Anne Books

These pictures always make me laugh. Anne Taintor can creatively put words to what women may be really thinking to traditional 50's women pictures. There is also ample space to write within each day and there are a few pages in the back for jotting notes. I had the 2006 calendar and wanted to have more pictures to brighten my days so I bought the 2007 calendar!

This calendar is so much fun! Each week has a retro photo, featuring a 1940s, 1950s housewife and a hilarious slogan. For example, one photo has a girl smiling, snuggled up in bed with the typed-out slogan of "I love not camping." Some made me laugh out loud. The space for the actual calendar is on the small side, I think, with not a lot of room to write down appointments, etc., especially on Saturdays and Sundays. This calendar isn't meant to be for work though, but for fun, so keep that in mind. While this calendar isn't for everyone, if you have a good sense of humor and aren't easily offended by ironic semi-feminist statements, you'll like it.

I'm glad that I can finally use my 2007 engagement planner !! Every time I write something down it brings a smile to my face :-)

Nice size, ample room to write, hilarious pictures with quotes to keep me laughing all year!

This book is unique in that the pictures show different states of properly cooked, under or over cooked foods. Also gives tips how to salvage any mistakes that have been made. I have been cooking for years, and learned alot just from flipping through the pages.

This is the best cookbook I own. Although not all of the ingredients are available where I live, I still rely on this cookbook for everyday cooking and for entertaining. The recipes are simply delicious and always turn out well. And if by chance the dish does not, Anne Willan has included quick fix tips with easy last-minute solutions.

Great photography clearly shows when something is undercooked, overcooked or perfect. A wonderful visual training guide. There are so many recipes that are my favorite. One my guests always ask for is the Classic American Cheesecake (page 293) served with Chocolate and Stout Sauce (page 138). Both are easy to prepare. You do have to make the cheesecake a day in advance as it has to be left in the oven 12 hours after baking and turning off the oven. It is worth the wait, a smooth and creamy cheesecake everytime!

I used to cook a lot, but got away from it for many years -- eating out in restaurants while I pursued a career. I read an article about Anne Willan in our local paper, and had to try one of her books. I'm not ready to make the fancy French dishes (although I would like to eat them) so I decided to buy a simple book and practice the basics again.

Ms. Willan explains many basic recipes in this volume. This is a nice cook book to give a new cook, or it might be a housewarming or bridal gift. I gave it to myself. I especially like the photos that show how things should look. There are photos of how things shouldn't look too, with explanations about why you got the results you did. I recommend this book if you're beginning for the first time, or beginning again.

This book is big, heavy and loaded with not only delicious recepies, but tons of information about food preparation as well and it is chucky jammed full of gorgeous color photographs so good you're mouth waters just looking at the pages. The hot and sour soup on page 23 is to die for and the Coffee and rum raisin parfait in the dessert section is a dessert just to impressive to describe and I can't praise the pecan truffles enough. This is just one heck of a neato-jet cookbook.

Not only do you get receipes with ingrediants and instructions, but many of the receipes include promlems you might encounter while preparing the dish, for example the "Grilled Pork Chops with Classic Barbecue Sauce" on page 83 explains under the problems section why your effort may have come out dry or overcooked, why it may be tough, tasteless or too salty. I know, if you're a person who has been cooking forever, loves a good receipe and owns a zillion cookbooks, as I do, then this will be self evident, but for a beginner, it's nice information to have.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

This story has so much going for it: delightful phrasing, conflict, humor, and a satisfying ending.

I love that the story is told from a child's perspective. "Delicious" truly saves the day. Isn't that the dream of every child? ;-)

The illustrations are the cherry on this story sundae. They're colorful, fun and engaging. Yum!

