Camps Books

Wow- that's entertainment. Who knew blankets could be so fun and interesting? Now I do! A unique era in American history is crystalized in this book. If Barry writes it- I'll read it. Laughed out loud- often.

Superb- buy it and will it to your favorite child.

"Chasing Rainbows" is beautiful, profoundly informative and more fun to read than any collecting book you've ever owned...period!

I received this book as an early Christmas gift and now I'm buying a dozen copies to give to friends and family. This is the most beautiful and interesting collecting book I've ever read. The author is remarkably funny while delivering all the information on the subject anyone could possibly absorb. Just a fantastic effort.

Most books about collecting have lovely photos and dull text. This is an exception! Friedman's text is fun and helpful, with photos used as examples.

I own a massive library of books on every imaginable collecting subject and none has given me more joy than "Chasing Rainbows". Barry Friedman has intertwined his vast knowledge of Indian blankets, American history, the antiques business and garnished the result with a unique sense of humor and breathtaking photos to create a book that is an absolute gem. This is a great book from a very gifted man.

If you like to visit the National Parks or just want to know more about them, this is a great source of information. All National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges and some National Forests are covered. It is full of pictures and maps that look great. Nice all in one book.

We originally owned an older edition of this book and just purchased this to replace it. We have been to many National Parks over the years and have found this guide to be the best one out there. The drives as listed are fantastic... you won't miss anything if you have this book along with you!

This is an excellent book to use as a planning guide for trips to any of the National Parks in the US. I have been to many of the parks, and without exception the book's advice about how to get there, when to go, what to look for, etc., is excellent in every way. The book is filled with excellent color photography, and accompanying explanatory text with detailed entrance information that is particularly useful in some of the busier parks. There is also some good introductory safety information presented, but as always, it is a good idea to talk to local authorities when arriving (this is especially a good idea in the Alaska parks, many of which are veritably full of bears.)

All the parks are worth seeing, and this book gives a good introduction to them. Among the favorites that I have been to and particularly recommend are Denali National Park, an easy drive from Anchorage, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the island of Hawaii (the "Big Island"), Zion National park in Utah, home of some of the most spectacular desert landscape in the world, and Badlands National Park in South Dakota, featuring not only spectacular landscapes, but amazing animals in abundance.

This book is a great place to start; now get going and enjoy the beautiful National Parks!

I obtained the first edition of this book over ten years ago, and have kept that along with the latest edition in my book collection ever since. At that time I had never been to a national park, but this little book insipired me to visit 35 of them, volunteer in two, and work seasonally as a ranger at one.

This book is packed with useful and interesting information about each of the parks, and it is a pleasure to read even when not planning a trip. I highly recommend it.

We recently purchased this book just before our four-national-parks tour. The book not only gives you an overview of the parks, practical information such as how to get there, and nearby lodging etc., it has very good recommendation of must-see stops, and different levels of hikes you can take and what to expect. We used the book at every park and it helped us effectively use our time and it is a joy to read even without going to the parks.

This is a GREAT book! I highly recommend it if you are planning a trip to Alaska. It is VERY informative and VERY detailed. I enjoyed it immensely and I know I will take it with me when I visit Alaska next year! Thanks to the authors for such a great book!

This is great for the RV's not so good for tent campers and Motorcycle Adventure tourers.

Since we will be camping most of the time while in Alaska, this book is a great guide.

This guide is a little dated (3rd edition - 2005), but it's not hard to cross reference the campgrounds in this guide with a more recent (Trailer Life) guide, so that's not a major problem. The campground descriptions are spot on, but the feature we relied on most was the "Big Rigs" symbol. We pull a 32' 5th wheel, so we're not really huge, but knowing you can maneuver before you enter a campground is worth it's weight in Alaska gold.

This is a detailed and very useful and essential book to help making a motorhome trip to Alaska via the Alcan highway a pleasant experience. I think it is an easier guide to use for planning your trip than the Milepost.

The kids in my son's fifth grade class were all raving about this book, which was a miracle in itself, so I decided to read it for myself. I have to admit, I've been a big fan of Gina Gershon for a long time and it's hard to imagine her writing a kid's book. What a pleasant surprise! The book is well written, the story is clever, and the dialog is hysterical. The main character, Einstein P. Fleet, is a computer geek turned reluctant hero who faces the challenges of a monster theme camp run by aliens with a great sense of purpose and humor. My son has turned me on to a lot of new experiences --- reading Camp Creepy Time was one of them. Looking forward to the sequel.

