Bean Books

This book of "recipes" is hilarious. I'd recommend it to any pet owner; even dog owners will see the humor. There are descriptions as well as "recipes" for cooking Mouse. Book is good for all ages of readers - even kids will see the humor in it. Somehow I favored the intricate "Roast Leg of Spring Mouse" and "Mousetail Soup" for the mental images they portray.

While this was a cute book, I didn't find it overly funny. There were 25 recipes from all over the world for cooking a mouse. It's not a book I'd purchase because I don't think I'd read it again or recommend it to anyone. There were a few recipes that were cute, such as Mouse In Black Bean Sauce, a Chinese dish that will leave your cat hungry again in an hour. And Tandoori Mouse, where Mahatma Gandhi tried to convince his cat to choose a vegetarian diet. The cat's response was: "You know what you can do with your brown rice".

This book is the best one I've read ever!!!

Where can I find directions on how to make Orson Bean's paper eucalyptus tree that he demonstrated on several talk shows (including, I think, the Tonight Show) in the late '50's??

After I read the reviews for this book, I immediately checked it out of our local library. My son loves anything that has to do with math, and we are always looking for books about the subject. I have to say I was disappointed in the book, and my son was bored with it. It is rare that he is not glued to a math concept book, but this one just did not do it for him. The repetitve verse, "...I am Amanda Bean and I count everything..." started to grate on his nerves to the point he said, "why does she keep saying that?" I am not sure exactly how this introduces children to multiplication because you never actually see Amanda figure out a problem that shows how to compute that type of problem. It would have been nice if the author had shown at least one problem being solved using multiplication so that it tied her "concept" to real world math. Much better books on the subject are Math Curse by Jon Sciezska (I have reviewed that one as well) or books by Greg Teng. My advice is go to your library and get the book before you make the investment in your own copy. I just can't imagine a child wanting to read the story over and over again.

This is an excellent book. It is a wonderful way to introduce multiplication to children. As a 1st year teacher I used this book to introduce a lesson on multiplication with my 3rd grade class. They loved it and it was very interactive. We stopped to talk about and solve the various problems throughout the book. Every teacher needs a copy.

I try to teach my six year old daugher math through children's literature, and this book rates highly in that area. She loves the story and I love how it introduces multiplication in a fun and easy to understand manner. The explanation of a "fast way to count" really clicked with my daugher. She asks me to read this book over and over again.

This is one of a genre of books wherein the beauty and elegance of a mathematical concept is revealed to the main character in a dream (others notables inlude MATH CURSE by Jon Scieszka and THE NUMBER DEVIL by Hans Magnus Enzensberger). This book is a marvelous way to integrate literature with mathematics and I have found it useful to aid in the introduction of multiplication to students in my 3rd grade.

Mistakenly overlooked by the NY Times Best Illustrated Children's Books 2007 List, 'The Apple Pie That Papa Baked' is a simple, rhythmic, and endearing book. The pages are stuffed as full of love as Papa's pie is with apples. The bucolic illustrations gently entrench the reader in the hills of a rural Pennsylvania farm. You can nearly feel the crisp autumn wind carrying the aroma of hot apples and a burning wood stove over the hills and off the page.

Lauren Thompson's The Apple Pie That Papa Baked puts the homey dessert into a cosmic framework in this delightfully nostalgic story of apple-picking time.

The story begins with a little girl wakening in her rustic farmhouse to the sound of a rooster's crowing and the happy sight of her father heading out to the orchard with his apple-picking ladder. Following him, the child catches up in time to spend the day together collecting apples, until the hungry pair return to share the making of a delicious juicy apple pie.

Thompson's lyric text echoes the format of the traditional "This is the house that Jack built...." story as it takes a sweeping view of the cycle of life which brings an apple pie to our table:

em>This is the world, blooming with life,
That spins with the sun, fiery and bright,
That lights the sky, wide and fair...

The text celebrates the water cycle which "drops the rain, cool and fresh" to water the roots of the crooked but strong tree which bears the fruit which yields a treat for the eye and, warm and sweet, for the child, her father and us, too.

Jonathan Bean's 1940's-style illustrations, reminiscent of Helen Sewall's original illustrations for Wilder's "Little House" books, utilize a sepia and black palette and curving lines which evoke the cycles of the earth and sun perfectly. A perfect story for reading aloud at home (preferably while the pie bakes) or at school during those seasonal units on fall and apple-harvesting time.