So I was doing my usual Thursday storytime (as is my librarianly duty) to a group of open-mouthed red-cheeked youngsters when I happened to ask if any of them knew what a tall tale was. You could have heard a pin drop. Now there were roughly ten or so children ranging in age from nine to toddlerhood and amongst these not a single child (that would admit it) knew that great family friendly and thoroughly American art of over exaggeration. I was sorely aggrieved but read from Anne Isaac's marvelous, "Swamp Angel" and felt much better in the end. Since that time, I have come to the conclusion that it is the duty of every good honest citizen of our fair Etas Unis that writes for children to make at least one tall taleish picture book in their lifetime. So far, there are plenty of writer/illustrators out there shirking their duties, but Deborah Hopkinson and Nancy Carpenter are not among them. Between the two of them they've concocted a rip-roaring, snorting, fit to be tied narrative based on true events and spun into utter silliness and fantasy. The result is the fun freewheeling, "Apples To Oregon", and after reading it your tots may well want to make the trip themselves.

Delicious and her daddy are two of a kind. They both love their beautiful Iowan fruit orchard. And they'd give everything they have to preserve and protect those awesomely tasty trees. So when Delicious's daddy decides that the family should pull up stakes and head for Oregon, it's only natural that the trees should come along with. Trouble is, it's hard enough to get a family the size of Delicious's across the plains (there are eight or so children), let alone finicky fruit bearers. But her daddy's determined, so off go Delicious, her mother, father, and seven siblings to make it to Oregon. Along the way they ford a mighty river using only their feet, battle a mighty windstorm, are saved of thirst by finding water filled boots, and finally engage in combat with the sneaky low down Jack Frost himself. By the end, Oregon has its trees and Delicious has a new home to settle in.

Hopkinson writes in an easygoing drawl that doesn't try too hard or rely on an abundance of silly cliches. And the various adventures visited upon the clan are silly but never too frightening or woeful. The fact that Delicious's father seems to care more for his trees than his children is a bit off-putting. And I can definitely see various children reading this story and getting ticked at his callousness. But if you take it for what it's worth, the rest of the reading is easy going. Hopkinson even includes in her Author's Note some information on the man this tale was loosely based on. It may certain interest adults to know that as a result of 1847's Henderson Luelling, Oregon remains one of the finest fruit producers in the continental United States.

As for illustrator Nancy Carpenter, she's given the pictures here a nice feel. You jump in sympathy as you see the poor kids leap through the sand without their boots (and you can't help but curse their lazy father who is not only booted but riding a horse... some Pop he is!). You cringe as Jack Frost's hand reaches to get past clever Delicious, ever watchful at her post. The pictures here are a sweet compliment to a nice story.

I don't know if I can say that this is the best tall tale book out there. But it is nice to see how the hero in this particular case is an entire family and not just one single striking individual. As I've noted, I've some problems with Delicious's father's misplaced loyalties, but otherwise this is a nice enough book and should make a fun storytime of its own. For anyone who's ever wanted to interest their very young offspring in the Oregon Trail, this might be a great way to spark interest at an early age.

I'm a second grade teacher and I love to use picture books in the classroom. What a find this is! With hilarious illustrations, it also covers all the bases -- apples, the Oregon trail, and a great story based (loosely) on real events, besides. I love the Apple Facts on the back cover. A great book!

This is the vegan version of "Oregon Trail," an ancient computer game that was once -played on the Apple IIe, and featured "blam-blam" cheesy sounds as you gunned down moose, dear, and bear. Here, there's no fishing or hunting, but you follow the same trail past Chimney and Courthouse Rock, ford a river, climb the Rockies, and raft down the Columbia River to Oregon. Although I wondered the book violated any copyright laws, all resemblance to the "Oregon Trail" ends there.

Unlike the game, there's no dysentery, crooked traders, stampeding animals, or cranky settlers. Instead, a plucky family travels from Iowa to Oregon with a gigantic wagon holding a holding a whole orchard of fruit trees: Apples, plums, cherries, pears, and peaches. The book is more enjoyable than I expected, given its resemblance to the game, mostly because of the colorful girl, "Delicious," who narrates the story, and the sometimes silly obsession of her fruit-minded father. When "Delicious" (at least her father didn't name her "Gravenstein") alerts us "Daddy was ready for the most daring adventure in the history of fruit," you know you're in for a clever and exciting tall tale.