Einstein P. Fleet has already logged hundreds of hours trying to blow the whistle on baddies. Through his popular blog, The Smoking Peashooter, Einstein manages to spread the word on all sorts of conspiracy theories, and he's even had a lawsuit pending against him since the fourth grade, all thanks to "The Wilson Incident."

Naturally, he questions his parents' motives for sending him to a remote summer camp for eight agonizing weeks, with no Internet access and a limited supply of Twinkies. From the moment he steps on the bus and sees every other camper in a monster costume, Einstein worries that perhaps this particular camp may be much more difficult to deal with than any normal one would be.

Unfortunately for him and his unsuspecting parents, his fears are well-founded...

Chock full of werewolves, vampires, mummies, giant spiders, and greedy mobster aliens, this book provides the same brand of entertainment as a classically cheesy monster film. Highly recommended for reluctant readers.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

I got this book as a present and really had fun reading it. So much so, I ran out and bought 3 books, one for each of my nieces and nephews, ages 8-13. They loved it! We all had fun talking about the adventures of Einstein and his cohort. My 11-year-old niece really loved Roxie and has decided she wants to be an alien spy. I would recommend this book for anyone. We are all looking forward to the movie version to come out.

Every once in a while you come across a book that makes you laugh out loud. Camp Creepy Time is one of them. The main character, Einstein P. Fleet, is a lovable thirteen year old computer geek. You know, the kind of kid that rarely sees the light of day. His parents send him packing off to a monster theme camp smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert for the summer ---- which turns out to be merely a stop over on the way to being abducted and sold to an intergalactic monster zoo in another galaxy. The story mixes all types of elements from the science fiction genre and somehow manages to glue them into a cohesive, original plot. It's also funny and very well written, especially for a pair of first time authors. The book ends leaving the door open for a sequel, which I can't wait to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor. You will be pleasantly surprised.

You simply can't go wrong with this wacky zany summer send-up. Einstein P. Fleet, a loner-nerd trapped at a hellish summer camp in the Mojave Desert, leads us through a wild storyline of escape, with monster costumes, vampires, werewolves and aliens all in the mix.

This fast-paced, well-written farce is a quick, irreverent, hilarious read for kids and adult-kids. Highly recommended. It's no surprise that Dreamworks has this story in script development....Can't wait for the movie!

I have the honor of being one of Dr Feig's students studying Eastern European History. I have read many things she has written, this book, like everything else , is amazing. I highly recommend it to everyone.

I have had the honor, and pleasure, of being Dr. Konnilyn Feig's student at Foothill College, CA. I have read this book, and I think I can say that it reflects the personality of the author. Dr. Feig is a Teacher, first and foremost. She is one of the few, rare, great Academics, a scholar of enormous skill and learning. This is shown in every page of her book, her intelligence, her strong, vibrant personality, and her critical, clear eye of a Historian. This book is possibly one of the best histories of Hitler's death camps that could ever be written, because it is written by an intelligent person who strives to keep this horrifying part of our shared past from being forgotten. She writes with strength, with passion, and with the vitality of a woman who has devoted her life to teaching, to one of the most noble professions of this world. Not only is this book an unsurpassed history of a terrifying time, but it is a monument to the vital, burning mind of a woman who can best be designated by a single word, a word that speaks of intelligence, nobility, and necessity-a Teacher. For the author alone, the book is more than worth reading, for Academics such as this are not often found.

I read this book when I was 16, after FINALLY watching a copy of "Schindler's List". From the moment I began the movie, I was entranced by the Holocaust and immediately wanted to read as much as I could about this dark time in Our History. As I expected, there isn't that much available to a 16 year old (I am 19 now), but this book was enough and then some! It is amazing how the author goes through EACH individual camp (major camp) and illuminates the reader as to what occured and what fate awaited not only the comandants, but the female SS officers. From this book, it is so easy to FEEL what the victims of the Holocaust felt and SEE the horror they witnessed. This is one of my most favorite books!

I'll be brief. A deeply disturbing account of Nazi concentration camps and the activities that took place at such locales. It is truly hard to imagine the abhorrent behavior and actions that were used against Jews, mainly Jews, and other non-sanctioned races designated by the National Socialist Worker's Party in the years before and throughout WWII. Feig guides the reader along a nightmarish tour of grisly death and, what many inhabitants of these camps must of felt, psychological hopelessness.