The Apple Pie That Papa Baked is a book for ages 2-5. The format is a story line that builds on each previous line, adding to then repeating all previous stanzas. Not complicated, cute, and with entertaining illustrations (as in the, "Sally, do you see the cow?" type). The illustration style is an "old" style, common in books from the 50s and 60s.

I can see kids liking this book, and asking for it to be read repeatedly. Then the reader reads a portion of the line, and the listener finishes it.

Enjoy!

There's a difference between self-centered nostalgia and respectful inspiration, but the line between the two is difficult to walk. Every season there's a handful of books that try to reference the authors and illustrators of the past with mixed results. If it goes wrong then the book ends up feeling like a pale knock-off of the classics we already know and love. If the book goes well then you know that the author/illustrator knew how to separate their inspiration from their own creativity. There's a reason I didn't review Lauren Thompson and Jonathan Bean's "The Apple Pie that Papa Baked" right off the bat. I think I may have been a little afraid to pick up the story. It looked so pretty that I was afraid that picking it up and reading it would lead to sorrow, tears, and rending of garments (not necessarily in that order). You can imagine my surprise and delight then when I finally worked up the nerve to skim the pages, only to find the book readable and a true stunner from beginning to end. Inspiration meets true original quality in this inspired cumulative tale. The kind of book simply designed to be treasured.

Told in a cumulative format, a small girl discusses the various steps taken by her father to produce a pie. The first line is "This is the pie, warm and sweet, that Papa baked." The second line, "These are the apples, juicy and red, that went in the pie, warm and sweet, that Papa baked." And so on. As the story encompasses the tree that grew the apples, the roots the fed the tree, the rain that watered the roots, etc. we watch father and daughter pick the apples, make the pie, and attract the attention of most of the denizens on the farm. Soon Papa and daughter are high-tailing it through the farmyard, back to the apple tree, where the daughter points out that her father made the pie, "for me . . . and for you." Everyone then gets some pie and snuggles down for the night, satiated.

The fascinating thing about this story is that in spite of the fact that a cumulative form can only go backwards (you begin with the end product and then work yourself back to its proto-beginnings) Bean found a way to go forward in time visually. You may begin with the image of a pie, but then the book doubles back and you see Papa picking apples, baking the pie, and running about with his daughter. The words themselves, however, have become cosmic. They go so far as to present the very world itself ("blooming with life") and then pare it down and down and down until all you're left with is that single apple pie. So while Thompson's story grows larger and more universal with every consecutive line, Bean gets smaller and more personal. The combination makes for an eclectic bit of storytelling.

Kudos to Simon and Schuster for having the guts to produce a book with only three colors (yellow, black, and red). I don't know who the editor on this puppy was, but they must have fought mightily to bring to bear a book that not only references the past but updates history's techniques. As he mentions in a note at the front of the book, "Each illustration is made up of three separate drawings - done on separate sheets of vellum paper." That sounds properly archaic. The difference is that Bean then scans these images into his computer and then recomposes them into a stunning final product. Now if I were to waltz into a major publisher and say to then, "Have I got a three-color picture book idea for YOU!," I'd be laughed out the door (or, more likely, booted onto the street). We're living in an age where the general feeling is that the more fairy dust you sprinkle on a title, the better it'll sell. Granted, "The Apple Pie That Papa Baked" does have some shiny red foil apples on the cover, but a little foil never hurt nobody. As long as the sparkly contents of a book don't end up on my palms by the end of a read, I am content.

As I've mentioned before, there are only three colors in this entire book. A little black, a lot of yellow (a brownish-yellow, though, so don't get the wrong idea) and just a hint of red whenever an apple appears on a page. Bean credits Wanda Gag and Virginia Lee Burton as his influences and by gum if this book doesn't look like what would happen if you squeezed The Little House and Millions of Cats together in a vise. The story has a timeless quality to it. I think if Bean had snuck in an iPod on a table in the girl's house it would have destroyed every neuron in my cranium. By the way, I love that Papa isn't a close-shaven guy. Also, there's a sneaky little fox, a slippery shadow of a fellow, who remains on the fringes of the action for most of the book. Only when everyone's had their pie and a single piece sits cooling in the pan, then the little creature sneaks over to take a tentative sniff at the remaining bit of deliciousness. It's subtle, and likely to remain unnoticed on a first, second, and third read. I've a soft space in my heart for illustrators that work in these kinds of details, so kudos for the inclusion of the fox.

