end, Cotillion is more of a feel good story than anything else. Suspense is minimal, and the novel's true strength lies in the journey and not the destination.

On a side note, there is a lot of unusual and (I suppose) period appropriate vernacular. For example,
"Wonder if he's playing a deep game?.. No saying what might be in his head, a curst rum touch Jack! Shouldn't have thought he'd whistle a fortune down the wind though. Rather fancy he counted the old gentleman's rolls of soft his own. Never knew such a fellow for wasting the ready! Played wily beguiled with his own fortune!" Pg 48-49.


Recommended if you love regency stories or light-hearted cozy reads.

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

When I was a child, this book took my breath away. I felt like I was living the incredible adventures in the story, from riding the Birthday Bird to choosing the tallest pet to eating the giant cake. I think this story inspired the adventures I try to create in my own writing.

Now that I'm a mom, I still love this book. It is a little long to hold the attention of toddlers or preschoolers, though, so I recommend it for Kindergarten & up.

I bought this book for both my youngest daughter and our cousin, both who were turning one.

Of course this book is way too advanced for them but I brought it to their 1st birthdays and had everyone who was in attendance sign it. I love looking at all the adorable things people have said and can't wait to show it to them as they get older.

My 2 yr old son destroyed this book just by turning the pages. I wish it were a board book and not a pop up book.

Instead of purchasing birthday cards this year, I purchased several books and wrote a personal message inside the cover. I then passed it around at the birthday parties and invited the guests to also write a message. This will be a wonderful keepsake item for my children and my nieces and nephews.

This is a wonderful book any child should have in their collection. The book can become part of a yearly tradition celebrating their birthdays!

The book came in expected condition. They shipped quickly and did a great job.

More of us need a mirror so we can truly see ourselves and discover that there are positive changes we can make that will enable us to be better people and that can make the world a better place to be. This is perhaps the weakest book of the five, but is still a good read. Do start at the beginning, however, of the series, or nothing will make much sense (if anything DOES ever make sense in this mixed up world of today).

Mark Rodriguez 2/26/06

The Mirror of Merlin, Author: T.A. Barron, ISBN: 0-441-00846-1

The Mirror of Merlin book review

As Merlin realizes that his home, Fincayra, is in grave danger of the ever growing haunted marsh, he steps up and decides he is going to find who made that happen and why. This story takes place at the legendary island called Fincayra, just before the medieval times. The characters in this epic story are Merlin, his friend Hallia, the evil witch Nimue, and a friend he meets on his way, Ector, (otherwise known as Arthur). As Merlin and Hallia find a ballymag (a water creature who lives in the marsh) in a stream instead of a marsh, he tells them that the haunted marsh is growing rapidly. They also discover that the marsh ghouls are attacking innocent people, which they only do when someone invades their territory. But they don't know that the evil witch Nimue is behind it all. The reason why the haunted marsh is growing so rapidly is because Nimue traveled through the magical mirror. This can take people into the past or future. Since she traveled through the mirror she has the power to control the marshes because someone unexpected taught her about the magical way. So she uses her magic for evil and controls the marsh ghouls and the marsh itself so she can take over the legendary island Fincayra. This book is one of the better fantasy books I've read.
The reason this book tops my list is because I really like fantasy books and that this book seemed really good to me. This book was also a real page turner. It kept up with the story and it sometimes got really suspenseful at times which caused me to read it even more. There are also really good descriptions throughout the book. I really enjoyed this kind of genre for this book because I love fantasy and anything with swords, dragons, or wizards has always interested me. This book really hit on all of those things that I love. I would recommend people from 6th grade to 8th grade to read it and if you are the kind of person that likes fantasy I would really recommend this book for you. Also there were a couple of surprises in the story that really got me. One of them was finding out that the little boy named Ector is really King Arthur. So if you need a book to read, pick this one up and enjoy!

This novel is a fast, fun, and thoroughly entertaining read. While not on the same level as the classic fantasy novels, Barron has found a way for the reader to connect to the young boy Merlin, and always want more at the novel's close.