This book does an admirable job of detailing the horrors inflicted on those victims of the Nazi camps. From Chelmno to Bergen-Belsen, all the major camps are described in unflinching language. The only drawback to the book is some of the critcisms the author levels at the Allies during World War II and before the war. Some examples of this unfair treatment: 1) She berates them for not attacking railroads leading to the camps or bombing the crematoriums. However, she herself admitted that the Germans would have quickly repaired the tracks and the crematoriums. Thus it would have taken multiple raids made against these targets, effectively denying the bombers from use against the Nazi war machine. If there were multiple raids made, it could very well have led to defeat of Allied forces on key fronts. It is doubtful that even if these multiple raids had been made that the Germans would have given up on killing their victims. The author herself stated that the Nazis, beyond any reason, was fervently trying to kill as many concentration camp inmates as possible before Allied troops arrived. Thus it would be unlikely that the Nazi effort to kill Jews would have been dissuaded. 2) She berates the US and Britain for not allowing widespread immigration during the Depression. She ignores the fact that both US and Britain were in the grips of (surprise!) the biggest Depression the world had seen and thus didn't need more people competing with American and British workers for scarce jobs. 3) She attacks Britain for not allowing widespread Jewish immigration into Palestine just before World War II and during it. She obviously doesn't understand that if that thing she wished for was allowed, the Arabs might have revolted against the British (as she even mentioned in the book) and may have sided with Germany. If that had happened, the Suez Canal would have been cut and Britain would have lost a vital source of supplies. Being deprived of that, Great Britain might have actually fallen to Nazi juggernaut and Hitler essentially won the war in Europe. If THAT had happened, I guarantee many more inmates would have died.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

I've been in sales for 15 years. I'm a learner and I've read many of the books and been to the popular seminars on sales (Strategic Selling, Selling Solutions etc.). I just got into the IT sales field last year and highly recommend this book. This book is a solid, no-hype approach to complex selling. It gives me a blueprint to follow, it's very accurate for today's technology challanges and I found it easy to read as well! I usually don't recommend stuff but this book is a real "secret" weapon.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview for a sale position with a much respected software company. A few days before the interview I had just finished reading I.T. Sales Boot Camp. The concept and fundamental ideals of selling in an I.T. arena that were taught and express in the book enabled me to land the job. I believe that the knowledge that I gain from I.T.Sales Boot Camp made the different in my interview.

As opposed to most "hot new" sales approaches which focus on changing your personal style, this book does a great job of providing a strategic step-by-step plan from A-Z. It's void of fluff and gets right to the point of outlining the nuts and bolts of the process including pre-sales planning, performance tracking, maintaining growth, and writing proposals. It's worth reading in general and especially for those migrating into tech sales.

This is a wonderful story and it begs the question: Could I have been that brave and compassionate? A story of true Christians.

Great, great book. Inspiring, heart wrenching. Great message about God's faithfulness, but should in no way be boxed in as Christian literature. A great historical book no matter what your faith. Loved it.

Let me start out by saying that this is a very powerful book. There is such an awesome message of hope, courage, and faith. If you love God, family, and believe that God can do powerful things then this is the book for you. Corrie Ten Boom is living with her family during the time when Nazi soldiers are taking Jews to concretion camps. Her family wants to help the Jews and keep them safe, by hiding them in their home. Corrie is working for a secret organization that helps protect the Jewish people. She and her family soon find that they are in the same situation as the Jews. Corrie stays strong in her faith and good things start to happen in the concretion camp that she and her family are put into. Like eventually she and her sister are finally put together, and other members of her family are let free. I strongly recommend this book for anyone sixth grade and up. The Hiding Place By: Corrie Ten Book is a very well written book and has two thumbs up.

This is an absolutely extraordinary book. Never have I read a book in which the spiritual beauty of the author so resonated throughout the story. The purity of heart that manifests itself in this inspiring saga of a heroic, Dutch family in Nazi occupied Holland during World War II is stunningly beautiful.

This is the true story of the Ten Boom family who, during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, upon seeing what was happening to their Jewish neighbors and friends, asked themselves this age old question "If not us,...who; if not now,...when?" They answered it, ultimately at great cost.