Everyone and their mother is going to be cooing, oohing, and aahing over the pictures in this story, and it seems a bit unfair to not credit Lauren Thompson quite as thoroughly. Her previous picture book, Polar Bear Night, always struck me as far stronger in its words than its images. I mean, Thompson's a master of the sparse phrase. She whittles down and hones her words so carefully that overly verbose people like me (note the word count on this review alone) are left, jaws-agape, staring in awe. Now, at last, Thompson has received an artist worthy of her turns of phrase. Cumulative tales, by definition, are tricky beasties. I once tried to read The Rose in My Garden by Arnold Lobel in a preschool storytime (hindsight is 20-20) and let us just say that I learned my lesson well. Cumulative tales of the This is the House that Jack Built variety are almost always tedious. Kids love repetition but adults tire easily. To keep us going you'd better have some pretty spiffy turns of the pen to keep us interested. Fortunately for us, Thompson has turns, and then some, to spare. She never uses too many syllables, preferring instead to keep her sentences short and sweet. Apples are always "juicy and red", roots are "deep and fine", and the sun is always "fiery and bright". It is, to be blunt, a satisfying read.

Caldecott worthy? Indeed. But I've a suspicion that this book has an even easier shot at appearing on the New York Times Best Illustrated List (a list that Thompson has already cropped up on once). If you want to buy a picture book for someone that feels as if it will remain in your family for years, passed down from generation to generation, eschew the glittery bits o' fluff on the marketplace today and grab a copy of "The Apple Pie That Papa Baked". It does everything right, nothing wrong, and is infinitely lovable. Can't recommend it enough.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you are lucky enough to have a copy of this book with a cover that has not been pasted to the book itself (as many libraries are wont to do) remove the outer layer. Should the covers of beloved copies of this book wear and tear and get lost in the shuffle of time, Mr. Bean has constructed a simply gorgeous book beneath the jacket. It's bright red with a black ink image of a pie on the front. The spine is black with thin red lines surrounding the title, and a thin black border appears on the front and back. Magnificent from inside to out.

I've read.... many books on sports nutrition and fitness. Alot. An embarrassing amount, really. Enough on that.

This is the one I recommend. Everything you need. No silly fads or dangerous ideas or stupid stuff. You don't have to read 50 books. Just this one.

Its not intimidating either. The author never oversteps her expertise, doesn't claim to know things that no one knows... instead she briefly explains the research, for and against, and leaves it up to you to decide. What could be more honest?

It is British... some of the food doesn't exist here, and others have different names. Rocket is arugula. I've had no luck ever finding nonfat or lowfat fresh farmers cheese in the states... too bad really.

This the best book on sports nutrition I have read so far. this book is for those who want to equip themselves with knowledge and get the best out of their physique.
This book has amazing section....it tells us what to eat ...when to eat.....how to eat (recipes)...tells you which latest supplements that work and without promoting any brand......the book seems to be clean as it seems not to have funded by any supplement manufacturer...
It is a must for those who have partial or no knowledge about nutrition.....It is a also good learning once again for those who have very good knowledge....
Amazing and a must.....

This book is one of the best I've seen on the subject - very thorough and written at a level you don't need a degree in physiology to understand yet clearly explains some pretty complex topics. If you're looking for one book to cover the subject you needn't look any further. As a side note, I used the book as an aide for training for several marathons. Not only did I drop my BF to 12% but set a PR to boot!

I had high hopes for this book having something new to offer. I've read a lot of books on the subject and found nothing new that can't be found on the internet for free. The author is also from Europe and her constant reference to kg vs. lbs. is somewhat annoying. Not her fault mind you, just annoying for American readers.

I am not saying that the author's book is bad, just the same old information that's been around for years. If you're serious about sports nutrition I suggest you read Sports & Exercise Nutrition by William D. McArdle. Its a college textbook that offers a strong insight into nutrition.

Some may find the book too technical, but how else can you understand the science behind such a scientific topic.

Good luck.

I bought this book a number of years ago, before I went on the low carb thing. When I went lo-carb, I eschewed most anything that said low fat or light.

Since then, I've seen the light and gone more with the glycemic index, rather than rely on purely carbohydrate counts.