I liked this book because it presented problems not yet thught of in the average reader's mind. This bookis also intertwined with the other books so you didn't have to meet the whole cast of characters. It took little characters from the other books and made them bigger in one way or another.In every book new information is presented, this book holds alot. Not considering learning about Fincayra itself this book is only second to the fifth book.
I think the best part of this book was when he meets himself, it was a comical meeting. Full of questions and anwsers. The meeting of young and old made me feel and think of pity, sorrow, laughter and wonder on what is to come in the future.
I think the most vivid part of this book was when older Merlin grows a tree right in his own house. In the middle of his own living room! Reading the tree grow is as if you are right in the room when it happens. As if the tree is planted in the book and you are riding it yourself. Not only do you feel that you were there but that you belng there.

This book is very colorful and teaches numbers as you count the number of bugs invited to the tea party. A very good value.

"One lonely spider sipped her tea while gazing at the sky
She watched the insects on the leaves and many flying by..."

So begins the tale of Miss Spider, a charming arachnid whose only wish is to have many an insect delight in her hospitality by attending her elegant tea party. Outwardly, Miss Spider is quite beautiful - a cheery goldenrod body accented by large black dots, hypnotizing peridot eyes fringed by heavy lashes, a striking red coif and coquettish smile all look very innocent, indeed. Despite her attractive appearance and friendly demeanor, not one insect in Miss Spider's neighborhood will accept her invitation for fear they will be caught in a literal web of deceit and become the main course amongst the gleaming china and sweet cakes.

As Miss Spider tries time and again to coax different insects (bumblebees, beetles, etc.), for a sit-down, she is continually met with resistance and/or rejection and retreats to her place settings, shedding a tear for the loss of company. It's not until a hapless moth soaked by the downpour of a thunderstorm stumbles upon her council that Miss Spider offers a tablecloth and tea to warm him. As the grateful moth flies off with a piece of chocolate cake, the good news spreads quickly of her generosity and good nature. Before she knows it, Miss Spider is flanked by dozens of insects and becomes the guest of honor at her own party and is graciously welcomed into the fold of many an insect family.

David Kirk has crafted a charming story that tells young children that people cannot be judged by their outward appearance, only by the content of their character and it does so magnificently with all the colorful and resplendent original paintings contained within. Your child will be enraptured by Kirk's bright and beautiful art work (it's one of the main reasons why I picked up this book for my daughter) and as an added bonus will get a nice refresher course on counting from 1-12 (two beetles, three fireflies, four bumblebees, etc.). The entire book is written in the form of a poem with spontaneous rhyme schemes - the language as well as the story flows beautifully as a result.

Bottom line: Undeniably enjoyable for the reader and the spectator, the artwork and word form of "Miss Spider's Tea Party" makes for a visual and auditory rapture.

This cleverly written concept (counting and poetry) book combined with the most beautiful illustrations makes this a must have for any home library. Before they can even read, children will enjoy have this story read to them while they look at the vivid pictures and try to count all the bugs to match the story. Opportunities to increase vocabulary are bountiful with the creative and broad use of vocabulary within the rhyming plot. The ending shows a great character building lesson to get to know someone before making a judgement. Just perfect!

Very cute story. I bought my niece the Fisher-Price tea party set and bought this book to go with it. The story is short but the pictures are adorable and very colorful. I would recommend this book. My niece is 1 1/2, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 3.

We've been reading this to our little guy since he was three months old, if even that, and he was glued to it from the start, easily his favorite book, still, at nearly 13 months. Great color, great rhythm, and lots of fun bugs! :)

This is a wonderful and touching story. It is a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever had a pet. I especially like that it has a jack russell in the story.

This book is the story of Willie Morris' childhood companion, a dog named Skip. Willie recounts his adolescent years and all the fond memories of his dog and friends as they grew up together in small town Mississippi. The story is heartwarming and the author paints a very clear picture of all the shenanigans, good times and bad that he and his dog had together over the years. I liked this book; but I think a male reader would appreciate the bond between a boy and his dog more than I can.

This was a great book! It was so touching and heartfelt. I love dogs and this book is an example of someone who loves dogs like me so I can connect! Greatly recomended!

Willie Morris was a truly great author! This story of his childhood with his dog was really heartwarming. It is so simple and warm and humorous, you will just love it. Warning: you will cry your eyes out at the end, but it's worth the pain. One of the best animal stories ever, I hope many kids read this in school. If you loved the movie "A Christmas Story" you will love this book. The movie version of "My Dog Skip" is also quite good, though it is kind of upsetting that in order to create drama the wonderful father of the book is kind of nasty in the movie. Willie Morris was a great author who also wrote a cat book entitled "My Cat Spit McGee" and several books about his life that remind me a little of Russel Baker's memoirs. One is entitled "North Toward Home", another "Good Old Boy" and one is about life in New York City.