On the way to Oregon, the family encounters nasty skeptical fellow travelers, weather changes, and natural obstacles. They build a raft and start paddling the Platte River, the "muddy drink started to pull us down":

"'The peaches are plummeting!' my sisters shouted."
"'The plums are plunging,' boomed my brother."
"'Don't let my babies go belly-up!" howled Daddy.

Apparently, Daddy's has unbounded concern for the apples of his eye...and he also loves his kids. Delicious, who knows that children raised on apples are "mighty strong" (there's lots of "Western" dialect festooning these pages), gets her sibs to kick off their shoes and kick their feet against the Platte. Later, a windstorm strikes, half-denuding the family (sure to get some laughs from the younger set), and eliciting another cry from Daddy (always in big, bold font):

"Guard the grapes! Protect the peaches!"

The persistent, albeit slightly goofy Daddy, is shown on a great two-page spread resembling the Disneyland diorama of the Grand Canyon. The family is hauling the wagon up about a 50 degree incline, an impossible task, of course, while the unvanquished Daddy announces, "just a hundred miles to go." In one of many colorful illustrations, Delicious-looking more and more like a young pioneer woman, fights a wispy Jack Frost with a bonfire and a blanket. Very soon, "that low-down scoundrel was hightailing it out of there, heading straight for Walla, Washington. Delicious stands tall and proud. The illustrations slightly recall those of Patricia Polacco with their emphasis on people's faces and long exaggerated lines, although they're not quite as loopy and personal as Polacco's.

The books concludes with a successful orchard planting in Oregon, just as in the true story of the parents and their eight children who brought the first apple trees from Iowa to Oregon in 1847. Delicious, easily the most appealing and emotionally satisfying character in the book is last seen high up in an apple tree, munching away and pondering the Gold Rush that that began shortly after their trip. All those fruit trees, she says "made us richer than any prospector. We were happier, too. After all, apples taste a whole lot better than gold."

It is so enjoyable to see your culture, with all its blind spots and weird traditions, through someone else's eyes. The author looks and listens with keen attention and wry wit, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable read. You will learn about both Aussies and Americans in this delightful book, laughing at her funny observations, comical bafflement, and witty style.

People could be mistaken for thinking that Australia and America have so much in common....but it is so far from the truth. As I was reading the book I laughed out loud at situations the author was describing....was she somehow spying on my life? In true Australian style we are able to laugh at ourselves and our differences. Thanks Anne for a truly enjoyable reading experience. I gave it to an American friend to read and it opened her eyes to the challenges we face between our cultures too.

So, you're an American planning to visit Australia or suddenly exporting yourself down under. Or you're an Aussie thinking of coming to America. Read this witty book before you step into the thick of our cultures' differences. I wish I had laughed and pondered my way through this book before my first trip to Australia.

This book is most likely the best book that I have never read. I know the author quite well, and am proud of her accomplishments, who knows why she told me that I could write her a review on Amazon? The only complaint that I have about her book is that it does not properly disclose the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, or how prevalent this "syrup" is in America, as an Australian visiting this country, likely naive and bushy-eyed, they will have no idea of the detrimental effects! I am quite outraged by this omission, but none the less, I'm sure it was a great book. Oh, and I'm only guessing that she omitted this.

I bought Best of the South a few years ago and have returned to it for rereads many times. Writers from the American south really do seem to have a corner on the market when it comes to character development. Anne Tyler does an extraordinary job of picking the stories for this volume. You won't be disappointed. My favorite is the lively, poignant story by Mark Richards entitled "The Birds for Christmas". "Heart" by Marly Swick is another sketch from a child's point of view that packs a punch. All the stories are excellent, but for me the anthology is worth the price just to be able to read about the two boys in the hospital who want to see "The Birds" on Christmas Eve on the ward's old rickety TV set, to the horror of the nurses. This anthology is filled with literary excellence, characters that jump off the page and into one's heart, and profound, painful moments that hold an unexpected mirror up before the reader, all told in the unforgettable flavor of the American south.

