Virginia Books

These books are wonderful and a must read for EVERY woman and man for that matter. Very enlightening, insightful, and informative.

I read this collection of "Big Bend" lore (relating to TransPecos Texas south of the first rail line, roughly south of the Davis Mtns) during a recent visit to the region, and was able to pick up on a lot of the cultural elements of this fascinating country. The publishing date (1955) gives it a peculiar added interest, namely that of a snapshot of west Texas at the outset of the "civil rights" era; Ms. Madison, like most intelligent white Southerners (yes, Texas was a "Southern state" at that time), varied between cultural liberality and defensiveness, a "we have problems, but we can solve them ourselves" sort of thing. She is a skilled discursive writer, and people with an interest in this area should find the book enjoyable.

Very pleased with this book. Page after page of pictures. Super resource for looking items up. Will use it year after year.

"The Big Box" is a Level 1 book from the Real KidsReaders series. My son is a still a beginning reader, strugglingsomewhat, and is easily frustrated when he finds he cannot read many of the words in a book. I have tried other beginning reader series of books found that several of their Level 1 titles were too advanced for him. I introduced this book to him, and lo and behold, he read an entire book by himself! His confidence level was raised by accomplishing this and now, since I've introduced other books in this series to him, he has started taking more risks and his reading is improving steadily.

I was very pleased that the content is phonics based, includes rhyming words, and bright photographs of the main characters - children who appear to be around the same age as the reader it was intended for. It also includes a page at the end with phonics guidelines and helpful hints for parents to make reading a positive experience for their children.

If you have beginning readers who are ready to tackle their first book by themselves, I highly recommend this book, and the others in this series.

This book isn't a how-to guide, but is a linguistic study of the simultaneous acquisition of both Cantonese and English by the authors' children which is a language pair somewhat neglected in previous literature. A knowledge of Cantonese is not required in order to understand what is covered as the authors do quite an admirable job with their explanations and theories, but it would give the reader more of an insight as to the "why" of things. This is a great book.

Thie raw and very real story, should be required reading for ALL entertainers in America. Actors, diractors, producers, writers,singers,dancers, athletes, etc, etc, rtc. She was [ slack-salled after 17 years on the TV show "One Life to Live" She was the first Black American to break the color barrier in TV and was fired after 17 years, Because she is Black. Better yrt you should simply read the book/ It will over whelm you senses. It is an Awesome achievement in it's truth and detail. A Must Read. John Abbey

Birds of Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a convenient, full-color field guide that lends itself to easy use by amateur birdwatchers and professional researchers alike. Birds of Shenandoah National Park features a brief entry for each of 336 avian species sighted in the area of Blue Ridge in North Carolina and Virginia, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Each entry consists of the species' common name, its scientific name, its approximate size, a verbal description of its appearance and characteristic habits, and a brief summary of where it can be found during what seasons of the year; yet by far the most valuable identifier are the illustrations, almost all of which are in full color. An index, a checklist, and a brief supplementary section of birds that are not common in the area round out this elegantly useful guide.

As beginner bird watchers, this book has been a tremendous help to us in identifying our "local" West Virginia birds. Previously we had purchased the Audubon field guide to north American birds (a fine book), but we find "Birds of West Virginia" to be more user-friendly for three reasons: 1) it shows the pictures of the birds and the description of the birds on facing pages (Audubon makes you flip to the back of the book for descriptions), 2) the photos of the birds, both male and female, are large and clear; and 3) the "Stan's Notes" section at the bottom of each page gives the novice bird watcher some interesting tidbits about the birds. Thank you to the author for helping us learn more about our West Virginia birds!

Part of Oral Traditions Project-Covers broad spectrum of topics by 12 authorities including quilt historians,folklorists & social historians Virginia Gunn, Nancy Roanm Patricia Herr, Tandy Hersh, Jeanette Lasansky, Patricia Keller, Kathy Sullivan, Laurel Horton, Cuesta Benberry, Barbara Brackman, Mary Cross, Rachel Maines. Book Explores & chapters include Late 19th century dress fabrics & period quilts, Fabrics used by Penn-German Farm Families, Small piece, Appliqued, and Quilted Objects in Penn-German Household, Penn-German Pillowcase, Dowry Quilts, Lancaster County Marriage Quilts, German Quiltmaking, S. Carolina's Dutch Fork Textile Traditions, Penn-Dutch Patterns nationalisation in 1940s-1960s, Influence by Fairs & Expostions, Oregon Quilt Contest, Needlework Technology in Industrial Era - This is a serious scholarly study with full Bibliography for each chapter - good large examples of dress fabrics are pictured, rare objects like Amish birds from Mufflin County, Penn, Quiltmakers bios, quilt provonance are documented.

"Thelma V. Reed has lived through a lot, and we are fortunate that she has chosen to share her stories of pre-Civil Rights Southern girlhood, wartime and post-war work and family life in the North, and her inspiring emotional and spiritual journey in this vivid and gripping memoir. Mrs. Reed is part of a long line of African American storytellers, and you are not reading so much as listening to stories gleaned from sometimes painful but always rich experience. "Black Girl from Tannery Flats" will stay with you, whether you are a scholar of twentieth-century African American history or a student of life itself."

Cecil Brown, author of "Stagolee Shot Billy" (Harvard University Press) says: "In "Black Girl From Tannery Flats," Thelma V. Reed employs a narrative that has all but disappeared from African-american literature. This is how it sounded before the arrival of television, when the young people gathered around the Southern fires and listened to their elders tell their histories."