Willie Morris has recounted the life of not just a boyhood pet, but a dear and close friend.
The Story of Skip's life as told by his owner is full of mythic adventures of childhood. Where every new day was full of joy and wonder. Morris' storytelling brings the dog, his family and the lush southern landscape into full and brilliant view.
When you read My Dog Skip you can just feel how much this young man loved and revered his dog.
Any of us who have had a much loved pet know that the bond between animal and human can reach so much further than just "pet and owner". Willie Morris makes the statement that Skip wasn't just his dog, but his brother... that is a beautiful thing. Morris grew up an only child but did not feel alone by any stretch of the imagination. He was loved deeply by and deeply loved his dog Skip.
Another great point made in this book is how Willie Morris learned so much from his dog Skip. He clearly states that the most lasting lessons he has learned about love and loyalty came from knowing his dog.
This book captures so well the love a boy or any human being can have for a pet... I loved the story and highly recommend it!

You know what ? This is a great book !
Being a french reader, I waited that I'd improved my english in order that I could really appreciate such good novels.
Ian Fleming is excellent at slowly revealing the psychology of his main character. And Fleming write with a skill and sureness of touch that go straight to the essential, without any "fioritures".
I do recommend this book to anyone who simply want to be appealed by good stories.

This is the best by Fleming. A real treat to read! Danger is what Bond gets into.

I've always ranked the first Bond book, "Casino Royale", as the best of the series. "On Her Majesty's..." is also one of the best -- perhaps because it has much in common with "Casino". Bond returns to the gambling tables of Royale; he enjoys various foods and drinks; he falls very hard for a girl, with potentially tragic results; and he comes across as very human, rather than the Superman of the movies (contrast the effortless skiing ending in a parachute jump or some other stunt in a typical Bond movie with Bond's desperate, exhausting downhill escape run that is a highlight of this book).

One of the best Bonds.

In Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond is chasing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the villain from Thunderball. Bond has to do a bit of role-playing in this classic Bond thriller, and he plays the part of a professional from the College of Arms (an organization dealing with genealogies and family trees) with panache. The novel begins with a terrific display of suspense, as Bond is in eminent danger. This feeling also lasts through most of the novel.

This novel is set mostly in the Swiss Alps at a sort of combination ski facility/ scientific lab. Bond is posing as a man from the College of Arms because Blofeld has expressed interest in his heritage. The novel continues as Bond attempts to find out all that he can about Blofeld's strange facility on this Alp.

The first part of the book was not quite as exciting as I had been expecting, but it provided enough humor for me to be satisfied until it got to the more action-filled sections. However, this book provided more than humor and action. The plot was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The skiing scenes were especially suspense-filled and exciting, Bond's romantic interests complemented the plot, and the characters were full and vibrant.

I decided to read a Bond novel after having watched several of the movies (you know how they all come on tv at once,) and I am glad I did. This novel was surprisingly good even though my expectations were high. This book is better than the movies because instead of mere sound-byte-intensive humor, it provides a real humor that I found to be much more affable than the movies. Also, Bond is portrayed somewhat differently than in the movies. I found that the action scenes were just as vivid as they are in the movies, something that is not often successfully managed by authors. I believe that any Bond fan should read the books, not just watch the movies. Trust me, they are at least equally enjoyable.

I think that this book is at least comparable to today's suspense novels, and my only complaint is that I was not around in the 60's to read it when it was a new and, I suspect, rather progressive novel.

One of the last of the original Bond Books, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also one of the best. Picking up a year after the end of Thunderball, this book finds James Bond again battling the nefarious schemes of Ernest Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE and, most importantly, falling in love with the beautiful, resourceful, and ultimately tragic Tracy. Though the usual intrigue is well-presented by Fleming, he also makes it clear that Blofeld's plan is hardly meant to be taken all that seriously. (Without ruining it for those who might never have read the book or seen the surprisingly faithful film adaption, it all comes down to Blofeld hidden away in Switzerland, pretending to be an allergist, and brainwashing English farm girls. No, it doesn't make a lot of sense but Fleming obviously had so much fun presenting it that most readers won't take offense.) The heart of this book -- and this Fleming treats with an admirable seriousness that should take his critics by surprise -- is the love story between Bond and Tracy. In Tracy, Fleming has created perhaps his most fully realized "Bond girl." Vulnerable yet resourseful and more than capable of taking care of herself (and, at times, perhaps even more so than Bond himself), its hard not to fall in love with this character and when Bond finally does decide to reject all others for her, its impossible to disagree with his logic. Its a compelling, rather touching love story and, even though most Bond films know how its going to end, the ending still packs a heavy impact.