What I DO find myself doing an awful lot lately is referring to this book, mainly because I find the recipes so easy to use and the ingredients are usually in the house. That's what I find so frustrating about most cookbooks; I find myself needing to make a trip to the market if I can't think of a decent substitution for one or more items.

I don't care so much that the book says it's "Light". I just love using legumes, pasta, and rice in my everyday cooking. Besides, if it was really that light, it wouldn't include a recipe for "Southern Seasoning", which is really only a kind of pork stock made from smoked ham hocks (and it is so, so, gooooood; yum!).

I use this cookbook all the time because the recipes are always tasty and the ingredients are usually on-hand! It is a very practical, cookbook that doesn't oversimplify at the expense of taste.

This pasta and grains recipe cookbook is your doorway to good eating, excellent health and longevity. All the way from Northern Italy and Sicily and throughout the world, it brings you an alternative diet that has proven to be creative, delicious, and exciting awakening for people around the world.

I am a retired Registered Dietitian and a person who likes "healthy eating" and interesting recipes. I just purchased this book. As my first foray into making a recipe, I prepared "Burgundy Beef in Pasta Shells with Tomato Sauce", p.194. I carefully followed the recipe and ended up with twice as much filling and 1/2 as much sauce as needed for 16 shells. Plus, I needed a much larger casserolle, 9x9", than recommended. Either the author has not prepared the recipe, or, more likely, the errors slipped by in the proof-reading stage of publication. My revised version (with canned spaghetti sauce) tasted great. I look forward to trying several other recipes, but I will be careful to ask myself if the ingredient proportions seem right.

Although it has been a few years since I have read this book in its entirety, I have continued to reference it and as I am in a book reviewing mood, thought I would write this one up. First published in 1963, this book has become a bible of sorts for all those interested in the everyday details of frontier army life. Dr. Rickey, who once served as historian at the Little Bighorn battlefield, benefitted from actually talking to many old veterans of the late Indian Wars period (1880s/1890s) who were still alive when this was being compiled in the 1950s. Beyond that, he drew from diaries, contemporary newspapers and regimental records to give the reader a very complete view of typical frontier army life. Chapters detail officers, non-coms, enlisted men, army discipline, the recruit depots, life at army posts, field service, combat, etc. All of this adds up to an intimate portrait of the hum-drum and the exciting, the trivial and important, all the events and places that made up the frontier army experience. Also included is a nice map of the West, showing the location of key forts and battle sites. Photographs of soldiers and army posts are intermingled throughout the book. Many of these I do not recall encountering elsewhere.

A few years back, a now-retired NPS hsitorian who worked at the Little Bighorn as well as Fort Davis told me that he was on his second copy of this book. Over the years, he had literally worn out the first one as he constantly referenced it on an almost daily basis. No higher compliment as to its value can I make.

As I cast about for research material for an upcoming book, several American Indian War experts recommended Don Rickey's book as the "Bible" on the frontier soldier's life. I am not an Indian War buff, but I can tell you this book is chocked full of details and insights that are not likely to be found collected in any other single volume.

The book is broken down into logical chapters, from a description of the Western troubles to the typical routines of the soldiers' discharges. We are treated to what might be some of the last in-depth interviews with Indian War veterans and, as has been pointed out, we begin to get a feel of the frontier soldier's daily life as 99 percent boredom and physical labor and 1 percent terror.

Many books have been written around the edges of this subject, and several were awful in their historical value. But this is a solid history, well-researched and full of interesting anecdotes to boot!

This book really enlightens the reader with interesting personal narratives. The book also dispells the myth of a "John Wayne, She wore a Yellow Ribbon" frontier Army. It picks up from the end of the Civil War and leads you straight into the Spanish American War. A wonderful book for those interested in in the daily lives of the soldiers form typical daily lives to military justice. This book also helped with my summer Interpretation job at Fort Mackinac. Michigan were we portray 1880's U.S. Army.

This book is filled with interesting anecdotes and tidbits of information. However, the lack of footnotes and documentation for much of the content is horrendous.

...by far. This book continues the goodness. Best treatment of a dragon being smarter than everyone else I've ever seen.

I loved the first book in this series, 'The Binding Stone', and this one is just as good. The plot is fast paced, the characters work really well - with a few new ones entering the scene - and I felt their relationships and characteristics developed interestingly during the course of the story. The end leaves you wishing the third book was already out ready to go ! I love how the plot goes to a new level by the end, and I thought the secret of the villian was well revealed and only intensified the plot ready for the next book.