The very first story in the collection by Leon Driskell was delicious and perfect. As I read on I could not believe that, one after another, the choices that make this book are equal to the first one. As a regular reader of the Houghton-Mifflin Best American Short Stories annual, I have come to accept that what makes a great collection is a great editor. If you want to see what I mean, look at Anne Beattie's volume, or John Updike's, or John Gardner's; these editors know what makes a story great. The same is true of Anne Tyler, and in each of these stories we see what makes her writing remarkable: development of engaging characters. The primary focus in all of these stories is on character, but you will also find that these stories appeal to us on a human interest level and as lovers of writing. If you are interested in reading and/or writing good fiction, this is a book to read.

I love this book and I find myself dipping back into it over and over for some favorites ("Charlotte" by Tony Earley is a classic). I took the book on my honeymoon and it is part of the reason why I remember that as such a wonderful time. There really is something here for everybody: memorable characters, quiet and not-so-quiet human drama, and -- that gorgeous language! A must-have for fans of Southern fiction.

This is the best collection of short stories I've read in recent memory. Two favorites are "The Birds for Christmas," by Mark Richard and "The Rain of Terror" by Frank Manley, but almost all typify the finest in short story writing today.

I will not be surprised when Beyond the Bake Sale becomes referenced as the quintessential book on parent participation. The book not only takes a widely researched topic and presents it in an organized, easy to read format, it also reads like a how-to book rather than a textbook, making the topic much more approachable.

Beyond the Bake Sale became a resource to me and participants in a recent study I did with parents of children who have disabilities, educators, and school leaders. During the study participants worked to discover parent participation techniques that would open doors to both parents of children with disabilities and educators within their schools. At the end of the study, I was able to provide each participant with a copy of this book along with a list of suggested pages that fit the needs of each individual school site. The participants were overjoyed to receive the book and many (both parents and educators) have already e-mailed me saying they appreciate the way the book presents the information. Based on the feedback of others and my own reading, Beyond the Bake Sale is not only informative, it is inspirational.

No more excuses for not engaging parents in their children's education! This book provides essential information for every educational leader, teacher, or parent who wants to break down the barriers to parent involvement. Every page is a gem, filled with valuable insights and clear strategies.

This is the book I have been waiting for! If I could give it 6 stars, I would. Six years ago I attended a workshop on parent involvement with Don Davies and Karen Mapp as presenters and it changed my life. Since then I have been working in my children's schools and in the community to establish home/school /community partnerships. Over the years I have collected three files drawers full of materials, one full shelf of books and another full shelf of binders filled with things I downloaded from the internet. I've read it all and I will tell you that this book represents the very best of it in one concise, easy-to-read, and easy-to-follow volume.

It's all here: the research(presented in an approachable manner), background on the implications of No Child Left Behind on how schools must interact with parents, case studies, tools for evaluating where you are, instructions for creating action research teams( which I have used with great success), a section on the value of parents in the arena of advocating for school improvement, and a comprehensive list of resources which are accessible to anyone with a computer and a desire to improve their schools.

I never read Anne Henderson's first Bake Sale book, but I did have the opportunity to see her speak. Her depth of knowledge in this area is incredible and her ability to make the information accessible to her audience is exceptional. All of that comes through in this book. If you want better parent involvement in your schools, start by reading this book.

This is the book I've been looking for since my daughter entered the public school system a year and a half ago! As an active and involved parent, I was eager to get involved at her school. I volunteered regularly in her classroom, I attended all her events (those in the classroom and those that were school-wide.) I joined PTO and attended meetings regularly. I served on planning committees and contributed to fund-raisers. Still, I lacked a way in to what seemed like a very tight system of parents and teachers working together. I felt as though I didn't have enough experience to know what was approriate to talk about where and when. I didn't have the confidence (even after being a teacher myself for five years) to ask the questions I wanted to ask about the way our school worked.

The transition to first grade was not a smooth one for our family. My daughter's teacher was a first-year teacher and lacked the experience she needed to keep the lines of parent-teacher communication wide open. Our concerns snowballed quickly and we were ready to pull our daughter out of the school system and look for alternatives when I found this book.