The Ten Booms were devoutly Christian and lived a simple life. The patriarch of the family ran a watch shop that had been in his family for a century. Some of the family members, the author among them, worked there, selling and repairing clocks and watches. They also lived in the house in which the shop was located.

When the Nazis occupied their country, the reality of what it meant slowly dawned upon them, as they saw the treatment given to their fellow Dutch citizens of the Jewish faith. Moved by their plight, the author at the age of fifty, together with other members of her family, including their father who was nearly eighty, became active in the Dutch underground.

When it became clear to the Ten Booms that Jews were being targeted for deportation and death, they had a false wall constructed in the author's bedroom, thereby creating a secret room. There, they would hide the terrified Jews who were staying with them, in the event of a Nazi raid upon their home.

Eventually denounced by someone to the Nazis, the Ten Booms were arrested and their home raided and torn apart by the Gestapo, in their search for the Jews they believed to be hiding there. At the time of the raid, the Ten Boom home was filled to capacity with Jews in hiding. So well concealed was the hidden room that had been created by the erection of the false wall, that these poor, terrified Jews managed to escape detection.

The Ten Boom family did not fare so well. It was upon their arrest that they learned first hand of man's inhumanity to man, and their faith was put to a test that they had never dreamt possible. It was faith, however, that sustained the author in what was to be her darkest hour of deepest despair. To find out what happened to the Ten Booms, read this book. It is the story of an incredible family, who had the courage to put their convictions to the test.

This book is a masterpiece. The reader is sure to be captivated by the goodness and spiritual beauty contained within its pages.

The Hiding Place is the moving true-life account of Corrie ten Boom and her family who sheltered persecuted Jews in Nazi-oocupied Holland during World War Two. They did this at great personal risk, but they did it because of their unwavering faith in God, and because it was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, they are arrested and deported to the camps for their acts of resistance against the Nazis. It is a testament to their faith and nobility that they retain their belief in God despite all the travails that await them in the camps.

"No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still" - as Corrie ten Boom believes despite all the horrors that she has endured. A testament to the power of belief in God, and to the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary and horrific times.

Inside Camp-X As a young boy who moved to Canada in the late 60s, I actually snuck into Camp X before it was turned over to the Fire department for controlled burns, what a historical tragedy! I had no idea of the significance of this historical site until reading Inside Camp X! This is a fascinating book about the little know realm of Secret Agents. To think that Ian Fleming trained there which led to one of the most incredible movie series of all time, James Bond, is incredible history for Canada! In fact, I was so enthralled with the character of James Bond; I named my son after the greatest actor to play the roll! And now Sean is serving in Afghanistan with US Army Intelligence - - go figure! There is so much more to Camp X than most people know! Alumni went on to become directors of the FBI, and one of its alumni went on to be one of the founders of the Green Berets! Anyone with an interest in Intelligence, espionage, and elite military operations must read this book, it all started here! All of Lynn's books are wonderful reading and I highly recommend them!

This audiobook is about the training and development of Allies spies during W.W.II. During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built Specifically for Training Allied Spies.
This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training, Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War.
The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth , a prominent Shakespearean actor and producer in Canada.

From the moment I started reading this book I couldn't put it down until it was finished. This has to be one of the most incredible covert operations of WW2. From Sir William Stephenson's start-up operations to the closing at the end of the war, it takes the reader through the intense training, discipline, and secretive world of intelligence. And all this took place right in the Whitby/Oshawa area. Until I read this book I was totally unaware of how intriguing and historical this area was. Thank you for a well written, well researched and highly informative book.

Frances Whelan

INSIDE CAMP X
By Lynn Philip Hodgson
During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built
Specifically for Training Allied Spies. This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training,Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War. The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of
Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth is a prominent Shakespearean actor and
producer in Canada.

CAMP X
The true story of what went on behind the fences of
STS - 103 (Camp - X) This top secret World War II
Secret Agent Training School was strategically placed
in Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario.

As outlined in his biography The Life of Ian Fleming written by John Pearson after
the war, Fleming was required to take the same training as the Camp - X Agents
in order to realize the effect of the process and to have a better appreciation for
what the Agents endured. On one occasion, he was sent inside with orders to
shoot and kill the man he would find hiding in an upstairs bedroom.