As for Bond himself, after being a rather predictable presence in Thunderball, he's back in full form as a full realized, interesting character in this novel. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was written after the release of Dr. No (Ursula Andress even makes a cameo appearance at the time) and one can sense that, with this book, Fleming is reestablishing his claim on the character. From the intentionally ludicrous evil scheme to the frequent excursions into Bond's head (revealing him hardly to be the ruthless, unflappable killer that filmgoers though him to be), Fleming comes across as a reenergized writer in this book -- determind to let all the new Bond fans out there know who is really in charge of their favorite secret agent's destiny. The result is one of the best of the original Bond books and one of the best spy thrillers I've read in a long time.

Anytime I order from Amazon, I throw one of these in my cart for a last minute new baby, birthday or teacher gift. It is a wonderfully diverse selection of poems, often read by the poets themselves. How cool is it to hear Robert Frost in a scratchy rendition of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"?

My 4th grader was thrilled when his class read a Janet Wong poem, and he could tell them about how she came to write it, (track 29). I was thrilled that I could then give his teacher a gift she could use in class -- they were all thrilled to hear the poem read by the poet. With 95 poems from 73 poets, the book is a great value, but add the cd with the poets themselves and it is, well, priceless.

I am an amateur poet and love poetry so I'm a natural audience for this book and companion disc. My wife is not a lover of poetry and she loves this book. My eight year old daughter loves to read the poems and listen to them recited on the disc during road trips. My nineteen year old daughter LOVES this book - in fact she asked for it for Christmas last year and was delighted to recieve it!

I gave this book/CD to my daughter for her 6th birthday party. After the party while she played with the neighbors I was exhausted and just wanted to take a nap. Before I did though I put this 68 minute CD of poetry on and found it to be very entertaining and relaxing. 29 of the readers are the poets reading their own words.

Now my daughter has been listening to it every night before bed and often I play it early in the morning to gentle wake her before kindergarten.

There are some classic recorded poems here such as "The Raven" by Poe, "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll, "The Tyger" by William Blake and "Casey at the Bat" by Earnst L. Thayer.

There are also some very nice multicultural poems recorded such as "Eagle Poem" by Joy Harjo, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes, and perhaps my favorite poem in the collection "Okay, Brown Girl, Okay" by James Berry which is reassuring, touching, and can speak to everyone about what it's like to be different among other people.

Not all of the poems are included on the CD--some are just included in the book. Familiar poems and poets in the book only are "from Macbeth" by Shakespeare, "The Tale of Custard the Dragon" by Ogden Nash, "Frodo's Song in Bree" by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Land of Counterpane" by Robert Louis Stevenson, from "The Bed Book" by Sylvia Plath, "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" by Eugene Field, and "Letter to a Bee" by Emily Dickinson among many others.

In all there are 95 poems. Some of them recorded and/or published for the first time. The illustration are delightful and done by three different artist with different styles. They are Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, and Paula Zinngrabe Wendland.

This book/CD combo is a winner. It's very educational, fun, and will be enjoyed by the whole family.

My child is 3 1/2 and loves this book, as do I. While she's not into the CD YET, she loves sitting w/me and exploring the poems which are neither too complex or too simple. There are classics and more modern works and they've done a wonderful job finding an assortment that represent various ways that poetry is used in other literary works (ex. excerpts from Macbeth and "Lord of the Rings"). I'm not a poetry expert, so I love that there are poets and writers of whom I recognize such as Robert Frost, Nikki Giovanni, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allen Poe and that it introduces me and my child to others who I don't recognize. A great way to introduce poetry to your kids.

