Bennett Books

This is a Bear Facts book printed by Reader's Digest in 1988. It is a glossy, hardcover book. There are a series of Bear Facts books about science and nature for preschool children. This book is about the different seasons. The child will follow the earth's path as it circles around the sun. The seasons change from spring to summer to autumn to winter. There are colorful, pictures of the bear in space and on earth experiencing the different seasons. A child can learn a lot from this book. The other books in this series are Air, Day and Night, Earth, Fire and Rain.

Married to a country vicar, Susan leads a life completely lacking in excitement, and in this long monologue she describes her day-to-day activities in minute, often hilarious, detail. A perceptive woman with a sharp eye, sarcastic wit, and palpable yearning for what is missing from her life, she describes the "fan club" that constantly surrounds Geoffrey, their patronizing attitudes toward her, and Geoffrey's own cocoon-like existence. Emotionally blind, Geoffrey even praises Susan's cooking, a dinner of "chicken wings with tuna fish sauce," tinned peaches for dessert, and instant coffee with "Carnation milk," leading Susan to refer satirically to "the supreme joy of the married state."

Susan has been committed to Geoffrey and the church for so long that she dates all events by the church calendar and often explains herself through Biblical references. Lately, however, she has begun to question whether she even believes in God anymore, and she has silently rebelled by smoking and drinking in private. By her own admission, she must wander farther and farther from the vicarage to obtain the requisite alcohol to get through her days, and on "the second Sunday after Trinity," she finds a new escape. In an Indian grocery store, she meets Ramesh, a twenty-seven-year-old clerk with "beautiful teeth," and "wonderful legs." Though she has always regarded sex as "shame-faced fumblings" and "frightful collisions," she finds herself drawn inextricably to Ramesh, and soon finds a "bed among the lentils" and a kind of happiness she has never known.

Playwright Alan Bennett, perhaps most famous as the primary author of the sixties revue "Beyond the Fringe," shows as much comic irony here as he does in that landmark production, and just as much precision with language. Wielding language like a rapier, Bennett, through Susan, makes word choices that convey a multitude of meanings, emotions, and attitudes simultaneously. Her description of Mrs. Frobisher's flower arrangement, for example--a "Japanese number" using a "test tube" (vase) into which she "throttles" a lone carnation--shows Mrs. Frobisher's sanctimonious behavior, her annoyance with Susan, the depths of Susan's frustration, and Susan's scorn of Geoffrey's "fan club."

Behind the smart remarks, quips, and self-deprecation is an immense sadness, however, and, when portrayed by a versatile actress (like Maggie Smith, who made the role her own), Susan becomes a character of sympathy as well as comic irony. As she explores life with Ramesh but continues to fulfill her role as Mrs. Vicar, the audience sees that despite her frustration Susan is at heart a vicar's wife. Filled with satirical observations and powerful emotions, this brilliant monologue portrays a life both comic and tragic. n Mary Whipple

I was overjoyed to find this book since for a long time I had been seeking to read a short story by Katherine Fullerton Gerould entitled "Vain Oblations" and this book has that story, of which it has been said by Agnes Repplier, in an article on Edith Wharton appearing in the Nov. 25, 1938, issue of The Commonweal: "Katharine Fullerton Gerould began her career with a short story called 'Vain Oblations' which was so relentlessly tragic that nobody wants to remember it and nobody can possibly forget it." I read the story and the description is indeed apt. This story alone makes this book one that one should own, and there are 66 other great short stories therein (some not so short--for instance Billie Budd, Foretopman is included). Other memorable stories are by Washington Irving, Hawthorne, Poe, Edward Everett Hale, Frank Stockton, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Henry James, Hemingway, Faulkner, and many others. A great collection!

Lee Bennett Hopkins, the highly esteemed poet and anthologist, shares his experiences at a difficult and pivotal time in his life through a collection of autobiographical poems. They are beautifully written - simple and full of emotion without sentimentality. The book is recommended for grade 5 and up, but I used it on an ongoing basis with a "street-wise" third grade, many of whom had already endured their share of painful family situations. It helped them open up to their own feelings and to poetry in general. The book includes real photos of his family and of him as a boy, which the kids found fascinating. The fact that he ends it by stating that he will write when he gets older is the icing on the cake: TO/make/this world/a whole lot/brighter when/I/grow up/I'll/be/a writer./I'll write about/some things/I know-/how to bunt/how to throw...a teddy bear/an empty chair.../the love I have inside to share...Yes. /To/make/this world/a whole lot/brighter, when/I grow up/I'll/be/a/writer.

Thank you, Mr. Hopkins...you've done just what you planned.

I was very, very, woefully sorry to find out that the original edition of Before the Lark was out of print and the only edition of the book is in large print. Furthermore, it was sad to know that the sales rank was so low. This really is a great book.

I got this book from a school book sale and didn't read it until five years after I purchased it.

The story is about a girl named Jocey Royal who lives during the late 1800's, who has the horrible curse of a cleftlip, or harelip. For that, she is an outcast and is driven to go to a patch of Kansas farmland where she finds out more about har grandmother and her never there father. She also lerans that anyone can have a friend, and that some curses can be cured.

I really wish that more people would read this. Irene Bennett Brown wrote about a topic that rarely anyone thought about- the defects of a harelip. Many American children don't what a harelip is because the defect is fixed before the leave the hospital when they're born. But many poor courntries can't treat children with harelips, so they are shunned, just like Jocey.

I LOVED reading this book. Irene Bennett Brown created an unknown masterpiece and needs to be applauded. PLEASE, for your sake, read this book.

This book is a comprehensive guide to the world of debate. Conveniently broken down by area (rules, writing a case, flowsheeting, delivery, voting issues, etc...) this book is all that a new debater will need. Covering every aspect of debate, right down to relations within the speech team, this book allows for interactive learning for the debater. With fun additions like word searches and crossword puzzles, fun and learning are harmoniously combined to give a new debater everything he or she will need to start their debating career. I especially liked this book because in just 18 easy chapters this book covers a surprising amount of ground, and in a rather in depth manner. With both a summer camp appendix and an easy-to-use index, this book is the most user-friendly and informative book on forensic debate events that I have come across. I found the chapter, "Fallacies In Logic" especially useful when attacking cases for which I had little case-specific counter evidence. I would recommend this book to all people interested in any aspect of debate. You definately won't regret having this book on hand for your own debate squad.

The book gives a good overview of the live behind the scenes of a Formula 1 racing team.

This is as thorough book as you could as for if you are trying to find Belle Bennett info.

Wow! I loved Benji when I was a wee little tyke and I was so excited when I saw this title was coming out! I can't say I was much impressed with the film, but Scout Driggs' mastery of the adaptive novel is profound! Poor Benji, I was so sad when I read the bit about the drowning. For the Dog lover in all of us, Benji is a hero for the ages!

This is an excellent fifth edition of a Diving Medical Classic Text. It should have a place on the shelves of any person requiring diving medical reference from time to time, and also on the shelves of all Diving Medical Specialists for more in-depth reading.

NKIM