The Grieving Tree by Don Bassingthwaite is the second book in the Dragon Below trilogy set in the Eberron world. The first book is titled The Binding Stone and was released in August, 2005. If you are interested in this book, you really need to read the first book so as not to get lost in the over-arching plot lines between the two books and most likely the third book as well.

When I reviewed the Binding Stone I gave it fairly average marks. T said there was a good story, and that the characters were mere 2-D cut-outs of countless fantasy novels before them. The same formula holds true in this book as well, although, I did enjoy this one more than I did the first. It's not to say that Bassingthwaite is a bad author, in fact I think he is a good author, but these two books seem to be lacking something that makes a decent book a good book.

While the characters are pretty much the same as in the first book, they are fleshed out a little more, but not enough for me to really care about them. In fact I found myself more interested in the villains and was actually hoping the `heroes' would lose. The heroes show brief flashes of being very interesting and worthwhile reading, but they rarely help my interest for more than 5-10 pages at a time. I wish I could pin point it for everyone, but they just weren't that interesting to me. I often felt like several names could be attached to the characters that I had read them several times before, there was little `new' feeling to them. Where as the villains had some semblance of uniqueness that made them interesting and worthwhile to read.

The plot carries over from the first book right where it left off. This lends itself to being easier to understand and keep on going. However, I was a little disappointed that more sub-plots were not developed. There seemed to be a great deal of room for sub-plots there were ignored. Also, from the first book there is a deep seeded secret between two of the heroes that is hinted at several times through both books. Then, finally, when it is revealed it leaves the reader feeling hallow because it is rushed through like it mattered very little. After all the hinting it seems like there should have been a much bigger reaction and consequences. The main plot of the book is well written and does a decent job at explaining some key elements of the story, but there again at times it feels like the author is just telling us things to `make sure' we get what is going on.

Overall, this is an okay read if you are interested in the Eberron world. I have read every Eberron novel so far and this is a little below average for me. It's not the worst Eberron book out there, but certainly not the best either. I would hesitate to recommend this book to people not really interested in the Eberron. I am holding out hope that the third book will be better than the first two. Again, not a bad book by any means, but I definitely think there are better books out there right now.

"The Grieving Tree" is the second book in the "Dragon Below" trilogy, set in the world of Eberron. Like the first book in the trilogy ("The Binding Stone"), this book is a fast-paced, exciting adventure book. The plot revolves around a mixed bag of heroes who are caught up in a life or death struggle with Dah'mir, a charismatic priest of the dragon below who turns out to be more than he appears.

"The Grieving Tree" picks up where "The Binding Stone" left off with the heroes learning of a riddle which could lead them to an important clue about Dah'mir's origins. The riddle is obscure and the path they must follow is filled with danger. As mentioned above the book is fast-paced and full of action. The plot is well thought-out and well written.

The strength of this series is in its characters all of whom have interesting back-stories which are slowly revealed over the course of the story. The good guys, are not your typical hero-types. Each has his or her own flaws and their shared past often creates tension between some of the members of the party. This adds a sense of urgency and excitement to the story. Throughout the book, the reader is left guessing about what will happen next and how this sometimes fragile alliance will hold together. If you are a fan of characters who are "shades of grey" and of character development, then you will enjoy this book.

And the villains are equally interesting. My favourite was the very unique Hruucan, who is an undead creature who feeds off on fire and peoples life-forces. A very interesting villain indeed. One thing I enjoyed is that, while Dah'mir was not above using and discarding his followers, the bad guys are not the typical bad guys whose in-fighting leads to their downfall.

In my humble opinion, this book has something for everyone. There is action, adventure, magic, and even a little mystery. The story is interesting and the characters are well-written.

I would recommend this book to all fans of epic fantasy, but especially to fans of Eberron.

One word of warning, this is the second book of the series, and while there is a very nice summary of book 1 at the beginning, I would recommend first reading "The Binding Stone," which is also an excellent book.

The Fantagraphic series of Krazy Kat reprints is a fantastic journey back in time.The strange thing is that it could have been written yesterday.Anyone remotely interested in comic strips or cartoons needs to get as many of these volumes as possible.Krazy Kat came to life in his own strip in 1913.The same year Charles Chaplin made his first silent film.As a student of the Chaplin films,the first thing that came to mind was how Herrimans' comic strip reminds you of the work Chaplin did.This was not intentional I'm sure.They were geniuses of their time and in fact,of all time.