Elise Paschen (ed.), Poetry Speaks to Children (Sourcebooks Inc., 2005)

A collection of poems written to, or about, children with an accompanying fifty-track CD (most tracks are of the poems themselves, though a few are the poets talking about the inspiration for one piece or another). While a number of these fall into bona fide chestnut status, kids who are being exposed to poetry for the first time won't be aware of that, and that old black magic should work just fine on them. For older readers, it's fun to have a whole bunch of this sort of thing compiled into one volume (with its whimsical illustrations, sometimes almost as fun as the poems themselves). Recommended. ****

This book was so refreshing, inspirational, and moving. I absolutely Loved it and would reccommend it to All. This was my first time reading your work Mrs. Thomas but it will certainly not be the last. Thank You for enlightening me. This book has really helped me with a lot of things going on in my life.

I ordered this book after reading Jezebel (by Jacquelin Thomas) and seeing all the glowing reviews for this book. This book was slow. The first 150 pages were just about Marin and her husband going to dinner parties and their children. The next half of the book was about Marin's use of drugs and her husband being upset with her. This book had no excitement whatsoever. I can't fathom all these 5* reviews.

**Summary**
Marin, an actress, meets Warner, a pastor, at a religious conference. Warner was 30 something and previously engaged to a woman who died of ovarian cancer. Warner stated that God told him that he and Marin were meant to be together. Marin felt the same way.

After a few months, the two married. Initially, Marin wanted to focus on her career, but when she got pregnant by mistake, Marin was so happy that she decided to put her career on hold. After 4 years and 2 children (Rylan and Gabriel), Marin decided to return to her career.

Marin had a hard time getting acting jobs. She was finally offered a Lifetime job playing a drug addict. Marin decided to try cocaine to get ready for the role. Marin got hooked immediately because she always was told she was a screw up by her mother, felt abandoned by her mother and father, and didn't feel like she was good enough to be a preacher's wife.

Warner found out about Marin's drug use and convinced her to go into rehab. Marin stayed clean for a few months, but then started her drug use again. When Marin left the house to do drugs, Warner cut off all her credit cards, bank accounts, and so forth. Marin ended up prostituting herself and was raped.

After a while, Marin moved to NY (she was originally living in California) with Tisha and another drug buddy. When Tisha and the guy got arrested, Marin went to rehab. While in Rehab, Marin found out she was pregnant.

Eventually, Marin turned to Warner and the two reconciled.

Pros: EXCELLENT writing! easy to read
Cons: Boring, nothing exciting happened in the story; the names in the storyline were pretty bad (Dru, Warner, Marin, Shirley, Garfield)--what kind of names are those for black people??

My main issue was Geneva though. She, being a single woman, pushes up on the pastor and this is Christian behavior? Whatever! Also, it appears that all Jacquelin Thomas' characters suffer the same fate. It kind of makes it pointless to read her books now.

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend you read this book. It is definetly a tear jerker and is an item that belongs in every married African American woman's bookshelf.

I love Jacquelin Thomas books and this one by far is one of the most moving stories. The personification of redemption! Be prepared to stay up until 3am and pull the Kleenex out because you will need it! This book was truly a blessing to me and all my friends that I've passed it along too! I even bought a second copy as a gift for a friend =)

The book brings the stories in the bible to life...reading the book made the story of gomer and hosea make so much since. The one thing I do like is after you read the book you can turn in your bible to that story and see the similaries. God has truely given you a wonderful gift. Keep using it to gorify God

This is an incredible story about following Jesus and seeking to reach tribal people for Him. This book contains extensive journal entries from the five men involved, so provides a rich amount of detail. Most of the book is comprised of these entries, with Elliot mostly providing background information and transitions between entires. She doesn't fully express herself until the Epilogues, which are very powerful. This book is sure to have a profound impact on all who read it. Highly recommended.

I loved this book, it is definitely one to keep in my collection. Although I noticed that the type is very small and therefore a bit difficult to read ( and I have good eyesight ). Also I think something should be mentioned co: the pictures in the book, I knew it was tribal but I was not aware that there were photos. I still would have bought the book but I would definitely give it a PG rating.

If you are a Christian - this is a must read. If you are not a Christian - this is a must read.

This book should be a part of every Christian's library. I had heard Elizabeth Elliot talk on the radio and had known the story of "the five missionaries" but reading the book gave me great insight to the lives of these families- devoted to ministering to the unsaved. They gave definition to 'the purpose driven life!'

Great book. Poor presentation in this current printing. Words and pictures are small. Paper and physical book itself is low quality.