This book presents advice, tips, and plans for teachers, parents, and administrators to begin working towards collaboration and cooperation in the school setting. Our children can only benefit from having more people on their teams! I want to be recognized as an important member of my daughter's team. This book has given me tips on ways to get my daughter's school to see me that way (beyond the basics I was already doing.) I found the list of questions to ask at conferences or in meetings to be particularly helpful as ways in to a conversation with my daughter's teacher even when nothing is going wrong.

My experience has been that teachers and administrators all say the same thing. They know that family involvement is integral to student success and they urge parents to get involved. However, when it comes down to the actual work of providing those opportunities many teachers fall short.

I am meeting with our principal next week and I plan to bring this book as a donation to the school. I hope the administrators will pass the title along to the other teachers and staff at our school. I will bring another copy to the next PTO meeting, and hopefully we will start to work towards change from there. I want to give this book to every parent I know! One parent, teacher, principal--one school at a time--that is how we will transform.

"an excellent volume which should be of interest to any skeletal biologist or archaeologist.... It contains a balanced and scholarly treatment of the latest methods in skeletal biological analysis and should quickly become THE fundamental reference work for this field." --Jane Buikstra, University of New Mexico

"This outstanding volume is a must read for students and professionals alike, serving as a major reference source for skeletal biologists, bioarchaeologists, paleopathologists, and others with interests in ancient skeletal remains and the information these remains hold for understanding the history of the human condition." --Clark Spencer Larsen, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

This is perhaps one of the most comprehensive treatments of this now broad subject area that I have ever read. The authors are to be applauded for gathering together some of the foremost experts in this field of study and organizing a diverse group of papers into a volume that is not only eminently readable by scientists and laypeople alike, but will also certainly stand as one of the outstanding volumes in biological anthropology for years to come. Professionals, students, and laypeople alike will all find something thought-provoking in this book. Very Highly Recommended.

"Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton will become a leader in the field for texts in the discipline. The editors have collected together key workers and focused on major areas of study and developments in techniques of analysis. Underpinning and preceding the main chapters has been the very important consideration of the ethics surrounding the analysis of human remains, somehting that is often ignored in similar texts. The thoroughness in which the authors have tackled their subjects is testament to their status as experts. The text will appeal to staff and students of anthropology, archeology, medical history and a much wider audience in genetics, pathology, histology and statistics. a highly recommended text." --Charlotte Roberts, University of Durham

"I have adopted this book for my graduate seminar on human osteology. The contributors review their specialties in depth, and explain the pros and cons of the various analytical methods that are current in our field. This is an excellent guide to a very diverse literature." --Della C. Cook, Indiana University

This lovely picture book, whose tall thin shape reflects its subject, is the fictional journal of a lighthouse keeper's daughter in 1855, Birdie's tenth year. Hopkinson, author of the highly acclaimed SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT, returns with evocative prose that captures the roar of the sea, the lonely isolation of lighthouse life, and the terror and exhaustion of managaing the lights alone in a fierce storm. Root's brooding pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations reflect era, setting, and emotion. An author's note reveals the inspiration for Birdie - four heroic lighthouse women and girls, including the Maine herione, Abbie Burgess.

This lovely picture book, whose tall thin shape reflects its subject, is the fictional journal of a lighthouse keeper's daughter in 1855, Birdie's tenth year. Hopkinson, author of the highly acclaimed SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT, returns with evocative prose that captures the roar of the sea, the lonely isolation of lighthouse life, and the terror and exhaustion of managaing the lights alone in a fierce storm. Root's brooding pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations reflect era, setting, and emotion. An author's note reveals the inspiration for Birdie - four heroic lighthouse women and girls, including the Maine herione, Abbie Burgess.