George Herriman created Krazy Kat as a "downstairs" strip to his The Family Upstairs. The devine Kat soon had a strip of his/her own, both daily and Sunday.

Hyperion press published the Family Upstairs strips from 1910 - 1911. Eclipse published the early black and white Sunday strips, 1916 - 1924, in volumes which also included the full color Saturday strips from 1922. Now Fantagraphics has published the rest of the black and white Sundays, 1925 - 1934, closing the gap between the last Eclipse book and the first full color Kitchen Sink book, which begins with the 1935 color Sundays.

The daily Krazy Kat strips are much harder to find. Pacific Comics Club has published (almost) complete years 1921 - 1923. Comics Revue monthly has published the dailies beginning in 1931 (currently they are finishing 1933). The Menomonee Falls Gazette published more than half of 1934 and 1935.

Krazy Kat ended when George Herriman died in 1944.

I have nothing to add to the praise for Herriman's marvelous creation, which you can read about in the comments below. Anything I'd say to that effect would only echo what has already been written.

Alas, the 1933-1934 volume in the Fantagraphics release has some problems. It has nothing to do with a dropoff in the humor of the strip itself -- there was none, as "Krazy Kat" never experienced a noticeable decline in quality -- but with the print quality of the Sunday strips as they are presented here. Although I'm sure Fantagraphics did their best when they went through page after page of ancient newsprint drawn from who knows how many private collections to find the best possible specimens, the sad fact is that the majority of strips reprinted in this collection are blurry and shaky. This makes it very difficult to fully appreciate Herriman's skills with pen and brush, and worst of all, makes the subtle facial expressions and body language of the characters much harder to interpret. A small handful of pages, with sharp outlines and shadings, stand in contrast to the rest.

By all means, you should become acquainted with this wonderful comic strip if you aren't already. But you'd do much better to get the next volume in the series, A Wild Warmth Of Chromatic Gravy. Along with featuring the return of sharp, clear lines, "Gravy" is in full, vibrant color (pre-1935 Sunday strips were all black-and-white) and even includes an insert that features newly unearthed, better-quality scans of a few of this volume's worst offenders. This volume is strictly for Kat kompletists.

Well, here we go again. Another sumptuous collection of one of the best comic strips ever published. Fantagraphics has more than fulfilled its pledge to keep the series going with this the 5th volume of Krazy Kat Sunday strips.

This installment, like all previous installments, has amazing bonus material. The first thirty pages include articles about Herriman and Krazy Kat, early pre-Kat Herriman strips (including "Baron Bean", "Mary's Home From College", "The Amours of Marie Anne MacGee", and "Embarassing Moments"), as well as some rarely seen Krazy Kat dailies. Also, the series editor announces that the next volume will be the first KOLOR KRAZY KAT edition. After 1934, the Kat et al appeared in amazing Kolor. So here stand bound the final black and white Krazy Kat Sunday pages.

And as always the book plumps with the justifiably famous Krazy Kat Sunday strips. Some of the strips had to be painstakingly reconstructed from papers that shrunk Herriman's original sized papers to miniscule proportions. All of the reconstructions are listed in the back of the book. Fantagraphics pulled this feat off with much gusto, as anyone can witness in the book.

For the initiates amongst us, the strip's main theme is love. Krazy, a Kat with indeterminate gender, loves Ignatz, a temperamental mouse. The only sign of affection Krazy can extract from Ignatz is a brick solidly and violently tossed at his skull. So, brick equals love to Krazy. Meanwhile, Offisa Pupp loves Krazy (in a rather repressed manner) and has made his mission in life to halt Ignatz's vile tossings. The entire strip revolves around this variation on a theme. Helplessness and hope in the face of seemingly hopeless love seeps out between the ink marks. Isn't it romantic?

Lastly, February 19th, 1933 has to be amongst Herriman's best "silent" strips. Krazy and Offisa Pupp ride a see-saw and Ignatz repeatedly picks up the brick, drops it, picks it up, etc... Be sure to translate the español on the wall separating the parties.

Carry on, Fantagraphics, carry on...