Unbeknownst to Fleming, his intended target was in fact the Chief Instructor of
Camp - X, Major William Ewart Fairbairn, a man who, it was fabled, was so good
at his trade that he could dodge bullets! Pearson quotes William Stephenson,
Head of the British Security Co-ordination, as having said, "It was a test of nerve....
a test to decide whether he (the Agent) really was ruthless enough to kill a man
when it came down to it." According to the account, Fleming waited outside the
room for a time, then went away. "You know, I couldn't really kill a man that way."
Stephenson said Fleming apologized later. Fleming drew from this and his other
experiences with Agents from Camp - X to write his famous 'James Bond' novels.

Mr. Hodgsons book on the inner workings of Camp x, which till recently has been shrouded in secrecy, is a must read ...As someone that lives very close to the actual site it has opened my eyes to what Camp X was all about...Untill this book became available, even those of us that live very close to the site had no idea of the importance of Camp X...

This is another beautiful by tricia. I read this immediately after Dust and Ashes. They both were great stories. This one has several different story lines that all end up in one great ending. The characters are real and interesting. I highly recommend this book along with Tricias 1st book, Dust and Ashes

The first half of this book wasn't so riveting, but the last part held me captive, with tears and smiles abundant.

Evie is an Austrian living in America. Her boyfriend, Nick, is a medical student. Before she can accept his proposal of marriage, she is ordered back to Vienna.

Otto is seeking power...and valuable violins.

Jakub is a Jewish boy, living in the shadow of his extremely talented younger brother. Things go from bad to worse as first he and his family are put in a ghetto, then a concentration camp, and for Jakub, a hard labor camp called Mauthausen. Can Jakub overcome his fear of playing the violin in front of crowds? His life might depend on it.

Evie helps in the resistance movement, disguising herself and putting herself in danger.

Nick thinks Evie has died, but he is not able to forget her or stop loving her. Or is he?

This is an inspiring story based on truth--there was actually an orchestra in the Mauthausen camp.

I found Night Song by Tricia Goyer to be captivating. I am not much of a History buff, but found this book easy to get into and lose myself into. It is a wonderful story well put about WWII and Mauthausen camp. The characters all seem to pop out of the book as you are reading it. The ending is perfect for the book. I recommend this book in every book lovers library.

I just finished reading "Night Song." I think that is the first Christian fiction book that I have read and really didn't expect to like it so much. The touching individual storylines just drew me in.... Before I knew it I was caught up in the days of the past and the lives of the intriguing characters. It is so well written ~ the stories are woven easily together as the reader is introduced to each side of the conflict. I have recommended "Night Song" to others and look forward to starting on my next Tricia Goyer book, "From Dust to Ashes."

I hate to appear curmudgeonly, given the overwhelmingly favorable reviews of this book, but I've just read it and can't quite join in the enthusiasm.

As a Christian I am on the side of this genre of writing; as a society we need less of the sleazy and crude offerings that we are presented with in the print and visual media. So I started this book sympathetically. It didn't quite succeed in engaging me.

I have no complaint about the storyline in general, but thought the plot lacked some needed tension at critical points and was altogether too self-conscious in its invocation of Scriptures and Christian principles, as much as I appreciate their value.

The story culminates with a Dickensian feel, when main and subordinate characters are brought together through coincidental (or Providential) events. But here again the scheme is contrived -- the assembling of the bare bones predicts the outcome; we needed a bit more of the accidental unfolding to enhance the surprises at the end.

A niggle: as a non-American I was put off by current Americanisms appearing in the mouths of 1940s characters. The idiomatic use of American English has changed considerably since the Second World War and an authentic feel can only be achieved by reflecting the voices of that earlier period. Also, the author's attempt to fuse coded American "values" (freedom) and icons (the statutette of Lady Liberty) with the Christian ethos is an unfortunate device and might limit the appeal of this book to non-American readers.

I found the closing third of the book to be closer to my expectations, more tightly written and approaching dramatic tension. The memorial to those victims of the camps was substantial and worthy, and provided details I have not encountered elsewhere.

Historical Realism. Middle elementary.

Summary
This picture book is story of Rose Blanche, who lives in Nazi Germany. After she sees a boy trying to escape, she wants to know where the little boy went. When Rose discovered a death camp and the starving people, she started taking them food without telling her mother. "Rose Blance was getting thinner. In town, only the mayor was staying fat." The Russian soldiers come and the camp disappears. Flowers grow where the camp was.

Illustrations
The colors are primarily brown, with detailed and interesting pictures. Each page has a little color, which stands out and reinforces the words (e.g., red dress of Rose, gold Jewish star).