This lovely picture book, whose tall thin shape reflects its subject, is the fictional journal of a lighthouse keeper's daughter in 1855, Birdie's tenth year. Hopkinson, author of the highly acclaimed SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT, returns with evocative prose that captures the roar of the sea, the lonely isolation of lighthouse life, and the terror and exhaustion of managaing the lights alone in a fierce storm. Root's brooding pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations reflect era, setting, and emotion. An author's note reveals the inspiration for Birdie - four heroic lighthouse women and girls, including the Maine herione, Abbie Burgess

This book made me smile. I have known Deborah Hopkinson since I was born, and I am now fifteen. I think she is a wonderful writer and comes up with really clever ideas for books. I never knew there was someone that actually took care of the light house, I thought it was just there. She has a way of writing fiction that teaches readers at the same time. I also loved her other book, SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT. When I read her books, I can sort-of hear her reading them aloud, telling the story of Clara or Birdie. She will always be dear to me and I hope that she keeps writing books for a long time to come. --Angela Kieran-Vast

I am gald that someone created a book for black parents with pictures of African-American people nursing and caring for their children. I feel as if this book was designed for me and I don't have to fit the image of someone else. I credit all parenting books, but this shows me that I am okay and there are other African-American mothers going through the same thing that all mothers are facing. Thank You!

Dr. Anne Beal is my 9 month old son's pediatrician. She is fabulous! She is not only knowledgeable, but very compassionate. I am a white woman. My husband and son are both white. Although, this book is titled "The Black Parenting Book", it is an excellent guide for all parents. I purchased the book mainly because Dr. Beal is our pediatrician, but I find myself using it for reference quite often. I can't stress enough how wonderful Dr. Beal is as a doctor and how well-written and helpful this book is.

This book reflects upon various issues which affect the African American parental experience. Even though it brings light to the everyday subjects that are discussed in most parental books, it takes the same approach as Dr. Spock's baby & childcare books. The authors of this book are very knowledgeable professionals. This is a good book to have in your parenting collection.

Mother Love

I'm the mother of a 2-year-old, and although the other books on the market had info, it didn't address my concerns about explaining racism, different hair textures, and other things that affect Blacks uniquely and color our view of the world. It has a caring, authoritative tone that's never condescending, and touches on most modern issues. Although I wish it had discussed other issues,(i.e.,the "raise-the-daughters-and-spoil-the-sons" phenomenon that occurs in our community all too often), it answered more of my questions that I thought possible from one source. If you are a first-time parent, or if you're feeling "rusty", this book is the answer. If knowledge is power,then this book is the ATOMIC BOMB!!!

ANNE TEACHES A VARIETY OF EXERCISES IN THIS BOOK TO HELP US TO BETTER PEOPLE. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF OPENING MY HEART, AND ANNE'S WORK HAS BEEN A LIFESAVER, NO A SPIRIT SAVER. SHE HELPED ME STOP THE CYCLE OF VICTIM=DOM AND ALLOW ME TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MY BEHAVIORS. HER WORK TEACHES US HOW TO SHINE THE "LIGHT" ON OUR BEHAVIOR, THUS HAVING IT DISSIPATE LIKE MIST FROM A LAKE. I AM ABLE TO BECOME ONE WITH THE FLOW OF THE WATER NOW.

While some books lead you down the "garden path" as to how to go about achieveing the results you want, this book is vastly different. With its step by step instructions on how to "clear" areas of your life that are causing you troubles, this book is a must for anyone on the spiritual path to becoming a whole person. I highly recommend it and plan on keeping this one for much future reference. It's a keeper!

Thanks to Anne for her book "Breaking Free." I have read it and done some of the rituals personally to have more abundance in my life. It is a contribution of purer, positive, faster energy of goodness/God to flow to us and through us!

I purchased Breaking Free on September 23rd. I was just browsing through Amazon, and it practically jumped off the shelf at me! I sat down and started to read it, and I couldn't put it down. I was reading in the car, at lunchtime, at work! Several miraculous incidents happened to me in October that made me a believer in this book! I am well on my way to being debt free, and a few legal problems that I had been stressing over for the past 2 1/2 years were disposed of. My boss told me my attitude had changed drastically since I started in May, and I recommended this book to her. She is in the process of reading it now, and I ran out and bought a copy for my son. There are parts in the book I had heard before and disregarded, and there are many things that I read that I just never knew before, but it is making me think over everything I say and do and think. I am now in the process of finding a good job, going back to school to finish my degree and purchase my first house!!! Many thanks to Anne for her book. I know for a fact that it is changing lives everywhere.