More Fabulous Beans is a great collections of recipes using beans. I'm not sure why, but most recipe books don't have a lot of bean recipes, so this book is a real find. Everything I've tried has turned out well and it's given me lots of new ideas for bean dishes, beyond the old three bean salad and baked beans.

The Russian beet and white kidney soup is fantastic. The Black eye butternut chowder is a combination I never would have imagined, but it's really good. In fact there's a whole section on soups and chowders which are just right for fall and winter meals and are great because you can double the portions and have leftovers for days when you don't feel like cooking. There are also some very good spread recipes like the hummus and eggplant or the West indies pinto spread. Some sound a little strange reading the recipes but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they turned out.

These recipes using beans are healthy, cheap and filling. I like to use dried beans but don't always remember to soak them ahead of time so I was glad to find the Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker on amazon that I use in conjunction with this book. With a pressure cooker you can get away with soaking the beans a very short time or not at all and they still come out great.

If you like beans, this book gives you a lot of interesting ways to include them in your diet.

The title of this book will lead the shopper to believe that it is a sequel to Barb Bloomfield's excellent book "Fabulous Beans".

In reality it is a revised edition. Many of the recipies in "More Fabulous Beans" are the recipies from "Fabulous Beans".

Enhanced with kitchen savvy tips on how to prepare, cook, and freeze more than fourteen types of beans, More Fabulous Beans is a vegetarian's delight offering the kitchen cook more than one hundred meatless meals. Some of these recipes are homestyle, while others are gourmet, and yet others are drawn from international cuisines. From Mexican Black Bean Salad; Lentil Stew; Soybeans in Sweet Sauce; and Pinto Bean Enchiladas; to Melted Yeast Cheeze Sauce; Black-eyed Spirals; Anasazi Beans and Rice; and Brazilian Black Beans, every recipe showcased in the pages of More Fabulous Beans is easy to prepare, thoroughly nutritious, totally palate pleasing, and highly recommended. Also very highly recommended is legume expert Barb Bloomfield's first recipe collection, Fabulous Beans!

I really wanted to like this book. I love beans, and I love the wide and wonderful variety of ways to prepare them that this book promises. I also love how the book is quietly vegan without ever uttering the word, implying a world where animal exploitation just doesn't exist. However, I just can't make these recipes turn out!

I am not an expert cook by any means, but with most of the time if you give me a good recipe I can make it turn out pretty good. Maybe I have chosen poorly, but I am now 0 for 4 with the recipes I have tried out of this book. Let me describe my experiences:

1) Pinto Bean Enchiladas - This recipe turned out bland, watery, and soggy. After conferring with some people who know enchiladas, they all agreed that the enchilada sauce portion of the recipe was out to lunch. It was edible, but not make-again category.

2) Pat's Baked Navy Beans - Edible, but a little bland and uninspiring. There are better baked bean recipes out there.

3) Curried Garbanzos - Starts off promising, but the end result is soupy and a little odd tasting. Again, there are far better garbanzo curries out there.

4) Navy Bean Balls with mushroom gravy - The bean balls were decent, despite the almost complete lack of spice, but the gravy was hideous. I couldn't even eat it.

Based on the experience of these four recipes, I find that this book has recipes that are bland, overly complicated, time consuming, and often skip over essential preparation details.

The biggest problem with this book is that the recipes sound tasty yet they just don't turn out, either from lack of skill by me, or a lack of instruction from the author. Either way, I will be sticking to my more trusted books from now on, and saving this one for when I'm feeling more adventurous than hungry.

when she's bad, her illustrations are simply mediocre.

Nothing wrong with the stories but just another storybook with okay but not great illustrations. And I want ALL of Dyer's illustrations to be as stunning as in her books Child of Fairy/Child of Earth & Girl in the Golden Bower.

This book was a disappointment since because I expected more from her. Take it out at the library. Not one I'd save room for on the home shelves.

Wonderful stories to read to your child and beautifully illustrated.

I have bought quite a few story books for my son and this is definitely the best one. The stories are a decent length and some are a little different than I have ever heard before. After a lot of disapointments in story books this was a refreshing change.

This book has stories that are not in the usual group of bedtime/fairy tales that we have purchased or received. No Cinderella or Princess and the Pea (not that they are not wonderful!). Lovely stories like Young Kate and the Snow Maiden totally mesmerize my daughter! Cannot recommend enough for 4-6 year olds!