I'm in 7th grade and my teacher read this book to the class when we were learning about World War II. This book has stuck with me for a long time!!! After she read this book I could not stop thinking about it. If you read this book, make sure you have a box of tissues nearby.

I have never heard of this book I picked it up because the pictures are so lovely. I began to read and was struck by it's simplicity and power at the same time.

I became confused at the end I did not know what happened because the author switched from first person to third person.

This book explains so much in such a simple, soft spoken way in the eyes of a small child.

Nothing could be more profound

Congratulations! You have successfully located the best translation of the book "Rose Blanche" available on the market today. While the British and German translations may change significant portions of this tale around and about, the American version (all thanks to hard work of excellent translators Martha Coventry and Richard Graglia) is true to authors Gallaz and Innocenti's original plot and vision. So well done you! Give yourself a pat on the back and a hanky. You'll need it after you finish reading the book.

It's Germany during World War II. As we watch, our little heroine, Rose Blanche, describes the early days of the war. The soldiers are being packed up and shipped away and everyone is cheering them on. Swastikas are plentiful. One day, Rose sees a small boy escape from a van in the middle of the street. The boy is quickly caught and placed within the cramped van once again. Curious, Rose Blanche follows the van to the edge of town and into the forest. There she comes face to face with the children of a concentration camp. After offering them some of her food, the first person narrative abruptly begins to be told in the third person instead. We are told that Rose Blanche continued to bring food to the hungry children. Finally, the citizens of the town flee, wounded soldiers amongst them. Rather than escaping, Rose Blanche makes one last trip to the camp, only to find it empty. A single shot rings out and we see the Communist soldiers filling the now abandoned town. The book ends with, "Rose Blanche's mother waited a long time for her little girl". Flowers bloom, but the single purple bloom the girl placed on the barbed wire has wilted.

Tragedy in the key of E. The text is rather well written, giving no specific person or persons blame, but rather suggesting a collective guilt. Admittedly, I was a little taken aback by the sudden switch in narrative. One minute you know exactly what Rose Blanche is thinking and the next you can only interpret her emotions through descriptions and visual images. A review of this book in the March 2004 issue of "Children's Literature in Education" suggested that this is done so that the reader is given a bit of distance when the girl is shot. Admittedly, I don't expect my heroines to die in the picture books I read but I think we can chalk that up to naivete on my part more than anything else. This is, after all, an incredibly realistic work of fiction. The character of Rose Blanche even attains a kind of religious piousness at the end of the tale. In her final picture, she stands in the position of a saint. Her eyes are downcast, one hand lightly touching her heart, and the other placing a small purple flower on the broken fence.

Which brings us to the illustrations. Innocenti's pictures deftly tell a story within the actual text. In the first few pictures, Rose appears in happy crowd scenes. Then, as she discovers more about the world in which she lives, she is placed farther and farther away from other people. Rose is continually set apart from the others by her clothing as well. Where everyone else is resigned to grays and browns, Rose sports a pink dress with a bright red bow on her head. The illustrations are strikingly realistic, never becoming cartoony or visually inconsistent. Innocenti is deft at the millions of different ways in which light changes a scene. And to top it all off, he's done some of the most brilliant fog I've ever seen put down on paper.

This is a book about seeing what other people won't. The name "Rose Blanche" is explained by the author on the book flap. The Rose Blanche was a group of young Germans that protested the war. Like the heroine of this tale, they were unduly executed for the crime of thinking differently. The best use of this book is to utilize it in such a way that we can never forget how important it is to question authority at all times and to always fight for the truth. It seems that message is more important today than ever. A tip of the hat to the Rose Blanches of the world.

The time period is World War II. The main character is a small girl, named Rose Blanche. This is her story.

Rose is walking about one day through a forest when she comes to a tall barbed wire fence. Inside the fence is a concentration camp, where many people are being held. Rose goes to this place everyday, bringing food to the children.

Then, one day, when she reaches the small clearing where the children are, she finds it gone. Bits of wire and wood are lying littered on the ground, and she holds a small purple flower above the scattered wood.

The flower is a single ray of hope, shining brightly through the darkness. It is a hope that the war will end and hope that the lives of people across the world will return to normal. This book is a symbolism of what one little girl did to make the world a better place. Rose Blanche is truly an interesting, and touching read.
~~**Jessica**~~